The Federal Reserve reports that home equity hit an all-time high in mid-2017 at $13.9T, up $0.5T from the 2006 peak and up $6T from the lowest point in the Great Recession. Quickly rising home prices are the main reason for the equity gains. Increasing home prices have also helped many homeowners to come out of negative equity. There were 12.2 million homeowners in negative equity at the end of 2009. That number has now decreased to just under 3 million in 2017.

The Commerce Department reported on Monday that sales of new homes rose to their highest level in 10 years due to strong sales across the country. New Home Sales rose 6.2% in October from September to an annual rate of 685,000 units, above the 629,000 expected. September was revised to 645,000 from 667,000. Strong sales were seen in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West. Year-to-date New Home Sales rose 18.7%. There is a 4.9 month supply of new homes for sale on the market, where a six-month supply is seen as a healthy balance between supply and demand.

Shoppers were out in full bloom as they shopped online on Thanksgiving and hit the malls on Black Friday. Black Friday and Thanksgiving online sales show U.S. retailers raking in a record $7.9B, up nearly 18% from a year ago. Cyber Monday is now underway and record online sales are expected to the tune of $6.6 billion. Total holiday sales are expected to come in between $678.75 billion to $682 billion, up from $655 billion last year.