Housing sector stocks have been among the worst performers in 2018, and analysts are pointing to lots of different reasons including the newly imposed U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. But an easier explanation arises when we look at interest rates. Mortgage rates are not yet empirically “high”. I bought my first house with a 13% mortgage, so rates that start with the number 4 still seem pretty low, at least to me and my ge-ge-generation. The key insight contained in this week’s chart is that mortgage rates are high compared to 30-year T-Bond rates. Both rates have been rising in 2018, and the 30-year ... (full story)