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The Big, Big Boom Is Pretty Much Behind Us

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Wu Xiaohui was shopping in New York. For buildings. ‘He didn’t really care — he’d point out the window and say, ’That one!’ recalls a real estate executive. These days Wu is in jail in China. Anbang, meanwhile, is under the control of the Chinese government and looking to unload U.S. properties worth billions of dollars. ‘It’s like a tsunami that came rushing in and then the waters went back out to the sea,’ one developer says.”

“It is being felt by the developers of several luxury towers sitting empty on the fringe of New York’s Central Park. A New York real estate lawyer recently disclosed that he was unwinding a multibillion-dollar U.S. property fund bankrolled by a Chinese fund. ‘We’re in the process of giving the keys back,’ the lawyer says. ‘There’s no money coming out of China.'”

“Dragged down by sluggish markets in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, Bay Area median home prices in May took their greatest swoon in more than seven years in a retreat from record-setting prices. Transactions in tech-heavy and high-priced San Mateo and Santa Clara counties dropped 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.”

“And growing inventory has sellers making some concessions they didn’t have to make last year. ‘They’re having to be a little more receptive to it,’ said agent Matt Rubenstein.”

“For 10 years, greater downtown Detroit has been on a dramatic rising trajectory. New workers have filled up half-empty skyscrapers and new residents have snapped up renovated and newly built apartments and condos. Perhaps it’s inevitable that such a robust economic boom would slow down to catch its breath. ‘I think the big, big boom is pretty much behind us,’ said Bernard White, founder of the White Construction firm.”

“In another sign that old sociopolitical boundaries are vanishing, our old friends at Stratus Properties announced that the next round of 350 or so homes at Barton Creek are going to be smaller than the modern mansions that typify Austin’s western fringe. ‘We just don’t see market demand for some of the larger homes that have been traditional Barton Creek homes,’ Stratus CEO Beau Armstrong told the Statesman.”

“But what about those mansions in the hills? It’s still more delightful than despicable to think and read about aging boomers who can’t unload their dream homes, whether here or around the nation, but this is going to be a real public policy problem someday, isn’t it? Who makes up the future resale market for 6,000-square-foot piles of Spanish-style grandeur at Barton Creek? What are we going to do with the vacant homes and the land under them?”

“Around three million Canadians are saddled with HELOCs.
A quarter of HELOC holders carry a six-figure balance, the report said. ‘With prices going down on homes, we’ve found that clients are having less access to less equity in their homes, [which] means that they have to start making changes and they have to start paying off their debts,’ Greg Norris of the Credit Counselling Society said.”

“Linda Paul, a licensed insolvency trustee with MNP, says about 25 per cent of those with a HELOC do not have a proper plan, meaning their timeline for paying off their debt ranges from ‘five years to never.'”

“One of the problems facing the Ho Chi Minh City market stems from legal difficulties in selling projects, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCMC Real Estate Association, told local press. In fact, there is a lot of supply, but many fail to meet regulatory standards required to begin selling, he said. These are major bottlenecks for investors, who just want to sell their inventory as soon as possible to recover capital, said Chau.”

“Buyers from mainland China are slowing their condo purchases in Bangkok because of the strong baht, overpriced units and a supply glut. ‘Chinese buyers were unhappy when they found that developers sold units to later customers with lower prices than the presale prices they paid a few years ago, as developers wanted to clear their stock,’ said Simon Lee, president of Angel Real Estate Consultancy Co.”

“Hong Kong developers on Thursday launched projects at prices that undercut rivals by up to 20 percent, hoping to attract buyers who have adopted a cautious approach. Wing Tai Properties said it would sell flats at OMA OMA in Tuen Mun at an average price of HK$12,463 per square foot, some 20 per cent lower than Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Mount Regency phase two, which is also in the same area.”

“The cost to unit owners in the troubled Mascot Towers is set to reach new heights. A number of owners are considering declaring bankruptcy as they are left with few options. John Higgins, a unit owner and real estate agent, told news.com.au a fellow owner he knows has been forced to take two days stress leave because of the increasingly burdensome situation.”

“‘She needs (her apartment) rented out,’ Mr Higgins told news.com.au. ‘She can’t hold on another month. It’s not fair.'”

“NAB chief economist Alan Oster said units were still over-built, and a lack of price recovery could spill over into the market for houses. ‘The big downside risk in Brisbane is the apartment market,’ he said. ‘People say it’s going up, but our response is: ‘It’s still four times over-built.'”

