Morning Wire XX
[0] Sales of existing homes dropped last month as interest rates and prices remain high.
[1] How is the shortage of affordable homes affecting buyers and sellers?
[2] I'm Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[3] It's May 4th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
[4] Illegal immigrants are demanding housing after taking over a park in Seattle, one of many cities struggling to handle a massive influx of migrants.
[5] This is clearly a crisis for these refugee camps.
[6] community, but it is a crisis that has been longstanding in the state of Washington, and we have to get serious about addressing the housing issue.
[7] And Jerry Seinfeld declares that the movie industry is over.
[8] Is he right?
[9] I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that, but everyone else is kind of with their little calculating, is this the exact right mix?
[10] To me, it's anti -comedy.
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
[14] Last month, the housing market cooled at the fastest pace in more than a year as housing affordability fell to its lowest point in nearly four decades.
[15] Here with what's driving the trend is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[16] Hey, Cabot.
[17] So some concerning news from the housing market here.
[18] What are we saying?
[19] Yeah, the number of homes sold last month fell at its fastest pace since November of 2022.
[20] From February to March, we saw a 4 .3 % drop in overall sales.
[21] At a time of the year when the housing market is typically heating up.
[22] And according to federal data just released, the number of new construction projects for single family homes also fell more than 12 % last month.
[23] That is another apparent sign of pessimism from builders.
[24] Now, this is quite the reversal from the start of the year when it seemed like things were turning around for the housing market.
[25] Why is that?
[26] Well, you're absolutely right.
[27] After a dismal 2023, which saw home sales fall to their lowest level in nearly three decades, things had looked like they were turning around.
[28] In January and February, sales began to climb as mortgage rates started to drop.
[29] And there was sort of this error of optimism that rate cuts were coming in the spring, or hopefully at least by the summer.
[30] But the latest inflation report crushed those hopes.
[31] As it became clear, the Fed would not be coming to the rescue with cuts anytime soon.
[32] To that point, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this month, quote, the recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it's likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence.
[33] He later added that increased rates need, quote, further time to work.
[34] In other words, the Fed will keep rates high until inflation comes down and unemployment goes up.
[35] With that news, mortgage rates shot up at their fastest pace in nearly a year, rising a quarter percent to over 7 percent nationally on average.
[36] That is the highest mark since late 2023.
[37] So yet another impact of inflation that Americans are feeling right now.
[38] Right.
[39] Now, what sort of impact are those rates having on affordability?
[40] Well, first, the average monthly payment for a new home buyer is nearly $2 ,800.
[41] That is the highest number on record.
[42] Home prices more broadly have also exploded.
[43] Last month, the median sale price was north of $390 ,000.
[44] That's the highest number ever recorded for the month of March.
[45] And for context, that number was $266 ,000 as recently as the start of 2020.
[46] So a 30 % increase in just four years time.
[47] According to the real estate broker, it's Redfin, when you take into account mortgage rates, home prices and wage growth, housing affordability today is worse than at any point in nearly four decades.
[48] And while those elevated home prices are theoretically a positive thing for current homeowners, the reality is many of those homeowners who bought a house when rates were low or refinanced now feel trapped given the current state of things.
[49] Yes, you might be able to sell your home for a profit, but do you really want to give up a 2 % or 3 % rate to take on a 7 .5?
[50] That is the conundrum facing millions of households, and it's playing a huge factor in keeping housing inventory low.
[51] So, of course, all of these factors are actually leading to a lot of people being priced out of the housing market.
[52] What are we seeing there?
[53] So among other things, we are seeing a growing share of young adults moving back home with their parents.
[54] According to the latest census data, nearly one in five, 25 to 34 -year -olds are living at home.
[55] That is a stunning 87 % jump in the last 20 years.
[56] Now, that trend first became noticeable around 2020, and at the top, there was hope it was pandemic related but now appears to be a more lasting issue driven more by economics experts say those figures are a leading reason today's young people are waiting longer to get married and have kids so there are these cultural effects as well and there's little relief for those who seek out rental as the cost of rent has skyrocketed 36 % since 2020 alone on average renters now spend a third of their income on rent each month that is again stop me if you've heard this another record high so housing is yet another area that is bearing the brunt of inflation.
[57] And one that impacts Americans the most.
[58] Kabbat, thanks for reporting.
[59] Let me time.
[60] The migrant crisis in Seattle is quickly spinning out of control.
[61] Hundreds of illegal immigrants have set up camp in a public park as they demand food and housing.
[62] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marita Lorty, is here with the details.
[63] Hey, Marit, so tell us what's going on in Seattle.
[64] Hi, John.
[65] Of course.
[66] So right now, hundreds of migrants have taken over a public park.
[67] park in Seattle after the money for temporary housing ran out.
[68] They started camping there on Monday night.
[69] About 300 or 400 migrants were camping in Powell Barnett Park.
[70] Unfortunately, that group includes about 100 children.
[71] And they say hundreds more migrants are coming.
[72] They're mostly from African and Latin American countries.
[73] Most are from Venezuela, some from the Republic of Congo.
[74] These migrants ended up in the park after bouncing around from shelters to hotels on the city's dime.
[75] In January, during a cold snap, the city helped some migrants get temporary housing at a hotel just south of Seattle.
[76] When that stay was supposed to end, the migrants marched on City Hall and demanded more temporary hotel rooms.
[77] They've bounced around a few more times since then.
[78] The local and state government, church organizations, local businesses, and even residents have all pitched in to keep them housed, but the money eventually ran out.
[79] So that's how they ended up in the park, which is normally a popular spot for families.
[80] Okay, so the money finally ran out and now Seattle has hundreds of migrants occupying this local park.
