The US housing market surged by $2 trillion in value last year

MARCH 2024 HOT NEWS

• Massive shortage of homes in the US housing market. But the new houses are being built faster than ever!
• Stock market hits fresh records: S&P 500 and Nasdaq close February with best performance in nearly a decade.
• Do you know the richest woman in the world? Check your knowledge with our quiz.

TODAY’S TOPICS

• Some great news: The US housing market surged by $2 trillion in value last year!
• 5 Top best-performing stocks of the February 2024.
• India is going to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027.
• What does it take to join the top 1% club? Check wealth requirements by country.
• Expensive Mickey: Disney World’s 2025 ticket prices soar.

QUIZ 💃💃💃

1. How many women in US history have held the highest rank of four-star general or admiral?

1. 10
2. 55
3. 227
4. 7

2. What are the most common colors for the International Women’s Day?

1. Red, pink, and yellow
2. Blue, black, and orange
3. Brown, gray, and fuchsia
4. Purple, green, and white

3. What is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day?

1. Valentine’s Day
2. Lunar New Year
3. Easter
4. International Women’s Day

(You will find the answer below)

REAL ESTATE

Current mortgage rates

• 30-year fixed – 6.925% (APR)
• 20-year fixed – 6.772% (APR)
• 15-year fixed – 6.168% (APR)
• 10-year fixed – 6.090% (APR)

Real estate news

• Did you hear? The US housing market surged by $2 trillion in value last year! Last year, the US housing market grew by $2.4 trillion, reaching $47.5 trillion in total value. Despite high mortgage rates, the market increased by 5.3% from December 2022. Still, this makes it difficult for prospective buyers. Mortgage rates remain high, home prices are elevated, and there are fewer homes for sale. There is a bit of good news, though. Mortgage rates are expected to go down by the end of 2024, which should help anyone looking to buy a home. Learn more
• There is a massive shortage of 7.2 million homes in the US housing market. Danielle Hale, a top economist at Realtor.com, explained that although more new homes are being built, it will take time to catch up with the demand. This means there will still be a shortage of properties for a while. For now, more households are being formed than homes are being built. And this gap is growing larger. In 2023, there were 1.7 million new households formed, but only about 1.42 million new homes were built. Still, the recent increase in new construction offers hope. More housing could lower rent prices. Learn more

U.S. ECONOMY

Inflation

• Current US inflation rate: 3.09%

Unemployment

• Current US unemployment rate: 3.70%

FED rate

• Fed funds interest rate: 5.25% – 5.50%

U.S. economy news

• US economy grows 3.2% in Q4: Slight downgrade from the initial estimate. The US economy grew 3.2% from October to December. Still, this is a slight decrease from the initial estimate by the Commerce Department. Despite this, growth has been over 2% for six quarters, showing resilience. Consumer spending rose by 3%. Expenses by state and local governments increased by 5.4%, the fastest since 2019! Still, inflation pressures eased, with prices rising at a slower rate. This doesn’t mean that things got less expensive than before. But the good thing is that the price growth isn’t as extreme as before, which is a positive trend. Learn more

• Inflation still on the rise: Key Fed measure up 0.4% in January, 2.8% higher than last year! In January, the prices of things we buy, except food and energy, went up by 0.4%. Compared to last year, it rose by 2.8%, just like experts thought. Yet, spending decreased by 0.1%. Meanwhile, American’s income went up by 1%, which is more than expected. Still, for the week ending on February 24th, there were 215,000 new claims for unemployment benefits. This is higher than what experts predicted. Learn more
• Disney World influenced by inflation? 2025 ticket prices soar. Disney World usually raises ticket prices once a year, but they haven’t done it since 2022. Now, they’re increasing prices for 2025. How much? For example, a one-day access to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom will go up from $109 to $119. Other options will also cost more, like a one-day to the Magic Kingdom, which will rise by $5. Additionally, multi-day and Park Hopper tickets, which allow going to many parks in a day, also see hikes ranging from $5 to $50. Learn more

