Mortgage Rates Dip To 3-Year-Lows As Home-Sellers Outnumber Buyers

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The weekly mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.18 percent for the week ending Dec. 24 as the housing market continues to lean in favor of buyers.

The 6.18 percent rate is the lowest level since 2022 and a slight decline from 6.21 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac data. The current rate is 0.86 percentage points below the yearly peak of 7.04 percent reached in mid-January.

The recent rate decline comes as the U.S. housing market registered 37.2 percent more sellers than buyers in November, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement on Dec. 23.

“That’s the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 aside from this summer. It compares with 35.6 percent a month earlier and 17 percent a year earlier,” the brokerage said.

“Redfin defines a market with over 10 percent more sellers than buyers as a buyer’s market. By this definition, it has been a buyer’s market since May 2024.”

The 37.2 percent gap translates into 529,770 more sellers in the market.

Among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan regions, Austin, Texas, was the strongest buyer’s market last month, with 114 percent more sellers than buyers, according to Redfin.

This was followed by San Antonio, Texas; Nashville; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, each of which had sellers outnumbering buyers by more than 100 percent.

Out of the 50 metros, 36 were buyer’s markets, seven were balanced, and the remaining seven were seller’s markets.

The number of home buyers hit the second-lowest level on record in November, as many backed off amid economic uncertainty and high housing costs, the statement said.

“A modest improvement in housing affordability could bring some homebuyers off the sidelines in 2026, which could narrow the gap between homebuyers and sellers,” Redfin senior economist Asad Khan said.

“But the housing market is likely to remain in buyer’s market territory for the foreseeable future, with sellers cutting prices or offering concessions to lure buyers.”

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched higher this month despite businesses facing challenges such as rising construction costs, economic uncertainty, and buyer hesitation, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in a Dec. 15 statement.

“In positive signs for the market, builders report that future sales expectations have been above the key breakeven level of 50 for the past three months, and the recent easing of monetary policy should help builder loan conditions at the start of 2026,” NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said.

The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rates three times this year, pushing it down to a range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent.

In a Dec. 11 commentary, Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at real estate data company Bright MLS, suggested that even if mortgage rates were to decline further, other concerns are weighing on prospective buyers’ minds.

On the positive side, Sturtevant expects mortgage rates to fall further.

“Expect mortgage rates to ease somewhat in 2026, though Bright MLS forecasts are for rates to remain above 6 percent through the end of next year,” she wrote.

“Slightly lower rates and slower price growth should improve affordability a little, which could bring more buyers into the market.”

President Donald Trump has vowed to lower mortgage costs.

“I will announce some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history,” he said during a televised address on Dec. 17.

Trump said he plans to announce a new Federal Reserve chairman who will support lower interest rates, which will trigger further decline in mortgage rates.

He suggested that illegal immigration under the Biden administration contributed significantly to housing costs.

“Over 60 percent of growth in the rental market came from foreign migrants,” the president said. “For the first time in 50 years, we are now seeing reverse migration as migrants go back home, leaving more housing and more jobs for Americans.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 14:15

NATO Countries Scare Their Populations On Christmas With Hyped 'Russian Nuclear Bombers' Flight

On Western Christmas, December 25, Russian nuclear-capable bombers conducted a "scheduled" flight over waters in the Arctic region, specifically in neutral waters of the Norwegian and Barents Seas. This prompted "fighter jets of foreign countries" to escort them and mirror them from afar, Russia's defense ministry has confirmed.

While the country origins of the Western aircraft which responded remain unclear, the Kremlin had notified NATO in advance of the somewhat routine flight path. The bodies of water in question lie north of Scandinavia and northwest of Russia, which is quite far from the UK, and yet British media did what they do best: exaggerate and hype Russian nuclear bombers being "sent" by Putin "to the UK"...and on Christmas!

And never mind the fact that for Russia and its Orthodox Church, it is not Christmas. Russian Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7, according the Julian calendar ecclesiastical dating system.

