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Where There Used To Be One Or Two, They Might Now Have Ten Or Twenty To Look At

A report from the Mercury News in California. “In another sign that the Bay Area housing market is cooling, the number of homes for sale here has spiked  — signaling more options for buyers, and potentially lower prices. There were 43 percent more homes on the market last month in the San Jose metro area, which includes Santa Clara and San Benito counties, than there were in January 2018, according to Zillow.”

“Inventory increased by 25 percent in the San Francisco metro area, which includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties. In the San Jose area, there were 3,011 homes for sale, up from 2,102 the year before. Both metro areas saw more homes for sale last month than they have at any other point since 2016. Inventory has been increasing for several months, and nearly doubled in October in the San Jose area.”

“The San Jose area saw the largest percentage increase among the major metropolitan areas Zillow studied. Seattle was second, with a 37 percent increase. But while the jump was most pronounced in the country’s priciest markets, it’s a nation-wide trend.”

“In San Jose, buyers are getting better deals than they were a year ago, said San Jose-based real estate agent Mike Gaines. Some homes are receiving offers for less than their asking prices. And sellers are being forced to think more carefully about a realistic price before they list their home.”

“‘We’ve got a lot of folks who want to get out of here’ he said. ‘They feel this year will be the best opportunity to get their home on the market, get it sold and move somewhere.'”

From Fox Denver in Colorado. “New Colorado Realty Association statistics show the median sale price for a single family home in Denver is $425,000, that’s down more than 1 percent and townhouse/condo prices are down 12 percent.”

“Association spokesperson Kelly Moye tells FOX31 there are also more homes on the market right now, putting buyers in the driver’s seat, ‘Where there used to be one or two, they might now have ten or twenty to look at…take advantage and jump on it while you can.'”

“Moye advises those planning to sell a home with average amenities to list the property just under the most recent comparable price (listed no more than four months prior to placing the home on the market).”

The Tampa Bay Times in Florida. “Tampa Bay’s housing market had another good year in 2018 — but not nearly as good as it has been. ‘I would say that right now we are currently experiencing a market rebalancing in that we are shifting more into a buyer’s market,’ said Rachel Gallagher, the broker-owner of a Pasco County realty firm. ‘We’re seeing that active days on the market are a little bit longer than normal.'”

“‘We’ve been prepping our agents that they are going to have to work a little harder in 2019 than they did in 2018,’ she said. ‘I think the days of multiple offers will be decreasing and as we’re shifting into a buyer’s market, the buyers are going to have more of an upper hand.'”

From The Real Deal on New York. “Not even Christie Brinkley is immune from price pressures in the Hamptons home sales market. The model is now in contract to sell her wood-shingled Sag Harbor mansion at 1 Fahys Road for just under its last ask of $17.5 million, according to the New York Post. The 4.44-acre property first listed for $25 million in October 2016 — about 30 percent more than it finally moved for — and it was reduced to $20 million in mid-2017.”

From The M Report. “Bidding wars on homes in some of the hottest markets in the country have almost stopped, according to a Redfin report that looked at the offers written by its agents on behalf of their homebuying customers in January.”

“The report indicated that only 13 percent of these offers faced a bidding war, marking a steep decline from 53 percent seen in January 2018. In fact, Seattle and San Francisco—two of the most competitive markets last year—saw less than one in five offers facing competition. During the same period last year, both these markets saw bidding wars on seven to eight out of 10 offers.”

“A key reason for the cooling down of competition on homes, the report indicated, is the supply and demand of homes. It pointed out that the number of homes for sale are increasing even as homebuyers’ demand is declining. It revealed that as of December, the number of homes for sale went up 5 percent from the year earlier, whereas the number of homes sold declined 11 percent during that same period.”

“As more homebuyers hear that the market is slowing down, they’re waiting ‘until they find a home that can check more boxes,’ according to Kalene Masching, a Redfin agent in Palo Alto, California. ‘In general they are being more judicious as they think through their purchase. Meanwhile, many sellers have not yet recognized that the market has shifted.'”

