In 2010, the percentage of the U.S. population living in rural areas was 19.3%. Today, the percentage is 20%. This is not due to some Covid-induced movement. Rather, the Census Bureau has redefined the definition of an urban area from…
According to CoreLogic, October rents were up 8.8% Y-o-Y, down from 10.2% in September and a peak of 13.9% in April. Zillow’s index has November rents up 8.4% Y-o-Y, down from 9.6% in October, and a peak of 17.1% in…
December net job growth was 223,000, the weakest reading since 12/20, and wage growth pressure is clearly waning. But we have a long way to go. The unemployment rate is at a 50-year low, job growth is roughly double a…
45% of U.S. adults consider wishing friends and family a Happy New Year an essential part of a New Year’s celebration. At 36%, the second most popular thing to do is watch the countdown on TV, followed by watching the…
After climbing 2%/month in spring and summer 2021, and 1.5%/month in spring and summer 2022, in 9/22 M-o-M rents began falling. Since 10/22, all major rent indices have shown M-o-M rents falling, with the declines increasing and by well more…
The omnibus spending bill passed by Congress guarantees the government won’t shut down, that’s good. Unfortunately, it increases spending and that’s bad. Specifically, discretionary spending in FY23 will rise to $1.65 trillion up from $1.5 trillion in FY22, an increase…
The Friday File: Inflation, measured by the Christmas Price Index and based on purchasing each day’s items once in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” jumped 10.5% in 2022, the most since 2008, to $45,523. Unsurprisingly, pear trees, a proxy for…
Makers and sellers of oversized bows that decorate new cars are in a funk, with orders down compared to Christmas 2021. It’s because sales are soft, inventories are down, and people are increasingly purchasing cars they previously leased as new…
Despite rising rates and recession fears, because of the top-to-bottom redesign of the home mortgage market resulting from Dodd-Frank and other laws and regulations, which have culminated in substantially tighter underwriting standards, it would take a 40% to 45% decline…
While releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve totaling 180 million barrels will soon end, the benefits may not. The releases, intended to lower pump prices and which came under political pressure, were sold for an average price of $96.25/bbl. With…