“A lackluster real estate market seems to have hit the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) with two plots in its G block failing to attract any bidder since March. ‘Many builders want to sell the land parcels they have. Developers themselves are facing trouble to complete the projects that they have undertaken. Then why will they buy new plots? This is not the time when developers would invest in plots,’ said Pankaj Kapoor, managing director of Liases Foras, a real estate research firm.”

“Another housing expert says that the reserve price quoted by MMRDA was way higher than the existing market rate because of which the developers didn’t turn up or participate in the auction. Dr Sanjay Chaturvedi, a housing expert, said, ‘Firstly there’s not much money in the market. The developers are burdened with the loans they have taken at high interest and are struggling to repay them. Secondly, the rate at which the plots were being auctioned by MMRDA was too high, that’s why no one came forward.'”

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This Post Has 134 Comments

  1. REALTOR, I have so much money left after “throwing money away on rent” every month that I don’t know where to throw it.

      1. I’m not usually a gold bug but it seems like a good candidate for these next few years…

        1. a good candidate

          Assets will be sold at a discount when cascading debt defaults are in full swing. We’re not there yet.

  2. One big “stamp your little feet” for Friday! I don’t know how anyone could deny the bubble has popped.

    1. Haha! It is truly amazing how people (specifically realtors) can deny it but they sure as hell do! I think when their mascot (Mr YuN) constantly paints roses over a picture of destruction and flames, his followers are led to believe in his false hope, especially when their next meal depends on that belief. I know first hand from listening to them at open houses that this is true. Very few will admit we are even correcting and those that do believe it’s just a temporary blip and we will be off to the moon in no time. On the flip side, I talk to CFOs and financial planners that would agree with everything posted on this blog. The quote I see on here from Uptan Sinclair speaks to comment quite well.

  4. ‘Dragged down by sluggish markets in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, Bay Area median home prices in May took their greatest swoon in more than seven years ‘

    Eat yer crowz Thornberg!!

  5. ‘‘We just don’t see market demand for some of the larger homes that have been traditional Barton Creek homes,’ Stratus CEO Beau Armstrong told the Statesman’

    But the Statesman will tell you day in and day out that the shack market is to the moon!

    ‘People say it’s going up’

    I’d say 99% of the REIC media in Australia have been saying it’s going up.

    ‘but our response is: ‘It’s still four times over-built’

    And you’ve just started the foreclosure phase. Bowling ball going down the stairs.

    1. “Who makes up the future resale market for 6,000-square-foot piles of Spanish-style grandeur at Barton Creek? ”

      Investors with cash. They will buy up the houses and then rent them to “one” family of illegal immigrants. Then 20+ of this family’s friends and relatives will promptly move in and occupy all 6,000 of those square feet and pitch in to make the rent.

      And there will be a sign-up sheet on the refrigerator to reserve time to use the kitchen. We saw that when I was house-hunting.

      1. piles of Spanish-style grandeur

        There is a house down the street from me that is about 4000 ft2 of Victorian era grandeur. It has eight gas meters. Not all those Victorians were so easy to chop up into little apartments. The renters are likely not illegal immigrants.

        1. These new mansions are in Texas which is booming with skilled and unskilled employment, not in old, podunk and dying Upstate.

          And nobody is chopping these houses up into separate official apartments with separate utility meters…. geez. They just live open like a large family, or at most put some lock on the bedroom doors.

  7. ‘Chinese buyers were unhappy when they found that developers sold units to later customers with lower prices than the presale prices they paid a few years ago, as developers wanted to clear their stock’

    ‘Hong Kong developers on Thursday launched projects at prices that undercut rivals by up to 20 percent, hoping to attract buyers who have adopted a cautious approach’

    This plays out over and over. Like when new build prices approached or went below existing shacks in San Diego and Orange County last month.

    I know it’s hard to believe, but shacks can actually be replicated – built! And these shack developers don’t give a damn about their recent customers. They’ll bury them in fact. How do I know? Look at these feet stampers above. Look at the hundreds of times this happened last decade.

    1. How can used homeowners possibly compete when better-than-comparable new shacks are available for less? Sounds like more slashin’ and sawin’ lies ahead.

      1. How can used homeowners possibly compete when better-than-comparable new shacks are available for less?

        Here in San Diego, most of those new builds are on much smaller lots with greater tax liabilities (property taxes + Mello-Roos) and HOA fees. It’s not quite an apple to apple comparison. But yes, the slashin’ and sawin’ will spread.

    2. Every time I read that I think to myself, “OK, are these Chinese really that f**king stupid? Do they really think that prices are just chiseled into stone tablets?”

  9. “She needs her apartment rented out. It’s not fair “

    Some of the funniest things I read / hear are from people not trying to be funny . This is a great example.!

