News

Did You Know?

- 02/12/19

Freddie Mac analysts say millions of senior citizens are staying in their homes longer than their predecessors in earlier generations, keeping homes off the market and making it more difficult for younger Americans to break into ownership. 1.1 million homes have been "held off the market" by owners born between 1931 and 1941, and another 300,000 by those born between 1942 and 1947. Another 250,000 homes are still being occupied by their baby boomer owners – those born between 1948 and 1958. According to their calculations, there is an overall shortfall of 2.5 million housing units across the USA. (Marketwatch)

Ikea will start leasing furniture as it moves to develop "scalable subscription services" to prolong the life of its products. IKEA is opening smaller stores in downtown areas and working to improve customers' delivery and online sales experiences. It plans to open its first smaller, "city center" store in Manhattan this spring. (Financial Times)

Residential construction spending was up 3.4% during the month, and was 0.6% higher for the year. That’s good news for the supply-starved housing sector. In November, overall private-sector spending was 1.3% higher for the month, edging out a 0.9% decline in public-sector spending. (Marketwatch)

Did You Know?

- 01/11/19

Mortgage rates have fallen to around their lowest levels in 8 months. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.51%, matching the lowest level since last spring, according to Freddie Mac. That rate is still higher than its level of 3.95% from a year ago but has fallen from a more-than-7-year high of nearly 5% in October.

$ 1 trillion of China's $24 trillion wealth is held abroad. New tax policies may impact rich Chinese citizens including a new GIFT TAX of as much as 20%. In the past, the rich could avoid paying taxes on overseas earnings by acquiring a foreign passport/green card, while keeping their Chinese citizenship. This won’t work starting in January as the government will tax global income from all holders of "hukou" household registrations regardless of whether they have any additional nationalities. New property tax laws are in the works too. (Bloomberg)

U. S. employers added jobs at a robust pace in December, and wages posted their biggest full-year gain in a decade, providing a strong counterpoint to Wall Street worries that tariffs and rising interest rates are holding back the economy. (WSJ)

Did You Know?

- 12/29/18

The Federal Reserve reports that at the last count, everyone across the financial system, from grandmothers to hedge funds, was holding a total of $2.9 trillion in overnight money market funds, $4.4 trillion in checking accounts and currency, and another $12.1 trillion in savings account and Certificates of Deposit. That comes to $19.4 trillion in gross "cash" and equivalents that is "on the sidelines" of the stock market.....and maybe the real estate markets too? With that much cash on the sidelines, one would have to assume any market corrections should be mild. (Marketwatch)

Thousands of U.S. home sales are being held up because the federal government shutdown has halted the issuance of new flood insurance policies, a move that lawmakers and a Realtors lobby want to be overturned. (Bloomberg)

Did You Know?

- 11/30/18

• U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in 7 months in October. (Reuters)

• Millennial spending habits are a lot like the generations that came before them, they just have less money at this point in their lives. The group born between 1981 and 1997 has fallen behind because many of them came of age during the financial crisis. (Business Insider)

• The Fed is expected to raise interest rates a fourth time this year in December but stated it would be 'flexible' on plans to raise rates. (CNN)

• This CYBER MONDAY was Amazon's single largest shopping day in their history.