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It Was A Never-Ending Party For Sellers, But Then Came Signs Of A Slowdown

A report from KHON in Hawaii. “For the first time in years, Hawaii’s housing market is beginning to level out. April showed the median single-family home decrease to about $760,000 on Oahu, which is cheaper than six months ago when prices were above $800,000. ‘We’re seeing a shift in the market from favoring sellers to slightly favor the buyers,’ said Matthew Wong, realtor associate for iNet. ‘We’re also seeing the property prices plateau out so you’re seeing the interest rates come down as well. It’s great to be a home buyer because now you can qualify for that home.'”

“Census data showed more than 60,000 people left Oahu for the mainland over the past eight years—bringing Honolulu’s population below one million. And with more condominiums being built, there’s more inventory.”

“‘If you have more inventory and less demand, prices start going down,’ said Attilio Leonardi, Team Lally, Keller Williams Honolulu. ‘The greatest affordability is going to be from Makaha to the Ewa Plain because there’s a lot of new construction inventory as well as re-sale there.'”

“But what would happen to Oahu’s market if vacation rentals were banned from residential neighborhoods like the bill in Honolulu city council? ‘We had a client that called us in a panic, she owned three vacation rentals and she was in a panic and ready to sell them all and leave the island because that’s how she’s been earning her income,’ said Adrienne Lally, Keller Williams Honolulu. ‘I think it could cause a flood of homes to come on the market.'”

From Realtor.com. “The tectonic plates of America’s major real estate markets continue to shift beneath our feet. Little more than a year ago, unstoppable home price increases seemed to be the new normal just about everywhere. Go, go, go! It was a never-ending party for sellers, and mass anxiety for price-squeezed buyers. But then last fall came signs of a housing slowdown, as big-city prices began to level off—or in some markets actually drop. Was a housing bubble about to burst?”

“‘In a lot of markets buyers are hitting an affordability ceiling,’ says Chief Economist Danielle Hale of realtor.com. ‘Prices just can’t keep rising if buyers can’t keep up. They are dropping out, and that’s why we’re seeing prices adjust [down] in some markets.'”

“There are some surprises on this list—including some of the highest-profile markets in the country (hello, San Francisco Bay Area!). Yes, you read that right. Perennial hottest market in the U.S., San Jose is seeing the steepest declines in home prices these days.”

“Even in the San Francisco Bay Area, what comes up must come down. ‘When [prices] jump that quick, it can produce a reaction with buyers, who say, ‘I can’t do it anymore, that is just too expensive,’ says Patrick Carlisle, Bay Area chief marketing analyst at the real estate firm Compass. Meanwhile, the amount of abodes currently for sale has jumped 92%.”

“The 64,000 Texas A&M University students that pour into College Station every fall—plus all of the faculty and staff—need lots of places to live. But builders in pro-development Texas went a bit overboard in recent years. That resulted in a glut of new homes in this market two hours northwest of Houston, pushing inventory up 18.3% year over year and causing prices to tumble.”

The Daily Advertiser on Louisiana. “Market Scope President Bill Bacqué pointed out that of three major price classifications — under $150,000, $150,000 to $300,000 and $300,000 and up — only the middle range saw a decline in active listings in Lafayette over last year.”

“That change has pushed the $150,000 to $300,000 range down to a five-month supply in Lafayette Parish, according to Bacqué, down from 5.7 months last year and less than half of the 12.8-month supply of homes in the $300,000-plus range.”

“‘In that middle price range, for the most part, there is more demand than supply, which can be a good thing but can also at some point become a detriment,’ Bacqué said. ‘If a buyer doesn’t have to buy but cannot find a selection in the marketplace that meets what their desires are, then quite often they’ll just wait.'”

From The Denverite in Colorado. “After the city raised safety concerns so serious that new beams had to be installed to support a row of homes in Villa Park, the owners and their builder joined to sue the engineering company. The engineers in turn blamed the city and a company contracted to review building plans.”

“Rhonda Kelly had been renting downtown and hoped to buy in that part of Denver, but had no luck finding the right place. She’d put offers in on a few homes, but was outbid. Then she found an eight-unit project in Villa Park developed by a Denver company called Sustainable Design Build. She learned a deal on one of the homes had just fallen through and the builders seemed eager to move forward with her.”

