10 | January | 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Housing today is more affordable than at any time in history

Mark J. Perry | January 10, 2013, 6:27 pm

The chart above is updated from a previous post and shows one measure of housing affordability over time by displaying the monthly mortgage payments (adjusted for inflation in 2012 dollars) for a median-priced new home (Census data here) financed at … read more >

Carpe Diem

December housing reports are coming in strong

Mark J. Perry | January 10, 2013, 4:58 pm

Reports on home sales in December are just starting to be released, here’s what’s available so far: 1. Baltimore – December home sales increased by 13% from last year, median sales price was up 7%. 2. Nashville – December home … read more >

Carpe Diem

In just a six-year period from 2008-2014, fracking will completely reverse a 22-year, 41% decline in US oil output

Mark J. Perry | January 10, 2013, 3:41 pm

The Department of Energy (DOE) is forecasting that US oil output will increase this year by 14% to an average of 7.3 million barrels per day (bpd), up from last year’s average of 6.4 million bpd. In 2014, the DOE … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

CFPB’s new ‘qualified mortgage’ rule: The devil is in the details

Edward Pinto | January 10, 2013, 3:30 pm

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) promises its new “qualified mortgage” regulation will “protect consumers from irresponsible mortgage lending.” Twenty years ago, Congress passed the inaptly named 1992 “Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act” and promised it would … read more >

Image Credit: Flicker Brad (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Pethokoukis

Study: Experienced US teachers may not be any better than new ones

James Pethokoukis | January 10, 2013, 3:06 pm

Will the coming wave of retirements among Baby Boomer teachers hurt K-12 education? A new paper suggests it will not — and even raises the option that low-performing schools may be able to lower costs without damaging student outcomes through early … read more >

Image credit: Kevin Shorter (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Economics, U.S. Economy

The CFPB makes mortgage lending a risky bet

Peter J. Wallison | January 10, 2013, 2:43 pm

Dodd-Frank set about to prevent the deceptive lending practices that its sponsors believed, without much evidence, were one of the principal causes of the 2008 financial crisis. It now appears that they have thrown the baby away with the bathwater. read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

Is this the compromise on low-skilled immigration America needs?

James Pethokoukis | January 10, 2013, 2:12 pm

What should Washington do about the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States? Well, first let’s get a handle on who they are, exactly. A new piece in the always must-read National Affairs is a great place … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, AfPak

The reality of retreat

Frederick W. Kagan | January 10, 2013, 10:51 am

Leaked White House plans to keep only a minimal American military footprint in Afghanistan after 2014 to conduct training and counter-terrorism operations do not reflect military realities. A force of 6,000 troops or so will be unable either to support … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Defense

Don’t like Chuck Hagel’s views? Wait a few

Danielle Pletka | January 10, 2013, 9:49 am

“Courage”: A word we hear tossed around promiscuously about Chuck Hagel. About his Vietnam career? Nope. About personal travails? Nope. Chuck Hagel is a “courageous” man because he changes his mind. A lot. Bret Stephens of the WSJ was among … read more >

Pethokoukis

Will it be Jack Lew’s job to sell Medicare cuts to liberals?

James Pethokoukis | January 10, 2013, 9:02 am

A bit of a clunker from the normally spot-on Richard McGregor in today’s Financial Times. In a piece about the likely new US Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, MacGregor offers this bit of speculation about Lew’s new role in the Obama … read more >