thehousingbubble@gmail.com
Blog

They Don’t Want To Get Stuck In Something They Paid Too Much For

A report from the Wall Street Journal. “The housing market sputtered in September as a lack of homes for sale and high prices disrupted what was shaping up as a rebound in the second half of the year. ‘You can sit there and go, ‘Oh my god, look how low mortgage rates are.’ said Tom Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic and Housing Consulting. But then you go, ‘Look how high home prices are.'”

From Wharton. “By this year end, U.S. home prices are likely to be 4% lower than what they could have been without the tax changes that took effect in 2018, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi. Of the estimated home-price damage to about 3,000 counties throughout the country, the biggest estimated value loss was in Essex County, NJ (11.3%), followed by Westchester County, NY, suburban New York City (11.1%); and Union County, NJ (11%), according to the ProPublica report.”

“‘The regions that are taking a bigger hit than others are those that are export-intensive, said Wharton’s Susan Wachter . ‘For the first time, we’re seeing population declines in large markets like the New York City Metro area, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, which are also hit by trade declines, especially in service industries,’ she added.”

“‘The tax law effects have knocked the wind out of the Bay Area housing market, which is the poster child,’ said Zandi. ‘House prices over the last year or two since the tax law change have weakened considerably, and have been declining more recently.’ Added Wachter: ‘Prices are coming down, and in New York City and San Francisco, for some, they are for the first time affordable.'”

The Boston Herald in Massachusetts. “Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk dodged questions after making a $1 million donation to Boston Latin Academy on Monday at a time when his industry is facing strict regulations in the city that could affect his company’s bottom line. Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mark Calabria said Boston’s short-term regulations could have consequences for the housing market.”

“Calabria said large numbers of investor-owned properties — like the ones Boston’s regulations are trying to eradicate — could be a warning sign that a downturn in the housing market could be coming. The number of investors in the housing market has reached ‘pre-crisis’ levels and is one of several ‘red flags’ to regulatory agencies that the markets could start to slow.”

From AM New York. “As the push for rent law reforms enters its final stretch this week, mom-and-pop landlords worry that new laws could put them out of business. ‘A lot of the more mom-and-pop type, I would say, responsible owners, they’re the ones that are now going to have to sell,’ said John Brennan, a broker who sells rent-stabilized apartments in the city for Marcus & Millichap.”

From Crain’s Chicago Business in Illinois. “Chicago’s real estate market has been weak all year, and Lakeview has softened more than most North Side neighborhoods. ‘It’s as slow in Lakeview as I’ve ever seen it,’ said Eudice Fogel, a Compass agent who’s been in the Chicago real estate business since the early 1980s.”

“‘People worried about the state of the state has put a huge damper on pricing,’ said Carrie McCormick, an @properties agent. Both McCormick and Fogel said sellers’ price expectations are also playing a role. People who bought during those optimistic years after the recession and are now ready to sell may expect to reap a healthy profit, ‘but that’s not where the market is now,’ Fogel said.”

“‘They’ll wait,’ she said. ‘They’re not in a hurry,’ in part because they got burned or saw others get burned in the mid-2000s downturn and ‘they don’t want to get stuck in something they paid too much for.'”

From Nevada Public Radio. “Vivek Sah, with the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at UNLV, said there are going to be neighborhoods, particularly newer neighborhoods with more new homes being built, that will see a fall in prices. He said the price of new construction is overpriced in Las Vegas.”

“‘The pricing on those new constructions is way, way ahead, way, way more than – from the affordability perspective, from the income perspective – than resale,’ he said.”

From WSJM in Michigan. “The red-hot housing market in southwest Michigan is showing signs of cooling down. Sales of existing homes in September were down by 12% from August and off by 3% compared to a year ago. The amount of bank-owned or foreclosed homes as a percentage of all sales rose from 3% in August to 4% in September, which is the same percentage as it was last year.”

From WHIO in Ohio. “‘It has not slowed down, that’s the thing. It’s been interesting,’ said Jan Leverett, president of Dayton Realtors. ‘It’s just a good solid market. The panic and the frenzy has stopped and that’s a good thing because people are then thinking about what they’re doing and there’s not buyer’s remorse.'”

“During the peak of the summer home sales, houses were selling within hours of being listed, Leverett said. Homes are still selling fast, but it’s taking more like five to seven days. ‘There’s still a shortage of inventory. It’s still pretty much a seller’s market. It’s a fantastic time to sell, the best it’s been in a long time,’ said area real estate agent Herman Castro. ‘The market hasn’t started to slow down yet, it’s just starting to come back to where it has been, where it should be.'”

