All Things in Moderation

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are flat as we await the Fed decision at 2:00 PM. Bonds and MBS are flat.

Today’s Fed decision is one of the biggest ones in the past few years. The inflation numbers are falling, and the yield curve is inverted. The actual decision (50 basis points versus 75) is really not going to be the important part. The dot plot will be the focus, as the Fed Funds are predicting a more dovish path than the Fed was forecasting at the September meeting. Below is the September dot plot, and I put some lines next to the year-end 2023 forecast to give you what the Fed funds futures are currently predicting. The wider the line, the higher the probability, if that makes sense.

IMO, if the Fed’s dot plot confirms the Fed Funds futures, then it will be a signal to the markets that the Fed is more or less done with this tightening cycle (the steepest since the early 80s), and that will be a weight off the shoulders of the stock market and the bond market.

The economic projections will matter less, although the forecast for inflation will carry some weight. We are seeing increased financial stress in the markets, so at some point that will begin to drive the Fed’s thinking, especially if inflation continues to moderate. If the financial stress begins to accelerate, the Fed will probably cut rates since illiquidity is a front-burner issue.

Mortgage applications rose 3.2% last week as purchases increased 4% and refis increased 3%. “Mortgage rates increased slightly after a month of declines, as financial markets reacted to mixed signals regarding inflation and the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves,” said Joel Kan, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The 30-year fixed rate inched to 6.42 percent, which is still close to the lowest rate in a month. Overall applications increased, driven by increases in purchase and refinance activity. However, with rates more than three percentage points higher than a year ago, both purchase and refinance applications are still well behind last year’s pace.”

Wells Fargo investment raised its weighting on PennyMac to overweight based on falling rates. “We are not expecting a return to the 2020/2021 boom period, but we believe the worst is behind the industry,” he said. “The risk is that we are early and that the interest rate drop reverses or remains stubbornly high.”

Chase has apparently raised its net worth requirement for correspondents from $2.5 million to $10 million.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are rocketing after the consumer price index came in below expectations. Bonds and MBS are up.

Consumer prices rose 0.1% MOM in November, according to the BLS. The Street was looking for a 0.3% increase, so this is very good news. On a YOY basis, prices are up 7.1%. The core rate (which excludes food and energy) rose 0.2% MOM and 6.0% YOY.

Shelter was the big contributor to inflation, while energy was a drag. Here is a chart of the MOM changes for the past year. It definitely looks like inflation is beginning to return to normalcy on a MOM basis

The December Fed meeting begins today, and I have to imagine this will weigh heavily in the discussion. The December 2022 Fed Funds futures reaction so far is somewhat muted with the probability of a 50 basis point hike rising to 79% from 75%.

The December 2023 Fed Funds futures now look like this:

According to this, the most likely scenario is that the Fed raises rates 50 basis points in December and is then done. The next most likely scenario is another 50 tomorrow and another 25 sometime next year and then it is done. We are seeing some handicapping of a rate cut next year.

This may be too optimistic, but what this graph is telling us is that as of tomorrow, the fed is out of the way. Which should be good news for housing and the mortgage market in general.

Don’t take this as a sure thing. The next shoe to drop is the dot plot which will be released tomorrow. If the Fed still sees 5% in the fed funds rate next year, this rally will probably unwind.

Small business optimism improved in November, but remains below its 48 year average. “Going into the holiday season, small business owners are seeing a slight ease in inflation pressures, but prices remain high,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The small business economy is recovering as owners manage an ongoing labor shortage, supply chain disruptions, and historic inflation.”

Future business expectations remain recessionary, although they are improving. Sales are down, and price increases are abating. Supply chain issues seem to be improving as well.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are higher this morning as we head into Fed Week. Bonds and MBS are flat.

The week ahead will have two major reports, with the Consumer Price Index tomorrow, and the FOMC meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed funds futures see a 77% chance of a 50 basis point hike and a 23% chance of a 75 basis point hike. Given some of the language from different Fed speakers, we could see a pretty wide range for the 2023 Fed Funds forecast in the dot plot.

Purchase locks fell 22% in November, according to Black Knight. Overall lock volumes fell 21.5% and are down 68.5% compared to a year ago. A combination of the normal seasonal slowdown and affordability issues are making a perfect storm for mortgage bankers. “Mortgage rates pulled back slightly in November based on what the market perceived as good inflation news,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “The spread between mortgage rates and the 10-year Treasury yield narrowed by 13 basis points during the month to 283 basis points in a sign that investors and lenders may be seeking to accelerate the impact of falling rates. But, despite the improvement in rates, lock activity remained subdued.”

