Core Viewpoint - The real estate market in April showed signs of insufficient recovery, with a notable divergence between the performance of second-hand and new homes, indicating a potential stabilization in first and second-tier cities [1][3]. Group 1: Market Performance - In April, new home sales weakened both year-on-year and month-on-month, with the transaction area of commercial housing declining by 2.9% year-on-year, a drop of 1.4 percentage points compared to March, and a month-on-month decline exceeding 40% [3]. - The average sales price of new homes fell by 4.3% year-on-year, with a decline of 3.5 percentage points compared to March [3]. - In contrast, the second-hand housing market showed resilience, with a year-on-year increase of 20.8% in transaction area across 18 sample cities, despite a month-on-month decrease of 7.3% [3]. Group 2: City-Level Analysis - Among 30 major cities, the transaction area of commercial housing decreased by 12.1% year-on-year in April, with first-tier cities demonstrating resilience due to the support of quality housing supply, leading to a recovery in sales growth to over 20% year-on-year in May (up to the 25th) [3]. - Second-tier and lower-tier cities continue to face pressure, with no improvement in year-on-year growth rates for new home transactions [3]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - The rental yield in April reached 2.3%, with the spread over the 30-year treasury yield increasing to 42 basis points since the beginning of the year, indicating potential for long-term stability in the real estate market when rental yields exceed 2.5% [3]. - The proportion of second-hand home transactions increased to 59.0% in the first four months of the year, up 6.7 percentage points from the entire year of 2024, suggesting a shift from a growth phase to a maturity phase in the market [3]. Group 4: Inventory and Future Outlook - Narrow inventory remains high, but broad inventory has returned to 2010 levels, with de-stocking pressure mainly on existing homes [4]. - The implementation of new housing regulations and adjustments in land acquisition strategies by real estate companies may alleviate the pressure between new supply and existing home inventory [4]. - Cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen in the first tier, and Chengdu, Hohhot, and Nanchang in the second tier, are seen as having conditions favorable for early stabilization in their real estate markets [4].

Core Viewpoint - The U.S. stock market may have reached an upward turning point, but three key obstacles remain to be overcome for a sustained rally [1] Group 1: Market Signals - Recent positive signals include reduced overseas selling pressure on major tech stocks and significant net buying by hedge funds [2][3] - The S&P 500 index experienced a sharp decline from 5462 to a year-low of 4835, followed by a rebound of 735 basis points, closing at 5525 [2] - The dynamics of increased long-term buying in the U.S. and decreased international selling are critical for future market performance [3] Group 2: Key Indicators to Monitor - Three key confirmation signals to watch for market uptrend include market breadth, liquidity depth, and ETF trading volume [1][4] - Market breadth is currently below historical averages, indicating a need for broader stock participation in the rally [4] - Liquidity depth for S&P mini futures is approximately $4 million, still significantly below the historical average of about $13 million, suggesting market fragility [7] Group 3: Corporate Performance and Investor Behavior - Corporate earnings reports have been better than pessimistic expectations, with 46% of companies exceeding earnings expectations by more than one standard deviation [5] - Retail investor buying is likely to remain strong unless unemployment rates begin to rise [5] - The corporate buyback window is expected to be robust, with an estimated $1.45 trillion authorized for buybacks and $11.6 trillion executed, providing market support during earnings season [5] Group 4: ETF Trading Dynamics - The proportion of ETF trading volume reached a high of 44% on April 9, currently around 35%, indicating reliance on ETFs for hedging [7] - A decline in ETF trading volume below 30% would suggest reduced hedging demand and an increase in risk appetite [7]