Home Sales Plunge In November As Housing Market Cracks Under High Prices
Daily CallerNov 25, 2022
US Mortgage Rates Jump to Highest Level Since November 2022
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Image copyright: Reuters [via US News]
The Facts
The average interest rate on the most popular home loan in the US rose last week to its highest level since Nov. 2022, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Wednesday.
The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 23 basis points [i.e. 0.23%] up to 6.62%, in the week ending Feb. 17.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The US Federal Reserve must continue to increase interest rates, no matter how painful it may be for workers now, how much it may temporarily increase unemployment, or how badly it may exacerbate a recession. Failure to stay the course and maintain high-interest rates now will only make it more difficult to keep inflation under control — it may well result in the Federal Reserve having to push interest rates even higher in the future than would otherwise have been necessary.
Establishment-critical narrative
Continuing interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will crush millions of working families and increase unemployment, but it won’t tackle the real causes of inflation. The belief that inflation has been on the rise because workers are in a better bargaining position — known as the “wage-price spiral” — is a myth. Workers’ wages have increased but their real wages have dropped because they’re not keeping up with inflation. Inflation is currently caused by global supply-chain disruptions and profiteering by corporations that are raising their prices without restriction.