“Kelly said the builders suggested she not bother hiring her own inspector. Jonathan Pray, a lawyer representing the builders, said his clients had no recollection of making such a suggestion. Kelly acknowledged the decision not to hire an inspector was her own. ‘I shouldn’t have [skipped it],’ she said. ‘I was just moving so fast.'”

“Problems became clear quickly, she said. After it rained or snowed, water would build up under the rooftop decking and a balcony decking because of drainage problems. Weather stripping and screens were missing. Water is leaking from the shower in her master bathroom. Several windows also leak. Door jambs are discolored by water damage. Kelly worries about mold.”

“‘The windows don’t seal,’ she said. A bedroom window ‘shifts and sags and cracks so much it wakes me up at night when it’s windy.'”

“Then, last April, Kelly and owners of the six neighboring units that had been sold at that point received notices from the city of possible structural problems.”

“Real estate attorney Joe Stengel, who began representing Kelly after she encountered problems, said house hunters need to move slowly. ‘You can’t be too careful. You’re talking about a huge investment,’ he said. ‘You need to take your time.’ But, he said, ‘you are told, ‘There are 15 people who are ahead of you, you’ve got to make a deal.'”

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This Post Has 100 Comments

  1. ‘I shouldn’t have [skipped it]…I was just moving so fast’

    Got to roll with it Rhonda. You didn’t need an inspector to see the screens weren’t there.

    BTW, that is the most butt-ugly box I’ve ever seen. But hey, it was cheaper than renting!

    1. LOLZ I do service electrical now, not construction. The quality of new construction in Denver now is build it just well enough to last until the day after the warranty expires, and walk away a winner.

      And yes, the walls of your “luxury” rental are filled with bottles of human urine.

      2. If you were going to buy, what would an ignoramus like myself regarding construction quality want to look for? Would you just hire a reputable inspector? Serious question.

        1. “Would you just hire a reputable inspector?”

          Do….. Not….. Buy….. Anything built in the last 15-20 years and even a good inspector isn’t going to be able to decern what kinds of horrors exist behind those “custom” built-ins and the “natural” rock walls created inside those millions of flips that have traded hands over the last decade.

          1. Yeah, not in the market to buy. But if the time comes, it would be good to know a solid approach.

  2. ‘In a lot of markets buyers are hitting an affordability ceiling,’ says Chief Economist Danielle Hale of realtor.com’

    No royal “R”?

    ‘Prices just can’t keep rising if buyers can’t keep up. They are dropping out, and that’s why we’re seeing prices adjust [down] in some markets’

    Yesterday someone said the UHS would like to shut this blog down. Au contraire! As they start to starve, they will talk sellers out of their tree.

    1. Danielle needs to speak with a Senior Expert and Analyst. She’ll quickly learn that house always go up and now IS the best time to buy!

      1. Sean, I don’t know why I keep picking on you. Let me re-educate you on real estate. There is not a right or wrong time to buy a house. Housing goes up, goes down a bit, or sideway. But your rent always goes up and its like burning money. With housing, its less important to time the market but it is time in the market. You see if you had brought in 2012, that would be the BEST investment you ever made. EVER!

        So NOW is the best time to BUY. Buy 2 or 3! The more the merrier.

        1. its coincidentally also the best time to SELL!!! buy or sell now or be priced out or in forever!

  3. ‘Yes, you read that right. Perennial hottest market in the U.S., San Jose is seeing the steepest declines in home prices these days’

    Again, this is a sign of a bubble popped. And where do these shacks keep coming from?

    ‘the amount of abodes currently for sale has jumped 92%’

  4. “‘If you have more inventory and less demand, prices start going down,’ said Attilio Leonardi, Team Lally, Keller Williams Honolulu. ‘The greatest affordability is going to be from Makaha to the Ewa Plain because there’s a lot of new construction inventory as well as re-sale there.’”

    Thats why he gets paid the bug Yellan buxs… what genius!!!

  5. ‘the median single-family home decrease to about $760,000 on Oahu, which is cheaper than six months ago when prices were above $800,000’

    Eeee-bola Oahu!

