Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
As the debate amongst economists continues as to whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 3 times, 5 times or 7 times this year, the Federal Reserve continues to do….nothing.
Giving the market advance warning about changes in monetary policy is an excellent idea, but the lack of flexibility from the Fed is alarming. The Fed has consistently said that its decisions as to the timing of the end of its bond buying program – which has glutted stock and real estate markets with cash – and the start of the “lift-off” in interest rates would be “data dependent.”
Well, my question is this: what data are you seeing Mr. Powell that the rest of us are missing? And by the rest of us I mean professional and award-winning economists – and me..
In March 2021, 11 months ago, Chairman Powell said: “We’re not going to act pre-emptively based on forecasts for the most part, and we’re going to wait to see actual data. And I think it will take people time to adjust to that, and the only way we can really build the credibility of that is by doing it.”
Also in March 2021, I published “Party on, dude” says the Federal Reserve which included:
Former Federal Reserve Chair William McChesney Martin, Jr famously said: “The Federal Reserve…is in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.”
This week, current Fed Chair Jerome Powell in effect said “party on, dude.” As the New York Times commented: “The official view of the central bank’s leaders now is that it has been an overly stingy host, taking away the punch bowl so quickly that parties were dreary, disappointing affairs.
The job now is to persuade the world that it really will leave the punch bowl out long enough, and spiked adequately — that it will be a party worth attending. They insist punch bowl removal will be based on actual realized inebriation of the guests, not on forecasts of potential future problematic levels of drunkenness.”
I just hope that those attending Mr. Powell’s prolonged party are not planning to drive home.
In that March article I also wrote: “The test for the Fed will come in future months as the economy recovers. The market may demand higher interest rates, even as the Fed will want to keep them low to finance continuing federal deficits.”
By June 2021 I was writing: “Should inflation prove to be more persistent than the Fed expects, then it is likely that the Fed will have to start to increase interest rates sooner and move them up more quickly than it currently expects. And mortgage rates would follow.
I have to admit that I struggle to understand how low interest rates, which boost asset classes such as stock prices and real estate, are helping to boost employment. Lower interest rates benefit those who own assets which appreciate.
I would like to see the Fed start to reduce (taper) its bond buying, while encouraging Congress to focus on removing barriers to employment – by providing increased child care allowances, for example. In other words, deal directly with the problem rather than hoping that benefits will trickle down somehow.”
And my most recent post on this subject was Can the Federal Reserve prevent a Recession? in which I wrote: “Since World War II there has been a consistent pattern of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates to control inflation and thereby triggering a recession. With the Fed finally acknowledging in late November that inflation was not transitory and committing to end its bond buying spree and also raise interest rates, will it be able to avoid a recession? Can this time be different?”
I also wrote: “It is important to understand that the Fed controls short-term rates and that mortgage rates are based upon the yield of the 10-year Treasury, where the yield is set by market demand. I have been forecasting – guessing – that mortgage rates will reach 4% this year as I expect that interest rates will need to be raised aggressively to ward off stubbornly persistent inflation. But if the result is indeed a recession later this year then interest rates may ease back later.
The chart below shows that the 30-year mortgage rate id now back to its pre-COVID level and is set to move higher next week – unless Mr. Putin decides to invade Ukraine, an action which would likely drive investors to buy Treasuries and force rates down in the immediate term.
Summary
The danger of being slow to end the bond buying program and slow to increase short-term interest rates is that the Fed will also be slow to lower rates if economic growth and inflation slow – and thus cause a recession. Right now the US economy is expanding rapidly and is fairly close to the current level of full employment. I hope that the Fed manages successfully to manage interest rates to slow down the economy without driving it into recession. An early 50 basis point rise in the Fed Funds rate would make me more confident that it will succeed.
Read these recent reports:
February Inventory – Marco? Marco? Where are you?
How Marblehead’s 2022 Property Tax Rate is calculated
Essex County 2022 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Essex County 2022 Commercial Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Guide to Buying and Selling in Southwest Florida
Andrew Oliver, M.B.E.,M.B.A.
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReportsMA.com
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
__________________
Andrew Oliver
m. 617.834.8205
www.AndrewOliverRealtor.com
www.OliverReportsFL.com
Can the Federal Reserve prevent a Recession?
