Oct 5, 2023
Bespoke’s Consumer Pulse Report is an analysis of a huge consumer survey that we run each month. Our goal with this survey is to track trends across the economic and financial landscape in the US. Using the results from our proprietary monthly survey, we dissect and analyze all of the data and publish the Consumer Pulse Report, which we sell access to on a subscription basis. Sign up for a 30-day free trial to our Bespoke Consumer Pulse subscription service. With a trial, you’ll get coverage of consumer electronics, social media, streaming media, retail, autos, and much more. The report also has numerous proprietary US economic data points that are extremely timely and useful for investors.
We’ve just released our most recent monthly report to Pulse subscribers, and it’s definitely worth the read if you’re curious about the health of the consumer in the current market environment. Start a 30-day free trial for a full breakdown of all of our proprietary Pulse economic indicators.
Sep 29, 2023
This week’s Bespoke Report is an updated version of our “Pros and Cons” edition for Q4 2023.
With this report, you’re able to get a complete picture of the bull and bear case for US stocks right now. It’s heavy on graphics and light on text, but we let the charts and tables do the talking!
On page three of the report, you’ll see a full list of the pros and cons that we lay out. Slides for each topic are then provided on page four and beyond.
To read this report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium.
Sep 28, 2023
Case Shiller home price data published by S&P CoreLogic was released earlier this week for July 2023 (it comes out on a two-month lag). As shown below, 19 of 20 cities posted month-over-month gains, with the National index up 0.6% MoM and up 0.98% year-over-year. Las Vegas saw the biggest monthly gain at 1.12%, while Portland was the only city to see a monthly decline.
The big news from the report was that the National index and ten of twenty cities once again hit new all-time highs, erasing declines seen from mid-2022 through early 2023. The National index saw home prices fall 5% from its prior high last June to its low this January, but it has bounced back by 6% since then to notch new highs. The ten cities to also make new highs were: New York, Minneapolis, Miami, Detroit, DC, Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, and Atlanta.
Four cities remain 5%+ below their prior highs: Phoenix (-6.7%), Las Vegas (-7.2%), Seattle (-10.1%), and San Francisco (-10.8%).
Below is a look at how much home prices have jumped from their lows made either at the end of 2022 or earlier this year. As shown, San Diego, Detroit, and Chicago have seen home prices rally the most at 9%+, while Tampa, Las Vegas, and Phoenix have rallied the least at just 4%.
Below we show the actual home price index levels for the twenty cities plus Case Shiller’s three composite indices. Cities highlighted in green are the ones that are back to all-time highs. With interest rates rising so far so fast from very low levels, existing mortgage holders have frozen up, which has frozen the market of homes for sale. The extreme lack of supply has caused prices to increase, not decrease, thus far, but barring a pretty big drop in mortgage rates. we don’t see this as sustainable in the months and years ahead.