“Breaking down the areas that saw the biggest decline in homebuyer competition, the report noted that competition in the San Francisco Bay area fell 64 points in January, followed by Los Angeles with a decline of 57 points, and Seattle which saw competition decreasing by 54 points.”

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This Post Has 133 Comments

    1. “Wa happened to my shortage?”

      There was a psychological shift in the minds of lemmings, er, people who were flocking into the real estate market, and FOMO rapidly morphed into FONGO.

      Beanie Babies 101.

    2. And what happened to all those houses where boomers are aging in place and preventing young Millenials from getting houses? I guess boomers are the ones who want to get out? The can’t all want to “be near the grandchildren.”

      1. “And what happened to all those houses where boomers are aging in place and preventing young Millenials from getting houses?”

        Nothing happened. In California, the silent generation and early boomers are quietly enjoying their spacious “empty nest” homes with Prop13’s low property taxes.

        1. If they want to be near grandchildren, then why don’t they simply invite the kids and grandkids to come live *with* them? Spend $60K to convert the basement to an in-law apartment (with elevator). Millenials kids get free housing, grandma gets to babysit the kiddies, everyone’s happy.

          And the ones without grandkids nearby, I guess they’re there for the weather. Because I would sell the albatross, pocket the cash, and live in a manufactured retirement community in a state with taxes even lower than Prop 13.

          2. kids and grandkids

            The nice thing about grandkids is that they go home with their parents.

            Ironically, living in (the rural part of) a high tax state saved me a lot of money on housing.

          3. Grandparents love their grandchildren, but they still want to send them home. We have proposed this arrangement with my mother who has a 5 bedroom house but only her and my step-father living there.

        2. If they want to be near grandchildren, Recently a HS Classmate 1965 sold her old family home in CA, moved to TN and built a new one there. She said her kids left CA for education and job opportunities, and either could not afford to or did not want to move back to CA. So she moved to be closer to her kids and grands. She also said other downsides of CA life were bothering her, wasn’t very specific on that.

          1. I visited TN recently for the first time and liked parts of it so every once in a while I check prices online. I’m just noticing that compared to my hood Ann Arbor MI home prices are considerably lower but land prices are outrageous, as high or much higher for probably more desirable places away from the rid raff and big roads. I’m guessing this is due to CA money wanting to build big new homes with the proceeds of their CA sales and retire to the countryside where perhaps kids and grandkids are nearer by moved away from CA for education and jobs

          3. interstate migration

            “I Love NY”

            We’re down there at the bottom of the list.

            Livin in the loophole.

          5. Red, I live about 300 miles from NYC. When I was young I called it the “ant hill”. Most of the year I live aboard a boat and cruise the rivers, canals, and Great Lakes, living pretty close to for free. I own a house/art studio where I spend the cold months, but the tax lady here doesn’t appreciate its value much. They charge me < $100 a month to support the High Tax State. I'm just playing by the rules!

          7. Livin in the loophole

            That’s what I am always looking for – “Livin’ the Vida Loophole” 😉

          8. Blue,
            After what you’ve lived through, and I’m sure it’s much much more than the glimpses we’ve been given over the last few days, you deserve to! I was asking myself how you’re not emotionally spent for life.

          10. you and MGSpiffy live on boats

            No, our friend MG lives in a half a million dollar house, for the “long haul”.

            I’m just a short hauler.

        3. “California homes generally don’t have basements.”

          Yep. When I was a kid, we would occasionally go up and visit my grandmother in Moorhead, Minnesota. I loved playing in her basement, it was a total novelty to me.

        4. My parents won’t move from there spacious CA ranch style house with prop 13. But also don’t maintain it. termites can do bad things to a house after 40 years. They have way too much junk they can’t bear to throw away.

    3. I wonder how much demand was pulled forward into 2015-2018 due to greatly lowering the barrier to buy a home so there are less buyers than normal because people are bought a shack.

    1. “In San Jose, buyers are getting better deals than they were a year ago, said San Jose-based real estate agent Mike Gaines. Some homes are receiving offers for less than their asking prices. And sellers are being forced to think more carefully about a realistic price before they list their home.”

