🚀 Home Sales Fall To Lowest Since 2009

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Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. U.S. home sales fell 5.9% in March, hitting their slowest pace for the month since 2009, as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty froze activity during what’s usually the spring buying season. Existing home sales totaled 4.02 million annually, with the steepest monthly drop in the pricey West, though that region still posted the only year-over-year gain thanks to strength in Rocky Mountain states. Despite a nearly 20% jump in listings from a year ago, the market remains tight, with just a 4-month supply. Prices are beginning to cool, up only 2.7% year-over-year, the smallest gain since August, while rising cancellations and consumer anxiety suggest the worst may still lie ahead.

2. Alphabet crushed expectations in Q1 2025, reporting $90.23 billion in revenue and $2.81 in earnings per share—far exceeding analyst estimates of $89.12 billion and $2.01, respectively. YouTube ad revenue hit $8.97 billion and Google Cloud brought in $12.27 billion, both in line with forecasts, while traffic acquisition costs (TAC) landed at $13.66 billion. The strong results sent shares up nearly 5% after hours, signaling continued momentum across Alphabet’s ad and cloud businesses.

3. Durable goods orders surged 9.2% in March—the biggest jump since July 2024—as companies raced to buy big-ticket items like vehicles and appliances ahead of tariffs announced by President Trump. Excluding defense, orders rose an even steeper 10.4%, with nondefense aircraft orders up 139%. The rush was driven by anticipation of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs: a sweeping 10% levy on imports, with additional country-specific tariffs temporarily delayed for negotiations. Meanwhile, jobless claims ticked up slightly to 222,000 but remained stable overall, signaling resilience in the labor market despite rising economic uncertainty.

4. Headlines

   1. The Trump Organization has started to sell “Trump 2028” merchandise, increasing speculation about a potential “third term”.

   2. The FBI reports that Americans lost $9.3B to crypto-related crimes in 2024.

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