Tag Archives: interest rates

Consumer Confidence in Decline

Posted on July 29, 2020 by

Popular Economics Weekly FRED There are a number of reasons that consumers are becoming more fearful after that initial boost of spending with the spring holidays. It’s not only the prospect of a COVID-19 resurgence in the fall when we … Continue reading →

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Why a Housing Shortage at This Time?

Posted on June 1, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner Wrightson.com The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI),* http://www.nar.realtor/pending-home-sales, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, fell 21.8 percent to 69.0 in April. Year-over-year, contract signings shrank 33.8 percent. An index of 100 is equal … Continue reading →

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Why the Housing Shortage?

Posted on June 1, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner Wrightson.com We are now beginning to feel the recession in housing caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. What can we say with so many living on the edge because of the loss, or temporary hiatus, of their jobs? … Continue reading →

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When Will Housing Recover?

Posted on April 21, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner CalculatedRiskBlog The housing market is also in a “medically induced coma” (economist Paul Krugman’s term), as is most of our economy. However, I believe housing will recover sooner than other parts of the economy, because Americans still … Continue reading →

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Housing in the Time of COVID-19

Posted on April 2, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner Wolf Street I reported in January that housing construction was slowly recovering, in part due to the extreme housing shortage and record low interest rates. Well, rates are even lower today, but purchase applications are now plunging … Continue reading →

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Might We Have More Than One Pandemic?

Posted on April 1, 2020 by

Popular Economics Weekly Wrightson/ICAP Yes, says behavioral economist Robert Shiller, who won his Nobel prize for the study of human behavior in financial markets. Why? Financial market investors are panicking because of the COVID-19 pandemic, for starters, which could affect … Continue reading →

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Housing Market Will Survive Coronavirus

Posted on March 24, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner NAHB.org What happens to housing with the COVID-19 pandemic? It had been on the road to recovery with record low interest rates; so much so that single-family housing starts have been soaring since 2019 as more millennials … Continue reading →

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Housing Market (Still) Alive and Well

Posted on February 24, 2020 by

The Mortgage Corner FRED-ICAP All is still well with residential housing into this new year. Both housing starts and permits exceeded predictions, with starts now at 1.57 annual units, and permits at a 13-year high of 1.551 million units annualized. … Continue reading →

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Who Is Fully Employed in January?

Posted on February 7, 2020 by

Financial FAQs MarketWatch It looks like everyone is employed in the service sector, but manufacturing is sputtering. There were 44,000 new construction jobs and a whopping 72,000 in Education and health services. But manufacturing lost another 12,000 jobs in January; … Continue reading →

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2020—A Year of Living Dangerously

Posted on January 4, 2020 by

Popular Economics Weekly FRED.gov There is plenty of speculation on the effects of killing Iran’s Quds Force General Qassem Suleimani. Of course the first question is how Iran will retaliate? But terrorist attacks by its proxies, such as by the … Continue reading →

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