Homebuyer demand ticked up slightly as lower rates are beginning to get some potential buyers interested. “This week has been relatively calm and quiet as we approach the end of one of the most volatile years in housing history,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “But it’s not over yet. Next Tuesday’s inflation report is the 500-pound gorilla in the room, and the Fed’s press conference the next day will bring us much more clarity on how soon and how quickly we can expect mortgage rates to come down in the new year. Since we expect only a small decline in prices next year, mortgage rates will dictate housing affordability, and as a result, demand and sales, in 2023. If rates continue declining, more buyers may wade back into the market, as they’ll have lower monthly payments.” 

Good read from CNBC reporter Ron Insana on what ails the economy. In his opinion, the US economy suffers from a shortages all over the place, particularly in the labor market. The Fed’s prescription is to increase the unemployment rate to 5% in order to bring the supply and demand imbalance more in line. Will that make the economy stronger? The answer is probably no. He recommends that we ease immigration rules to let in more people to fill the supply gap in the labor market.

It is an interesting prescription. The US has encouraged college at the expense of skilled labor for the past few decades, and now it seems we have a glut of over-educated and indebted people with few tangible skills, and a deficit of people who can weld, wire an electrical panel or swing a hammer. Increasing immigration will do wonders for the latter, but I don’t know what it will do for the former.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower after the Producer Price Index came in hotter than expected. Bonds and MBS are down.

Inflation at the wholesale level picked up in November, according to the BLS. The Producer Price index rose 0.3% MOM and 7.3% YOY, which was driven primarily by final demand servicers, which is basically wages. The PPI ex-food and energy rose 0.3% MOM and 6.2% YOY. This report is one of the last pieces of data before the Fed meets next week.

Consumer sentiment improved in the early part of December, according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. All three components improved on a MOM basis, but are still lower than a year ago. This probably reflects falling gasoline prices – these consumer confidence indices generally correlate negatively with gas prices.

Inflationary expectations eased again, which is good news for the Fed. Inflation expectations hit a 15 month low, but are still higher than a couple of years ago.

Home equity increased 15.8% YOY in the third quarter, according to data from CoreLogic. This works out to be about a $34,300 gain on the average mortgaged home. Negative equity is still an issue in the Midwest and Northeast.

“At 43.6%, the average U.S. loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is only slightly higher than in the past two quarters and still significantly lower than the 71.3% LTV seen moving into the Great Recession in the first quarter of 2010. Therefore, today’s homeowners are in a much better position to weather the current housing slowdown and a potential recession than they were 12 years ago. Weakening housing demand and the resulting decline in home prices since the spring’s peak reduced annual home equity gains and pushed an additional number of properties underwater in the third quarter. Nevertheless, while these negative impacts are concentrated in Western states such as California, homeowners with a mortgage there still average more than $580,000 in home equity.”

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are higher this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are down.

Mortgage credit expanded in November, according to the MBA.

“Credit availability increased slightly in November, the first increase in nine months, as lenders continued to navigate a challenging environment brought on by higher rates and a much slower housing market,” said Joel Kan, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Jumbo credit availability saw a 4 percent increase, as jumbo rates remained more competitive than rates on conforming loans. Lenders are seeking to capture more volume in this space. Most of last month’s increase came from more ARM loan programs being offered.”

Homebuyer sentiment improved in November, according to the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index. “Both consumer homebuying and home-selling sentiment are significantly lower than they were last year, which, in our view, is unsurprising considering mortgage rates have more than doubled and home prices remain elevated,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Following eight months of consecutive declines, the HPSI did tick up slightly in November but is essentially unchanged since hitting its all-time low last month. Consumers continue to expect mortgage rates to rise but home prices to decline, a situation that we believe will contribute to a further slowing of home sales in the coming months, as both homebuyers and home-sellers have reason for apprehension. We expect mortgage demand to continue to be curtailed by affordability constraints, while homeowners with significantly lower-than-current mortgage rates may be discouraged from listing their property and potentially taking on a new, much higher mortgage rate.”

Foreclosure activity increased 57% YOY, according to data from Attom. “Foreclosure starts in November nearly doubled from last year’s numbers, but are still just above 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” Sharga added. “We may continue to see below-normal foreclosure activity, since unemployment rates are still very low, and mortgage delinquency rates are lower than historical averages.”

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are flat

Third quarter productivity was revised upward from 0.3% to 0.8%, according to the BLS. This was due to a revised 0.5% increase in output and a 0.1% increase in hours worked. Unit labor costs were revised downward from 3.5% to 2.4%. They are up 5.3% over the past four quarters.

Mortgage applications fell 2% last week as purchases fell 3% and refis rose 5%. Refis are still 86% lower than they were last year at this time. “Mortgage applications decreased 2 percent compared to the Thanksgiving holiday-adjusted results from the previous week, even as mortgage rates continued to trend lower,” said Joel Kan, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Rates decreased for most loan products, with the 30-year fixed declining 8 basis points to 6.41 percent after reaching 7.16 percent in October. The 30-year fixed rate was 73 basis points lower than a month ago – but was still more than three percentage points higher than in December 2021. Additionally, the pace of refinancing remained around 80 percent lower than a year ago.”