    1. A letter to the editor:

      ‘More than two years ago, a neighbor and I did an inventory of the many signs dominating the Rockport landscape. There was even a letter to the editor of the Gloucester Daily Times at that time. The matter was brought to the attention of town officials, and there were some reassurances this matter would be looked into. Yes, while I realize we have serious and more pressing national, commonwealth and local issues, this particular issue cannot be ignored, either.’

      ‘They contaminate the community’s true presentation and also the environment; they are distractions to safe driving and walkers; they often remain months even years after their advertisements no longer necessary, some signs are huge. For example, do we really have to have continuing announcements about a property going to be for sale, then being under contract, or the price reduced, or back on the market after the initial deal didn’t go through and then eventually sold?’

      https://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-why-so-many-signs-in-rockport/article_20a1e437-4d2e-591d-bbbf-515ae7e75314.html

      1. Especially important to the REIC is to reduce the number of “priced reduced” signs. I seem to remember reading about a couple of municipalities that banned for sale signs because it was making the city feel like the city was a bit desperate.

      2. The full article was available linked from Drudge earlier today.

        Here’s a free one from Bloomberg, note the disturbing pattern of a total lack of “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes:

        “While the two generations have strikingly similar views of the world, Parmelee said survey data shows that their points of view differ in a few significant areas, such as life priorities and their perception of society and work.

        Generally, only about half of both groups aspire to purchase a home, and even fewer desire to start a family.”

        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-20/many-millennials-gen-z-pessimistic-on-life-deloitte-survey

        REALTOR, are you deaf? Nobody wants your shacks. Nobody 🙁

        1. From the article:

          “The percentage of respondents who think that businesses are making a positive impact dropped six points from 61% in 2018 to 55%.”

          Yup, I would agree with that sentiment. It seems like the business model of many companies is to make you fat, lazy, addicted, indebted, or distracted. So many multi-level marketing companies! So many scams. It seems rare these days to find a company that is really making a positive difference in peoples’ lives.

  7. “In the disaster’s wake, some displaced victims left the area altogether instead of going through the long, painful process of rebuilding. Others who were thinking of moving to the area changed their plans altogether.

    Overall rising prices in the area north of Los Angeles are also to blame. Last spring, buyers hit their breaking point, says local real estate agent Kevin Paffrath, of meetkevin.com. With high prices, mortgage rates, and the tax changes, many stayed on the sidelines, lessening demand in the area.”

    Interesting. Identify wildfire as cause but then it’s really the bubble prices? You would think 1,000 houses destroyed would wipe out the supply?

  8. “But prices may soon surge again. San Francisco–based Uber and Lyft just went public, and Pinterest, Slack, Postmates, and Airbnb might soon follow suit. With all of those initial public offerings, workers could be in line for some windfalls. And what better way to spend all that money than on real estate?”

    “Some sellers have stopped putting their homes on the market because they want to wait for the supposed rush of [IPO] buyers,” Carlisle says.

    Where is Chris “No Bubble” Thornberg and his mix problem? Come on guys cheers up. Why all this gloom and doom?

  9. ‘Things were looking bleak for the Lucky Dragon last summer. Its casino and restaurants had been closed for months. The off-Strip resort was also in bankruptcy and, according to its main lender, bleeding cash.’

    ‘Many investors — foreigners who shelled out a half-million each in hopes of getting a green card — were confused and angry about the bankruptcy, according to court papers. Some just wanted their money back.’

    ‘The Lucky Dragon was eventually sealed off with chain-link fencing, seized through foreclosure and then sold last month. But the people who used to run the Lucky Dragon can’t wash their hands of it yet.’

    ‘Its developers and prior management are facing lawsuits from Chinese investors, the project’s main lender and a Canadian high roller who paid a $400,000 deposit to lease the casino just one month before it abruptly closed.’

    ‘It’s also unclear whether the Lucky Dragon’s roughly 180 foreign investors — who put money into the project through a federal immigration program — still have a chance at permanent U.S. residency.’

    ‘EB-5 investors want an opportunity to immigrate to the U.S., not necessarily make a lot of money in their targeted project, Las Vegas immigration lawyer Hardeep “Dee” Sull said. But as with any venture, investors can lose big — and in EB-5 deals, they can also lose their chance at a green card. “That’s the risk that they took,” Sull said.’

