A lot of the “experts” have been telling us that economic conditions are likely to start deteriorating later in the year, but here we are in June and the economy is beginning to unravel a lot quicker than most of them had anticipated.
The housing bubble is imploding, existing home sales are plunging all over the nation, foreclosures are surging, manufacturing numbers have fallen into contraction territory and jobless claims are rising. We are building up a tremendous amount of momentum in the wrong direction, and just about everyone agrees that the outlook for the remainder of 2023 is not promising. So if things are this bad now, what will they look like in six months?
For a long time, the U.S. economy was “remarkably resilient”, but now things have started to change in a major way.
The following are 11 signs that our economic problems are accelerating a lot faster than most people were anticipating…
#1 We just learned that foreclosure-related filings were up 14 percent last month compared to the same period a year ago…
As the cost of living in the U.S. continues to climb, foreclosures are also on the rise.
May foreclosure-related filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were up 7% from April and up 14% from a year ago, to 35,196 properties, according to the real estate data group ATTOM.
#2 We are being warned that foreclosure filings are on an “upward trajectory” which suggests “heightened activity” in the months ahead…
“The recent increase in foreclosure filings nationwide indicates a trend that has been observed throughout the year, and what we have expected to occur,” Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, said in a statement. “This upward trajectory suggests the possibility of continued heightened activity, and with foreclosure completions seeing the largest monthly increase this year, we will continue to monitor the potential impacts this may have on the housing market.”
#3 As the housing bubble bursts, sales of existing homes are falling all over the nation. For example, sales of existing homes in central Indiana have now declined for 16 months in a row…
Sales of existing homes in central Indiana dropped 14.8% in May—the 16th straight month that sales have decreased on a year-over-year basis.
Closed sales of existing homes in the 16-county area in May totaled 2,901, down from 3,406 in the same month of 2022, according to the latest monthly data from the MIBOR Realtor Association.
#4 One recent study found that a whopping 8 million Americans currently live in a household that is behind on paying rent. Many are just barely surviving from month to month like this single mother that was recently profiled in the Los Angeles Times…
Evelyn Arceo holds down a full-time job as a baker at Universal Studios Hollywood, earning $19 an hour. But even when she gets a few hours of overtime at the theme park, the single mother of four can barely afford the rent of her one-bedroom apartment in Panorama City.
On her salary, buying a home is out of the question.
Already, her monthly rent of $1,300 is “just too expensive at this point,” Arceo said, with late fees of $40 to $50 compounding her financial plight. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on time on my rent.”
#5 The most epic commercial real estate crisis in U.S. history has begun, and we are being warned that the two massive defaults in San Francisco that recently made headlines all over the world could just be the tip of the iceberg…
News of Park Hotels & Resorts’ plan to surrender ownership of two of San Francisco’s largest hotels is the beginning of what could potentially become a mass exodus of hotels from the city as 30 additional properties are facing massive loans due over the next two years.
The company behind the hotels announced Monday it had stopped making payments on its $725million loan that is due in November for the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 hotels.
#6 Major corporate bankruptcies are happening at the fastest pace that we have seen since 2010…
US corporate bankruptcies crept higher in May over the prior month as higher interest rates and a slowing economy are pushing many companies over the edge.
S&P Global Market Intelligence recorded 54 corporate bankruptcy filings during May, a slight rise from 52 April. In the first five months of the year, 2023 has recorded more filings than any comparable period since 2010.
#7 Initial jobless claims just rose to their highest level in almost two years…
Initial jobless claims surged last week to 261k (up from 233k prior and well above the 235k exp) – its highest since Oct 2021.
#8 According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, during the first five months of this year the number of announced job cuts was up 315 percent compared to the same five months last year.
#9 U.S. manufacturing has now fallen into contraction territory…
S&P Global data showed that the US manufacturing sector fell into contraction territory in May. A similar survey released by the Institute for Supply Management showed the industry contracted for the seventh consecutive month in May, at a faster pace than in the prior month.
#10 European manufacturing has also dropped into contraction territory…
Among manufacturers in the eurozone, production, new orders and backlogs all fell in May as the sector contracted at a faster pace that month, according to S&P Global figures. The 20-nation currency area’s industrial production fell sharply in March, mostly due to a plunge in Ireland. The indicator measures the output of manufacturers, miners, and utility companies.
#11 It is being reported that new numbers show that the EU “entered a recession in the first quarter of this year”…
The euro zone entered a recession in the first quarter of this year, and economists are not optimistic for the coming months.
The 20-member bloc reported gross domestic product of -0.1% for the first quarter, according to revised estimates from the region’s statistics office, Eurostat, released Thursday.
What I have just shared with you is certainly quite a bit of bad news.
But if I am correct, conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the rest of this year and into 2024.
We live at such a critical moment in human history, and those that have been waiting for life to “return to normal” can stop waiting.
The pace of change is picking up speed with each passing month, and most of us are simply not prepared for the craziness that is ahead.