[81] That's correct.
[82] What has Seattle's response been to this situation?
[83] Well, in a statement, the city said it doesn't have any more money for migrant shelters or services.
[84] So Seattle is asking Washington State for solutions.
[85] Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee's office says he and the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance are working on helping.
[86] The state has 32 million more in housing money coming, but it doesn't kick in until the new fiscal year, which begins in July.
[87] A spokesperson for Seattle's King County says they're working with nonprofits to provide shelter and expect to have contracts done late.
[88] this month.
[89] For the immediate future, though, Seattle simply doesn't have the money to immediately fix this problem.
[90] Now, there was some chaos at City Hall this week over this, correct?
[91] That's right.
[92] On Tuesday, migrants and leftist activists packed City Hall and demanded more money and resources to stay in hotel rooms saying, quote, we want better conditions because it's a powerful country and it has the capacity to protect us.
[93] But for now, they remain in the park.
[94] Footage from journalist Jonathan Cho and TPSA gives us an idea of how chaotic the tent encampment has become.
[95] From above, dozens of tents can be seen.
[96] Here's what that scene sounds like.
[97] Certainly an unruly situation.
[98] Now, Seattle is not the only city that's really struggling with this migrant crisis, of course, right?
[99] Right.
[100] This is an issue in most metropolitan areas these days, New York City signed a $77 million contract with 15 hotels to house migrants this year.
[101] That's after a $275 million contract last year to house 5 ,000 migrants.
[102] In Chicago, the City Council approved a $1 billion borrowing plan in April that will direct $70 million to sheltering migrants.
[103] Other major cities, and of course, border towns are struggling to house and feed hundreds of thousands of new illegal migrants, and they're quickly running out of money as well.
[104] Well, crisis, we will continue to track very closely.
[105] for reporting.
[106] Thanks, John.
[107] Comedian Jerry Seinfeld made waves recently when he declared that the movie business is over, in part because the extreme left is killing the entertainment industry.
[108] Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with some analysis of Seinfeld's comments.
[109] So, Megan, a lot of people hear that statement, the movie business is over.
[110] And given that it's coming from arguably the most famous comedian, they think, was he joking?
[111] Well, you know, he's Seinfeld.
[112] So everything he says is half joking.
[113] But, you know, based on some comments he made about a week later, it's pretty clear that he wasn't entirely kidding, no. So he said the movie business is over during a recent interview with GQ.
[114] And he offered some pretty, I would say, insightful perspective about how the public is now interacting with entertainment content generally.
[115] He said that movies no longer represent the pinnacle in the social culture hierarchy that they have through much of American history.
[116] And I'm quoting him here.
[117] he said, when a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it.
[118] We all discussed it.
[119] We all quoted lines and scenes we liked.
[120] Now we're walking through a fire hose of water just trying to see.
[121] And by that, he seemed to mean the fact that the industry is struggling to adapt to the glut of content that's now available.
[122] And it's not just in streaming services, but all kinds of platforms.
[123] You know, of course, YouTube, TikTok, all of that.
[124] And he made the point that a lot of studios and filmmakers are unsure of what a successful film even looks like now.
[125] He said, confusion and disorientation replaced the movie business.
[126] And again, quoting, because this was a funny line, everyone I know in show business every day is going, what's going on?
[127] How do you do this?
[128] What are we supposed to do now?
[129] But then about a week after that, Seinfeld also added some additional perspective in which he actually laid some of the blame on politics.
[130] Yeah, and how so specifically?
[131] Well, essentially, he said that fear of offending has led to scripts being written by committees because they're worried about being seen as politically incorrect.
[132] So this was what he told the New Yorker Radio Hour.
[133] It used to be you would go home at the end of the day.
[134] Most people would go, oh, Cheers is on.
[135] Oh, MASH is on.
[136] Oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on.
[137] All the family's on.
[138] You just expect it.
[139] There'll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.
[140] Well, guess what?
[141] Where is it?
[142] This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people, when you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups, here's our thought about this joke.
[143] Well, that's the end of your comedy.
[144] And he did say that that's part of what has led to such a revival in stand -up comedy.
[145] You know, what we've seen in the last couple of years is it's gotten very big again.
[146] And that medium has become sort of immune to those pressures of the political left.
[147] Right.
[148] So if this is true, why is he making a movie now then?
[149] Well, I mean, I think we have to keep in mind.
[150] He's not making a movie of the kind we used to think of when we thought of movies.
[151] He's making a movie for Netflix.
[152] And it's about a fictional history of the Pop -Tart, by the way, for those who might be interested.
[153] And I think that's kind of the story for Hollywood all over.
[154] Theater releases are becoming less important.
[155] And when these movies do hit theaters, they're making a lot less money.
[156] Right now, domestic box office revenue is down about 20 % from last year.
[157] And analysts are predicting that overall box office revenues for 2024 are going to be around $8 billion compared to the $9 billion we saw last year.
[158] But what we especially need to keep in mind is that before the pandemic, we were easily looking at $10 to $12 billion in annual domestic box office.
[159] So, I mean, things are slightly better if you look at the global picture.
[160] Their box office is expected to hold steady this year, but it's not really going to see an improvement.
[161] And all of this is really making things tough on the movie chains that have, of course, come off of a couple of extremely tough years between COVID and the strikes.
[162] So even though Seinfeld has been out promoting the streaming movie, he is making it clear that he will always first and foremost consider himself a comedian and that these recent trends in the business are very much solidifying that view.
[163] Well, hopefully we'll have some new comedy from him soon, too.
[164] Thanks, Megan.
[165] Anytime.
[166] Thank you for listening this morning.
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[170] We'll be back this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire.
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