      1. Then drop the rent prices????

        If I read it correctly they can’t rent it yet and may not be able to for a year or more? Sounds to me like the tide is going out and some people aren’t just a little naked.

    2. “People that are certifying these buildings are not accountable, as are engineers who are not registered with a unique body.

      “It’s very frustrating …”

      As well as very profitable.

      “.. when certifiers can set up a company, do certifications and then close down the company.”

      😁

  10. Recap. for May: NHS, PHS are leading housing indicators. Housing is a leading U.S. economic indicator. YoY (less volatile) is a better trend indicator vs. MoM (more volatile).
    NHS –
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSKCN1TQ1SU
    Business News
    June 25, 2019 / 8:05 AM / 3 days ago
    U.S. new home sales drop for second straight month
    “WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in May, suggesting lower mortgage rates had yet to provide a boost to the struggling housing market.“
    “…new home sales dropped 7.8% [MoM]“
    “New home sales are drawn from permits and tend to be volatile on a month-to-month basis. Sales fell 3.7% from a year ago. [YoY]”
    “The median [lagging] new house price declined 2.7% from a year ago to $308,000 in May. The housing market has remained sluggish even as mortgage rate have dropped,…“
    PHS –
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housingstarts-idUSKCN1TS238
    Business News
    June 27, 2019 / 8:03 AM / a day ago
    U.S. pending home sales increase in May
    “up 1.1% from the prior month. [MoM]”
    “Compared to one year ago, pending home sales were down 0.7%, marking the 17th straight month of annual decreases. [YoY]”

    One more month of “Spring” ’19 selling season. June ’19 data out in about a month (late July).

    1. so if housing prices drop, if energy prices drop

      do we get deflation? or is all the pumping of central bank $s causing inflation

        1. are you sure with housing and energy prices going down – just asking. What will be inflating besides taxes

          —————————
          In economics, stagflation, or recession-inflation, is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It presents a dilemma for economic policy, since actions intended to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa.

          The term, a portmanteau of stagnation and inflation, is generally attributed to Iain Macleod, a British Conservative Party politician who became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1970. Macleod used the word in a 1965 speech to Parliament during a period of simultaneously high inflation and unemployment in the United Kingdom.[1][2][3][4]

  11. Here’s 20,000 folks that will bee anecdotal mark$ for the Global $ynchronized: “$oft landing$”

    (Actually, maybee 40,000 lil’ $tompin’ feet$!)

    Deut$che Bank considering up to 20,000 job cut$

    (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) is considering cutting 15,000 to 20,000 jobs, or more than one in six full-time positions globally, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday

      1. Mega.Wanker.Bank$ $uper $trong!
        NON.bank$ are $acrificial lamb$ of $helter.$hack loan$ awaitin’ too bee queued up @ thee financial $laughterhouse.

        Global $ynchronized QE = “$oft landing$”

    2. Seems to me that literally cutting one out of every six employees would be a major upheaval for any organization!

  12. “….It’s not fair …”

    Really? Life is fair?

    Maybe she needs to watch a few episodes of Judge Judy.

    Suck it up!

  13. “The cost to unit owners in the troubled Mascot Towers is set to reach new heights. A number of owners are considering declaring bankruptcy as they are left with few options. John Higgins, a unit owner and real estate agent, told news.com.au a fellow owner he knows has been forced to take two days stress leave because of the increasingly burdensome situation.”

    “‘She needs (her apartment) rented out,’ Mr Higgins told news.com.au. ‘She can’t hold on another month. It’s not fair.’”

    Poor poor speculator! Well it was still cheaper than renting 🙂

  14. A source has told news.com.au that previous damage to the building over the last 12 to 18 months led to a previous dispute within the Owners Corp, where one owner reported previously paying $40,000 for structural repairs to the building in 2018.

    “Who has that kind of money?” a source connected to Mascot Towers told news.com.au.

    This phrase sounds familiar to “They have no money”.

  16. From the “how bad is it gonna get” file:

    ‘For 10 years, greater downtown Detroit has been on a dramatic rising trajectory. New workers have filled up half-empty skyscrapers and new residents have snapped up renovated and newly built apartments and condos’

    Ten years, in Detroit. And can you find a US city or burg that hasn’t? Yesterday we were reminded mortgage fraud never went away and is being winked at by lenders. So we’ve got another foreclosure wave ahead of us. Plus the Chinese are swirling the bowl. No 100 years of concrete in 3 this time.

    1. “Plus the Chinese are swirling the bowl. No 100 years of concrete in 3 this time.”

      Makes you wonder how bad things will get over there if no trade deal happens.