The Los Angeles Times in California. “Actress Rachel Bloom and her husband, writer-producer Dan Gregor, have filed a lawsuit against various corporate entities allegedly tied to former USC football players Matt Leinart and Brandon Hance, accusing the shell companies of operating a fraudulent home-flipping operation.”

“Bloom Gregor alleged in the lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court on Monday that they are among those duped by real estate investor Raul Menjivar. Bloom and Gregor purchased their home in Central L.A. from Menjivar’s company, the Run Group, in 2015 for $1.275 million, records show. In 2018, the couple discovered defects after investigating a number of leaking windows, according to the complaint, including ‘severe rot’ that had been concealed with new drywall as well as a load-bearing wall that had become ‘completely compromised’ as a result of the Run Group’s work, according to the lawsuit.”

“Bloom and Gregor attempted to mediate the dispute before seeking litigation, the lawsuit said. They are seeking compensatory damages of $500,000 or more, plus punitive damages.”

From ABC 13 in Texas. “A group of patio homes that are in danger of falling down has neighbors worried, and city officials taking a closer look. The property is in the middle of Houston’s thriving Montrose neighborhood, yet the top floors of the three-story homes have caved in. Sam Bethancourt, who lives next door, says the property has gotten worse with each passing hurricane season.”

“The Bethancourts have communicated extensively with the owner of the property Alan Paull. Each time, they have promised that reconstruction will start soon. The Paulls’ company, Paull and Partners, is represented by attorney Miles Cohn.”

“Cohn explained in an email the situation regarding the property: ‘The builder filed a lawsuit that held up foreclosure on this and a number of other properties for almost two years, without protecting or completing a number of homes. Due to the injunction, Paull & Partners was not allowed to foreclose, to take possession or do anything else with respect to the properties at issue in the lawsuit.’ In addition, a search of public records show Paull & Partners as owners of dozens of properties, and are defendants in several ongoing lawsuits.”

From Market Watch. “A side comment made by a regulator during a congressional hearing uesday shows how little is settled when it comes to the fates of the two companies that underpin much of the housing finance market in the United States. ‘If the circumstances present itself to where we have to wipe out the shareholders, we will,’ Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mark Calabria said during a hearing before the House Financial Service Committee, referring to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s shareholders.”

“The remark came in an exchange with Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat from Illinois, who suggested that the plan to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was benefiting shareholders rather than U.S. taxpayers. ‘I agree completely that we should have and we should still wipe out these shareholders,’ Foster responded.”

“Calabria frequently noted that Fannie and Freddie were operating at leverage ratios of 500 to 1, while most major banks are only allowed to maintain leverage ratios of 10 to 1. ‘Even if every single loan Fannie and Freddie made were pristine, they would still fail at that level of leverage’ in the event of a downturn, Calabria said.”

Related Posts
This Post Has 157 Comments

  1. ‘Calabria frequently noted that Fannie and Freddie were operating at leverage ratios of 500 to 1, while most major banks are only allowed to maintain leverage ratios of 10 to 1. ‘Even if every single loan Fannie and Freddie made were pristine, they would still fail at that level of leverage’ in the event of a downturn’

    Oh but “there’s no subprime”, the ankle biters said year after year.

    1. Hopefully there will never again be another housing downturn, so that scary scenario will not have to be tested.

      1. “No unemployment, No HB.B ll $helter.$hack collap$e!”
        By Chri$y Thorn.in.yer.$ide.berg

        “No Recession, No $tockMarket$ debacle$!
        By Anonymous Wall$treet backalley graffiti arti$t

        1. When it eventually collapses, everyone from Yellen on down will be heard to loudly proclaim, “Nobody could have seen it coming!”

      2. “…there will never again be another housing downturn…”

        Not possible says my REIC agent over at the local StarBucks.

  3. The Read More link in the Hindsight post sends me to the wrong place, and no, I didn’t already say that.

    1. Good for him. I’ve been a big proponent of LeBron, but his statement (and Harden’s) were just cowardly.

        2. Lol, that commenter is an NPC lemming based on everything I’ve read…that is how he could make an utterly embarrassing and preposterous statement like “I’ve been a big proponent of LeBron”. It doesn’t get much lamer than that.

        3. What kind of self-respecting white man would be “a big proponent of LeBron?

          You seem like a nice person. Have you seen LeBron’s school?

          2. I don’t care about his “school.” He’s a bigot.

            Care to explain your statement above in the context of bigotry?

            What kind of self-respecting white man would be “a big proponent of LeBron?