      Crow for lunch and dinner!!!!!! We need a follow-up story with the bid winners lol

      2. Some homes are receiving offers for less than their asking prices.

        This is actually quite depressing. I’m willing to bet sellers are still asking for peak prices from last summer – how come only some are receiving offers for less than asking? Still too much tech money sloshing around in SJ – and the recent comeback in tech stocks is not going to help. If anything people might start to cash out of stocks and buy more houses, fearing a stock market crash – and this will keep house prices elevated for longer.

      2. Houses aren’t bought, sold or built by square foot. We perform bid estimates by square foot but that’s it. It’s a meaningless unit.

          1. for meat

            Jackie, may I call you Jackie? The wonderful thing about a butcher is that he will sell you a slice of meat. You don’t need to buy the whole animal. Realtors are not able to do that, I don’t think.

    1. when prices went up in the last 10 years —- did the gangs get driven out?
      From movies – bloods vs crips (?)

      Would that have been the only benefit

  5. “‘We’ve got a lot of folks who want to get out of here’ he said. ‘They feel this year will be the best opportunity to get their home on the market, get it sold and move somewhere.’”

    Sound like alot of people were trying to time the market…Peak was Spring 2018….

    1. And market timers are…speculators. Congratulations REIC, you managed to get the public to gamble on shacks again. Now we see they’ve headed to the exits at the same time! What can we learn about now? For one, there never was a shortage, anywhere! So why doesn’t the media haul the shortage people into the limelight and call them to account? You know, contrast their boosterism and blatantly false claims that “we need hundreds of thousands of shacks to bring prices down!”

      I guess I’ll have to do it.

      1. “Congratulations REIC, you managed to get the public to gamble on shacks again.”

        Nuthin’ to it. Given a totally dumbed-down public it was like taking candy from babies.

        “Now we see they’ve headed to the exits at the same time! What can we learn about now?”

        Learn? What is the meaning of this “learn” word you speak of? There is no learn.

        “For one, there never was a shortage, anywhere!”

        Well there was a shortage, and then there wasn’t. There was a psychological shift among buyers and sellers and then the shortage sort of … vanished.

        “So why doesn’t the media haul the shortage people into the limelight and call them to account?”

        They don’t want to bite the hands that feed them.

        “You know, contrast their boosterism and blatantly false claims that ‘we need hundreds of thousands of shacks to bring prices down!'”

        They use what works.

        “I guess I’ll have to do it.”

        A voice in the wilderness.

    2. Zillow for my zip code /town near San Jose shows a clear peak (which means we are on the downslope now). I bought long enough ago that my mortgage is under what the rent would currently be, indeed for the entire time that I have owned the mortgage has been lower than rent. At present pricing mortgage is 50% higher than rent. I think the down slope has a ways to go.

        1. I followed this site before the last bubble burst. Kinda drifted away after I bought. The last few years the prices in the area have doubled and the monthly nut (with interest rates) has tripled. I just don’t know how this gets paid for. Prices have to come down, unless there is some kind of hyperinflation event like Trump captures the Fed or something.

          1. some kind of hyperinflation event like Trump…

            The fed opened the floodgates already before and it seemed to end up in deflation. Speculative assets went way up but that was credit based, not hyperinflation. If we stay in a credit based economy, there won’t be hyperinflation, only boom and bust.

          2. Trump captures the Fed

            It wouldn’t surprise me. Trump’s been rubbing elbows with the elites for decades. He was also friends with JFK Jr. And, Ivanka dated Nat Rothschild.

  7. “New Colorado Realty Association statistics show the median sale price for a single family home in Denver is $425,000, that’s down more than 1 percent and townhouse/condo prices are down 12 percent.”

    “Association spokesperson Kelly Moye tells FOX31 there are also more homes on the market right now, putting buyers in the driver’s seat, ‘Where there used to be one or two, they might now have ten or twenty to look at…take advantage and jump on it while you can.’”

