Sun-deprived real estate investors are finally getting their Vitamin D after a long and dark winter. The Fall 2024 Investor Sentiment Index, conducted by RCN Capital and CJ Patrick Co, found that 68% of participants view the current housing market as better than last year — and an impressive 71% expect further improvements over the next six months. Only  9% predict a downturn, marking the widest gap between bulls and bears since the survey began.

• RCN Capital CEO Jeffrey Tesch attributes the optimism to improving market dynamics, including lower financing costs, rising home inventory, and a slowdown in home price growth.
• In the third quarter, the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund ETFXLRE
  climbed 17.4%, topping the S&P 500’s 5.25% growth and making it the second-best performing sector, just behind utilities.

Open house: For those looking to buy a home, the Fed’s first rate cuts in four years reignited buyer interest. Mortgage applications jumped 14.2% while refinancing activity surged 24% in the wake of the announcement. Boston real estate broker Dana Bull reported a surge in inquiries from both sidelined homebuyers and recent buyers looking to refinance. For investors, these widely anticipated rate cuts signaled an opportunity to reenter the once-beaten-down real estate stock market.