These bodies of water lie far away from Britain, and is a standard flight path for Russia's military. "At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries," the Russian defense ministry disclosed.

The ministry further said that such flights "regularly take place in many regions and are in accordance with international law."

Highlighting that these bombers were not at all 'sent' to the UK, one political commentator says as follows:

British media outlets like the Mirror and The Sun have reported that Russian nuclear-capable bombers flew a long-range patrol over the Norwegian Sea on Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025. Which was described as a deliberate act close to the notional "Santa Claus flight path". NATO warplanes were scrambled to monitor the aircraft.

This is how the media spinned it! When it was two Russian Tu-95MS long-range bombers known as "Bears" that conducted a scheduled routine, seven-hour flight over "neutral waters" in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. The media made it sound like they were threatening NATO. When NATO was informed by the Russians the path that was taken.

The distant, far northern body of water in question...

via World Atlas

Similar Russian bomber flights have recently occurred over the Sea of Japan, and in coordination with China's military in the East China Sea, and such flight paths have even lately traversed the Black Sea.

Given the Ukraine proxy war is about to reach its fourth year, we are indeed living in dangerous times, but the situation is not helped when European press endlessly fearmongers and exaggerates. Of course, this is stoked by defense officials in London and Brussels, who keep pushing for bigger defense budgets, and for taxpayers to keep on funding Ukraine. 

NATO apparently wanted young British boys and girls to know that its warplanes are keeping European skies safe from the 'Russian aggressor'... 

via US Air Force Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 13:50

Georgia Secretary Says 2020 Election Blunder 'Does Not Erase Votes'

Authored by Kim Jarrett via The Center Square,

Five years after the 2020 election, challenges in Georgia continue despite multiple audits.

The latest questions surround the December meeting of the Georgia State Election Board. Nearly two weeks after the meeting, some continue to claim Fulton County was fraudulent because tabulation tapes were not signed that included 315,000 votes.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger addressed the accusations in a social media post.

“Georgia has the most secure elections in the country and all voters were verified with photo ID and lawfully cast their ballots. A clerical error at the end of the day does not erase valid, legal votes,” Raffensperger said.

Other Republicans questioned Raffensperger.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running for governor, criticized his opponent, Raffensperger, in a post Monday.

“If only Georgia had an official responsible for preventing clerical errors that undermine election integrity. Is there anyone in Georgia who has that job, Brad?” Jones said

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for Senate, said he was “tired of empty words from weak leaders” in a social media post from his campaign page.

“President Trump is owed a massive apology,” Collins said. “Turns out over 300,000 early votes in the 2020 election were illegally certified but still included in the final results.”

An election cannot be overturned based on a rule, Robert Sinners communications director for the Secretary of State’s Office, told The Center Square.

“The basis for these claims is that Fulton County admitted to sloppy election administration and not following a State Election Board rule,” Sinners said in an email. “There is no mechanism in law to overturn the election based on not following this rule – as it wasn’t even part of the election code – it was a procedural rule.”

New procedures were put in place to ensure the mistake doesn’t happen again, Ann Brumbaugh, an attorney for the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, told the State Election Board.

Sinners acknowledged improvements were needed.

“Based on the reports from appointed monitors who were on site in Fulton County reviewing the conduct of the election – there was sloppiness that needed improvement, but outright fraud was not a concern,” Sinners said.

The 2020 election was recounted twice, and then, subject to a 100% hand count, according to Sinners.

“This is in addition to more audits that took place in localized jurisdictions. I would say the 2020 election was the most scrutinized in history – at least in this state,” Sinners said.

