Many today argue whether the period from 2020 to 2022 has been a bubble in prices and whether price warnings should be more accentuated. There should be no argument. The Federal Reserve and federal government created a bubble across most types of assets – housing, crypto, stocks, bonds, art, etc. With 2022 in the history books, average home prices in […]
In a prior posts, we asked whether the Fed is serious about fighting inflation. The Federal Reserve notoriously was buying $120 billion per month in bonds and mortgages to prop up excess government spending, keep interest rates artificially low, and boost the economy. Unfortunately, the geniuses at the Fed had no idea when it was too much. They are the […]
In late 2021, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) added the ability for landlords to provide positive rental payment history as a loan consideration. For some reason, negative history will be ignored. The GSEs are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Together, they control about $6 trillion or more in mortgages. Two mortgage gorillas. For example, Freddie Mac provided a brief […]
National Lampoon, a magazine devoted to satire, had P J O’Rourke as one of the key contributors. They were behind movies such as Animal House, Vacation, and others. P.J. O’Rourke passed away this month. Alfred E. Neuman was the poster child for the magazine with the phrase, “what, me worry?” Every month, the University of Michigan measures how consumers feel […]
The soaring housing prices over 2020 and 2021 have been a windfall for many owners. The rock bottom interest rates pushed prices up but also created a separate category of beneficiaries. Not mentioned may be the owners facing foreclosure filings who have been able to sell or re-work mortgages. The federal government shipped out trillions of dollars for aid, kept […]
March Update- Another new 40 year inflation record. February Update– a new 40 year record on consumer price increases and a new all-time record on producer price increases. Ho hum, yawn, another record in inflation from the Fed and Biden. January Update. Once again, inflation set new records or new 40 year highs. Consumer prices jumped 7.5% on an annual […]
Today, many wonder “where is the economy going” and what are politicians doing. But above all, what are housing effects, inflation effects. And does anyone in the current administration actually understand economics. In summary, it is possible that the administration will inject additional inflation. About two-thirds of the country believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. That’s […]