{"id":12851,"date":"2023-11-27T16:59:12","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T16:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/?p=12851"},"modified":"2024-01-10T17:19:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T17:19:46","slug":"lower-shopping-prices-this-holiday-season-real-estate-commission-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/lower-shopping-prices-this-holiday-season-real-estate-commission-verdict\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower Shopping Prices This Holiday Season, Real Estate Commission Verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this week\u2019s Steady Investor, we’re digging into essential factors that investors should focus on, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Lower prices this holiday shopping season
\u2022 Better deals for holiday travels and meals
\u2022 Jury finds realtors conspired to keep commissions high<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did You Notice a Lower Thanksgiving Grocery Bill This Year?<\/strong> \u2013 In 2022, the bird flu ravaged flocks in many states and led to diminished inventories, which put upward pressure on prices. This year was better. Wholesale prices for turkeys were down -32% in the first week of November compared to 2022 prices, with the average 16-pound turkey costing consumers $27.35 \u2013 which is 5.6% lower than last year. Other factors that drove food inflation in 2022 have also moderated, such as the impact of Russia\u2019s invasion on the price of wheat, corn, and some cooking oils. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the typical Thanksgiving dinner for 10 should cost $61.17, which is 4.5% lower than 2022\u2019s price tag. To be fair, the \u2018lower\u2019 prices for Thanksgiving are still 25% higher than they were in 2019, but at least consumers are catching somewhat of a break.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for More Market Insights for Q4 2023?<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August and September, interest rates pushed higher while stocks fell, and another war broke out as the quarter came to a close. Geopolitical uncertainty, interest rate uncertainty, and then market uncertainty started to set in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our free Q4 2023 Market Commentary<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, Zacks Investment Management CEO, Mitch Zacks, argues that there is more to this story. He believes it is important to consider why interest rates are rising\u2014and he believes the answers may be positive for the economy and stocks. In this issue, you’ll read about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Are Interest Rates Hobbling the Bull Market?
\u2022 Interest Rates are Going Up, But So Are Earnings
\u2022 Assessing U.S. Economic Headwinds
\u2022 Bottom Line for Investors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest, request this guide today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download Our Q4 2023 Market Commentary2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will U.S. Consumers Benefit from Lower Prices This Holiday Shopping Season?<\/strong> U.S. consumers have managed to push through the era of higher prices, bolstered by a strong jobs market and higher wages. They might finally be getting a break this holiday shopping season. As consumers spend more on food \u2013 and also shift spending away from goods and towards services and experiences \u2013 retailers have felt the pinch. And they want consumers back. In a recent conference call with investors, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, \u201cWe may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come, and while that would put more unit pressure on us, we welcome it, because it\u2019s better for our customers.\u201d This approach marks an almost complete reversal from the year or so following the pandemic when consumers were armed with stimulus money and spending far more on goods than services.3<\/sup> If companies like Walmart and other retailers start slashing prices, competition for discretionary spending could lead to lower prices than last year and more deals later in the season. As seen in the chart below, prices for food (black line) and apparel (tan line) have moved lower than broad-based CPI (red line).4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change in prices, year-over-year<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
BLS5<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Time will tell where prices land this holiday shopping season, but already we\u2019ve seen prices for TVs, smartphones, toys, sofas and other items in decline since last year\u2019s holiday season. According to research from Adobe, holiday discounting could hit record highs this year, with big discounts coming for toys, electronics, and furniture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Verdict Could Reshape How Homes are Bought and Sold in the U.S.<\/strong> \u2013 A jury in Kansas City delivered a verdict in mid-November that could reshape how houses are bought and sold in the U.S. The jury found the National Association of Realtors and large residential brokerages liable for approximately $1.8 billion in damages, after deciding that the organizations had conspired to keep commissions artificially high. The lawsuit was in effect an antitrust suit, as the plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys argued that this system made it very difficult for buyers and sellers to negotiate lower rates. In the U.S., the commission on a home sale is typically between 5% and 6%, which is substantially higher than in most other developed countries. The ruling is set to be appealed, so time will tell whether it actually leads to changes in how residential real estate transactions are structured. Going forward, however, it\u2019s possible that the U.S. may see buyers opting to represent themselves for the house hunt, and using an attorney for closing. Finding a home for sale is relatively easy these days, with several sites and apps available for use.6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investing in Today\u2019s Market \u2013 Today, our latest Q4 2023 Market Commentary7<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/strong> is available to all Steady Investor<\/em> readers for free. In this report, CEO, Mitch Zacks, assesses economic headwinds and the effect they may have in months ahead, including the threat of a government shutdown, resumption of student loan payments, oil price shock, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t miss this new report to get Mitch’s expert insights on key market topics including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Are Interest Rates Hobbling the Bull Market?
\u2022 Interest Rates are Going Up, But So Are Earnings
\u2022 Assessing U.S. Economic Headwinds
\u2022 Bottom Line for Investors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click on the link below:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holiday shopping may cost less this year as retailers aim to lure shoppers back, jury finds real estate commission conspiracy, turkey prices drop<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-private-client-group","category-steady-investors-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12851"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12854,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12851\/revisions\/12854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}