Pimco's Keisel Cashes Out

Great piece over at Pimco by Mark Kiesel:

U.S. Credit Perspectives

"Three weeks ago my wife, Amy, and I sold our house and moved into a rental apartment. I believe the U.S. housing market is set to cool given the current level of prices and fundamental trends. Recent price gains have likely come primarily from rising speculation and “creative financing” because affordability is declining and inventories are rising. When asset prices diverge from fundamentals, I favor taking the other side of the trade – even if it involves moving. Amy wasn’t thrilled about moving, but my sense is she will look back on our sale and view it as a good one. In the end, the fundamentals should win out."

"The U.S. housing market is turning for the worse and housing price gains are set to moderate. What does housing have to do with corporate bonds? Plenty. Rising home prices have been a key driver of U.S. economic growth, which in turn has played a major role in the tightening of corporate bond spreads. In other words, housing will foreshadow not only the direction of the economy, but also the direction of credit spreads. As the housing market turns, consumers will pull back their spending and the U.S. economy should slow. With a softening housing market, we should expect tighter lending standards, a moderation in the willingness to take risk, a slowdown in the pace of asset price appreciation, less liquid markets, and rising volatility in financial markets. And at that point, “for sale” will not just be a sign you see in front of your neighbor’s yard – investors may also put a “for sale” sign on risk assets as well. Investors in the credit market should therefore remain cautious given the tight overall level of corporate bond spreads and focus on developments in the housing market."

"Housing is a leading indicator of the overall direction of the economy. As housing slows, economic growth will surely follow. As such, we should expect to see tighter terms on credit extension, less liquid markets and a pick-up in the overall corporate default rate over time with a slowdown in the pace of economic growth. An eventual rise in the default rate, combined with higher near-term volatility, should lead to a more challenging market environment for credit. Watch the “for sale” signs – in both the housing and corporate bond market – my sense is more of both are coming as the market transitions from a mode of risk taking to that of risk aversion."