Prospective homebuyers have seen a small improvement in market conditions lately. However, the landscape is still pretty bleak, with rates elevated and economic uncertainty high. Sign up for Business Insider's daily markets newsletter here. Aspiring home owners have been waiting anxiously for the market to thaw, but while home sales rose in August, one firm thinks the market is likely to be stuck in the "dark ages" for a while still. Economic intelligence firm Pantheon Macroeconomics recently laid ...

in that space. First though, let's get some housing data with Diana Ola. Morning, Diana. >> Good morning, Carl.Pending home sales in September were unchanged from August and dropped.9% year-over-year. That according to the National Association of Realtors, the street was looking for a 1% gain after an even larger gain in August. Now, this count is based on signed contracts.So, people out shopping in September and making that decision when the average rate on the 30-year fix was generally on the decline, but ...

A "Sale Pending" sign in front of a home in Pinole, California. Pending sales of existing US homes stalled in September, suggesting anxiety about the job market kept potential buyers sidelined despite a welcome easing in mortgage rates. Most Read from Bloomberg An index of contract signings held at 74.8 after climbing a revised 4.2% a month earlier to the highest level since March, according to National Association of Realtors data released Wednesday. Economists expected a 1.2% increase, based on the med ...

The median price of an existing home was $422,400 in August, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s down from a record high in June. - Getty Images Home prices are growing at the slowest pace in over two years as the housing market remains stagnant. That may be bad news for many homeowners across America — if the trend persists. As home sales stalled at the end of the summer, home prices reflected the market’s slow environment. Nationally, home prices grew just 1.5% in August from a ye ...

Home-price growth continues to slow in the 20 biggest metro areas in the U.S., as the housing market buckles under the weight of high mortgage rates and high home prices. ...

A home is most Americans' single largest investment. The returns are losing ground. Home prices nationally rose 1.5% in August compared with the same month last year, down from the 1.6% annual gain recorded in July, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. While home prices aren't yet falling, they're weakening — rising at a slower pace than the current 3% rate of inflation. That means that housing wealth eroded in real terms for the fourth consecutive month, according ...

Homes in Hercules, California. Home prices gained the least in over two years, slowing for the seventh straight month in August as buyers gained leverage in negotiations and inventory grew. Most Read from Bloomberg A national measure of prices rose 1.5% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P Cotality Case-Shiller. It was the smallest gain since mid-2023 and followed a 1.6% increase in July. The easing of price growth is good news for buyers after a prolonged affordability squeeze caused by soar ...

HING STORE AND STATES AND THE 前几天，我发小小田给我打电话，声音特别低沉。 他家情况我太清楚了，掏空六个钱包才买的那套房。 那时，他和老婆拼尽全力凑首付，贷款两百多万，三十年的长单。 每个月的月供几乎吞光了他们所有收入。 电话里，他叹了口气："阿敏，你知道吗？我爸最近生病了，我根本拿不出钱去医院。" 我沉默了几秒，说："你们手头不够吗？" 他说："哪有不够的事？我老公呢？我老婆呢？她失业了，家里完全没收入。孩子吃饭都不够，营养不良都快看出来了。" 我听着都心疼得说不出话。 以前大家都觉得，有房就有了安全感。 可现实呢？房价一跌，生活彻底被拖入泥潭。 小田买的房，现在比买的时候至少跌了七八十万。 房子本来想给家人一个安稳的港湾，结果成了三代人的噩梦。 我问他："你们有没有考虑卖掉房子？" 他笑了笑："卖？亏几十万，我哪舍得？再说卖了，孩子没地方上学，老人住哪里？生活还能过吗？" 他顿了一下，又说："以前我爸妈告诉我，有房才有家，我信了，可现在才知道，房子有的时候是个枷锁。" 小田的故事，其实不是个例。 朋友圈、短视频里，到处都是类似的声音。 有人房子买了就贬值，贷款还得继续交；有人 ...