    But but but Chris “No Bubble” Thornberg said this is not possible!!!!

  8. “As more homebuyers hear that the market is slowing down, they’re waiting ‘until they find a home that can check more boxes,’ according to Kalene Masching, a Redfin agent in Palo Alto, California. ‘In general they are being more judicious as they think through their purchase. Meanwhile, many sellers have not yet recognized that the market has shifted.’”

    Oh Man! I love writing love letter! Can buyer still write love letter?

    1. “As more homebuyers hear that the market is slowing down, they’re waiting ‘until they find a home that can check more boxes.”

      And thus realtors get to starve.

    2. In my neighborhood there is definitely a lot more inventory, and it’s priced at about 1/3% above 2012 prices. However, every one of those houses is Home Depo renovated to the hilt, on the inside at least. Lots of new roofs, Millenial-gray colored walls, granite kitchens, engineered flooring, Flip-or-flop style tiled bathrooms, finished basement. Not sure if they’re selling at those prices, but that sets a really high bar for people like me. Any realtor would now walk into my house and say “If you don’t spend $50K you’ll never sell.”

        1. Yup. The main point is that even through the house prices in my nabe are rising a little bit, demanding full reno is actually a stealth price cut.

  10. …they might now have ten or twenty to look at…take advantage and jump on it while you can.’”

    Now is the BEST time to buy

    -Your Friendly Realtor

  11. “townhouse/condo prices are down 12 percent.””

    That’s the most startling thing I’ve read today. It also suggests that people prefer SFH to attached product.

      1. Nah, it’s just at the twilight of the rising market condos become desirable due to affordability issues, and then become less desirable as the SFR “adjust” in prices. Last to boom, first to fall.

    2. I think it also suggests that when people are feeling like waiting is better than “jumping in” the idea of an apartment versus an ‘owned condo “ is less of a hit to the lifestyle so why not just forgo painting the walls purple or a garage in a rental? Also around here there’s been a huge trend of really overpriced condos and semi detached condos for old people ‘downsizing’ or fed up with lawn care. 300 a month JUST for getting your little plot mowed and nothing else added to 350 to 450 k for 1400 to 1800 sf not just IN Ann Arbor but surrounding ex-farmland, it’s crazy. That’s the “middle” of the market and no smaller or less granite-laden units are getting built because builders here have apparently been convinced all of NY and CA and Shanghai are going to move in to be near. “the Big House” which gets mentioned in most listings no matter how far from close to it they are….

      1. $350K-$400K is insanely cheap for any type of residence. A Mcdonalds manager and a school teacher can afford townhomes in that range.

        I’ve seen 1000 sq ft shacks sell for $1.2M+ all over the country. I can’t wait for the inside stories from the speculators who orchestrated this disaster after all said and done. Will make for a brilliant movie plot – duping in the exact same suckers into the same trap in less than 10 years.

          1. rms – Am I that out of touch? Is the average American so poor that they think $350K is expensive???? At 4.5%, a $270K mortgage payment is $1,368. That is insanely cheap. Two $10 per hour fast food workers could easily cover that mortgage and still have enough to cover all other expenses and contribute 10% to 401(k).

            I currently pay $4K per month in child care. I should move to Ann Harbor and buy a house for my toddlers to play in instead of my $4K per month shoe box.

          2. “Two $10 per hour fast food workers could easily cover that mortgage”

            You’re out of your mind. I’m not even going to bother with the math.

            “still have enough to cover all other expenses and contribute 10% to 401(k).”

            The hell.