    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/lucky-dragons-foreign-investors-demand-refund-1666732/

    Stamp your little feet!

    1. and in EB-5 deals, they can also lose their chance at a green card. “That’s the risk that they took,” Sull said.’

      sounds a bit like gambling…

  10. 470K what was she thinking? “The windows don’t seal, A lot higher heating bills and imagine waking up to a picture window full of ice because the seals are bad.

    1. She was in a hurry to snap up that sweet equity, that’s what she was thinking. Go go go!

  11. The real estate crash of 2007 messed up normal building cycles also . I have lost hope that housing will ever be based on it being just shelter and nothing to ever give up all common sense over.

    2. With the Millennial’s “debt-trap” becoming common knowledge, the easy credit gig may have run its course. We can vote, and we are still armed…just need a critical mass of disenchanted like we had back when there was a military draft. Nothing is forever.

      1. Awareness is definitely up among the young. Both myself and Mrs Spiffy have daughters who turned 18 in the last year. One is an academically good student and the other a top 1% STEM type.

        And both have opted for at least 2 years of community college before considering transferring to a 4-year university, siting costs and avoiding debt.

        The next child on deck, a sophomore in High school, is Mr. Super-engineer – star of the school’s robotics team. He’s already targeting what it will take to get a full ride at UW, and figuring out if he can live at home while doing so.

        In a previous generation, they all would be candidates for the full “4 year full immersion big university experience” with Dorm’s, meal-plans, etc, etc, and probably asking Mom & Dad for it.

        Today’s they’re watching the bottom line before they even begin. They’re customers that are saying “No” to the traditional Big-U Sales job.

        1. Sound like smart kids with exceptionally smart parents. They have apparently already won what Buffet calls the “ovarian lottery”.

          1. Well, we have a couple top academics, but also a couple more average kids.

            The big deal is that all of them, and many of their friends, have be hearing adults and older siblings or others talk about student loan debt and the trap it is. Once it penetrates their teenage brains that it’s a setup and they are “the marks” they develop teenager level anxieties over it.

            Word is getting out – it’s possible we’ve already seen peak student loan debt – the number of uninformed and gullible may be shrinking.

  12. “But what would happen to Oahu’s market if vacation rentals were banned from residential neighborhoods like the bill in Honolulu city council? ‘We had a client that called us in a panic, she owned three vacation rentals and she was in a panic and ready to sell them all and leave the island because that’s how she’s been earning her income,’ said Adrienne Lally, Keller Williams Honolulu. ‘I think it could cause a flood of homes to come on the market.’”

    Tears for you poor speculators 🙁

    Please don’t all rush out at once

    1. The backlash against short term rentals has not yet hit its peak.

      For a long time, it was able to ‘fly under the regulatory radar’ since not so many people were doing it and thus the impact on the communities they resided in were much smaller, and awareness about it was less.

      Now, thanks to modern technology and companies like VRBO, AirBnB, and builders who make it a “feature” etc, everybody knows what’s going on and is more aware of the disruption it causes to communities.

      I expect the ability to run short-term rentals to be significantly curtailed in many locales in the next 5 years, along with a lot of new taxes and regulatory requirements for the ones that remain. It is always easy money for local governments to tax “out of towners” – see any Airport rental car or convention hotel tax ever…

      1. So true. Not sure if this is happening in other markets, but here in Boise, many listings will openly say either: 1) has separate living area that could be used as STR or 2) the property has been successfully used as a STR in the past. No doubt people are banking on that extra $$$ to make it work.

        1. I see the same thing in the Wasatch Front (Utah). Lots of homes have a downstairs with a full kitchen and marketers/real estate folks tote that as a great opportunity for increased cash flow!

          Because I definitely want to move away from an apartment where I share walls and move into a home where I share living space with strangers (/sarcasm).

          2. Almost all of my friends my age that have homes are doing that sort of arrangement. They rent the basement of their house. My sister and her husband just put their renovated house on the market on the east bench. Sale fell through. It is in the 500k range. They are hoping they can cash out and move to a LCOL area, preferably overseas.

