Click here for the PDF: The Weekly Beacon – March 22 2024_
We will be giving some macro economic market updates on a weekly basis. No equity recommendations will be given in this commentary, and we encourage you to contact us if you have questions regarding any observations.
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This weeks issue: Mortgage prices, New home buyers, Interest rates, Housing CPI, Inflation rates, Japan equities, Japanese interest rates, Bank of Japan, Putin re-elected, Russian politics, War in Ukraine, Casino era, Markets, Retail investors, Call options, Nvidia stock, Meme stocks, Jim Cramer, Nvidia valuation, Commodity resurgence, Commodity cycles, Oil prices, Copper prices, Coal energy, Energy generation, China coal usage, India economy, Inflation risk, Tail risks in today’s markets.
All-time highs
Mortgage payments for first-time homebuyers in the U.S. have reached new all-time highs. The average payment according to the National Association of Realtors is approaching $2,000, close to double what the average payment was in 2020 and pre-Covid-19.
It is becoming harder and harder for first-time home buyers to afford a home. They are essentially being priced out of the market. The issues that U.S. consumers are seeing are even worse in Canada. The unfortunate thing is politicians are not doing anything about this affordability issue. They run on campaigns that promise lower prices, sympathizing with consumers, and when they win, they do nothing, some politicians have even made affordability more of a problem due to the policies that they support (ie. Trudeau’s immigration policies which have allowed home prices to balloon in recent years).
According to RedFin, over the last 3 years, the median mortgage payment has increased by 91%, while the shelter component of the CPI calculation has only increased by 22%
