The housing market continues to be supported by a strong labor market with prices up solidly year over year in October. CoreLogic reports that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, rose 3.5% year over year in October from October 2018 and up 0.5% month over month from September to October. CoreLogic is forecasting a 5.4% gain from October 2019 to October 2020. A strong labor market will continue to support the housing market here in the U.S. into the spring.
Consumer spending remained strong on Cyber Monday with a record $9.2 billion in online sales, up a whopping 17% from last year. It was the biggest U.S. online shopping day in history. During the peak online shopping hours, there was an astonishing $11 million spent per minute! The data showed that there was $3 billion in sales completed through a smartphone. The consumer continues to buoy the US economy. Top sellers on Cyber Monday included "Frozen 2" toys, L.O.L. Surprise dolls, Nerf products, "Madden 20," the Nintendo Switch, "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," Samsung TVs, the Fire TV, Airpods, and air fryers, according to Adobe Analytics data.
U.S. stocks are plunging today after President Trump said last night that a trade deal with China could wait until after the 2020 election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 450 points in Tuesday's trading session after a 269 point loss on Monday. Adding to the uncertainty in the equity markets is the U.S. imposing new tariffs on French goods in retaliation to a new digital services tax on firms like Google, Amazon and Facebook from France.
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