Berkshire Hathaway uses its "operating earnings," which exclude the capital gains or losses from its investment portfolio, to measure its bottom-line growth instead of its net income on a generally accepted accounting principles ( GAAP) basis. Buffett says that proprietary metric tunes out the near-term noise from the stocks in its portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway is set for success with defensive strategies, rising profits, and a strong cash position. Read more on BRK.A stock here.

Though prices have come down slightly, housing affordability is still drastically lower than in previous decades. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found that the median