    2. Also kudos to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who acknowledged some loss of revenue but will not fire or otherwise discipline Daryl Morey.

  6. Landlords had all the incentives in the world to luxurize a100 year old tenement apartments put $3000 viking stoves, spend Thousands on a video surveillance system, new imported Italian tile in the hallways, granite tops all in a 6th floor walk up,
    ———————–
    More than 300,000 rent-stabilized apartments were deregulated in New York City and surrounding counties because of vacancy decontrol, lawmakers said in the bill.

    1. Oh and not to mention a 20% increase every time someone vacates the apartment. So you get the worst tenants you can find ( or very short term ones) and a few vacancies later a $600 average apartment can easily become a $2000 a month decontrolled apartment all legally

  7. ‘You can sit there and go, ‘Oh my god, look how low mortgage rates are.’ said Tom Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic and Housing Consulting. But then you go, ‘Look how high home prices are.’

    Oh, so there IS correlation between the two?
    /s

    1. “…Tom Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic and Housing Consulting…”

      Tom Lawler didn’t take all those economics classes for nuth’in.

    2. This is what has pushed the rent-seekers into podunk towns to buy up cheap rentals, subsequently driving prices and rental rates through the roof. At first, with said low rates, they could finance a 3/2 for less than $500 per month, then charge several hundred over the note – a no-brainer. But as prices hyperinflated, and rents too, the numbers no longer make sense.

  8. ‘Prices are coming down, and in New York City and San Francisco, for some, they are for the first time affordable.’

    It’s awesome to hear that long-elusive affordable housing goals are finally starting to be realized!

    1. “$imultaneously for rent or for $ale.” (I wonder what that means)

      1. Help me negotiate my $helter.$hack $elling price $lightly … or …

      2. Help me $ub$idize my purcha$e mi$take until I find a greater.fool, many thank$!

    3. We saw one of those last year and traced it to a shady local realtwhore who was trying to sell it under LLC to foreign investors as ready-made investment opportunity. Investor would buy with his company, serving also as rental management, having already secured a renter. Super shady. The only reason we traced it back was the realtwhore wasn’t responding to requests for a showing. That a$$hole was buying up properties in ROC during the downturn, doing half-a$$ed flips, then selling them to foreign investors with renters in them. It looks like the realtwhore has been losing his shirt on the venture though because then he started selling off all his properties.

      1. Main photograph is of a cutesy windowbox.
        Wide open concept
        Striped not-wood flooring reminiscent of a saloon
        Minimalist Millenial Gray walls *ugh*
        “Word” decor like “home” and “gather” (SOP for stagers)
        Bought for $640K a year ago, sorry that’s not $300K of reno

        Failed flip. Sorry, buyers are wise to these tactics now.

          1. Uh, maybe it’s supposed to match the flooring?
            And for $870K you would think they’d throw in a washer/dryer🙄

  11. “Vivek Sah, with the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at UNLV,

    I can’t believe no one commented on the name of that institute! The name says it all: the “Lied Institute”. Yes, you’ve been lied too!

      1. I did actually know that. I just had to point out the irony though.

        Since I am a French speaking (2nd language) Des Moines is technically pronounced “Day Mwann”, meaning “the monks.”

  13. A few days back, I mentioned how the buzzwords of “rents under market” are like nails on a chalkboard to me…

    Here you go:
    “Excellent rental history since 2012, current rent is 5500, way below market.”

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5400-5402-1-Ne-Rodney-Ave-Portland-OR-97211/2082925497_zpid/

    I used to drive past this place daily in the early 2000s, back when it was vacant and in the middle of a bullet-dodging neighborhood, and wonder how I could buy it and make what you see here. (and then sell it for $1M, I guess, 15 years later.)

    Anyway, here they are, asking someone to pay for their retirement and oh, by the way, it’s then your job to increase rents so that it pencils…gtfoh.

    1. Wow, 3rd quarter earnings crushed it. Big surprise. In this world there are only Teslas as far as I’m concerned. They are running away with it.

        1. Gross margins up, operating expenses fell. Yes, governments around the world want less polluting vehicles and are giving incentives to all manufacturers to make EVs. Tesla is playing by the rules of the game and cashing in when other vehicle manufactures decided they wont/cant make EVs. But stripping out tax credits and they are still revenue positive.

          As the China factory comes online things are really going to get interesting. Wait time for delivery in the US is back up to 10 weeks. They will have demand as far as the eye can see. Thank goodness Honda is moving up the EV program by 3 years in Europe, maybe Tesla will have some competition.