      1. Id gladly pay $200 extra for a good,USA made washing machine. 75% of America will say, no bueno, though.

      2. Makes you wonder

        Their date with destiny came before the trade troubles. Now it is just being accelerated. No one will blame it on too much debt, command control and malinvestment.

  17. ‘It is being felt by the developers of several luxury towers sitting empty on the fringe of New York’s Central Park. ‘We’re in the process of giving the keys back,’ the lawyer says. ‘There’s no money coming out of China’

    When reporting the thousands of new unsold shacks recently, the Orange County Register admitted they had largely been built for “foreign Buyers” and everybody knows it’s the Chinese gamblers they were talking about. It was said about the south American money launderers in Miami, the Russian billionaires in London: if your market is relying on outsiders to keep prices high, you are fooked!

    1. Noo Yuck City, the money laundering capital of da world.

      And they say Vancouver is the worst. LOL

      3. “…Noo Yuck City, the money laundering capital of da world….”

        Nope… It’s Irvine, Ca.

        We just don’t get no respect!

        C’mon Chinese money launder’s..!
        Step it up!
        Can’t we launder like it’s 1999?

        1. “Can’t we launder like it’s 1999?”

          Do you happen to work for Mr. Bren @ the Irvine Co.?

          1. Negative.

            I would ask for mercy and request waterboarding or sleep deprivation instead.

            No connections at all to the REIC other than I pay plenty of property taxes.

          2. How ‘outs you drive-thru this joint & get a free drink on ol’ Hwy50:

            Starbucks store in Buena Park sells for record-high $7.88 million$
            Jonathan Lansner | OC Register | 06/28/2019

            And now it’s been sold to a private investor from Southern California with a record-setting price tag that’s tied to the chain’s popularity and its drive-through service that can boost sales by an estimated 70%.

            “There’s only so many drive-through retail locations in L.A. and Orange County, so they’re very valuable when they are available,” says Jon Prater of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services, who along with Aron Cline brokered the deal for the seller.

            This Starbuck property was a quick sale, drawing multiple offers, Prater said. The deal closed with two months at a price that was 93% of what was initially asked for.

            “It’s prime-time property, lot$ going on on Beach Boulevard right now,” Prater says.I

            (Hwy50’s anecdotal evidence ca$e # 186)

  18. ‘One of the wonderful things about America and the fragmentation of modern media is that it’s possible to be a highly compensated television anchor while speaking for a tiny sliver of the American electorate. But perhaps MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow didn’t expect this fact to be highlighted during a gathering of Democratic presidential candidates.’

    ‘At Wednesday night’s debate in Miami former Rep. John Delaney (D., Md.) attempted to inject some measure of reality into his colleagues’ discussion of economics. But he also provided an interesting response to Ms. Maddow on the question of prosecuting President Donald Trump for real or imagined offenses. It seems that the core of her nightly programming may be of little interest to many Democratic voters, never mind Republicans.’

    ‘DELANEY: … no one is above the law, and this president, who is lawless, should not be above the law. But I will tell you, Rachel, the one thing when you’re out doing as much campaigning as I’ve done, 400 events, all 99 counties in Iowa, this is not the number-one issue the American people ask us about.’

    ‘It’s not. They want to know what we’re going to do for health care, how we’re going to lower pharmaceutical prices, how we’re going to build infrastructure, what we’re going to do to create jobs in their communities.’

    ‘You know, last year in our country, 80 percent of the money for start-up businesses went to 50 counties in this country. There’s [sic] over 3,000 counties in this country. That’s what they care about. They care about what’s going on in the public schools. They care about what’s going on with jobs in their communities, with their pay, with their health care, with infrastructure. These are the issues, these kind of kitchen-table, pocket-book issues…’

    ‘MADDOW: Understood.’

    ‘DELANEY: … are actually what most Americans care about. They never ask about the Mueller Report.’

    ‘(CROSSTALK) MADDOW: Congressman, thank you. Your time is up.’

    ‘DELANEY: They never ask about it. They want to know how we’re going to solve these problems.’

    ‘At that point Ms. Maddow interjected to say again that Mr. Delaney’s time had expired.’

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/rachel-maddows-reality-check-11561649572

      1. “400 events, all 99 counties in Iowa …” = current recipient’s of Billion$ of U$ taxpayer$ ca$h $ubsidies.

        Climate abberation$, aka: “a change in thee weather” are a hoax created by China.

        “trade war$ are good and easy to win.” + “tariff$ are beautiful thing”

        1. From the bottom of the WSJ article:

          ‘Democrats at Wednesday’s debate were speaking to an electorate that seems to largely agree on the necessity of policies to prevent global warming but wildly disagrees with the candidates on the question of price.’