        2. They can very likely get APPROVED for a mortgage in that price range, but it’ll eat up half their income or more. You live in coastal lands I take it? You haven’t seen 1000 sf shacks in the midwest for 1.2 M I’d guess. I think that’s why cruddy homes around here are getting infested and/or scooped by people who think this is “insanely cheap” and expecting them to appreciate quickly because the homes must be worth twice that, right? I mean, that’s the price paid by McDonald’s managers and teacher-couples lol right? Speculation is so widespread and why things are crazy in towns like Ann Arbor, because apparently people have come to believe that shacks are worth whatever is asked. Even at current rates with considerably higher than median income, it is uncomfortable to me to pay 35 or 40% of my take-home on housing that has gone up 40% in a couple of years. A lot of houses I’m seeing are being listed after a couple of years from the last sale, with an increase of 30 to 50 or more percent. I’m feeling a bunch of that isn’t ‘merely’ FONGO but also “wow, that’s insanely cheap; I’ll get a pad there to write software and sell for a huge profit in a couple years”, sigh.

          1. ED, property taxes are high, 8K a year or more for that price house in AnnHarbor. You won’t save on childcare likely either, also expensive. 350K will get you a condo on the outskirts of town or just outside it with a 300 to 700 dollar HOA which will sometimes cover some stuff like external maintenance and water at the high end, but sometimes only ‘lawn’ care and snow removal. In town, it will get you an old little house, 900 to 1300 SF. So now we’re at 2000 – 3000 a month, plus utilities. But if you want to buy one of these for your toddlers, I can point you to some realtors who can help you!

          2. And, Ed, where are you paying 4K a month for childcare? In MI, recently named one of the most expensive states in the US for childcare, average in the urban-y areas is 1K to 1.5K a month…do you have 4 kids or are you playing 2K a month for each of 2? Must be one of those preschools feeding the elite private schools to come?!

        3. Considering that the average American shack is made out of 2x4s, “oriented strand board”, sheet rock, PVC pipe and assembled with low-skill labor then paying 400 large for such an item would be a little bit of a markup, yes indeed. How such things became so expensive is a little mind-blowing.

          1. And consumers almost never get to comparison shop on that issue–quality of materials and construction processes–especially on the all-looks-the-same new or newish houses. It feels like there is precious little out there on one builder’s quality v another on the ‘net too. I know that people shop payments and with interest rates low for forever and debt being expected and encouraged, but I really have a hard time completely ignoring actual *price* and its relationship to income and future price movement possibilities. I guess I’ve spent too much time saving and don’t come from outside resources to lean on, it is just a move I have a hard time making to “jump in” when things are frothy.

        6. @ ED. You are a joker and Privileged.

          How are two $10/hr people will save the 70K down-payment…and eat and pay rent at once.

          well, maybe it’s just sarcasm… otherwise you’re deluded

  13. Radicals and Real Estate
    Nandini Bagchee
    • Feb 06, 2019
    Bagchee describes the far-reaching political community that for almost half a century called 339 Lafayette Street home. A rundown, three-story building providing low-rent offices for social justice advocates was a central node for networks of radical and antiwar activism in New York City and beyond. The Peace Pentagon closed its doors in 2016, when the owners sold the building and moved with some of their main tenants to a rented office space on Canal Street.

    https://urbanomnibus.net/2019/02/radicals-real-estate/

  15. Dear Seller,
    I’m writing you this letter so that you know how much we LOVE your beautiful home. But first, a little bit about us. We are a family of four with a cute little mutt dog. We’re tired of renting, and we are ready to take the plunge and own a little slice of the American Dream. Nevermind the leaky roof, decaying fence, and old appliances–we’ll just wave those pesky inspections and move on in. I know you have lots of other interested buyers because our trusty real estate agent told us about all the other offers above asking, which is why we are asking, nay, begging, that you accept our above asking offer and pick us because we will cherish your home like no others. Even though the smoke and mold got soaked into the foam and carpets, we plan to rent a wetvac from Home Depot, which will clean it right up. We really admire the hemp rope hung around the tree out back (not sure why you used a noose knot), but I had a vision of turning it into a swing for my two little tots. Some may call us Dreamers, but I prefer they call us Owners! Please pick us. P.S. It’s Valentine’s Day today. Will you be mine? With love, the FBs.

    1. Dear Empty Pockets,

      Why buy it when you can rent it for half the monthly cost? Buy later after prices crater for 70% less.

