Austin Klar, J.D.

@sunforever18 @KobeissiLetter St Louis Federal Reserve. Also most mortgages are fixed rate so when rates go up now it doesn’t impact the majority of existing mortgages. Only new mortgages. Also income is higher now too. So more debt doesn’t always increase DTI fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP

@AustinKlar @KobeissiLetter where is the debt to income ratio data? When rate is doubled, effectively you double you debt. Debt is low b/c people could not afford to borrow more.

Homeowners are now spending a record 40% of their gross income on their mortgage. This is ABOVE the 2008 high of 39% and up sharply over the last 2 years. After paying income taxes and mortgage costs, most homebuyers have less than 30% of their income left. This is concerning.

@KobeissiLetter Good thing incomes at highs, unemployment at lows and % of credit card debt to income is nowhere near historical highs and is below pre pandemic levels. But I’m sure you’ll provide that critical context for readers soon and not just misleadingly blow the dog whistle…

JUST IN: Total credit card debt in the US has officially crossed $1 trillion for the first time in history. This comes as average interest rates on credit card debt have hit a record high of 25%. The average American family now holds $10,000 in credit card debt, another record. Nearly 40% of Americans now have more credit card debt than savings. Americans continue to "fight" inflation with credit card debt.

@heIpfullandlord Same in the Bay. Just saw two properties clients were interested in go for $600k+ over ask, in the $4.5m+ range, in less than a week. Both turnkey on large, flat lots in A+ neighborhoods in Marin County.

Great properties are still "flying off the shelves" in our markets. Average and below-average properties are sitting indefinitely... What are things looking like in your market?

@SMB_Attorney Well said. The amount of hate for anything remotely to do with “wealth” for no reason at all is holding people back. Having money and being a positive contributor to society aren’t mutually exclusive.

When you demonize wealth, business owners and landlords, you’re subconsciously telling yourself there is something inherently wrong or impossibly unobtainable about achieving real success in a capitalist economy. Your negative attitude toward success becomes a mental cage, and you then spend a lifetime as a cog in other people’s machines, while struggling to get by. Those with wealth, business owners and landlords are people just like you. The only difference is they’ve cut through the societal constructs and developed a positive attitude toward success, personal growth, professional development, and financial security.

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@KobeissiLetter What’s included in “Bay Area” in the chart? SF’s median single family home price hasn’t been that low in years…and as of April 2023 it’s at $1.575m. Even at Jan 2023 trough it was $1.37m.

San Francisco home prices are down 33% in just 1 year. The city lost 7% of its population since 2020. Home prices in the Bay Area are down more over the last 10 months than the first 10 months of the Financial Crisis. The decline of San Francisco is alarming. (a thread) 1/8