          ‘Reuters reports: Nearly 70 percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, want the United States to take “aggressive” action to combat climate change – but only a third would support an extra tax of $100 a year to help, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday.’

          I would like to cut pollution. The fact is no one is serious about it. Take the little Sandinista. She recent went to Texas for a photo op about an empty parking lot. Did she walk, take a bus? Oh hell no. She got on a big old jet-airliner with her $600 watch and flew back to her air-conditioned luxury apartment quicker than you can say enchilada!

          ‘But don’t expect DiCaprio to turn into a couch potato. During his time off, the thesp expressed a desire to get back to raising awareness about the threat of global warming, a cause close to his heart.’

          “I would like to improve the world a bit,” he told the daily. “I will fly around the world doing good for the environment.”

          https://www.eonline.com/fr/news/380606/leonardo-dicaprio-i-m-taking-a-long-long-break-from-movies

          1. CNBC: The era of electric flight is closer than you think
            5 hours ago

            EasyJet is working with American start-up Wright Electric to build electric planes for regular services that fly distances of less than 300 miles.

        2. Climate Change to DemoRATS is like Terrorism to ReTHUGSicans.

          Let’s waste our time, money and energy on things we can’t do anything about.

          1. “Let’s waste our time, money and energy on things we can’t do anything about.”

            NOAA is a contributor to American Farmers $uccess, it’$ also a “big gubmint” taxpayer$ funded expenditure$ user.

            If we can’t “do anything” why should U$ taxpayers continue to “wa$te” such tax monie$ on these type$ of gubmint agencie$?

          2. “If we can’t “do anything” why should U$ taxpayers continue to “wa$te” such tax monie$ on these type$ of gubmint agencie$?”

            LOL

            It’s the same logic, that will one day increase the yearly military budget to 1 Trillion.

          5. Logic need$ per$pective:

            Mega.Military.Industrial.Complex = $778 Billion$ / yearly

            NOAA:

            This provides a total of $5.54B for NOAA. … OAR Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF) – OAR Climate Research is funded at $159M, a $1M increase from FY 2018 enacted

          6. Wait, more taxpayer$ expenditure$ “breaking new$”:

            (& x1+ “Emergency!” )

            ‘Lives depend on it.’ AG William Barr declares public safety ’emergency’ in Alaska

            KEVIN JOHNSON | USA TODAY | 06/28/2019

            The federal declaration, the first of its kind for Alaska, comes as the state grapples with the highest per capita crime rate in the United States. Barr visited the state last month, meeting with local authorities and crime victims.

            “I witnessed first-hand the complex, unique and dire law enforcement challenges the state of Alaska and its remote Alaska native communities are facing,” Barr said. “With this emergency declaration, I am directing resources where they are needed most and needed immediately.”

          7. The housing bubble seems to exacerbate the probability of violent crime by forcing women and children who have been victims of abuse to continue remaining with their perpetrator because shelter costs are too high.

        3. Tariffs are a beautiful think when the other country has higher tariffs or unfair trade practices. We are in an interglacial period yet we are two degrees cooler than a normal interglacial period. Weather and climate did not began in 1880. We are not abnormally warm. Look at the record over the last 500000 years and you will wonder why we are so cool with so much co2 in the atmosphere. Also the world is colder right now than it was during an el nino during the 90s. The developing countries want 100 billion a year that is all AGW is about. Carbon taxes are just a tax on stupid. I think the IRS forms should have a box, if you believe AOC you should pay a stupid tax.

        1. One of the comments:

          “I’m a bilingual Mexican American…and the whole speaking spanish on the debate stage is a little irritating. Patronizing. And there’s a whole lot of Dems watching who don’t know wtf you’re saying. And @CoryBooker…that was rough man.”

          1. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jeb-bush-speaks-spanish-english-home/story?id=31861226

            MUIR: Usted habla Español en sus entrevistas — aqui conmigo… You speak Spanish in your interviews – here with me for example-

            BUSH: Hablas más que bien. Es impressionante. You speak Spanish quite well, very impressive.

            MUIR: Gracias. Pero en su casa? Con Columba? Thank you. Do you speak Spanish at home with Columba?

            BUSH: We speak more Spanish than English at home.

            MUIR: Con sus nietos? With your grandchildren?

            BUSH: Our grandkids, almost all of them speak Spanish, two of them also speak a little Arabic. Georgia and Vivian’s mother was born in Canada but she is of Iraqi descent. We of course also have a Texan and a Mexican in our family so it is quite a mixture — very American.