      Sincerely,

      The HBB Gang

    2. More like:

      Dear Seller:
      Yesterday I toured your house and I am thinking of putting in an offer. However there are 20 other houses for sale. Please write to me and tell me a bit about you and your family. Why should I pick your house over the others?

      You have 24 hours.

      Thanks ,
      Buyer

      PS: Please sign the title to that Corvette in the garage and leave it in the glove box. That stays with the house.

      1. “PS: Please sign the title to that Corvette in the garage and leave it in the glove box. That stays with the house.”

        I LOL’d.
        Unfortunately that ‘vette was financed, and has a HELOC down-payment kicker, so unfortunately the bank still owns that too.

    1. I’m LMAO. Fry, speculators, fry! Now the corrupt corporate Democrats can engage in a fratricidal blame game with the SJWs who ran off an evil corporation and upset the cozy, crony-capitalist arrangements it had with the state and NYC Dem party machines.

      1. What really amuses me is that Bozo-s now says they won’t look for another site to replace Long Island. Maybe he was never really serious about building a huge facility there? Or maybe he sees the looming recession and decided to back out because of that?

        I’m also amused by the people tearing their hair out because they won’t get all these jobs that were promised. Did anyone REALLY believe 25000 $150K jobs were coming in?

    4. Marketwatch says that Amazon isn’t re-opening the search for a new location to house those employees that were supposed to work in LIC. So what are they going to do, fit them all into Crystal City (Arlington, VA)? Maybe Amazon didn’t have the 50K jobs they said they would have?

      1. Supposedly it was going to cost NYers $200,000 for each promised job. Promised jobs. Stupidity narrowly escaped.

        1. Yep. Or was there a clause in that deal, whereby Amazon had to refund all that manna from heaven if they didn’t deliver the promised jobs/salaries? I have a hunch there wasn’t.

  17. State of the Market – San Francisco/Peninsula February 2019

    Sales Down 6% YoY,
    Inventory up 45% YoY,
    Single Family Home Prices are down 7% YoY,
    Condo/Coop/TIC/Loft Prices are down 14% YoY,
    2-4 Units Prices are down 26% YoY,
    5+ Units Prices are down 42% YoY

    San Francisco Single Family Home Prices are down 7% to $1,680,053 compared to January of 2018 – $1,788,506.

    Average sale price for a Single Family Home in San Francisco in January of 2019 was $1,680,053 vs January of 2018 – $1,788,506.

    Average sale price for the Condo/Coop/TIC/Loft in San Francisco in January of 2019 was $1,176,949 vs January of 2018 – $1,341,840.

    Average sale price for 2-4 Units in San Francisco in January of 2019 was $1,960,890 vs January of 2018 – $2,468,083.

    Average sale price for 5+ units in San Francisco in January of 2019 was $3,735,889 vs January of 2018 – $5,322,538.

    There are currently 732 active homes for sale in San Francisco as of February 6, 2019 vs 477 active homes the month prior.

    Compared to the same period last year (2018), there were only 507 active homes which equals to 45% increase in inventory year over year.
    …
    The total number of existing homes, condos and townhomes and multi family homes sold during January was 233. Compared to one year ago, January sales were down 6 percent.

  18. “It pointed out that the number of homes for sale are increasing even as homebuyers’ demand is declining.”

    This tends to happen if prospective buyers largely disappear while prospective sellers continue listing their homes at roughly the same rate as before.

  19. News today of record fed taxes collected all the while record spending and debt. When do I get less gov and less spending as promised? Let’s start with killing off Freddy and fanny and no guaranteed student loans.

    1. So long as the Fed stands ready in the waiting to monetize the debt as needed, where is the problem?

      Why the Fed may shift to buying Treasurys next year
      Published: Feb 14, 2019 2:56 p.m. ET
      ‘Great news’ as it should ease fears over who as going to finance budget deficits, says Gallagher of Societe Generale
      By Greg Robb
      Senior economics reporter
      Getty Images
      A view of the Federal Reserve building is seen on May 2, 2018 in Washington, DC.

      Goodbye Quantitative Tightening, the program traders loved to hate.

