Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Existing home sales try to find a bottom, while severe bifurcation with new home market continues

In my lingo, existing home sales still down and mortgage rates for new homes still high. Builders are doing what they can do to encourage sales. New Deal democrat gives a clearer view and a hint of an outcome. Read on . . . Existing home sales try to find a bottom, while severe bifurcation […]

House prices on track to go negative YoY by summer, despite monthly increase in February

House prices on track to go negative YoY by summer, despite monthly increase in February  – by New Deal democrat House prices through February as measured by both the FHFA (gold in the graphs below) and Case Shiller (red) Indexes rose, the former by 0.5% (after a downwardly revised 0.1% in January), and the latter by […]

The housing market’s downward turn begins

The housing market’s downward turn begins: new home sales in February, plus a comment about affordability As of this morning Mortgage News Daily shows the 30 year mortgage rate up to 4.72%, 1.9% higher than their lows 15 months ago, and the highest in four years. That means the housing market is in some serious […]

While house price gains continue to go nuts, housing remains much more affordable than at the peak of the bubble

While house price gains continue to go nuts, housing remains much more affordable than at the peak of the bubble The boom – and maybe insanity – in house price gains continued in February, as both the Case Shiller and FHFA house price indexes increased roughly 1% just since January! The YoY increase for both […]

New home sales rise m/m, but signal caution for housing market going forward

New home sales rise m/m, but signal caution for housing market going forward New home sales increased to a three month annualized high of 923,000 in January. This is of a piece with the positive news last week on housing permits. At the same time, the pace remains below the recent high of 979,000 annualized […]

December inflation: real aggregate wages fall as real average wages rise due to compositional effects

December inflation: real aggregate wages fall as real average wages rise due to compositional effects Consumer inflation typically rises as expansions continue, and declines once recessions start. Once a recovery begins, inflation typically steadies again. While the pandemic has affected both consumer demand and the supply chain, overall the paradigm should still apply. With that […]