DID YOU KNOW?

Top Headlines: Delivered by Leonard Steinberg

August 09, 2023

01 The Fitch rating downgrade of the US due to political gridlock and growing debt should remind us all that there is a big cost to all of us: the 10-year Treasury - that is most closely relative to mortgage interest rates - was up by more than seven basis points to 4.1527%, trading around levels last seen in November 2022. (CNBC)

02 Are you suffering from FOMO? YOLO? What about......MRE? Yup, Mortgage Rate Envy is the new thing to be envious of...... And those with really low mortgage rates love reminding us too!

(NY TIMES)

03 International buyers purchased 84,600 U.S. homes in the year ended in March, 2023 down 14% from the prior year, according to NAR. The dollar volume of residential real estate purchased by these buyers fell 9.6% to $53.3 billion, also a record low since 2011. (WSJ)

04 U.K. house prices dipped in July by the most in 14 years with their home price index down 3.8% year-over-year. BREXIT has helped fuel skilled labor shortages (yup, making things locally costs LOTS more most times): add in persistent inflation (double that of the US), high interest rates and an energy crisis exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine War.......(Morningstar)

05 These are the Top 10 least expensive US states based on monthly expenses that include mortgage/rent, utilities, auto, insurance, food, cable, internet, etc. The average U.S. household spends $2,046 monthly and $24,557 annually on 'bills'. Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico, South Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia.

The most affordable places to live in the US are:

Hickory, NC, Youngstown, OH, Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY-OH, Huntsville, AL, Fort Wayne, IN, Beaumont, TX, Peoria, IL, Green Bay, WI, Quad Cities, IA-IL and Knoxville, TN. (CNBC)