      Signals about how the Federal Reserve will adjust its balance sheet shrinkage indicate the central bank should go from a net seller of Treasurys this year to a net buyer in 2020, said Stephen Gallagher, chief U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York.

      That’s “great news” for a market anxious about who is going to finance the looming trillion dollar federal deficits, especially as foreign buyers have stepped back, he said. It should also give some support for a slowing U.S. economy.

      Under a program started in late 2017, the Fed has been allowing a maximum of $50 billion per month on Treasurys and mortgage-backed debt to roll off its balance sheet. For Treasury, this has meant more securities to sell to other buyers than the central bank.

      Under the program, the Fed redeemed $214 billion of Treasury securities in 2018 and the figure is likely to be similar in 2019, Gallagher said.

      After Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last year the program was on auto pilot, the market staged a revolt.

      Fed officials quickly took a U-turn, stressing the Fed was open to adjusting the plan.

      On Thursday, Fed Governor Lael Brainard went a step further becoming the first Fed official to signal the shrinkage plan may end this year.
      …

      1. What I don’t get is why the markets apparently aren’t worried that the economy cannot tolerate the planned QT–doesn’t the Fed blinking on rates AND QT signal that they should be concerned?

  21. Breaking news:

    “Trump will sign spending bill and declare a national emergency, Mitch McConnell says”

    Is he really going to cross that Rubicon?

    National emergency, please. No one is more fed up with smuggling and illegal entry than I am. But give me a break, this has been going on for decades, now all of a sudden it’s a National Emergency?

    2. When Israel wanted their wall our U.S. Senators, on both sides of the isle, lined-up like iron filings in a magnetic field.

      1. USA has a wall, ya know, it stops the caravan every year. Big problem is only 2% of the trucks get xray’d. Visa overstays and the Chinese. Not enough money to do it all…. someone needs to be a fiscal conservative before it all blows.

    3. It wasn’t a National Emergency because we had globalists in the White House encouraging and benefiting from the activities.

      1. red – so vague lately. What are you trying to say? Do you think the border patrol is incompetent? Do they just need billions more?

      2. It wasn’t a National Emergency because we had globalists in the White House encouraging and benefiting from the activities.

        LOL, both parties benefit equally from out-of-control immigration. In general, It keeps our ponzi scheme economy growing endlessly. Beyond that, it provides vote for the Dems, and cheap labor for the Republican businessmen. JMHO. 🙂

        1. You’re almost there! Abandon the false DvR dichotomy and things will come into focus. The majority of Ds and Rs are opposite sides of the same globalist coin. Trump is an anti-globalist, who played within the existing framework.

          2. Do you really think Trump is an anti-globalist? I don’t. I would love to see a real anti-globalist, but I think Trump is NOT that. He’s always benefitted from globalism, always.

          3. ‘We Reject Globalism.’ President Trump Took ‘America First’ to the …
            time.com › Politics › Donald Trump

            Sep 25, 2018 – “We reject globalism and embrace the doctrine of patriotism,” Trump said in a clear rejection of the half-century old international institutions that …
            Why Donald Trump is Completely Wrong About Globalism – The …
            https://www.theglobalist.com/globalism-patriotism-donald-trump-united-states/

            Sep 30, 2018 – Globalists are patriots who have a worldview that is not limited to the political boundaries of one state.
            Daniel B. Shapiro: Trump’s U.N. speech pitting globalism against …
            https://www.nbcnews.com/…/trump-s-u-n-speech-pitting-globalism-against-patriotism-…

            Sep 26, 2018 – Trump’s U.N. speech pitting globalism against patriotism proves the president has no idea what patriotism means.
            Donald Trump’s UN Speech Was a Rejection of ‘Globalism’ – The Atlantic
            https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/09/donald-trump…/571270/

