And while Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been piling into AI stocks despite warnings of a bubble, Buffett and his successor, Greg Abel, have been looking further afield for investment inspiration.
Some of Berkshire’s largest investments this year have been in brands which likely qualify as essential for U.S. shoppers—or reflect their long-term goals.
However, action from the White House this year has been focused on getting America’s real estate market moving again. In his continued lobbying for a lower base interest rate, President Trump claimed Fed Chair Jerome Powell was “hurting the housing industry very badly.” Trump added: “People can’t get a mortgage because of him.”
While Powell refrained from lowering the rate in the early days of Trump’s administration, the Federal Open Market Committee has since begun lowering interest rates and has signaled an openness to reduce them further in future. While the Federal funds rate doesn’t set the mortgage rates lenders offer, lower borrowing costs should (as a general rule) ultimately result in more affordable mortgages for consumers.
Policies like tariffs aren’t helping the crisis, the report adds: “Rising costs and limited supply are slowing new home construction despite high demand—underscoring the need for robust and lasting solutions to strengthen supply-chain resilience and incentivize building to support the housing sector’s growth and stability.”