投资主题与资产类别 - 美联储开启降息周期，投资者正寻求将大量现金投入其他机会，目前美国民众持有近20万亿美元现金，其中7万亿在货币市场基金[5] - 投资策略上建议与市场共识“反向操作”，例如持有小型、被低估的股票以分散大型成长股的风险[3] - 华尔街专业人士分享了从黄金到欧洲股票等多种投资方向[6] 小盘价值股 - 小盘价值股对利率高度敏感，是降息周期的主要受益者，因其45%的债务为短期工具，可借降息之机进行再融资以降低利率成本[3] - 可关注的ETF包括iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF (SVAL)[6] 新兴市场债务 - 新兴市场债务同样受益于利率下降，自1997年以来其平均回报率已超过新兴市场股票[2] - 可关注BondBloxx JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets 1-10 Year Bond ETF (XEMD)[6] 黄金矿商 - 黄金矿商应能提供丰厚的股息，这得益于近期黄金需求的激增[1] - 矿商展现出更强的资本纪律，产生大量自由现金流，可通过股息和股票回购持续向股东返还资本[1] - 可关注VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)[6] 黄金与比特币（贬值交易） - 建议进行所谓的“贬值交易”，将资金各半投入黄金和比特币，以对冲美元贬值、其他法币疲软以及全球主权债务上升的风险[7] - 尽管近期价格有所回落，但央行对黄金和比特币的增持以及政府债务飙升意味着涨势仍有空间[8] - 可透过SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)和iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)等基金进行配置[9] 欧洲与英国股票 - 欧洲和英国股票比美国股票便宜得多，且提供更高的股息，其市盈率处于十几倍水平，而美国股票在二十倍出头[10][11] - 若美元进一步贬值，以欧元和英镑计价的投资将为美国投资者带来额外的回报放大效应，美元年初至今已下跌约9%，长期看可能继续大幅下跌[12] - 可关注iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU)和Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK)[12] 人工智能主题 - 人工智能领域的发展可能仅处于“第五局”，尽管存在泡沫和高估值担忧，但尚未看到危险[14] - 建议关注与基础设施构建相关的公司，包括半导体领域以及提供工业基础设施、电力、变压器等的工业公司[17] - 科技、通信服务和公用事业板块是参与此主题的最佳选择[17] - 具体投资组合可配置6000美元于亚洲新兴市场（主要是中国）AI股票，4000美元于美国AI股票，中国大型科技公司估值仅为美国同行的三分之一到五分之一[14][15] - 中国部分可关注阿里巴巴和小米，美国部分可关注超微电脑（SMCI）和微软（MSFT）[14][15] - 可参考的ETF包括Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF (VGT)、Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF Fund (XLC)和Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU)[18] 医疗保健行业 - 医疗保健行业可作为对人工智能主题集中度的平衡，为投资组合增加多样性，该行业表现滞后且政策不确定性似乎接近尾声[18] - 医疗保健领域内如管理式医疗等部分存在问题，但预计明年将开始正常化，是提供良好多元化效益的落后板块[18] - 可关注iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH)[18] 特定行业与选股策略 - 采用“低谷中的低谷”主题，寻找盈利处于低谷水平且估值相对于历史较低的的公司，以期获得盈利增长和估值扩张的双重收益[19][20] - 健康维护组织（HMO）股票目前处于承保周期的低点，意味着承保标准将趋严，从而带来更大的利润率，例如Elevance Health的市盈率为11.5倍[20][21] - 利率下降有利于与住房周转率（即人口流动增加）相关的公司，例如管道设备公司，Fortune Brands是定位良好且估值便宜的标的[21] - 存在“总部折价”股票，即因总部设在美国以外而显得便宜，例如BP和Shell的市盈率显著低于Exxon，British American Tobacco与Altria价格相同但拥有年增长15%的新一代产品和高倍数印度子公司[22]

While the ongoing government shutdown continues to delay the release of many reports, a key piece of economic data managed to break through last week. The highly anticipated Consumer Price Index (CPI) report arrived during an already positive week for the market, and its cooler-than-expected reading pushed the S&P 500 past the 6,800 milestone for the very first time. This inflation data, alongside the latest reading on consumer sentiment, offers a timely look at the current economic landscape and will play ...