            A Texan? You pandering bashtard!

      3. I’m pretty sure that “people” give a fudge if you speak Spanish. “Voters” might be something else. Speaking Spanish more than just pandering. It’s a dog whistle that you will look the other way when people barge in for freebies.

    2. That the rebuke of this shrill harpy came from a Democrat is interesting, though politicians often say things during the campaign that you wish were not forgotten about afterwards.

    3. Wife and I watched the 1st half of the 1st night’s debate last night and had some good discussions on it. My wife really liked congressman Delaney. Her comment was, “He doesn’t look like what you imagine a president being, but I would feel confident if someone like that were president. He seems like he has a grasp on things.”

    5. They want to know what we’re going to do for health care, how we’re going to lower pharmaceutical prices

      Voters need to understand that single-payer healthcare systems make decisions at a population, not individual, level and often base decisions on a unit called a quality-adjusted life year (QALY).

      Use of QALY in Healthcare Decision-Making – The Controversy Continues,

      Terminally ill boy denied ‘potentially life-saving’ treatment by NHS ‘would be given it in any US hospital’.

        1. Health economics, which includes drug pricing, is a fascinating field. Had I know about it in college, I might have changed my career path.

      2. Healthcare service demand when one is not paying directly but payment is being provided by 3rd party (e.g. insurance or govt) is virtually unlimited.

          1. Duh

            It’s not a matter of supply and demand. It’s a matter of individual choice versus population economics. Posit those alternatives to voters and they’ll recoil from latter.

        3. It’s a matter of individual choice versus population economics.

          If an individual has the funds to pay, they have the choice to spend their money on healthcare they deem necessary. But since most healthcare is paid for by 3rd party (e.g. insurance) the individual choice you speak of will demand that someone else pay for unlimited treatment. There is no end to the demand when someone else is paying.

          1. There is also a strong demand for drug companies to come up with procedures that are extremely expensive and propose them to patients and demand that 3rd party pay.

            I remember very well a conversation on the med-surg floor I was working between the hospitalist and the nephrologist about how a specific patient who was in kidney failure was a “golden patient”. The patient was healthy enough that he would last about a year, but unhealthy enough that he needed multiple treatments per week. The doctor said something to the effect that this particular patient was a goldmine.

  20. Even more:
    Overall, Canadians are skipping bill payments at a much higher rate than Big Six data reveals. Of households with debt, 11% skipped or were late on their non-mortgage payment. Counting just those with mortgages, 4% skipped or delayed a mortgage payment in the year of the survey. The obvious takeaway is that homeowners are better off, but that isn’t always the case.

    The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) expressed some interesting insights last year. They’re the government agency with ads across Toronto and Vancouver reminding people their homes aren’t ATMs. The agency has a growing concern that homeowners are using home equity lines of credit (HELOC) debt to conceal financial distress. That is, people are shifting their debts around, but not actually making much progress. Since the survey was taken, Canadians have drawn $42 billion in HELOC debt. Not enough data to link the two yet, but something to keep in mind.

    Over 7% Of Canadians Missed Or Were Late On Debt Payments
    A signifiant number of households are missing non-mortgage debt payments. The smallest segment was households with a DTA ratio less than 25%, of which 7% missed or were late on at least one payment in the past year. Next up were those with a DTA between 25% and 50%, of which 11.5% were late or missed payment(s). The highest predictably were those with a DTA ratio higher than 50%, of which 16.1% missed or were late on a payment. The trend is clearly the higher the debt relative to assets, the more likely people are to fall behind. This is repeated throughout other segments revealed in the survey.
    ————-
    “Around three million Canadians are saddled with HELOCs.
    A quarter of HELOC holders carry a six-figure balance, the report said. ‘With prices going down on homes, we’ve found that clients are having less access to less equity in their homes, [which] means that they have to start making changes and they have to start paying off their debts,’ Greg Norris of the Credit Counselling Society said.”

    1. “With prices going down on homes, we’ve found that clients are having less access to less equity in their homes, [which] means that they have to start making changes and they have to start paying off their debts”

      REALTOR-speak for you are broke, broke, broke.

      REALTOR lied to you, you believed it, and now you are a broke @ss looser.

      P.S. in case you forgot, I have so much money left after “throwing money away on rent” every month that I don’t know where to throw it.

    2. Here’s x2 to $tart:

      Why Ford Is Buying Detroit’s Derelict Train Station. … The station feels like a symbol because it is. When it opened in 1913, the grand 18-story office tower, its cavernous waiting room fronted by looming Corinthian columns, was the tallest rail station in the world. Jun 19, 2018

      (All.Aboard.Amtrak!)

