TheRealOBX's Blog: Economic News

If you have listened to the news in the last sixty days.  The word bailout has dominated the news.  Every week there is another group lining up at the trough for some taxpayers money.  Without getting into the apparent moral hazards of these bailouts or realizing that all the money from the Treasury and government is looted from the taxpayers, the problem of how to "fix" the real estate market has been constantly debated.

The latest proposal has been to achieve a fixed mortgage rate of 4.5% in order to stimulate the housing market.  How this would take place is covered well here.  A number of other plans have also been floated around by both the NAR and NAHB.  Both plans offer different ways to stimulate the housing market.

Perhaps the best idea I have…

As was written on CNN, USA Today, and countless other publications.  The average 30 year fixed interest rate mortgage jumped to 6.74%.  This was over a .50% jump in the rate from the Wednesday prior.  This was the largest single week rise since April of 1987.  This could become a cause for alarm, for the US real estate market.  The higher the cost to borrow money the more expensive a house becomes.  A .50% increase on a $200,000 mortgage is about $70.  This is not a huge increase in a monthly payment but definitely something that could gradually add up.

Many experts attribute the rise in interest rates to the Fed's bailout.  In order to raise money the Fed has been forced to raise the interest rates on Treasury bills.  It is normally found the mortgage…

Personally I find it sad that perhaps the holiday that should be celebrated right along the 4th of July is delegated to having almost no role.  Could there be a correlation between our lack of reverance for the Constitution and our present state today?  I think it important we look at the most important part of the Constitution, The Preamble.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The only thing you need to learn from the preamble is the first 7 words,  We the…

Interest rates are one of the most important factors in the housing market.  That is why you often see a big deal on the news when the Federal Reserve or Fed cuts interest rates.  As mystical as everyone makes it, the Fed cutting rates is rather simple.  The rate the Fed cuts is the federal funds rate.  It is essentially more complicated, but basically the Fed acts on the market to force this rate to lower.  The federal funds rate is the rate banks can charge each other on overnight loans.  Banks are required to have a certain amount of cash reserves at the end of everyday.  Thus the need for them to loan each other money.  Some have excess some have shortfalls, the overnight loans balance these out.  

     By lowering the rate the Fed can indirectly…

As one will always tries to stay on top of my local Outer Banks Real Estate market, it is important to pay attention to what is happening nationally.  This week a majoy announcement was made on the national scale.  It is the bailout of government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The bailout of both these institutions had been rumored for some time.  The continued decline of US housing prices and the increase in foreclosures made this a more imminent problem.

     The big questions now are what exactly the bailout will end up costing taxpayers.  Estimates have ranged from 5 to 100 billion.  The hope is the bailout will ensure some stability in national and world markets.  The move lent some strength to the US dollar but now services like…

As someone who follows the local Outer Banks real estate market,  I have noticed a steady decline in the value of homes. With the price of real estate falling to the same prices seen in 2004 and a meteoric rise in crude oil many are beginning to worry about the state of the US economy.  Many home owners are seeing the value of their homes tumble in certain markets.  Besides the loss in their home value, many Americans are forced to deal with fuel costs taking a larger portion of their budget. 

The price of crude oil has been constantly in the news.  It is near impossible to turn on any news program without hearing about the record price of oil.  Since oil is now hitting consumers in their wallets, the blame machine has gone into full gear.  You have both…

     I came across a great article this morning.  It was by Robert Murphy an economist with the Instiitute for Energy Research.  After reading his article I had to find this quote he used from CNBC.  Here is the quote from CNBC, "Energy fell 0.2 pct, the largest drop since December, while food was unchanged in the month. Within the energy sector, gasoline fell 4.6 pct, the largest drop since December."  I don't know about anyone else but I have not seen the price of gas in the Outer Banks drop.  Everytime I go to the pumps I seem to pay more. 

     The article goes on to state how the government used a seasonal adjustment to determine the drop in the price of gas.  I can not speak for anyone else but when I am paying at the pump I never notice a seasonal…