Global Real Estate & Economy Brief — 2025-12-02

🌍 At a Glance

• US Fed Funds Rate: 3.88 (as of 2025-11-01)
• US 30Y Mortgage: 6.23 (as of 2025-11-26)
• ECB Policy Rate: 2.0 [FRED:ECBDFR] as of 2025-12-01
• BoE Bank Rate: 4.00 (as of 2025-08-07)

🇺🇸 United States

• To Thank Their Parents, They Bought Them a House — Adult children rewarded their hardworking parents with homes, embodying the American dream they once aspired to.
• $1.8 Million Homes in California — California offers $1.8 million homes, featuring midcentury modern and Spanish Revival styles in desirable locations.
• Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings — Zillow has eliminated climate risk scores from listings due to concerns over their accuracy from industry professionals and homeowners.

🇪🇺 Europe

• Children reaching UK by small boat face sim card mouth searches — New Home Office rules may allow searches of children arriving in the UK by small boats for concealed sim cards.
• Zipcar, world’s biggest car-sharing company, to close UK operation — Zipcar will cease its UK operations, ending access to its shared fleet in London by year-end.
• OBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of budget document — Richard Hughes resigned as OBR chair following an inquiry into a significant budget document leak.

🌏 Asia

• OBR head resigns over Budget day publishing error — The OBR head resigned after a critical Budget document was mistakenly published ahead of schedule.
• US and UK agree zero tariffs deal on pharmaceuticals — The US and UK have reached a zero tariffs agreement on pharmaceuticals, avoiding potential 100% tariffs on branded drugs.
• Police consider corporate manslaughter charges in Post Office scandal — Police are exploring corporate manslaughter charges in the Post Office scandal, labeled the UK's largest miscarriage of justice.

🎯 GPT Strategy

🇺🇸 United States

• **Positioning Idea:** Invest in suburban residential REITs to capitalize on the trend of adult children purchasing homes for their parents.
• **Risk Note:** Economic downturns may impact housing affordability.
• **Positioning Idea:** Consider California-focused real estate ETFs to capture demand for high-value homes in desirable locations.

🇪🇺 Europe

• **Positioning Idea**: Consider investing in UK residential REITs focused on affordable housing, as new immigration policies may increase demand for lower-cost living options.
• **Risk Note**: Regulatory changes could impact housing supply and demand dynamics.
• **Positioning Idea**: Explore infrastructure-focused ETFs, as the exit of Zipcar may signal a shift towards increased demand for urban transportation solutions.

🌏 Asia

• **Positioning Idea**: Consider investing in healthcare REITs to capitalize on the zero tariffs agreement, which may boost pharmaceutical sector growth.
• **Risk Note**: Regulatory changes could impact profitability.
• **Positioning Idea**: Explore diversified ETFs focused on UK infrastructure, as political instability may drive increased government spending on public projects.

Not financial advice. Educational insights only.