            Sep 25, 2018 – Donald Trump Issues a Scathing Rejection of ‘Globalism’ … UNITED NATIONS—“We reject the ideology of globalism” in favor of the “ideology …
            Web results
            When and Why Nationalism Beats Globalism – The American Interest
            https://www.the-american-interest.com/…/when-and-why-nationalism-beats-globalism/
            What on earth is going on in the Western democracies? From the rise of Donald Trump in the United States and an assortment of right-wing …
            Trump vs. Hillary Is Nationalism vs. Globalism, 2016 | The National …
            https://nationalinterest.org/feature/trump-vs-hillary-nationalism-vs-globalism-2016-16041
            Globalists captured much of American society long ago by capturing the bulk … Then along comes Donald Trump and upends the whole thing.
            How the Globalists Ceded the Field to Donald Trump
            https://prospect.org/article/how-globalists-ceded-field-donald-trump
            This article appears in the Spring 2018 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here.When it comes to grasping the dynamics of …

          4. Thanks for those links Ben!
            I particularly should read through that whole American Prospect piece and get the book too…I agree with Kuttner, and think we are at the place we’re at for the reasons he cites. Trump’s hypocrisies I can only hope will bring the real issues into clearer focus.
            My son who is interested in developing economies has read and really likes this book:
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Samaritans:_The_Myth_of_Free_Trade_and_the_Secret_History_of_Capitalism

          5. Trump’s hypocrisies I can only hope will bring the real issues into clearer focus.

            Can you clarify what you mean here?

    1. NY got lucky. All it brings is more slave work, even higher rents, and traffic and crime and too many rats in a small cage.

  25. A listing I was following in West Los Angeles finally sold. It was listed back in April for 4.7 million. It sold recently for around 3.9. That’s what I call a price cut. It is a large new construction thing that would have sold in a month last year. I saw there were cars in the driveway the other day. Someone thinks they got a deal but I don’t think so.

    https://www.zillow.com/homes/recently_sold/Los-Angeles-CA-90064/20498886_zpid/96045_rid/34.072319,-118.386655,33.998347,-118.473344_rect/13_zm/

      1. Is $5/in2 alot?

        A house with that many steps up to the front door would be considered very undesirable around here, and this is hill country.

        1. 12/28/2018 Sold $3,925,000 -1.8% Richard Stearns, Ben Lee
          11/7/2018 Pending sale $3,995,000 —
          10/12/2018 Back on market $3,995,000 —
          9/10/2018 Pending sale $3,995,000 —
          8/21/2018 Price change $3,995,000 -2.6%
          7/9/2018 Listed for sale $4,100,000 -8.8%
          7/2/2018 Listing removed $4,495,000 —
          4/5/2018 Price change $4,495,000 -4.4%
          2/22/2018 Listed for sale $4,700,000 +213.3%
          7/25/2016 Sold $1,500,000 -9% Kathryn Bishop, Julie Kestenbaum
          7/12/2016 Listing removed $1,649,000 —
          5/29/2016 Pending sale $1,649,000 —
          5/10/2016 Price change $1,649,000 -5.7%
          4/21/2016 Listed for sale $1,749,000 —

  26. A broker I know commented even in early May that the market seemed to have shifted from what he saw barely 2 months before, in March 2018. He said where there used to be 10 or 15 bidders for a home in March, he would see only 2 or 3 in May.

  27. https://prospect.org/article/how-globalists-ceded-field-donald-trump
    Check out this link for a start on what I mean by Trump’s hypocrisy on being anti-globalist. See also his tax cuts that magically didn’t address carried interest or mortgage interest deductions limits or hedge fund dodges and lets you deduct private jet expenses. I think globalists do a good bit of money making in all those categories, as well as H1B visa scamming which he promised to cut but is now saying he will improve prospects for.

    1. When it comes to grasping the dynamics of globalization and the backlash against it, the media depiction of Donald Trump’s tariff wars revealed that the trade mainstream is as crackpot in its own way as Trump is—and that Trump is the beneficiary of their myopia. Let me explain.

      I refuse to consider any article that has this as its first sentence. It clearly utilizes strong loaded words. I see where you get your style. I’m done.

  28. I refuse to consider any article that has this as its first sentence. It clearly utilizes strong loaded words. I need to start applying this standard more consistently, thanks.

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