The payroll numbers were another disappointment last week. This is bad news. Sluggish job growth, more than anything, will derail housing. We've noted numerous times that rising interest rates aren't a big concern. That is, they're not a big concern with a caveat: Rising interest rates must be accompanied by rising job growth.

Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case. Mortgage rates are up 30% this year while job growth has stagnated.

The fact young adults between the ages 25 and 34 are still struggling is particularly discouraging. Only 74.8% of young adults are working, which is far below normal. During the 2008-2009 recession, between 73% and 74% of young adults were employed. In other words, young adults haven't made much progress – in both the job and housing markets.

This isn't to say we're concerned or have turned bearish on housing. We remain housing bulls, but we'd be a little more bullish if the economy were growing to enable more people to get into the market and to service a higher mortgage rate.

 Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

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