Home prices/JOLTS data/Consumer confidence/And bond yields back to pre QRA news

S&P CoreLogic said its home price index rose 5.1% in November y/o/y and continues the affordability squeeze, even with the drop in mortgage rates which is just back to where they were last summer and still double the pre hike cycle level. Price increases in Detroit, San Diego and NY led the way while they fell by .7% y/o/y in Portland and barely grew in Denver and Seattle.

Bottom line, the first time home buyer continues to get screwed. Either many can’t afford to own and must rent right now or they can afford but the monthly payment takes up a big chunk of their income and delays spending on other things.

Ahead of the JOLTS discussion here, does it seem like every single day there is another high profile company announcing job layoffs? Today being UPS and 12k people.

The Dallas Fed asked its constituents to chime in on their hiring intentions. From my friends at Quill Research, “The ask: ‘Are you currently trying to hire workers?’ A total of 53.9% of Texas manufacturers (red bars), 51.4% of Texas service professionals (yellow bars) and 53.6% of retailers (blue bars) all responded “NO.” All three marked record highs since the query was first introduced in 2019.”