Market Update | Dec 11

DID YOU KNOW?

Top Headlines: Delivered by Leonard Steinberg

 December 11, 2023

01  Construction of new homes rose 1.9% in October,as builders amped up new projects. The pace of construction increased as builders saw a pressing need for more housing units, with the resale market continuing to deal with a shortage. Housing starts rose to a 1.37 million annual pace from 1.35 million in October.

(Marketwatch)

02  “Rate hikes are like tequila shots: one never knows when one’s had enough until one’s had too much.” 

–Louis-Vincent Gave, Gavekal 

03  Greater Boston witnessed a 43% decline in housing permits issued in September compared to the previous year, and a 27% decrease in permits obtained during the first 9 months of 2023, the lowest rate since 2012. 

(Businesstech)

04  In Japan and Argentina the average commission home sellers pay is 6.2% and 6% respectively, higher than the 5.5% average in the US. This contradicts what the Wall Street Journal broadcast to the world earlier this week claiming US consumers paid 6%. That’s quite a shift in less than a week....?

(WSJ)

05  Where you shop matters. Here is another perfect example of how the world has drifted into the ‘because you can’ pricing arena that has triggered runaway inflation in the ultra-luxury markets:

Tignanello is a high-end Italian red wine. In Italy it costs less than $250. In the UK it costs about $350 ....but it costs $500 in Gstaad, $600 in a beach club in Ibiza or St. Tropez.... and $700 a bottle or more in tax-haven Dubai.

(AIRMAIL)