Free Republic

Biden and Bidenomics is disastrous for the middle class and low wage workers. Food and housing prices through the roof, and now we have mortgage purchase demand declining -57% under Biden. Mortgage applications increased 2.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 3, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted...

Lightning strikes TWICE! One year after regional banks crashed and burned due to the combination of tumbling debt/treasury prices coupled with cratering commercial real estate loans, fears about the current state of Commercial Real Estate – where most offices still see tenants at best 3 to 4 days a week and are literally burning through rents – appear long forgotten. Is that sensible? For one answer, we turned to the latest report from Goldman’s REIT/CRE expert Chandhi Luthra who has published a visual assessment of the state of CRE in 2024 in terms of loan maturities, 2023 extensions, and property...

Surprise! Just in time for the November election, this is a negative surprise that Biden doesn’t want to hear. The Citi Economic Surprise index crashed to -7.30, the lowest since January 2023. Under Biden’s leadership (hell, he and his family already own several mansions … on a Senator’s pay), home prices are up 32% under Biden and mortgage rates are up a staggering 160%. Getting young households who rent to buy a home in this environment will require magic.

Bidenomics is also a Highway To Hell for commercial real estate. Let’s say real estate is thunderstruck under Bidenomics. There are more dormant office towers in the United States than at any point since 1979, according to a new report from Moody’s Analytics, which began tracking office leasing vacancies that year. The rising supply of office space is due to a combination of surging remote and hybrid work that forces companies to reduce corporate footprints. Also, companies are exiting imploding progressive cities and high-taxed blue states for red ones while downsizing space. In the report, office tower vacancies rose to...

The staggering amount of Fed money printing combined with insane, reckless spending by The Federal government (hereafter called The Feral Government) has caused massive distortion in the US economy. The result of excessive money printing and excess spending (and Feral debt)? First, the Freddie Mac House Price Index increased in February, up 5.9% year-over-year. Second, the US Treasury 10-year yield is up tp 4.35%, the highest in 2024. Third, with the 10-year Treasury rising towards 5%, watch for the 30-year mortgage rate to rise AGAIN making housing even more unaffordable. Or as Robert Palmer almost sang, Simply Unaffordable. Today, the...

The cargo ship craashing into and collapsing the Key bridge in Baltimore is emblematic of Bidenomics: an ongoing wreck. And the mortgage market is the Key bridge collapse over a longer period. Specifically, from the start of Biden’s Regime in 2021. Mortgage applications decreased 0.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 22, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased...

The woes for the mortgage market continue under President Magoo. Mortgage applications decreased 1.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 15, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week...

How bad is Bidenomics for the American middle class? We know that inflation is far higher under China/Ukraine Joe (even with those awful looking Hoka shoes), but the pain that is being felt is attrocious. Nike has made a pair of shoes fitting Biden’s international image.

The Biden administration unveiled a new program on Thursday aimed at alleviating the financial burden on homeowners by slashing closing costs on select mortgages, reviving a proposal that faced opposition from the industry in the past. The initiative targets a significant expense associated with closing on a mortgage: title insurance. In a pilot program, Fannie Mae will waive the title insurance requirement on mortgage refinancings it acquires from certain lenders, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. This move reignites a clash with the industry regarding the cost and necessity of title insurance and aligns with the White...

Radio personality Dave Ramsey has been called out online for delivering out-of-touch real estate advice to homebuyers. “Is it even possible to follow Dave Ramsey’s advice on a mortgage?” one person asked on Reddit — and their skepticism makes sense when you do the math. The ideal way to buy a home, according to Ramsey Solutions, the finance guru’s website, is to buy it outright in cash. But if you’re not sitting on a mountain of money, Ramsey Solutions says the only home loan you should consider is a conventional, fixed-rate mortgage with a 15-year (or less) term. Your monthly...

Dear Big Move, I’m struggling with the idea of selling a rental property that has both a high monthly maintenance fee and a high mortgage rate. The costs to keep this house are currently higher than the monthly income it generates. I recently refinanced in order to pull out $100,000, so now I owe $420,000 on the property, which is worth approximately $750,000. My recent refinancing increased my mortgage rate from 5.14% to 7.9%, essentially eating up all my cash flow. I’m on the fence. Should I sell, or should I refinance for a better rate to free up cash...

The mortgage market has reached stall speed thanks to Bidenomics (inflation begat Fed tightening that begat 7%+ mortgage rates). Mortgage applications decreased 5.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 23, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase...

Is it sundown for the US mortgage market? Mortgage applications decreased 10.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 16, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 8 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 10 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was...

Wake Joe up before the economy go goes … down any further. Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 9, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent compared with the...

The ongoing insurance crisis in Florida, fueled by the exodus of major insurers and the increased risk of extreme weather events, could trigger a downturn in the state's real estate market, experts told Newsweek. Homeowners in the Sunshine State currently pay the highest insurance premiums in the country. Floridians pay private insurers an average premium of about $6,000 a year, according to the latest data from the Insurance Information Institute, or Triple I, according to Barron's and CNN Business, compared to the national average of $1,700. Few people can self-ensure against the loss of their homes, and banks require an...

The Federal Reserve has line on you! The Federal Reserve has tightened their monetary manipulations to combat inflation caused by loose monetary policy and excessive spending by Biden and Congress. The result? US conforming 30-year mortgage rates are up 8.3% since last year and up a whopping 141% since the beginning of 2021 (the year Biden was selected to be President). Check out mortgage rate GROWTH (blue line) as M2 Money growth *green line) went negative (orange box). This graph corresponds nicely with this chart of YoY changes in The Fed Funds rate. Which is still rising at a rate...

After Mr.Cooper and LoanCare, it's loanDepot's turn to confirm an attack The company has notified its customers of some problems it was having via an X post that noted: "loanDepot is experiencing a cyber incident, which is affecting our phone lines. We are working diligently to return to normal business operations as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience." "loanDepot is experiencing a cyber incident. We have taken certain systems offline and are working diligently to restore normal business operations as quickly as possible,” it said in a separate announcement. "We are working quickly to understand the extent of...

There may be light at the end of the tunnel for Americans struggling to afford a home, but it will take at least three and a half years to get there, according to Joe Seydl, JPMorgan’s senior markets economist.Why three and a half years?According to Seydl, that’s when Americans' paychecks will catch up to soaring housing costs. That translates to an annual income growth of 7%.“If you are looking to buy a house in the United States, don’t wait for, or expect, a home price crash,” Seydl wrote in a research report.“We don’t foresee one coming (thankfully), nor do we...

Mortgage rates fell for the ninth week in a row amid signs that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next year. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 6.61 percent as of Dec. 28, down from 6.67 percent the previous week, according to new data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates dipped below 7 percent in mid-December for the first time since August after the Federal Reserve forecasted rate cuts next year. “The rapid descent of mortgage rates over the last two months stabilized a bit this week, but rates continue to trend down,” said Sam Khater,...

Are US financial conditions loose as a goose? Despite resilience in US data, 30Y Yields have plunged back below the 4.00% Maginot Line this morning… Source: Bloomberg The last few weeks have seen US macro data reverse its recent trend of disappointment… Source: Bloomberg The long-end of the curve is outperforming… Source: Bloomberg But, ‘do not fight The Fed’ seems to be the narrative and expectations for a March rate-cut are rising once again… Source: Bloomberg And the market is pricing in over 160bps of cuts for next year… Source: Bloomberg Financial Conditions are now at the same level of...