Last week, the apocalypse didn’t happen. The U.S. government didn’t shut down and new consumer-protection rules didn’t bring home sales to standstill. Whew. This week: House Republicans pick a new leader and wouldn’t it be funny (not) if mortgage rates rise because of Congress, not the Fed? Also: Deciding where refugees will live.
We’ll keep the lights on
For now. Congress and the president agreed on an 11th-hour budget deal to keep government open until Dec. 11. That’s dandy, but the U.S. is set to run out of cash and max out its credit card — the debt ceiling — by Nov. 5.
What does the debt ceiling have to do with my house? If the U.S. hits the debt ceiling, we can’t pay our bills. If we can’t pay our bills, it gets more expensive for us to borrow.
If it gets more expensive for the U.S. to borrow, it might get more expensive for home buyers to borrow. That’s because mortgage rates generally track the cost of U.S. borrowing (Treasury bonds).
Details here from the Senate Budget Committee’s chief economist (Geek level: high).
Hey guys! Tell us what you really think . . .
… about last week’s jobs report.
“A complete whiff.” — Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and former advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign.
“A body blow.” Diane Swonk, chief economist, Mesirow Financial.
“Very recession-like.” — Anthony Sanders, George Mason University and former Deutsche Bank mortgage guru.
“You know it’s a lousy jobs report when Labor Secretary Perez says, ‘We can do better.’ His job, after all, is to find the silver lining.” — Chris Low, chief economist, FTN Financial.
“Full of downside surprises.” — Doug Duncan, chief economist, Fannie Mae.
“Right out of Bizarro World.” — Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets.
“Bizarro World”?
Yes. Something doesn’t add up. Car sales are at their highest since 2005, mortgage applications are up 20 percent from a year ago and home sales are healthy. The “household psyche” must be in decent shape, Porcelli said.
“Consumers do not commit on these types of purchases if the jobs landscape is all of a sudden crumbling beneath their feet,” Porcelli said.
The upshot? We don’t know yet.
Etc.
Buying a home is complicated. We knew that, but NeighborWorks America puts numbers on it. For example, 40 percent of house hunters don’t know about no-money down loans. Get help here.
Refugees are moving to the U.S. How do they get here and where do they go? A government agency and nine non-profits are driving the show. Affordable housing plays into the decision-making, Pew reports. Last year, the U.S. welcomed almost 70,000 refugees. Here’s where they landed.
Passive houses of Portland. ICYMI, a nice slide show from Politico’s What Works series.
Anarchy and crochet. Fun read on the gentrification backlash backlash from CityLab.
Taylor Swift is 25. When she turns 50, will she buy a $50 million house? Just askin’.
Lorraine.woellert@redfin.com
