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People are borrowing money to buy toilet paper and golf clubs? I think you are missing some details in the path from mortgage bonds -> your average consumer buying average consumer goods. I'm not being cynical or anything, I'd just like to understand this relationship a bit better.

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I think it's less taking a loan to buy golf clubs and more "feeling less financially stretched makes people more willing to spend money."

Example: Joe just had a kid and was going to buy a house in a good school district no matter the cost. With a higher mortgage rates, he'd have wound up house poor for a few years. With today's rates, he has a comfortable savings rate. Since he's not scrimping, he decides this month he'll buy that putter he'd been eying.

My understanding with housing is that is nearly always costs the same amount no matter what mortgage rate is, so in times of high rates list price is lower, times of low rates list price is higher, and adjusted for inflation the ultimate montly payment of mortgage+interest remains about the same. Seems like if you bought today you'd have to cough up a huge down payment vs when rates were higher, and its this initial costs from things like down payment and paying pmi that makes people initially house poor.

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