The issue is REAL! The reality is becoming more and more apparent. Debt is a national problem, and it’s going to get far worse before it gets better! The main culprit is the federal government. NOBODY has more debt on the planet than the United States of America. That debt continues to pressure the markets as the ability to borrow larger and larger sums of money gets more and more expensive. Nobody wants to acknowledge it, but it does impact our everyday lives more than you think it does.

The other issue we have is that consumers are piling up debt faster than ever! We are not only setting records for outstanding debt; but consumers are relying on more and more debt to simply cover what they feel are their basic costs of living. Especially young people, who seem to think $1,000+ cell phones and $500+ car payments, and $150 a month for coffee are things worth putting on credit! They see the government use credit as a solution, so they think it’s fine, the government doesn’t need to balance its budget, why should I?

We all know that there is “good” debt and “bad” debt. Well, the lines have become blurred! People are racking up huge piles of debt and the ability to keep adding new sources is eventually going to dry up and we will see higher rates of default, repossessions, and potentially foreclosures! The reason I say potential foreclosures is that we have many people with significant equity to refinance and buy their way out of trouble IF they learn and don’t repeat past poor habits. However, while some do; many don’t, and a few years later, they are back in the same trouble and this time, there might not be equity enough to save them!

Now is really a good time to engage your accountants, financial planners, and accountants, and do a few videos covering different topics in the area of financial literacy. Many have never had any professional guidance and would appreciate the information. You may also want to work with your local high schools to have talks with your team to explain budgeting, debt, and the world of finance to high school students because many will never get this information if you aren’t there to share!

Questions or comments about this topic, please feel free to reach out to me and I can share how my clients make this work for them. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

High home prices and rates sent home sellers and buyers to the sidelines in April and the start of May—but last week’s encouraging economic news drove mortgage rates down a bit

The median U.S. monthly housing payment hit an all-time high of $2,894 during the four weeks ending May 5, up 14% from a year earlier, and home prices rose 4.5% to their own record high. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

The supply of homes for sale lost momentum, with prospective sellers jittery about high rates. New listings rose 9% year over year, the smallest increase in three months (with the exception of the four weeks ending March 31, when there was an artificially small decline due to Easter). There were fewer new listings during the four-week period ending May 5 than any comparable period on record except 2020 and 2023. Many would-be sellers backed off when rates rose throughout April, opting to stay put to hold onto their low mortgage rate.

Home sales fell due to high rates and low supply. Pending home sales dropped 3% from a year earlier, the biggest decline in two months. There are also signs that competition for homes is slowing during a time of year when it typically speeds up: 30% of homes sold above asking price, flat from a week earlier and down from 32% a year earlier and more than 50% two years earlier. And 6.2% of home sellers dropped their asking price, the highest share since November and up from 4.3% a year ago. But there is one signal that demand is starting to pick up: Mortgage-purchase applications increased 2% week over week.

Recent economic news brought rates down from their peak. Encouraging economic news pushed daily average mortgage rates down from a five-month high of 7.5% on April 30 to about 7.2% at the end of last week and into this week, bringing buyers a modicum of relief. The Fed held interest rates steady and kept open the possibility of a rate cut later this year at their May 1 meeting, and last Friday’s soft jobs report was another step in the right direction.

“The market is a mixed bag, with high mortgage rates causing some listings to sit longer than I would expect in the springtime and high prices holding steady,” said David Palmer, a Redfin Premier agent in Seattle. “Sellers can rest assured that there are plenty of motivated buyers who are jumping into the market now; they finally understand that rates aren’t going to plummet anytime soon. Those buyers are the people who are moving because they need to: They’re relocating for a new job, going through a divorce, or growing their family. So even though some of my listings are taking longer to sell than they would in a typical spring market, they are selling eventually.”

For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including more on how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.

Leading indicators

Key housing-market data

To view the full report, including charts, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-high-monthly-payments-mortgage-rates-decline