          3. “I see the same thing in the Wasatch Front (Utah).”

            I actually am kind of down with this what is going on in Salt Lake City. Every study I have read says positive things about “accessory dwelling units” and granny flats. It would make perfect sense for my actual grandma who lives up in a remote part of Idaho and who is losing mobility. She should live with my mom in something like this.

            Are tiny homes the answer to Utah’s housing shortage?
            Ladd Egan
            KSL
            5/20/2019

            “Modal Living has a model unit on display at City Creek Center that is generating a lot of interest, Jube said. Once the stand-alone homes are built, they are delivered and installed in just a few days. The all-inclusive price, including arranging for building permits and utility connections, starts at $120,000.”

            ““Most people who own homes have fairly unused space in their backyards,” Jube said. “So it’s just a way to use that space a little bit better.””

            “Thanks to an ordinance change last October, homeowners across Salt Lake City can apply to build what’s called an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, either in their yard or attached to their existing home. The city has created a handbook to help property owners complete their applications.”

            https://www.ksl.com/article/46556314/are-tiny-homes-the-answer-to-utahs-housing-shortage

          4. “I actually am kind of down with this what is going on in Salt Lake City.”

            I’ve seen a few late model TRD Supercharged Toyota Tundra 1794 trim level trucks for sale in Utah over the past six months. I didn’t think the pious among us would splurge with such vanity, but I’ve been wrong before.

          5. I didn’t think the pious among us would splurge with such vanity, but I’ve been wrong before.

            I invite you down south to St. George if you want to view some true monstrosities of trucks.

  13. Sound like history rhyming?

    I remember many of the same issues coming to light in about 2008.

    Also, really interesting seeing agents highlight prices dropping (heresy until recently). This is, of course, used to support the “….therefore now is a great time to buy” narrative. Otherwise not a peep.

    In around 2008 to 09, the Sarasota Association of Realtors made “Time to Buy” an official marketing slogan which they used extensively in their ad campaigns.

    Round and round we go.

  14. People use to only spend about 20 to 25 percent of their income toward housing. People gave up their power to create pricing when the lenders were willing to let buyers have such a high housing expense. When prices went up slowly the speculation demand wasn’t high. I really blame everything on the Investment demand that created faulty lending and now again absurd prices. People keep giving up their power to have sane prices on almost anything.

    1. “People keep giving up their power to have sane price$ on almost anything”

      What? … everywhere’$ ya look, there’$ a .99 $tore or a 1$ dollar $tore, & yer offered to make a $’s donation to a charity cause without having to finance a postal stamp!

    2. “I really blame everything on the Investment demand that created faulty lending and now again absurd prices.”

      “The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997” <— search

    1. I can see why a lot of young people are pissed today. 700 thousand for some 60 year old piece of shit starter home in Canoga Park. No wonder the youth is game for Socialism.

      1. I’m young and I do question why I should buy into the current system.

        I’m not a socialist, but at a certain point, if you know the game is rigged, it makes sense to knock over the board and start again. That’s the appeal of people like Bernie and Trump to me.

        1. if you know the game is rigged, it makes sense to knock over the board and start again

          Doesn’t socialism throw the board out too?

          1. Yes, socialism throws the board and starts over.

            That’s the reason it’s appealing to the young — the game is rigged, why not start over?

            From a position of hopelessness, what is the worst that could happen? That’s the problem American politicians don’t understand, and why their adherence to a failed development model will only cause greater long-term problems.

          2. socialism throws the board and starts over

            I think socialism replaces the board rather than just throwing it.

          3. Just to be clear since we’re using an analogy: I view “the board” as the foundational underpinnings of our constitutional republic.

          4. the foundational underpinnings of our constitutional republic

            I view getting rid of that as angrily flipping over the card table after landing on Boardwalk one too many times.

        2. dtRump & bernie & NON.bank$ all want to help people buy hou$es, anything to que$tion about that?

        3. Great sub-thread here.

          Now that Colorado has opened its primaries to unaffiliated voters, I can vote for Bernie in the primary and Trump in the general.

          Joe Biden is not getting a Hillary coronation this time, the DNC convention in Milwaukee 2020 is gonna be a sh*tshow.