      +

      This guy might run for Mayor! … (again)

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez

      1. “The station feels like a symbol because it is.”

        Reagan coerced the Navy to overhaul several WWII era battleships despite the protests that they were relics of history. Small accurate missiles had already replaced lobbing 2,100-warheads, but those ships were symbols of power!

        1. Geez rms, takin’ the youngin’s on a tour of the USN Midway or USN Iowa, or down into a modern $ubmarine is kinda memorable & a history lesson don’t ya think?

          1. They spent lots of good money restoring relic weapon systems, and when a line of powder bags ignited before the breach was closed, the Navy concocted a “gay sailor” revenge story that was later found to be a complete fabrication. Sandia National Laboratories figured out what really happened, spending millions more looking at a relic weapons system!

    3. It’s mostly hipster millennial preference for trendy downtown urban living, with some of the jobs tied to the automotive industry.

  23. “One of the problems facing the Ho Chi Minh City market stems from legal difficulties in selling projects, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCMC Real Estate Association, told local press. In fact, there is a lot of supply, but many fail to meet regulatory standards required to begin selling, he said. These are major bottlenecks for investors, who just want to sell their inventory as soon as possible to recover capital, said Chau.”

    Guy I know just got back from a month trip to Vietnam. Latest foodie craze there is eating fried mice. I’m thinking I might open up a food truck in LA serving fried rat – sprinkle generously with a little seaweed flakes (not to mention typhus), serve on a bagel with goat cream cheese and call it gourmet. Vulture Capitalists – who’s with me? I could use a little $ugar to get this idea “off the ground” – literally! (and out of the trash, sewers, etc. 🙂

    1. One of the problems facing the Ho Chi Minh City market stems from legal difficulties in selling projects, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCMC Real Estate Association, told local press.

      There’s an easy fix for that, Le. Just change the name back to Saigon and have the local NAR tell marks, er, clients, there’s never been a better time to buy a house in Saigon. Problem solved!

        1. Seemed too honest to be in the industry despite the exaggeration of enthusiasm. Unless she was working with the camera thief…in which case yes.

  24. IT’S NOT FAIR!!! Which one?
    1) Overpaying for the shack?
    2) Repaying HELOCs?
    3) Can’t find a loser for your loser rental prop?

    1. Yes it has.

      The Wall Street Journal
      Credit Markets
      Treasury Yields Decline for Third Quarter in a Row
      Concerns over slowing growth and global trade drive investors to haven assets
      By Ira Iosebashvili
      Updated June 28, 2019 5:07 pm ET

      U.S. government-bond yields fell for a third consecutive quarter, reflecting how worries over slowing growth and global trade have boosted investor demand for haven assets.

      The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which falls when bond prices rise, settled at 2% on Friday, from 2.007% the previous day. It has fallen by more than a full percentage point in the past three quarters, its biggest decline over such a period since 2011.
      …
      To Read the Full Story
      Subscribe

      1. “To Read the Full Story
        Subscribe”

        Hey Professor, it’$ available @ the library for free!

        Geez …

  26. ‘With prices going down on homes, we’ve found that clients are having less access to less equity in their homes, [which] means that they have to start making changes and they have to start paying off their debts,’ Greg Norris of the Credit Counselling Society said.”

    Those changes should probably start with procuring a good sturdy cardboard box and a shopping cart, and mapping out the local bridges and underpasses they’ll be sleeping under.

    1. “…mapping out the local bridges and underpasses they’ll be sleeping under….”

      There is probably a “app” for that.

      Reality check: If folks have managed to HELOC [*the* financial opioid of choice these days] themselves into oblivion, how many *really* have the self discipline to change their financial ways?

      Probably have better luck getting a donkey to run the Kentucky Derby (and win).

  27. “‘She needs (her apartment) rented out,’ Mr Higgins told news.com.au. ‘She can’t hold on another month. It’s not fair.’”

    It would take a heart of stone to read about the stress and panic this money-hemorrhaging speculator is suffering, and not laugh.

  29. I’m seriously considering selling a property that has tremendous sentimental value. What do people see as being the trajectory for beach communities in Commiefornia? At what point are homeless and short-term rentals going to drive out people wanting to live there? Will these communities become vacation destinations? People are still buying and building where the property is. Is now the time to get out? I’m pursuing the possibility of a 1031 exchange so getting out at the top isn’t a motivating factor. TIA

    1. “tremendous sentimental value” ? + ” the trajectory for beach communities in Commiefornia? ”

      where is your dilemma? (eye’m cornfused):

      di·lem·ma |/diˈlemə,dīˈlemə/ |noun

      a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally unde$irable ones.

