Alternative Investing Report - January 9, 2025
Vincent Alternative Investments
Keep up-to-date on the latest alternative investing news and insights in less than 5 minutes per week.
Happy Thursday. A look at 2025’s hottest housing markets, startups that might IPO next year, Anthropic’s next big fundraising round, and how AI is helping to identify counterfeit goods. Let’s dive in!
📑 Read: Our 2025 Real Estate Outlook, with predictions for the coming year.
This issue is brought to you by BOXABL - invest in a company aiming to solve the housing crisis.
📈 DAILY MARKETS
🏡 2025 HOT MARKETS
Buffalo, New York, remains the nation’s hottest housing market according to Zillow, topping the list for the second year in a row. It is followed by Indianapolis, Providence, Hartford, and Philadelphia. Notably, none of the top ten markets are in the West or the South, as the Northeast and Midwest continue to dominate these lists. Virginia Beach, VA saw the biggest jump in the rankings, rising 23 spots. The criteria includes forecasted annual appreciation, how quickly homes sold in 2024, and employment levels.
➨ TAKEAWAY: The best markets to invest in are those where demand continues to exceed supply. What the top markets on this list also have in common is relative affordability, which is attracting buyers who may not be able to afford more expensive markets like New York or Boston. The coolest metro area of 2025 is New Orleans, followed by San Francisco, San Jose, Portland, OR, and Austin. These markets have flat or declining home value projections, due to lower demand, oversupply, or struggling job markets.
📰 NOTABLE NEWS
🚀 Anthropic raise: The AI startup and OpenAI competitor is in talks for a $2 billion fundraising round at a $60 billion valuation, which would mark a significant increase from its last public valuation of $18 billion.
🪙 CFTC chair to resign: The head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Rostin Behnam, is set to step down on January 20, allowing incoming President Trump to name a successor. It is likely to be someone with a friendlier stance on crypto, which will likely benefit the industry.
💵 Northwestern Mutual & Sixth Street partner: The insurance company Northwestern Mutual is partnering with asset manager Sixth Street in a deal where Sixth Street will manage a $13 billion portfolio and deploy it into a number of alternative asset strategies, including private credit and real estate.