The housing market is driven by the balance between supply and demand. Supply cannot be increased significantly quickly, so the only way for the booming housing market to slow is if demand drops. And the most likely causes for a drop in demand are either a major geopolitical development – such as Russia invading Ukraine and the US and its NATO partners deciding to respond militarily – or a recession.
Since World War II there has been a consistent pattern of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates to control inflation and thereby triggering a recession. With the Fed finally acknowledging in late November that inflation was not transitory and committing to end its bond buying spree and also raise interest rates, will it be able to avoid a recession? Can this time be different?
The Boston Globe recently carried an excellent article on this subject by Jim Puzzanghera: ‘A hellishly difficult task.’ Can the Federal Reserve lower inflation without causing a recession?
“The virus is unpredictable. People’s responses to the virus are unpredictable. It’s not a garden variety business cycle by any means,” said Donald Kohn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank who served as Fed vice chair from 2006-10. “It’s much harder to peer into the future and know how to calibrate your monetary policy.”
Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, a forecasting firm, was more blunt. “The Fed has a hellishly difficult task right now,” he said. “There is absolutely no history for the Fed to lean on to deal with this kind of inflation.”
Most economists predicted last spring that high inflation would be temporary, pointing to the supply chain problems caused by restarting the US and world economies. But some economists warned the $1.9 trillion COVID aid bill enacted last March risked fueling longer-lasting inflation by pumping too much money into the already recovering US economy.
By last June even I was writing: “Should inflation prove to be more persistent than the Fed expects, then it is likely that the Fed will have to start to increase interest rates sooner and move them up more quickly than it currently expects. And mortgage rates would follow.
The Fed’s two goals of price stability and maximum sustainable employment are known collectively as the “dual mandate.” In explaining its policy of keeping interest rates low – in part by buying large quantities of Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities, the latter helping to keep mortgage rates low – the Fed refers to the still high level of unemployment.
I have to admit that I struggle to understand how low interest rates, which boost asset classes such as stock prices and real estate, are helping to boost employment. Lower interest rates benefit those who own assets which appreciate.
I would like to see the Fed start to reduce (taper) its bond buying, while encouraging Congress to focus on removing barriers to employment – by providing increased child care allowances, for example. In other words, deal directly with the problem rather than hoping that benefits will trickle down somehow.”
Some quotes (more…)
Are Mortgage Rates really under 3%?
When Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage survey on Thursday it did so with the heading: “Mortgage Rates Drop Below Three Percent Again.”
Which they are not now.
The problem lies with the methodology. Freddie Mac surveys lenders from Monday to Wednesday with the major weighting given to Monday’s rates. As I have explained in many postings over the years (see Mortgage Rates back to 3% – again as an example), the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) is priced based upon a premium that investors, when they buy pools of mortgages, demand over the yield on the nearest-equivalent US Treasury – which is the 10-year Note (10T). Thus, if the yield on 10T increases from Monday to Thursday – as it did this week – by the time of Thursday’s announcement the FRM may have changed – as it did this week.
Mortgage News Daily had a great article this week and I am going to use their charts. I recommend signing up for their newsletter, a source of great information and opinion. (more…)
Latest Housing Inventory
After increasing somewhat – albeit from a very low base – during 2021, the seasonal drop-off in late October has been just as sharp as in prior years – and again this is a reduction from a low level.
Single Family Homes
The November 1st SFH inventory number of 370 was a decline of 27% from 2020 and 65% compared with 2019:
Inventory now has less than 1 months’ supply overall and is only over 1 month – but still far below the 6 months deemed to reflect a market in equilibrium – at prices over $1.5 million.
Condos (more…)
Mortgage Rates back to 3% – again
The 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage ticked back up to 3% this week. I re-read Are Mortgage Rates headed Up or Down? which I published in June and I still think it summarises the situation quite well. Hence I have included the link rather than repeating the arguments.
The proximate cause for the increase in mortgage rates this week was the increase in the yield on the US Treasury 10-year Note. The increase started last week (after the Freddie Mac weekly survey, which is collected from Monday-Wednesday) when the Federal Reserve (Fed) confirmed that, if current trends continue, it will start to reduce its purchases of both Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) soon and aim to end purchases by the middle of 2022.
At the same time, we saw a rate increase in Norway – the first in Europe- following earlier increases in Brazil and South Korea. And while the Fed continues to state that it will not consider actual rate increases (I am not sure why they refer to it as “lift off”- sounds like rocket-speed increases which it will not be) until after the end of the bond purchases, investors noticed a shift in the number of members forecasting a rate increase in 2022 rather than 2023.
