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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.

Trump’s Private Market Economy Soars Despite Low Inflation (Biden’s Government Economy Was The Inverse – High Inflation, Low GDP Growth)

Welcome to the Trump economic revolution!

As of June 9, 2025, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimates that real GDP growth was 3.8%. So much for Trump’s tariff “war” destroying the economy.

Latest estimate: 3.8 percent — June 09, 2025

The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2025 is 3.8 percent on June 9, unchanged from June 5 after rounding. After recent releases from the US Census Bureau and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a decrease in the nowcast of second-quarter real personal consumption expenditures growth from 2.6 percent to 2.5 percent was partly offset by an increase in the nowcast of real gross private domestic investment growth from -2.2 percent to -1.9 percent.

Biden relied on government hiring and Fed’s money printing to drive the US economy. And then the gas ran out.

Those Were The Days? Atlanta Fed GDP Q2 Now At 3.8% (Fed Rate Cut Looks Unlikely)

The dismal days of Biden/Harris/Yellen are gone. Although Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries and my in-laws are all singing “Those Were The Days.” Of immense government corruption and waste.

The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2025 is 3.8 percent on June 5, down from 4.6 percent on June 2. After recent releases from the US Census Bureau, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Institute for Supply Management, the nowcasts of second-quarter real personal consumption expenditures growth and real gross private domestic investment growth decreased from 4.0 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, to 2.6 percent and -2.2 percent, while the nowcast of the contribution of net exports to annualized second-quarter real GDP growth increased from 1.36 percentage points to 2.01 percentage points.

Here is the breakdown.

The Fed still needs to lower rates by 100 basis points, but that looks unlikely.

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.

CC Rider? MBS Current Coupon (CC) Spreads Widen From Treasuries, Gold, Silver And Copper UP

CC Rider! 30Y MBC Current Coupon (CC) spreads is widening.

And metals are along for the ride! Gold and silver are soaring!

What about Copper?

Core PCE Fell In April To Lowest Since April 2021, +2.5% YoY (Fed M2 Money Printing UP 4.3% YoY)

The Fed’s favorite inflation indicator – Core PCE – fell once again in April to its lowest since April 2021 at +2.5% YoY.

And The Fed keeps on printing money!

Supercore inflation is down to -0.023 MoM.

The Fed is thinking that they can help.

Stock Market Soars As China Flinches! (NASDAQ 100 Highest Since Mid February)

Well, U.S. and China reached an agreement to lower tariffs in a 90-day cool-off period. Despite China claiming they would NEVER agree to tariffs! The result? The NASDAQ 100 rose to its highest level since mid-February.

So much for the MSNBC/CNN doomsayers.

Mortgage Applications Drop 4.2% From Previous Week (Agency MBS Market Shrank In April)

Money, money!

Mortgage applications decreased 4.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 25, 2025.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 3 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.

The Agency MBS market shrank in April.

And MBS daily returns have the highest return volatility.

Hello Hello! March US Consumer Prices Fall Most In 5 Years (Rent Inflation Back To Pre-Biden Levels)

Hello Hello pre-Biden inflation levels!

The normally crucial consumer price index measure of inflation printing today for March is likely to take a back seat to the next red flashing headline on tariffs on everyone’s Bloomberg terminal, but under the hood – with the Trump Put now exposed – can a cooler than expected CPI print raise the Powell Put strike enough to enable a true tradable bottom here?

Having dipped lower in the previous month (following a few straight months of re-acceleration), expectations were for both headline and core measures to continue trending lower on a YoY basis… and they were.

Headline CPI FELL 0.1% MoM (vs +0.1% exp), which dragged the YoY CPI to +2.4%, matching the September lows…

Source: Bloomberg

That is the weakest MoM print since May 2020.

Core CPI also printed cooler than expected (+0.1% MoM vs +0.3% MoM exp), pulling the YoY print down t0 +2.8% YoY – the lowest since March 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Services inflation tumbled…

Source: Bloomberg

CPI breakdown:

Headline:

  • CPI decreased 0.1% after rising 0.2% in February, and below the +0.1% estimate. Over the last 12 months, CPI rose 2.4%, below the 2.5% estimate.
  • Energy CPI fell 2.4% in March, as a 6.3% decline in the index for gasoline more than offset increases in the indexes for electricity and natural gas.
  • Food CPI rose 0.4% in March as the food at home index increased 0.5% and the food away from home index rose 0.4 percent over the month.

Core CPI:

  • The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% increase in February.
    • Indexes that increased over the month include personal care, medical care, education, apparel, and new vehicles.
    • The indexes for airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, used cars and trucks, and recreation were among the major indexes that decreased in March.

Core CPI details (MoM increase):

  • The shelter index increased 0.2% over the month.
    • The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.% in March and the index for rent increased 0.3%.
    • The lodging away from home index fell 3.5 percent in March.
  • The personal care index rose 1.0%in March.
  • The index for education rose 0.4% over the month, as did the index for apparel.
  • The new vehicles index also increased over the month, rising 0.1%.
  • The index for airline fares fell 5.3% in March, after declining 4.0% in February.
  • The indexes for motor vehicle insurance, used cars and trucks, and recreation also fell over the month.
  • The household furnishings and operations index was unchanged in March.
  • The medical care index increased 0.2% over the month.
  • The index for hospital services increased 1.1% in March and the index for physicians’ services rose 0.3% over the month. In contrast, the prescription drugs index fell 2.0% in March.

Core CPI details (YoY increase):

  • The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.8 percent over the past 12 months.
  • The shelter index increased 4.0 percent over the last year, the smallest 12-month increase since November 2021.
  • Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include motor vehicle insurance (+7.5 percent), medical care (+2.6 percent), recreation (+1.9 percent), and education (+3.9 percent).

While goods inflation is flat (zero-ish), services cost inflation is fading fast…

Source: Bloomberg

Shelter and Rent inflation is slowing fast:

  • Shelter inflation +0.3% MoM, +3.99% YoY, down from 4.25% in February (lowest since Nov 2021)
  • Rent inflation +0.3% MoM, +3.99% YoY, down from 4.09% in February (lowest since Jan 2022)

The so-called SuperCore CPI – Services Ex-Shelter – dropped 0.1% MoM dragging it down to +3.22% YoY – the lowest since Dec 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

Drill Baby Drill (and tariffs recession fears) have dragged energy prices lower and pulled CPI lower with it…

Source: Bloomberg