          3. And deeper in debt than ever.

            Some perspective. Teslas debt is something like $13B. Ford’s debt is like $154B. There is a reason why Ford is hastening its launch of their Mustang EV. They know that things are at a tipping point. If the traditional automakers don’t get with the game, they risk becoming Nokia and Kodak.

          4. Mustang EV

            Oh look: there’s a squirrel.

            My 1970 Firebird was almost the death of me. Acceleration is a lot of fun.

            The thing about Kodak is that new technology overtook them that was radically better, faster, cheaper. The thing with T is that there is no technological breakthrough. It’s packaging and branding of what we already had/knew. It’s twice as expensive and half as efficient, but with a cult following. Poor Ford, we’ll see if they they can cash in before the mania is over.

          6. Blue, you should seriously drive one. It is radically better in every way. There is really no comparison. Faster, check. Better, check. Cheaper? Well, cost to maintain is significantly cheaper.

          7. Poor Ford, we’ll see if they they can cash in before the mania is over.

            You crack me up Blue. I wonder what you think about ecommerce, is that a mania? I guess buying things online will probably just go away. Some things truly are a mania, but EVs are certainly not those.

            I do hope Ford figures things out too. Their debt just got downgraded to junk. Can’t wait to see that new movie about Ford vs Ferrari. It seems like if the movie were to be made today, Musk is more of the mold of Henry Ford than anyone I can think of today.

          8. The thing with T is that there is no technological breakthrough. It’s packaging and branding of what we already had/knew.

            I think I get what you are saying…but even though all the technology may have already existed, NOBODY was putting it all together the way they have. A fairly nice quick car that never needs to go to the gas station or the oil change place that at least seems somewhat future proof due to having the hardware in place for self driving if they can ever get it working right. I’d still call that innovation…even if half the innovation is how to take advantage of govt subsidies and tax policies. So far they’ve put it all together far better than anybody else, delivered a significant amount of product, and managed to not quite go broke yet. In a world of mostly vaporware and BSers that’s impressive.

          9. The incentives are a huge deal. Here in CA, the carpool stickers are a huge deal (right now, to get the coveted carpool sticker the car has to be 2017 or new electric or plug in hybrid); those stickers were a huge factor to the majority of Tesla buyers I’ve talked to.

            And Tesla has its additional costs, too, such as requiring special car wash and repairs ($1000 windshield replacement).

            The issue with Tesla just isn’t debt; it’s the cash flow. Tesla requires constant cash injections to keep from running out of money (just like WeWork, Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, etc). Ford doesn’t.

            We’ll see what happens; I suspect ALL the car makers will get plenty of stress in the next few years.

          10. The incentives are a huge deal.

            With $4.50 gas in CA is a huge incentive. My father lives in So Cal and he can’t believe how many model 3s he sees. They are everywhere. He was an early adopter with an S, but with gas prices atmospherically high in CA, I imagine Tesla will continue to sell well sticker or not.

            I’ve never replaced anything on my model 3 yet, only added wiper fluid two weeks ago. Granted, I’ve only owned my car for 9 months. But there is no special car wash required. You can take your car to any car wash you want. But if you put paint protection film or ceramic coating on your car (which you could do with any nice car you cared about), then yeah, you have to avoid those tunnel car washes and do touchless carwashes or hand washes.

          11. buying things online will probably just go away

            Clearly you just make stuff up out of thin air.

            A mania is a fanatical conviction based on a false premise. Dissecting the premise is only illuminating for those not living in the mania.

          12. Gas is more like $4 ($4.50 maybe for Chevron premium), and electricity is $0.224/KWHr for the first 256.4 KWHr and $0.282 after that. (And the “EV” plan supposedly isn’t great either, because while your night time rate goes down, your day time rate goes up). And PG&E rates never go down (unlike gasoline), and are likely to increase.

            And, yes, at least some Tesla Model 3’s do have problems in some car washes.

            If you want to “save the planet”, I think getting a used Prius is a better plan: > 40MPG, and you’re not using up a whole bunch of resources to make it.

          13. Gas is more like $4 ($4.50 maybe for Chevron premium),

            You are right, it is a bit lower than $4.50, but not by much. Triple A says gas is averaging $4.08 for regular, $4.26 or mid grade, and $4.37 for premium. But that is the average, so I’m sure there are quite a few areas higher. I don’t know though, I don’t live there. My father just told me yesterday that he is seeing $4.50 gas signs everywhere (didn’t ask if it was premium/regular):

            Just two days ago:

            Rising California Gasoline Prices Highlight Growing Divide in U.S.
            WSJ
            Amrith Ramkumar
            Oct 23, 2019

            “Mr. Hissem’s journey highlights an unpleasant truth for many Americans, even at a time of abundant global oil supplies: Regional differences in taxes, environmental rules and access to energy infrastructure can translate into large seasonal swings in gasoline prices.”

