Investors are selling off bonds from the U.S. government, as part of a trade known as “Sell America.”
The United States government has had to pay more to borrow in the global debt markets. On Wednesday, the Treasury department found that there was tepid demand for an auction for $20 billion worth of bonds, and ended up paying a slightly higher interest rate (or yield) than expected.
This has spooked markets. Yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries have spiked above 5% this week — an unusual, and unsettling, surge in the price that the U.S. government pays on its long-term debt. An increase in bond yields is particularly damaging to the economy because it jacks up the interest rates on many things that consumers pay, such as on mortgages and other loans.
This is the situation I’m in. We’re pretty much forced to, to move in my wife’s disabled mom. And still when we find a house we kinda like there are four bids on it above asking price, made sight unseen.
Around here (houston metroplex) there is not a bidding war but sellers are acting like there is or should be one. There are several houses we liked that have been on the market for upwards of half a year and the sellers are unwilling to negotiate on prices that are significantly higher than market value or prices of comps. We had an offer on a house that we walked away from recently where the seller outright refused to negotiate on price after the inspection found it needed a new roof and 2 new ac units despite being priced higher than it should have been already.