Home prices rose 10% in October, according to CoreLogic. This is half the pace of late spring / early summer.

“Following the recent mortgage rate surge above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment regarding the housing market took a nosedive,” said Selma Hepp, interim lead of the Office of the Chief Economist at CoreLogic. “Home price growth continued to approach single digits in October, and it will move in that direction for the rest of the year and into 2023. However,” Hepp continued, “while some housing markets have seen significant recalibration since the spring price peak and are likely to post losses in 2023, further deteriorating for-sale inventory, some relief in mortgage rate increases and relatively positive economic news may help eventually stabilize home prices.” CoreLogic sees home prices rising about 4% next year, although some of the hottest MSAs during COVID will probably see significant declines.

The decline in home prices will take some of the pressure off the inflation numbers, since housing is a key component to the inflation numbers. Rental inflation is coming down, and is probably past the peak, at least according to some market observers.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are flattish this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are flat as well.

Home prices fell 2.4% QOQ in November, according to the Clear Capital Home Data Index. It is interesting to see places like the Midwest and Northeast lead while the hottest markets on the West Coast are taking a beating. Take a look at some of the declines below:

You might see YOY declines in places like San Francisco soon. Affordability constraints actually do matter at some point.

Falling home prices have exhumed a demon from the past – negative equity. According to Black Knight, 8% of mortgaged home purchases from 2022 are now underwater. Overall negative equity numbers remain low, however.

Among FHA mortgages originated this year, over 25% are underwater, and 75% have less than 10% equity. According to Black Knight, we are seeing an increase in FHA early payment defaults. A combination of falling home prices and a possible 2023 recession will make servicing GNMA loans a nightmare.

Given affordability problems, home prices should be falling pretty dramatically, but they haven’t at least so far. Blame low inventory for that.

“We’ve now seen four consecutive months of home price pullbacks at the national level,” said Graboske. “But after a couple of significant drops earlier in the summer, the pace of cooling has slowed considerably, with October’s non-seasonally adjusted drop of just 0.43% the smallest decline yet. Though seemingly counterintuitive, the much higher rate environment may be limiting the pace of price corrections due to its dampening effect on inventory inflow and subsequent gridlock in home sale activity. While the median home price is now 3.2% off its June peak – down 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis – in a world of interest rates 6.5% and higher, affordability remains perilously close to a 35-year low. Add in the effects of typical seasonality and one might expect a far steeper correction in prices than we have endured so far, but the never-ending inventory shortage has served to counterbalance these other factors. Indeed, the volume of new for-sale listings in October was 19% below the 2017-2019 pre-pandemic average. This marks the largest deficit in six years outside of March and April 2020 when much of the country was in lockdown – with the overall market still more than half a million listings short of what we’d consider ‘normal’ by historical measures.

Falling home prices are affecting builders as well. In November, 36% of builders cut prices to move inventory, and 56% were offering some sort of incentive.

We are also seeing other promotional activity, including offers to pay closing costs, rate buydowns, or free upgrades.

A Reuters poll shows analysts expect home prices to fall about 12% peak-to-trough. Prices peaked in June, and have already fallen about 4% so far this year. The MSAs that had the fastest growth will probably experience the biggest declines, as we are seeing in the Clear Capital data above.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower as markets continue to digest Friday’s jobs report. The strong wage growth number was a subject of discussion over the weekend in the business press. Bonds and MBS are down.

The upcoming week should be relatively uneventful as we have little economic data and the Fed is in the quiet period ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. We will get productivity and unit labor costs on Wednesday, but that is the second revision for the third quarter and probably too far in the past to matter much for monetary policy. We will get the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment number on Friday, which will include inflationary expectations.

The services economy improved in November, according to the ISM Services Index. The Business Activity component increased by 9 points, which is bullish for the economy. Supply chain issues continue to abate. Prices continue to be firm, although the number of firms reporting increased prices did decrease slightly.

While the manufacturing economy seems to be in contraction, the services economy is getting better. I suspect that the US dollar’s strength is playing a part, and as the Fed wraps up its tightening regime the dollar will weaken.

Dr. Cowbell argued over the weekend that the Fed’s inflation target should be 3%, not the 2%. FWIW, in the 1980s and 1990s, inflation was much higher than the 2% target, and I think most people remember that as a pretty comfortable period economically.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower this morning after the jobs report came in better than expected. Bonds and MBS are down.

The economy added 263,000 jobs in November, which was better than the 200,000 street estimate. The unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.7%. Wage inflation continues to increase, with average hourly earnings rising 0.6%, faster than the upward-revised 0.5% in October. The labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio both declined 0.1%.