          “This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush, 2008

          2. Bernie 59% vs 40% Hillary in 2016:

            https://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/colorado/

            Bookmarked this a few weeks ago, time to share.

            Joe Biden: An Imperial Corporatist Wrapped in the Bloody Flag of Charlottesville:

            “Biden is so corporatist and pro-Wall Street that he can’t join the other corporate (neo) liberals in the 2020 presidential horse race in playing what a still-Left Christopher Hitchens once called (in a sharp volume on the neoliberal Clintons) “the essence of American politics”: “the manipulation of populism by elitism.” Biden won’t deign to pay lip-service to populism. Indeed, he has billed himself the “anti-populist” – the antidote to both the right-wing reactionary populism of Trump and the leftish progressive populism of Bernie Sanders.”

            https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/26/joe-biden-an-imperial-corporatist-wrapped-in-the-bloody-flag-of-charlottesville/

      2. “No wonder the youth is game for Socialism.”

        I wonder how screwed up things need to get before people are game for a revolution.

          1. As I see it the consumer has given up their power to Influence prices. Now pricing is based on yields investors want, credit expanding ability to buy, and even insurance creating false pricing In say the medical market. Price fixing is alive and well with the monopolies. Nothing is going to be sane until the consumer worker bee gets their power back .

          2. “We need a revolt against rigged prices.”

            End all government guarantees of financial products.

  18. It’s great to be a home buyer because now you can qualify for that home.’”

    Wrong, Wong. It’s a terrible time to be a home buyer as we are on the cusp of what will be an epic implosion of the Fed’s Everything Bubble and a housing market cratering that will make 2007 look like child’s play.

  19. Billionaire pledges to pay off $40 million in student loan debt for Morehouse College class of 2019

    N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
    Published 3:49 p.m. ET May 19, 2019

    Investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith surprised the Morehouse College class of 2019 with a special graduation gift: He’s going to pay all of their student loan debt.

    “My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans!” Smith told the graduates during his commencement address. “You great Morehouse men are bound only by the limits of your own conviction and creativity.”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/19/billionaire-pledges-pay-off-morehouse-grads-student-loan-debt/3733949002/

    1. I was genuinely touched by this story. Seems like a pretty decent guy. Hope the grads appreciate the gift they received and can pay it forward.

    2. I wonder how bummed out those parents are that paid all but $10k off?

      Billionaire stuns 2019 Morehouse College graduates, pledges to pay off student loans

      By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter
      CP CURRENT PAGE: U.S. | MONDAY, MAY 20, 2019

      “We’re all in robes, hot, the sun was beaming on us,” Ernest Holmes, who said he had about $10,000 in loans that his parents were going to tackle said. “We’re holding our papers up, trying to block the sun out of our eyes. Everyone jumped up, cheered. People were crying. It was just the most amazing thing.”

      Holmes is expected to start work as a software engineer for Google in Mountain View, California.

      Brandon Manor who plans to attend medical school declared it, “a blessing, a blessing!”

      “Now all of a sudden, I can look at schools I might not have considered, because I am not applying with about $100,000 in undergraduate loans,” he said.

      Dwytt Lewis, 21, who just graduated from Morehouse with a degree in business administration, danced his way across the graduation stage after learning his more than $150,000 debt was just wiped away CBS News said.

      https://www.christianpost.com/news/billionaire-stuns-2019-morehouse-college-graduates-pledges-to-pay-off-student-loans.html

      1. “Now all of a sudden, I can look at schools I might not have considered, because I am not applying with about $100,000 in undergraduate loans,” he said.

        So rather than escaping the trap he can’t wait to run back in and rack up the debt again at a “better” school.

    2. It seems like these cuts are warranted. Ford will need to capitalize on its electrification efforts with their F150 and its investment in Rivian because if gas prices soar, it will be a repeat of 2007 all over again and this time I don’t think Ford will make it without a bailout like GM and Chrysler.

  21. Isn’t this the same Danielle Hale that put out a video saying prices will not post any declines in the next five years?

  22. I can see why a lot of young people are pissed today. 700 thousand for some 60 year old piece of shit starter home in Canoga Park. No wonder the youth is game for Socialism.

