Weekly News (Oct 29, 2024)

Mortgage Interest Rates Review

United Mortgage Nation  10/29/2024

                  Federal Fund Rate: 4.75 -5.00%        Prime Rate: 7.75 – 8.00%  

Home Remodeling Gets Lift

주택 리모델링, 상승세    

WSJ 10/23/24  

• More homeowners are borrowing against the rising value of their properties, suggesting that the worst of the remodeling slump has passed. Analysts and building-products executives are forecasting lower interest rates will fuel a rebound next year in spending on home improvement. 
• Now, with the Fed’s cutting interest rates, the mountain of home equity that Americans have amassed thanks to sharply rising property values is getting cheaper to access. Spending should reach an annual rate of $477 billion by this time next year, HJCHS said last week. That would approach the record annual rate of $487 billion reached a year ago, before high rates took a toll.
• The volume of cash-out refinancings— in which homeowners replace their mortgage with a new loan and pocket the difference—was up 50% in September from a year earlier and 6% higher than in August, according to Optimal Blue. 

Falling Home Sales Are on Track for Their Worst Year Since 1995

       주택 거래, 1995년 이후로 최악               

WSJ   10/24/24(Thu) 

• Sales of existing homes in the U.S. are on track for the worst year since 1995—for the second year in a row.
• Sales of previously owned homes in the first nine months of the year were lower than the same period last year, NAR said Wednesday.
• Existing-home sales in September fell 1% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million, NAR said, the lowest monthly rate since October 2010. Economists surveyed by WSJ had estimated a monthly decrease of 0.5%.  September sales fell 3.5% from a year earlier.
• A drop in mortgage rates later this year or next would make home purchases more affordable, but that benefit could be offset if home prices continue to rise. In September, 42% of more than 1,000 people surveyed said they expect mortgage rates to fall in the next 12 months, but 39% said they expect home prices to rise over the same period, according to Fannie Mae.

Annual U.S. Existing-home Sales 

WSJ 10/24/24

Decision Lease Broker Fee paid by Landlord is coming

‘브로커 피’ 집주인 부담, 내달 뉴욕시의회 통과 유력   

Korea Daily    10/25/24(Fri) 

• In NYC, lease broker fee for rental listing is used to be paid by the tenant, which is about 10-15% of the total yearly rent.  
• New act(Intro 360) initiated by Chi Osse that the broker fee should be paid by landlord who hires the real estate agent will be voted on Nov 13th at the NYC Council meeting.   Chi Osse Councilman is optimistic to pass the act because he secured 33 for favor among total 51 councilmen. 
• Brokerage industry in NYC was lobbying strongly for awhile, but now they are facing the act(Intro 360) enacted soon next month.  Still brokerage industry is speculating that the act will create more confusion in the rental market and induce the landlord jack up the rent eventually.    

Housing Turnaround was Short-lived

 주택경기 회복세, 잠깐…   

WSJ     10/28/24(Mon) 

• The U.S. housing market is stuck.  The real-estate industry hoped 2024 would be a recovery year in which mortgage rates fell and home sales climbed. Mortgage rates dipped over the summer and hit a two-year low in September as they moved toward 6%.
• But buyers continued to hold back. They have been spooked by expensive home prices and low inventory. Even at two-year lows, rates were still too high for many buyers, and now they have rebounded to their highest level in nearly three months.
• The low level of home sales has hurt real-estate brokerages and mortgage lenders, as well as home-related industries like furniture stores.
• The outlook remains murky and any recovery in home sales could be gradual. Most economists think inflation and interest rates would be higher under former President Donald Trump’s proposed policies.

Share of income needed to cover housing costs

WSJ 10/28/24

 McDonald’s Foot Traffic Suffers a Drop

맥도날드 식당, 발걸음이 줄어

WSJ     10/29/24(Tue) 

• McDonald’s suffered a slowdown in business in the wake of the E. coli outbreak tied to onions served on Quarter Pounders.
• Customer foot traffic to the chain’s U.S. stores was down nearly 5% on Wednesday from a year earlier, according to Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. A day earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flagged that at least one person had died and 49 were sickened in connection with the outbreak.
• Foot traffic in four states with reported E. coli cases— Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, traffic declined more than 22%.
• The company said Friday it would stop buying onions from a Colorado facility run by Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions for the affected McDonald’s locations. 

McDonald’s Foot Traffic

WSJ  10/29/24

In NYC, 4 out 10 people pays over 30% housing cost 

           뉴욕주 10명중 4명이 소득의 30% 이상 렌트 지출  

Korea Daily  10/29/24(Tue) 

• Over 40% of the residents in NYC pay over 30% of income as rent.
• According to Pew Research Center’s recent survey, nationwide 69% of adults in U.S. are very concerned about the housing cost, which is up by 8% from a year ago. 
• In Connecticut, Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, more than 50% of residents were concerned about the burden on rent payment. 
• Nationwide, 27.1% of home owners with mortgage pay over 30% of their income as housing cost.  Especially, in NY, NJ, California, Florida, 30% -39.9% of residents feel burden on the housing costs. 

North Korean Soldiers in Ukraine Not Seen as Good Fit

 우크라이나에 북한군인들, 건장해 보이지 않아…  

WSJ     10/28/24(Mon) 

• The North Korean troops nearing Russia’s front lines with Ukraine may not be the cream of the crop in Kim Jong Un’s army.
• They are seemingly young— teenagers or in their early 20s—and likely in the early stages of military conscription, according to video footage and intelligence officials. The soldiers appear relatively short and slightly built, reflecting widespread malnourishment across impoverished North Korea, military analysts said.
• It isn’t clear yet what role the North Koreans would play. They could, without fighting, bring their country valuable gains: insights from observing the use of drones and war conditions, especially with the Russians using North Korean munitions and missiles. But a combat role for North Korea would represent a major escalation of the conflict that has stretched on for more than 2½ years, U.S. and NATO allies have said.