🏡 Are US Homes Getting More Affordable?

Good morning. US stock futures dipped in Friday morning trading as Wall Street awaits a key inflation reading.

🤖 Report show US housing becoming more affordable

📝 Our report: A recent Q3 2024 housing affordability report from research firm Attom shows that a cocktail of falling mortgage rates, rising wages, and slower home-price growth is making homeownership just a tad easier on the wallet. With rates now falling — and more downward movement expected after the Federal Reserve‘s recent interest rate cut — Attom’s report suggests that affordability is getting better too.

 🔑 Key points:

• “Home affordability continues to show signs of easing, which lightens the pressure on house hunters struggling to find a place that fits their budget,” Attom CEO Rob Barber said in a statement.

• When comparing median-priced homes and average national wages, homeownership expenses take up 33.5% of a typical household budget. That’s a bit better than in the second quarter of 2024 but unchanged from a year ago.

• Home prices are still rising as well. Attom’s report indicates that 63% of counties analyzed saw median home prices jump between the second and third quarters, while 85% of counties had higher median prices than a year ago.

💡 So what: Attom’s report indicating that homeownership may be getting more affordable could be good news for prospective buyers. Lower mortgage rates, rising wages, and slower home-price growth make purchasing a home more accessible for many. This increased affordability could stimulate demand in the housing market, boosting related sectors like construction and home goods. However, affordability remains a challenge in high-demand areas, and any improvement may vary regionally, affecting the broader U.S. economy’s growth and inflation trends.

Friday - Consumer Sentiment (final)

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📺 Pay-TV providers on verge of merging

WHAT: DirecTV and Dish are reportedly deep into merger talks to create the largest US pay-TV provider, with nearly 20 million subscribers, according to people familiar with the matter. DirecTV, founded in 1994 by Hughes Electronics, is owned by AT&T Inc. and TPG Inc., and has about 11 million customers. Dish, started in 1980 by billionaire Charlie Ergen, is part of his EchoStar Corp. and has about eight million subscribers. EchoStar and TPG are expected to remain investors, the people said.

WHY: While past discussions of a DirecTV-Dish combination have faced antitrust concerns, the shift from pay TV to streaming has changed the competitive landscape, potentially making the path easier this time. A deal would help them better compete with cable companies and streaming services such as Netflix Inc.

🖥️ Dell says “back to the office” for salespeople

WHAT: Dell Technologies is ringing the office bell, calling its sales team back in for five-day work weeks in the near future. Dell alluded to internal productivity data supporting the latest changes. The company’s data “showed that sales teams are more productive when onsite,” the company said in a memo to sales team members.

WHY: The new policy is a substantial departure from founder and CEO Michael Dell’s stance two years ago as the company emerged from the pandemic. “At Dell, we found no meaningful differences for team members working remotely or office-based even before the pandemic forced everyone home,” he wrote on LinkedIn in 2022. “Our business results show it’s working for us, and I believe this model will eventually be embraced as the future of work.”

💊 Drugmaker fined over Alzheimer’s drug claims

WHAT: Cassava Sciences and two ex-execs agreed to shell out over $40 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims that they misled the public about the results of an Alzheimer's drug trial. Cassava published results in 2020 based on hand-selected data that showed patients’ memories improved, though the full data showed no measurable progress, the SEC said in a statement announcing the settlement. The company later raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, the regulator said.

WHY: The Austin-based company, which previously disclosed a Justice Department inquiry, said it took steps to improve corporate governance and transparency and doesn’t expect criminal charges. “Cassava is pleased to put this matter behind us,” its new CEO, Richard Barry, said in a statement.

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