Trump had repeatedly said the election that put Joe Biden in the White House was stolen. This month, the Department of Justice sued Fulton County and the state of Georgia, alleging that they had failed to turn over data about the 2020 ballots. Those cases are still pending.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 13:25

Amid Nike's Worst Drawdown Since late 70s, UBS Flags Emerging Bullish Signals

Nike was thrust into the news flow earlier this week after Apple CEO Tim Cook placed a buy order for 50,000 Class B shares at a weighted average price of $58.97. The stock has been locked in a four-year bear market, as recent earnings data point to softer demand in China and mixed channel trends in North America.

Looking past all the gloom, UBS analyst Jay Sole told clients Friday about UBS Evidence Lab's latest global sportswear survey, which points to "bullish" trends for Nike.

Sole said the survey suggests "the brand is improving y/y and remains strong," and that the turnaround could be just ahead. He has a "neutral" rating on the stock and believes the turnaround will take longer than the market expects. The survey results suggest Nike's plan to prioritize re-entering the wholesale channel under new CEO Elliott Hill.

For context, Evidence Lab is UBS's proprietary alternative data and analytics platform used by the bank's clients to supplement traditional financial analysis. The data include large-scale consumer surveys, web traffic, app usage, geolocation, transaction data, pricing scrapes, and sentiment signals, providing actionable insights into brand health, demand trends, market share shifts, and competitive positioning.

Here is Sole's complete insight into why "The Global Sportswear Survey Bullish for Nike"...

The survey makes us more constructive on NKE, but our rating is Neutral: UBS Evidence Lab's 11th global sportswear survey is bullish for Nike, in our view. The survey shows Nike's brand remains strong and is improving y/y. The survey increases our conviction Nike's brand strength provides the foundation upon which it can ultimately stage a comeback. We continue to believe Nike's business will improve. Our rating is Neutral because we think its turnaround will take longer than the market expects.

Survey results suggest 2 key elements of Nike's strategy are working: Since Elliott Hill became CEO, Nike has prioritized re-entering the wholesale channel. In this year's survey, a higher percentage of global consumers say Nike's products are easy to find in stores and online. This percentage dropped from 2019 through 2022, but has rebounded to a new peak this year. We believe this is attributable to Mr. Hill's channel strategy. Under Elliott Hill's leadership, Nike has also refocused on sports. Likely as a result, the percentage of consumers who say Nike is "good for doing sports" bounced back to its 2019 peak level (Fig. 29).

5 other survey insights showing Nike's brand strength and gains:

1. Nike holds the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) among all brands and its scores are rising. The surprising fact is not only does Nike have the highest NPS globally, but it also has the best score in each of the four geographies studied (US, UK, Germany, China: Figs. 30, 67, 106, 153, 180). Plus, Nike's NPS in each region are rising (Figs. 31, 68, 107, 144, 181).

2. Nike retains strong brand attributes. Nike ranks as the #1 or #2 brand globally in the "high-quality products," "good for doing sports," "prestigious brand,' "innovative brand," and "fashionable or cool brand" categories as well as others (Figs. 18-28).

3. Global purchase intentions are up y/y. Global consumers plan to buy more footwear as well as more apparel from Nike over the NTM (Figs. 14-15).

4. Global consumers' impression of the Nike brand is improving. Plus, the rate of improvement relative to other brands' looks good (Figs. 35-36). Gains in the US are particularly notable, in our view (Fig. 72).

5. Nike has the highest loyalty rate globally. Nike also has the highest conversion rate globally (Figs. 39-40).

Two modestly negative survey data points: The survey shows Nike has experienced slight erosion in global aided awareness within the 16-24 year-old age demographic (Fig. 10). This could be a consequence of Nike not being as "hot"of a brand over the last couple years as it was before that. Also, the Converse brand survey results are lackluster, in our view.

Valuation: Our $62 PT is based on 29x our $2.15 FY28 EPS estimate

For the full note, ZeroHedge Pro subs can view it here. 

Sole's view comes as the stock is locked in Nike's worst declines since the late 1970s.

At some point, Nike will figure out how to sell more Air Force 1s in China and, if management is smart enough, stop selling "woke" propaganda.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 13:00