https://therealdeal.com/2020/05/18/mystery-investor-dumps-big-stake-in-real-estate-fund/
An unknown institution dumped more than 10.5 million shares of an exchanged-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500’s real estate sector last week, according to the above article.
That many shares represents 7.4 percent of outstanding shares of the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund. This is an indication of a lack of faith in the real estate sector by a very large institution. The institution may be Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, CitiGroup, or JPMorgan Chase.
The trade occurred in a dark pool. A dark pool is an alternative or private exchanges where investors trade large volumes of securities in single transactions. Dark pools are owned by investment banks including those listed above.
Banks have started tightening lending requirements. Some banks have stopped offering new lines of credit. Other banks have added new underwriting requirements, such as larger down payments, higher credit scores, and second income verification steps a couple of days before closing. This is probably because banks are being required to offer forbearance to borrowers who do not make payments. Tightened lending requirements will mean fewer people will be able to obtain financing, reducing demand for real estate.