And inflation continues to run hot. The Fed thinks this is transitory, but many others fear that it will be sustained forcing the Fed to raise rates sooner than it currently anticipates.
The Numbers (more…)
Flood Insurance Changes Coming Oct 1
Changes are coming to the flood insurance policy sector taking effect October 1st on new policies and April 1, 2022 on any outstanding renewal policies. I will write further as more details are revealed but these are the highlights from the FEMA Risk Rating 2.0 announcement:
1. Flood zones and Elevation Certificates will no longer be a rating factor (Flood zones will still be present for mortgage purposes)
2. Elevation Certificates will no longer be needed to determine rate
3. No more preferred rate tables for X,B,C Flood zones
4. Flood Vents (2 openings on 2 walls on lowest level) will no longer provide significant savings
5. Machinery on ground floor will impact rate (ex:a/c, water heater, washer/dryers)
6. Grandfathering: (more…)
Mortgage refinancing just got cheaper
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will eliminate the Adverse Market Refinance Fee for loan deliveries effective August 1, 2021.
Lenders will no longer be required to pay Fannie and Freddie a 50-basis point fee when they deliver refinanced mortgages. The fee was designed to cover losses projected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The success of FHFA and Fannie and Freddie’s COVID-19 policies reduced the impact of the pandemic and were effective enough to warrant an early conclusion of the Adverse Market Refinance Fee.” FHFA’s expectation is that those lenders who were charging borrowers the fee will pass cost savings back to borrowers.
“Santa Claus has come early for homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “The fee had often resulted in an increase of one-eighth percentage point in rate.” (more…)
Housing Inventory little changed in July
Housing inventory for the 34 cities and towns of Essex County in pictures. Note that not only are numbers low but that there was no pick-up in the spring/summer market:
Single Family Homes
Condos (more…)
Are mortgage rates heading up or down?
For several years “experts” have been forecasting that mortgage rates were about to rise, but forecasts of an imminent end to low rates are reminiscent of Mark Twain’s alleged comment that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated.
The 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) reached almost 5% in November 2018, but since then has been in an almost uninterrupted downward trend, with a few short-lived spikes upwards:
Which brings us to the question: is the next move going to be
Inflation (more…)
June Housing Inventory: same old same old
Housing inventory for the 34 cities and towns of Essex County in pictures:
Single Family Homes
Condos
Mortgage rates
After moving up for several weeks the 30-year Fixed rate Mortgage dropped blow 3% again. Note how cheap 15-year mortgages are for those who can afford the extra payment.
Comment (more…)
Hello sub 3% mortgages – again
This week’s drop below 3% – again – reminded me that the only one thing more fraught than commenting on mortgage rates is trying to predict where rates are headed. (see below for some of my posts about mortgage rates.)
After rising steadily from 2.65% at the beginning of the year to 3.18% by the end of March, the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) has backed off again and this week the rate dropped back under 3%.
Freddie Mac weekly survey
“Party on, dude” says the Federal Reserve
Former Federal Reserve Chair William McChesney Martin, Jr famously said: “The Federal Reserve…is in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.”
This week, current Fed Chair Jerome Powell in effect said “party on, dude.” As the New York Times commented: “The official view of the central bank’s leaders now is that it has been an overly stingy host, taking away the punch bowl so quickly that parties were dreary, disappointing affairs.
The job now is to persuade the world that it really will leave the punch bowl out long enough, and spiked adequately — that it will be a party worth attending. They insist punch bowl removal will be based on actual realized inebriation of the guests, not on forecasts of potential future problematic levels of drunkenness.”
Chairman Powell’s comments
“We will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes.”
“We’re not going to act pre-emptively based on forecasts for the most part, and we’re going to wait to see actual data. And I think it will take people time to adjust to that, and the only way we can really build the credibility of that is by doing it.”
“People start businesses, they reopen restaurants, the airlines will be flying again — all of those things will happen, and it will turn out to be a one-time bulge in prices, but it won’t change inflation going forward.”
Interest rates and inflation
The big questions overhanging financial markets are what will happen to inflation and to interest rates. (more…)
Goodbye sub 3% mortgages
It was only last July that the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) dropped below 3% for the first time and this week it moved back above 3% again, following the direction of the 10-year Treasury Note (10T).
