Free Republic

The number of cities where the typical home price is at least $1 million has dramatically increased over the past year. There are now 550 U.S. cities where an average home is worth $1 million or more, according to a new analysis from Zillow. The lack of available homes for sale is keeping prices elevated and pushing values even higher. Even as sales inventory has begun to tick up this spring, a typical home in the U.S. is currently worth 4.2% more than it was last year. Homes in million-dollar cities saw values grow 4.6%. Zillow anticipates interest rate decreases...

The staggering amount of Fed money printing combined with insane, reckless spending by The Federal government (hereafter called The Feral Government) has caused massive distortion in the US economy. The result of excessive money printing and excess spending (and Feral debt)? First, the Freddie Mac House Price Index increased in February, up 5.9% year-over-year. Second, the US Treasury 10-year yield is up tp 4.35%, the highest in 2024. Third, with the 10-year Treasury rising towards 5%, watch for the 30-year mortgage rate to rise AGAIN making housing even more unaffordable. Or as Robert Palmer almost sang, Simply Unaffordable. Today, the...

Just got back from the grocery store. Anyone wanna venture a guess on what I payed for a yellow onion?

Interactive Grocery Shopping List Comparing Prices During Trump Administration To Bidenomices Prices https://www.biden-mart.com/

As the dust settles on the latest economic data, one thing is abundantly clear: inflation isn’t showing any signs of backing down, and the consequences are hitting people hard. Despite the Fed’s hopes for a return to normalcy, the reality on the ground tells a different story. According to Mish Shedlock, the latest figures from the BEA paint a bleak picture. While personal income saw a modest increase, real income actually took a hit in February. Meanwhile, personal spending surged, driving up prices even further. Inflation, though largely expected, remains stubbornly high, far beyond the Fed’s comfort zone.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. prices moderated in February, with the cost of services outside housing and energy slowing significantly, keeping a June interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on the table. The report from the Commerce Department on Friday also showed consumer spending rising by the most in just over a year last month, underscoring the economy's resilience. The United States continues to outperform its global peers despite higher borrowing costs, thanks to persistent labor market strength.

Federal government spending is that hideous strength that keeps on chugging along, despite higher rates. Home prices in America’s 20 largest cities rose for the 12th straight month in January (the latest data released by S&P Global Case-Shiller today), up 0.14% MoM (less than the 0.2% exp) Source: Bloomberg That pushed the YoY price up to +6.59% (in line with the +6.60% exp). “Our National Composite rose by 6% in January, the fastest annual rate since 2022.” According to Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities, Real & Digital Assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “For the second consecutive month, all...

Outside the winners in Joe Biden’s America, the American people as a whole are getting hammered by Joe Biden and his leftist policy agenda. Here’s are highlight of the “losers” in Joe Biden’s America. Gen X/Gen Z/Students But didn’t students get their “student loans” waived? How come they’re not winners? The future is not bright for most people under 50. You are seeing (and will see) a continued deterioration of the dollar and a diminishing standard of living if you vote for Democrats. As Ronald Reagan succinctly stated, “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for...

With a $650 payment for 72 months, this is going to be one expensive Toyota CamryYour twenties are the perfect time to screw up and try to get your xxxx figured out. Sometimes it takes getting to the rock bottom before you can dig yourself out of it. For the sake of everyone involved here, I hope this young woman on Caleb Hammer’s Financial Audit show has reached her bottom and will find a way to get her life turned around. Right now, it seems like the best first step would be to sell her car and find her way...

If you pay for car insurance, you’ve probably noticed that rates are really high lately. You’re not alone. Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — the government’s method for tracking what people are paying for goods and services and how that’s changing over time — noted that the price of car insurance was up more than 20 percent over the same time last year. What’s particularly painful is that rates were already rising: CPI reports have shown that, overall, car insurance rates are up more than 38 percent since January 2020. What’s going on? The big insurance companies have...

U.S. wage growth has slowed sharply over the past year and is getting closer to returning to its pre-pandemic level, according to new data from career site Indeed. The wage tracker – based on salaries for job advertisements listed on Indeed – showed that salaries were up 3.3% in February compared with the same time one year ago. That is a marked drop from January 2022, when wages were up about 9.3%, suggesting that employers are facing less competition for new hires.

How bad is Bidenomics for the American middle class? We know that inflation is far higher under China/Ukraine Joe (even with those awful looking Hoka shoes), but the pain that is being felt is attrocious. Nike has made a pair of shoes fitting Biden’s international image.

(The Center Square) – The housing market is not immune from inflationary woes as buyer’s purchasing power has significantly diminished in four years. Home buyers in 2024 need 80% more income to purchase a home than they did in 2020, according to a new report by Zillow. “The income needed to comfortably afford a home is up 80% since 2020, while median income has risen 23% in that time,” the report states. That equates to $47,000 more than four years ago. “Home shoppers today need to make more than $106,000 to comfortably afford a home,” according to the report. “That...

The Consumer Price Index has increased 18.6% from 261.582 in January of 2021 when Biden took office to 310.326 in February 2024. Has your income gone up 18.6%, or did Biden make you POORER?

Dollar Tree can't keep up with Bidenflation, changing consumer habits, and competition from other discount retailers — and will close nearly 1,000 of its Family Dollar locations around the country. The company announced the move this week following disappointing quarterly results ... "struggling to deal with a shift in consumer spending to lower-margin essentials from higher-margin discretionary products ... Even discount items .. are now out of reach for many Americans who have shifted their buying habits to even "lower-margin essentials" like food and gas. The mainstream media keeps telling me the economy is booming, but Family Dollar can't cut...

Dollar Tree to close around 1,000 Family Dollar stores. initially announced late last year, the company will close 600 of its Family Dollar stores in the first half of 2024. An additional 370 Family Dollar stores and 30 Dollar Tree stores will close over the next several years once their leases expire, the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings report. https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/dollar-tree-to-close-nearly-1k-stores

Unlike what Grand-dad Joey Biden screamed at the State of The Union (SOTU) address, inflation is NOT been defeated. In fact, inflation has defeated Biden and The Federal Reserve. After January’s surprised upside shift, expectations have been adjusted up over the last month for another sizable MoM move in headline CPI. But that was not enough as the 0.4% MoM rise in the headline (as expected – highest since August) lifted CPI YoY up to +3.2% (hotter than the 3.1% exp)… Source: Bloomberg The 3-month annualized CPI rate was rose to 2.8% from 1.9%. The 6-month annualized core rate dropped...

It’s a pretty terrible sign of the times when a record number of Americans are forced to plunder their 401(k)s. “A record share of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals from their accounts last year for financial emergencies,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Overall, 3.6% of its plan participants did so last year, up from 2.8% in 2022 and a pre-pandemic average of about 2%.” The whole point of a 401(k) is to keep that money out of reach until you reach age 59 ½ or above. Removing that money earlier is about the worst financial move anyone can make....

President Joe Biden on Monday released a $7.3 trillion budget proposal, which sparked swift opposition from congressional Republicans. The proposed $7.3 trillion budget is for fiscal year 2025, which will run from October 2024 through September 2025. It contains many of Biden's 2024 campaign promises, such as tax credits and increased taxes on the wealthy, per Axios.

During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden reached for one of his top recent peeves: shrinkflation. "Too many corporations raise prices to pad the profits, charging more and more for less and less," Biden said. He complained about skimpier Snickers bars and added: "The snack companies think you won't notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer — same size bag — put fewer chips in it." Less coffee in a can, more air in a bag of cereal, fewer sheets in a toilet-paper roll — shrinkflation lets...