      “the people often face the dilemma of feeding themselves or their cattle”

      1. Emotion is admittedly interfering with reason here. So you agree that the trajectory for beach communities in Commiefornia doesn’t look good?

        1. Buy the rumor, $ell The new$.

          California has 950 miles of “beach communitie$”, that’s a whole lot of gaps to fill that aren’t within 50 miles of LAX … SAN … or SFO

          1. Buy the rumor, $ell The new$.

            Translation please?

            California has 950 miles of “beach communitie$”

            Some topographies and climates are more homeless friendly than others. What does that bring us down to?

          2. Faith.

            Shelterle$$ness is a blight.

            Blights don’t endure forever, (Wa$h DC Thee exception)

            Gettysburg, PA was littered with dead bodies, now, tourist$ … What’s your time frame?

          4. The $ale price you achieve in the very near term will knot bee equal to it within 10 years, that’$ my be$t financial e$timation.

            (Can’t speak to the $entimental aspect of it, some things oddly, to some people, are pricele$$)

            Blight:

            a thing that spoils or damages something.

            “the shelterless contaminated beach properties are a blight on the neighborhood”

            synonyms: affliction, scourge, bane, curse, plague, menace, evil, misfortune, woe, calamity, trouble, ordeal, thorn in one’s flesh/side, trial, tribulation, visitation, nuisance, pest, pollution, contamination, cancer, canker

            “the government is protecting people from the blight of a lack of perpetual Federal Re$erve fund$”

          5. The $ale price you achieve in the very near term will knot bee equal to it within 10 years, that’$ my be$t financial e$timation.

            Good job on the non-answer. I was hoping for a speculative greater than or less than sign.

          6. Eye have no way to determine wither it’$ yer account balance$ or yer heart you wish to $oothe. … or both!

            Search for flip.coin, @ least the odd$ are 50/50.

  30. Tariffs are a beautiful think when the other country has higher tariffs or unfair trade practices. We are in an interglacial period yet we are two degrees cooler than a normal interglacial period. Weather and climate did not began in 1880. We are not abnormally warm. Look at the record over the last 500000 years and you will wonder why we are so cool with so much co2 in the atmosphere. Also the world is colder right now than it was during an el nino during the 90s. The developing countries want 100 billion a year that is all AGW is about. Carbon taxes are just a tax on stupid. I think the IRS forms should have a box, if you believe AOC you should pay a stupid tax.

    1. Sorry do not know how it posted twice should say tariffs are a beautiful thing. We had high tariffs during most of our history and we prospered. To the degree you need to fund government, tariffs are great

      1. “We had high tariff$ during most of our hi$tory and we pro$pered. ”

        Bugs: “eh, eye don’t think so Doc”

        The Tariff Act of 1930, commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff$

        The tariff$ (this does not include duty-free imports) under the act were the $econd-highe$t in the United States in 100 year$, exceeded by a small margin by the Tariff of 1828. The Act and following retaliatory tariffs by America’s trading partners were major factors of the reduction of American exports and imports by more than half during the Depression. Although economists disagree by how much, the con$en$u$ view among economists and economic historians is that “The pa$$age of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff exacerbated the Great Depre$$ion”

  31. Article for Jeff:

    “A service dog is believed to be the first to reach the summit of Mount Rainier.

    The medical alert dog, Loki, made the trek with its owner, Elizabeth Briggs. They were joined by Mel Olson and McKenzie Johnson, who led the journey. This was Johnson’s seventh Rainier summit.

    In the last two years, Johnson, Briggs and Loki have spent time hiking, ice climbing, and completing a winter Colorado “14er” (a mountain peak exceeding 14,000 feet) to prepare to take on Rainier.

    “This gave me an opportunity to see Loki in his natural element and how the two of them performed together,” said Johnson. “Prior to Rainier, Loki had completed 80 ’14er’ summits, which often included more technical scrambles, extreme exposure, and even roped ascents.”

    https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/service-dog-owner-trained-on-colorado-14ers-before-record-summit-of-mount-rainier

    1. “It’s pretty awesome if Loki was the first,” Johnson said.

      Loki was only the first because no one gave our beloved mountain climbing Bubble Dog a crack at Mount Rainier.

  32. It’s still more delightful than despicable to think and read about aging boomers who can’t unload their dream homes, whether here or around the nation, but this is going to be a real public policy problem someday, isn’t it?

    Why should greedhead boomers chasing the market down be a public policy problem? Sounds more like a personal solvency problem.

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