This Is What 5% Mortgage Rates Mean Now for the Housing Market
Housing is at the center of two crucial stories
A "For Sale" sign outside a home in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergListen to Odd Lots on Spotify
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For much of the last two decades, housing has been the consummate macro asset. It was at the heart of a huge boom. Then there was the crash and the great financial crisis. Then there was a slow comeback and return to normal. And then amidst the pandemic, housing became insanely hot for a variety of reasons. But now housing is also a micro story, as the housing supply chain — not a topic many people have put much thought into previously — is a key reason why home construction is slow. So where does this all stand, now that mortgage rates just broke 5%? To understand the state of the market, we speak with Conor Sen, a Bloomberg Opinion contributor and the founder of Peachtree Creek Investments as well as Dustin Jalbert a senior economist at Fastmarkets, with a specialty in the lumber market. We examine housing from both the macro perspective as well as the supply chain.