  23. Keeping tabs on Boise market for eventual purchase…

    Yesterday, went to check out this house:
    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/402-N-Atlantic-St-Boise-ID-83706/79638765_zpid/

    In nice pocket on the “Bench” area. This was a fully-permitted flip. Listed in October for $230k, sold for $235k. Went up for sale on 5/17 for $519k, went pending 5/19. Multiple offers, and went for over asking – not sure on selling price. Really nicely done, we liked the house, but not at $519k.

    Real question: for those who might know, how much would a renovation like this cost? New plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. – the whole enchilada. Even at $100-150k costs, that is a whole lot of profit for the seller. Wow. Insane.

    1. Boise was on my short list. Worried that the sprawl ruins it (see Denver).
      Nampa has a Costco!
      Now, Im thinking Coeur d’Alene, 9 mos of the yr, Mexico the other 3.

      1. Wow, I loved Coeur d’Alene. We had a family business there growing up. It was a magical place.

    2. Are you sure it went pending? All I see from Zillow is ‘Listing removed’.

      I guess i want to believe that it didn’t’ go up 150% in 1 year.

  24. Albuquerquedan – is the crime in ABQ really that bad? NM was 46 on the list of states ranked. Santa Fe is not bad, but the crime!

    1. GM and Ford making pretty big cuts to its work force. Economic cycle is long in the tooth. Seems like most vehicle companies are having problems or are trying to get ahead of the curve. Winter is coming?

      1. That will be the new slogan for the REIC. Winter is coming and spring, summer, and fall are now the new winter and winter is just more winteryer but buy now because we are starving and it’s soooo cold!

  27. “Home prices remain high. So the realtor.com data team found the metro areas where they’re falling the most for some unexpected reasons.”

    Unexpected reasons to whom? the FBs that the reaturds conned into buying? So much CR8R going on through out the US and its snowballing more and more each day. Bitcoin fake air monies might actually be a better investment than RE in todays market, at least chinese money launderers can pump and dump it so you can ride it up. RE is only going DOWN

    1. San Jose, CA
    Median list price: $1.1 million
    Median list price change: -8.4%

    2. Oxnard, CA
    Median list price: $681,100
    Median list price change: -5.4%

    3. College Station, TX
    Median list price: $265,000
    Median list price change: -5.4%

    4. Bridgeport, CT (Fairfield County)
    Median list price: $750,000
    Median list price change: -4.9%

    5. San Francisco, CA
    Median list price: $948,300
    Median list price change: -4.1%

    https://www.chron.com/realestate/article/Falling-Stars-You-Won-t-Believe-the-10-Cities-13858526.php

    1. Cue up the scripted Realtorbabble about “pent-up demand.”

      If George Orwell was alive today, what would he say about REALTORS and their “real journalist” media whores?

  29. We had a client that called us in a panic, she owned three vacation rentals and she was in a panic and ready to sell them all and leave the island because that’s how she’s been earning her income,’ said Adrienne Lally, Keller Williams Honolulu.

    Did you advise her to stamp her little feet?

  31. You’re talking about a huge investment,’ he said. ‘You need to take your time.’ But, he said, ‘you are told, ‘There are 15 people who are ahead of you, you’ve got to make a deal.’”

    It could be that some people’s primary purpose in life is to serve as a warning for others.

      1. “A California company that rents out apartments to international students on behalf of two Champaign-Urbana apartment companies has defaulted on its payments, leaving owners and dozens of University of Illinois students in financial limbo, officials say.”

        “World Elites Housing Inc., known as WeHousing, failed to make its full April payments to The Pointe at U of I in Urbana and Campus Property Management as required by its leases with those two companies, officials said Wednesday. WeHousing’s website was down Wednesday. The phone number listed for the company headquarters in Pleasanton, Calif., was out of service, and a message left was not returned. Several officials said they’ve been told the company’s offices there have been cleared out.”

        “‘They basically said they didn’t have any money,’ manager Brian Agnoletti said.”

        http://housingbubble.blog/?p=1557

    2. It could be that some people’s primary purpose in life is to serve as a warning for others.

      Quotable!

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