DID YOU KNOW?
Top Headlines: Delivered by Leonard Steinberg
January 17, 2023
01 Barclays raised its global growth forecast to 2.2% in 2023, up 0.5 percentage points from its mid-November estimates.
02 10% of all new cars sold globally in 2022 were...electric(7.8 million), up over 18% from the prior year. 1 million were sold just 5 years ago ......hopefully electric grids and supply are up to this massive growth spurt. Note how many parking spots are becoming charging stations.
03 In November 2022, the FHFA increased the limit for conforming loans — mortgage loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — to just over $1 million in some high-cost markets and by $79,000 in most other areas in 2023. In markets where 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit for one-unit properties, home buyers are permitted to use the high-cost area loan limit. In other markets, the new baseline mortgage limit for conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is $726,200 in 2023, up from $647,200 in 2022. The change means that an additional 2 million homes in those high-cost markets can now be financed by mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Zillow said. Previously these homes would have to be financed by jumbo loans, which require additional fees and have higher qualification standards making them less affordable for most buyers.
04 BITCOIN is over $21,000 up around 30% since November 2022....close to December 2020 pricing.
05 The hotel industry contributed 8.3 million jobs in the U.S. and $1.2 trillion of U.S. business sales in 2018. Hotels supported $185.7 billion of total taxes in the U.S. in 2018, and the study determined hotels saved residents $1,535 per year per household in total taxes paid. In local and state taxes, hotels saved residents $752 per year, the study said. For every $100 spent on lodging, hotel guests on average spent another $222 during their trip. (Oxford Economics)
