Simply Unaffordable? US Homebuilder Confidence Tumbles Near 13-Year-Lows Due To Post-Covid Home Price Gains (And Higher Mortgage Rates)

Thanks a lot Fed! Home prices rose dramatically after Covid as The Fed printed billions of dollar of currency (M2). Making housing unaffordable for much of America.

As a result of higher mortgage rates and higher home prices, homebuilder confidence is at a 13 year low (back to 2012).

Housing is simply unaffordable thanks to bad housing policies and The Fed.

Should Trump Fire Powell? YES (Fed Hasn’t Removed The Covid Stimulus And Should, Rates Too High)

Should President Trump fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell and replace his with someone else like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent? The answer is … YES!

Why? First, there was a massive response to the Covid outbreak in 2020. And the monetary stimulus (aka, stimulypto) has never been removed.

The Fed Funds Target Rate (upper bound) remains high at 4.50% and M2 Money supply is $21.8 TRILLION.

Second, The Fed could help reduce the interest paid on the massive Federal debt load when the debt if refinanced.

The US Treasury yield curve tends to follow anticipated Fed moves.

Of course, The Fed should be abolished. But a step in the right direction would be to fire “Foul Powell” who is on the prowl.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Inflation Keeps Falling, But Shelter Inflation At 3.86% YoY (Core Inflation Declines To 2.787% YoY)

Gimme (affordable) shelter!

May Rent inflation 3.81% YoY, down from 3.98% in April, lowest since Jan 2022.

May Shelter inflation 3.86% YoY, down from 3.99% in April, lowest since Nov 2021

In general, CPI increased 0.1% MoM after rising 0.2 percent in April; Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1% in May, following a 0.2% increase in April.

The index for shelter rose 0.3% in May and was the primary factor in the all items monthly increase. The food index increased 0.3% as both of its major components, the index for food at home and the index for food away from home also rose 0.3% in May.

In contrast, the energy index declined 1.0% in May as the gasoline index fell over the month.

Indexes that increased over the month include medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, personal care, and education.

The indexes for airline fares, used cars and trucks, new vehicles, and apparel were among the major indexes that decreased in May.

Core inflation is up 2.787% YoY, considerably lower than under Autopen Biden.

M2 Money is currently growing at 4.3%.

CMBS Office Serious Delinquencies At 10.59% As US Treasury Yield Curve Steepens

I’ll feel a whole lot better when CMBS office serious delinquenies get below 10%. But serious delinquencies on office space is currently at 10.59%.

The US Treasury yield curve is steepening.

Office delinquencies are likely to rise in Los Angeles as Governor Newsom sits on his greasy hands as LA burns.

Into The Mystic? Mortgage Applications Decrease 3.9% In Latest MBA Weekly Survey (Purchase Apps Drop 15%)

Mortgage applications decreased 3.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 30, 2025. This week’s results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 15 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 15 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 42 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

Most mortgage rates moved lower last week, with the 30-year fixed rate declining to 6.92 percent and staying in the 6.8 to 7 percent range since April.

Biden/Harris/Yellen’s gross economic mismanagement reminds me of the song “Into The Mystic.” Because it requires a mystic to determine WHO was running the Biden/Harris adminstration and using the autopen.

Glad All Over! AI Contributes Massive Amount To GDP Growth As Median Home Price Growth Contracts

I am glad all over … because the AI boom is delivering a record contribtion to US GDP.

And US home prices are contracting making housing more affordable.

I don’t care what you did when you lived in Fort Worth, but at least home prices are contracting.

Pending Home Sales Remain In The House Latitudes (Homebuilder Confidence At 34)

Its like Joe Biden and his bonehead advisors are still gumming up the housing market. Pending home sales in April remains in the house latitudes.

NAHB home builder confidence remains below 50 at 34.

Is the music over for the housing market? High housing prices, high mortgage rates, restrictive zoning all hinder markets.

US Existing Home Sales Weakest April Since Great Financial Crisis (Weakest April Sales Pace Since April 2009)

US existing home sales dropped 0.5% MoM in April (considerably worse than the +2.0% MoM rise expected), dropping to just 4.00MM sales SAAR, with sales down 3.1% from a year earlier on an unadjusted basis.

This is the weakest April sales pace since April 2009.