To tie this into what Powell was saying Wednesday at Brookings, the biggest component of core inflation – services ex-housing – is driven by wage inflation. The other two – goods and housing services – are less of an issue going forward. Services ex-housing is the result of an extraordinarily tight labor market, and the Fed would like to see the supply / demand imbalance in the labor market get more in balance.

There are two ways to do that. The first way is for the Fed to cool the economy with rate hikes, causing a recession and lowering the demand for workers. The other way is for workers who left during COVID to return. The latter method is preferable since it will fix the imbalance naturally. Unfortunately, the Fed doesn’t have any way to influence that. The long-COVID sufferer who decides to re-enter the labor force isn’t going to care what the Fed Funds rate is.

The imbalance in the labor force is perplexing. The most likely outcome is that it stems from two areas – a decline in immigration and an increase in early retirements. The latter one might be a long-COVID effect. Assuming long COVID isn’t a permanent state of affairs, the labor force participation rate should be ticking up over time.

The Fed Funds futures ticked slightly more hawkish on the jobs report, but we are still looking at a consensus of 50 basis points. The only other major report would be the CPI coming in on the morning the Fed begins their meeting.

Stocks and bonds sold off on the employment number. The stock market reaction seems odd, but we may be in a “good news is bad news” environment for stocks which are fearing further rate hikes. The bond market’s reaction makes more sense. The yield curve is heavily inverted, back towards levels not seen since the early 1980s. The yield curve is typically positively slopes, which means it usually costs more to borrow for 10 years than it does for 2 years. There is a mean-reversion element too, which means you could think of the spread as a rubber band, and the further you get from normalcy, the greater the tension. In other words, with the two year being driven primarily by the Fed Funds projection and the 10 year being driven by market sentiment, further declines in long term rates will be more difficult to come by, and will be more fleeting.

The Atlanta Fed trimmed their GDP Now estimate to 2.8% from 4.3% in their latest model run. The ISM Manufacturing Survey, which has been in contraction mode for months, simply wasn’t comporting with a 4.3% expected GDP growth estimate.

Regardless, mortgage rates have been falling and are now back at levels last seen in mid-September.

Given my rubber band analogy they will want to be pulled higher, so the market is letting you back in.

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Vital Statistics:

Stocks are higher after welcome news on spending and inflation. Bonds and MBS are flat after yesterday’s furious rally.

Jerome Powell signaled that the Fed would be ready to begin slowing the pace of rate hikes as early as December. That was taken as blaring signal that the Fed was going to hike 50 basis points instead of 75 basis points. The December Fed Funds futures now handicap an 80% chance of a 50 bp hike and a 20% chance of a 75 bp hike.

While the market had been leaning towards a 50 basis point hike to begin with, this caused a massive rally in the 10 year, especially towards the close. Some of this might have been month-end rebalancing however the 10 year bond yield dropped about 12 basis points in 15 minutes and the S&P 500 ended up about 125 points on the day.

He characterized the housing market during the pandemic years as a bubble, which was strange to my ears. I would say the housing market in some MSAs got over heated, but the bubble mentality wasn’t there as far as lenders, regulators etc. are concerned. Still it signals the Fed sees weaker home prices going forward.

Personal incomes rose 0.7% in October, which was better than expectations. Spending continues to remain robust, rising 0.8% MOM. The PCE Price Index, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation came in lower than expectations. The core rate decelerated substantially on a MOM basis while the headline number stayed steady.

Powell talked about the three components of core inflation in his speech yesterday – core goods, housing services, and core services ex-housing. Core goods has been a supply chain issue, and that has improved a lot. Housing services are essentially rent and house prices, and that has been a big driver over the past year, however there is evidence this is subsiding. Finally core services ex-housing has been fluctuating, but this will be driven by the labor market and wage increases. Powell said that the Fed’s inflation forecasts envision housing being a driver of inflation through mid year 2023.

The manufacturing economy contracted for the first time since May of 2020, according to the ISM Manufacturing Survey. New Orders and exports are in contraction territory, while inventory is about where it should be. Prices are falling, which is good news on the inflation front.

“Manufacturing contracted in November after expanding for 29 straight months. Panelists’ companies continue to judiciously manage hiring, other than October 2022, the month-over-month supplier delivery performance was the best since February 2012, when it registered 47 percent and material lead times declined approximately 9 percent from the prior month, approximately 18 percent over the last four months. Managing head counts and total supply chain inventories remain primary goals. Order backlogs, prices and now lead times are declining rapidly, which should bring buyers and sellers back to the table to refill order books based on 2023 business plans.”

Construction spending fell 0.3% MOM in October, according to the Census Bureau. Residential construction declined, while public construction increased.

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