During the inflationary pressures of 2022, we created our "MORTGAS" consumer misery index that is simply a sum of the price of gas ($/gallon) and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate.
Our MORTGAS index hit a record low in the early 2020s when mortgage rates got below 3% and prices at the pump briefly got below $2/gallon. Those days are long gone.
Gas prices first spiked in early 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, then they trended lower for the next few years until they spiked again this year with the US invasion of Iran.
Mortgage rates went from 3% up to 7% during the Fed's massive tightening cycle to address runaway inflation in 2022. They too had been trending lower over the past few years, but they've moved higher again this year since the Iran War began.
Combined, our MORTGAS index is actually at a new record high right now, eclipsing the peak seen back in October 2023. Consumers are feeling the pain as we head into midterm elections less than a month away.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.