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

• European inflation sticks around: Core prices cool less than predicted. In February, inflation in the eurozone was 2.6%. Still, it was higher than expected. Core inflation, which doesn’t count energy, food, alcohol, or tobacco, was 3.1%, also above expectations. This mixed news makes it tricky for policymakers. While overall inflation is getting closer to the target, core inflation is still high. Investors are watching closely to see when the European Central Bank will change interest rates. Perhaps, this will happen in June.Learn more
• India is going to have the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. According to India’s Finance Ministry, the country could become the world’s third-biggest economy by 2027, with a value of $5 trillion. They expect the economy to grow by 7% or more in the fiscal year 2024, which starts on April 1. If this happens, it would be the third year in a row with such growth. Right now, India’s economy is worth $3.7 trillion. Learn more

STOCK EXCHANGE

Stocks recommended by experts

💼 5 Best Performing AI Stocks

1. NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) –  260.28% (year performance)
2. Meta Platforms Inc (META) – 188.50%
3. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) – 155.78%
4. Lilly(Eli) & Co (LLY) – 147.95%
5. Uber Technologies Inc (UBER) – 143.68%

Stock market news

COFFEE BREAK

• Stock market hits fresh records: S&P 500, Nasdaq close February with best performance in nearly a decade. US stocks, including the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, closed February with their best performance since 2015, hitting a new high. The Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, marking its first record close since November 2021, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,095.88, its highest level yet. Meanwhile, Bitcoin remained above $62,000, signaling the potential for a new all-time high. Learn more

Fun facts

Top 5 richest women in the world. Who are they?

• #5: Miriam Adelson, an American and Israeli physician – $35.7 billion net worth.
• #4: Jacqueline Mars, the granddaughter of Franklin Clarence Mars, the founder of famous brands like M&Ms, Snickers, and Skittles – $39.5 billion net worth.
• #3: Julia Koch, an American philanthropist – $59.8 billion net worth.
• #2: Alice Walton, an American heiress of Walmart founder Sam Walton – $63.7 billion net worth.
• #1: Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, a French businesswoman and philanthropist – $99 billion net worth.

Learn more

What it takes to join the top 1% club: Wealth requirements by country

Joining the exclusive top 1% club has become more challenging globally. Discover the wealth threshold required to enter the ranks of the richest individuals in different countries. For example, in Monaco, it takes over $12 million to get into the top 1%, while for China, this number is slightly over $1 million. Learn more

Fun news

Tooth fairy got richer. Kids receive $100 bills and designer jewelry. Children are now getting more cash and luxury gifts from the tooth fairy. The average gift increased from under $2 in 2001 to over $6 in 2023. Some parents are giving extravagant presents like video games, iPhones, and designer jewelry. For example, one family in the UK gifted their daughter £60, a silver fairy necklace, and a Louis Vuitton bracelet. That all was for her first lost tooth. Learn more

Investor of the month

Cathie Wood’s investment philosophy: What does she choose?

Fidelity driver — Abigail Johnson.

Who is she? An American billionaire businesswoman, granddaughter of the late Edward C. Johnson II, founder of Fidelity Investments. Fidelity is one of the largest investment firms in the US, with total assets of about $11.7 trillion. 

Abigail has been president and CEO of Fidelity Investments since 2014. Also, she is chairman of the board of directors of its former sister company, Fidelity International.

In 2022 The American Banker called her #2 in the list of the most powerful women in finance. Today, she owns about a third of the Boston-based business. It has about $4.4 trillion in assets under discretionary management. Her net worth is about $34.8 billion.
But here’s an interesting fact – in high school, she worked as a waitress helper and T-shirt salesperson. Learn more

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. 10
2. Purple, green, and white
3. “Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress”

CONTENT YOU CAN’T MISS

This month’s recommended book

Learn How To Buy A Brand New House

Are you looking to invest in real estate but do not want to leave the comfort of your home? This video is for you! I’ll show you how to buy a new house without getting off the couch using this simple method.

You SHOULD NOT Buy Your Dream House Now! Why?

Why do real estate experts advise homebuyers to take their time before buying a house? Does this work for everyone? Let’s get deeper into the research in this episode.