Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Gross Domestic Product, 4th quarter and Year 2024 (Advance estimate). The consensus is that real GDP increased 2.6% annualized in Q4. initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for a increase to 228 thousand from 223 thousand last week. Pending Home Sales Index for December. The consensus is for a 1.0% decrease in the index.

From the Las Vegas Visitor Authority: December 2024 Las Vegas Visitor Statistics Closing out the year with Dec visitation of 3.4M visitors (+0.2% YoY), Las Vegas hosted approx. 41.7M visitors for the year, up 2.1% from last year’s 40.8M visitors. emphasis added Click on graph for larger image. Visitor traffic was up 0.2% compared to last December.  Visitor traffic was down 3.2% compared to December 2019. Annual visitor traffic was down 2.0% compared to 2019. Convention traffic was up 42.7% compared to December 2023, and down 9.1% compared to December 2019.   Annual convention traffic was down 9.8% compared to 2019.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming creative industries, but it has also raised serious legal and ethical questions.

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Inflation Adjusted House Prices 1.1% Below 2022 Peak It has been over 18 years since the housing bubble peak. In the November Case-Shiller house price index released yesterday, the seasonally adjusted National Index (SA), was reported as being 77% above the bubble peak in 2006. However, in real terms, the National index (SA) is about 12% above the bubble peak (and historically there has been an upward slope to real house prices). The composite 20, in real terms, is 3% above the bubble peak. The second graph shows the same two indexes in real terms (adjusted for inflation using CPI). House Prices: 7 Years in Purgatory) There is much more in the article!