Market Recap - Week of May 26 through May 30, 2025
- Gordon Achtermann, CFP®, CSRIC®, MBA
- Jun 2
- 2 min read
Dear Friends,
The S&P 500 index rose 1.9% this week, capping the biggest month of gains since November 2023. It ended Friday's session at 5,911.69, pushing its May increase to 6.2%. The index is now up 0.5% this year.
This year, the market has fluctuated along with the Trump Administration's trade policies. Stocks fell in February, March, and April as tariffs were threatened and added, and then rose in May as some levies were reduced and trade agreements were reached.
Still, the trade turmoil isn't over. On Friday, President Donald Trump accused China of violating its trade deal with the US. There has also been legal uncertainty over the trade policies.
All S&P 500 sectors other than Energy rose this week.
Last Week’s Economic Reports
Consumer confidence rose to 98.0 in May.
Consumer sentiment remained unchanged from last month at 52.20 (down 24.46% from a year ago)
Real GDP revision to 1Q25 shows it fell 0.2% (seasonally adjusted annual rate).
Headline PCE (personal consumption expenditures index), the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rose 0.1% m/m and 2.1% y/y.
S&P 500 Sector and Stylebox Returns
Thought of the week:
For many Americans, buying a home has simply become unaffordable in recent years. In April, the median sales price of an existing single-family home was $ 413k, year-over-year, and a staggering 45% from April 2020. Similarly, the median sales price of a new single-family home was $410k in April, and while it was down 2% year-over-year, it was still up 31% from April 2020.
The rise in home prices is partly due to a structural imbalance between the supply and demand for single-family homes, with an estimated shortage of roughly 4.5 million homes in the U.S, according to Zillow. Years of underdevelopment following the Great Financial Crisis and rising material costs have hampered the housing supply, while demand has risen as more millennials reach the prime home-buying age. Meanwhile, higher interest rates have boosted the ratio of mortgage payments as a percentage of median household income to its highest levels in nearly 35 years. Coupled with tightened mortgage lending standards, a generation of potential buyers is being priced out of the market. This week’s chart underscores this trend, showing the median age of a first-time U.S. home buyer rising over time, reaching a new high of 38 years in 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Instead, prospective buyers are being forced to rent for longer periods, driving up demand for multi-family homes. Given the ongoing shortage of single-family housing in the U.S., and barring a major recession that drives down rates, homes will continue to be unaffordable, further propelling the shift toward renting and multi-family housing in the years to come.
Source: JP Morgan
Up Next
Economic data expected for the rest of the week includes the May employment report and unemployment rate, due to be released on Friday. Other reports released earlier in the week will include April's construction spending and factory orders.
Want more? Here is a link to our latest Monthly Market Update webinar:
All the Best,
Gordon Achtermann, CFP®
703-573-7325
Your Best Path Financial Planning