Mortgage Rates are Rising
On January 9th I published Are mortgage rates about to rise? which started with:
“Following the Georgia Senate election results, which gave control of the Senate to the Democrats, along with the House of Representatives and the White House, the yield on the 10-year Treasury Note (10T) – the most sensitive to increased Government spending – jumped from 0.93% on Monday to 1.13% on Friday, based upon the expectation that increased Government spending would lead to more borrowing which would need higher interest rates to attract investors.”
Since then the yield on 10T has climbed further, spending this week around the $1.30 level before closing yesterday at $1.34.
Why does this matter for mortgage rates? Because the rate on the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) is based upon an extra yield – spread – that investors require over that available on 10T. The national average reported on Thursday ( based on rates from Monday-Wednesday) was 2.81%, up from the record low of 2.65% in January, and indications are that the rate will rise again next week.
Here are three charts:
The FRM since the beginning of 2020:
The 10T yield:
And the Spread between the two (this chart starts in 2005):
For most of the last 15 years the spread has been in the 1.6-1.8% range. The major exceptions have occurred during times of financial stress – in the Great Recession of 2008 and in the pandemic of 2020. But when the stress diminishes, the spread returns to its normal range.
I strongly recommend the weekly Market Trends from HSH.com (click HSH.com to subscribe) for really good commentary on the economy and mortgage markets. In this week’s newsletter they write: “As the economy continues to slowly recover from pandemic-interrupted activity, the process is sure to be an uneven one. However, if there’s an accumulation of solid news in a short period, it would be sufficient to lift interest rates a little bit, expanding the distance from previous record lows. In general, that’s what happened this week, and will be the proximate cause of another bump in mortgage rates next week.
To be sure, interest rates can only rise so far at a time when millions remain out of work, the economy hasn’t yet filled in the output gap caused my pandemic-related interruptions in economic activity and the Fed remains steadfastly committed to low-rate and extraordinary monetary policies. But market-engineered interest rates can still move upward, since these rely on investor perspectives about future levels of growth, inflation and hedges against whenever the Fed may start to trim bond buys and consider raising interest rates.”
For the last year the Federal Reserve has been pouring vast amounts of cash into the monetary system, action that has both driven short-term rates down sharply and contributed to a rise in asset prices as seen in a booming stock market. In recent weeks, the market chatter has been more about when interest rates will rise rather than if. And market expectations can be self-fulfilling.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) published its forecast for mortgage rates this week. While the MBA has a track record of forecasting rising mortgage rates, it is worth noting that the latest forecasts are for the FRM to reach 3.4% by the end of 2021, 3.9% in 2020 and 4.4% in 2023.
While I applaud the bravery of anybody who attempts to make long-range forecasts, I pay little attention to them. HSH, however, has also forecast that the FRM could reach as high as 3.44% this year.
I will conclude as I usually do with this one chart, perhaps the most important one in this article. By any historical standard mortgage rates are extremely attractive. And 15-year mortgages the most attractive of all for those who can afford the higher monthly payment.
Mortgage Markets Return to Normal
Essex County 2021 Residential Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Andrew Oliver
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReportsMA.com
[email protected]
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Andrew Oliver
Sales Associate | Market Analyst | DomainRealty.com
REALTOR®
Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers
[email protected]
m. 617.834.8205
www.AndrewOliverRealtor.com
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Mortgage rates rise at the fastest pace in months*
On January 9th I published Are mortgage rates about to rise?.
At that time the yield on the US Treasury 10-Year Note (10T) – the benchmark for the 30-year Fixed rate Mortgage (FRM) – had risen to 1.13%, compared with a low of under 0.6% last August.
Well, as of this morning, the yield on 10T is standing at 1.29%. The FRM as of last Thursday’s Freddie Mac survey was 2.73%, but will rise this week, possibly sharply.
My January article concluded: “A number of factors will influence the course of interest rates in the coming months, but at this point it looks as though 2.65% may represent the low point for the FRM.”
I will publish an updated review of mortgage rates this coming Saturday.
*This morning’s headline from CNBC
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReportsMA.com
[email protected]
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Andrew Oliver
Sales Associate | Market Analyst | DomainRealty.com
REALTOR®
Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers
[email protected]
m. 617.834.8205
www.AndrewOliverRealtor.com
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
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