            “Prices have surged this fall in California and other West Coast states following outages at several refineries in the region. Analysts said the coast is generally vulnerable because of its limited pipelines and refineries that turn oil into fuel products such as gasoline. Higher gas taxes in some states aiming to fund local infrastructure projects and varying pricing strategies by energy companies also drive gaps.”

            As far as a Prius, they are respectable. But they look terrible in my opinion. But plug-in hyrids are a good choice for many people, but they are not for me. I didn’t want oil changes and I absolutely love AutoPilot and all the features of my model 3. To each his/her own though.

        1. At least rats have a self-preservation incentive. Frankly, self-driving car bots don’t give a damn if they self destruct.

          Scientists have trained rats to drive tiny cars to collect food
          Life 22 October 2019
          By Alice Klein
          A rat in a tiny car
          Rats seem to find driving relaxing
          Kelly Lambert/University of Richmond

          Rats have mastered the art of driving a tiny car, suggesting that their brains are more flexible than we thought. The finding could be used to understand how learning new skills relieves stress and how neurological and psychiatric conditions affect mental capabilities.
          …

        1. The whole “whompy” wheels is a short-driven fabrication by anti-Tesla trolls.

          The term was originally coined by an engineer who goes by keef of Australia, who single-handedly submitted probably 50 separate reports to the NHTSA of pictures of random junked Teslas where the wheel had been dislocated. It was picked up by self-interested shorts and magnified, but there is no real issue as Teslas continue to receive the highest crash ratings available.

          As far wheels, here are what mine look like:

          https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/attachments/19-tst-grey-jpg.322451/

        2. Come to think of it, cars that can go from 0 to 100 mph along the span of a freeway entrance ramp can’t be that safe, whether driven by robots or Utahns.

          1. Come to think of it, cars that can go from 0 to 100 mph along the span of a freeway entrance ramp can’t be that safe

            I object…I quite enjoy that no matter what kind of motor the car has. Merging under braking can be quite safe.

          2. Merging under braking can be quite safe.

            Far better than pulling out in front of a semi going 20mph faster than you are!

    2. “A police officer couldn’t open the doors because the handles were retracted and bystanders watched helplessly as the car filled with smoke and flame…”

      Break out a window?

  17. “people are then thinking about what they’re doing” — Jan Leverett, president of Dayton Realtors

    Why in 2019 is this sound advice, considering what the REALTOR and its Real Journalist cheerleaders were saying in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017?

    So people weren’t thinking about what they were doing?

    It’s a good thing everybody who bought then put at least 20% down and have been making extra mortgage payments…

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

  18. “I’m not sure which makes me happier….. President Donald J. Trump … ”

    Obviously, you’re knot in Iowa. ( is you left-handed or right-handed? … Don’t … Stop! … Don’t stop!)

    Iffin’ ya want eye’ll keep the red.state harm$.to.farm$ acomin’!

    Politic$
    Iowa Farmers Bla$t Trump’$ Dealmaking$ After EPA Biofuel Plan

    By Michael Hirtzer and Jennifer A Dlouhy | Bloomberg | October 16, 2019,

    “My personal perspective is that President Trump has lost support,” said Kelly Nieuwenhuis, president of the board for ethanol maker Siouxland Energy Cooperative in Sioux Center, Iowa. The Siouxland plant halted production in September.

    Under Trump, the EPA has exempted more small oil refiners from requirements to blend biofuel. Ethanol and biodiesel producers say the waivers have further pressured prices, limited demand and helped prompt manufacturing plant closures, threatening jobs in Trump’s base of rural America.

    1. requirements to blend biofuel

      The EPA has long warned us that blending ethanol into gasoline is counter productive as far as saving energy goes. Congress doesn’t seem to care. Here you blame the Pres for doing something that seems right for the country and yesterday you blamed the Pres for giving farmers other subsidies.

      1. Ye is just like aqdan, puttin’ “yer words” in my mouth, … here, let me e ta.cate$ yerself, upon yerself:

        “My personal perspective is that President Trump has lost support,” said Kelly Nieuwenhuis, president of the board for ethanol maker Siouxland Energy Cooperative in Sioux Center, Iowa. The Siouxland plant halted production in September.”

        (Eye was raised on a Kansas farm, every other state, is all my cousins, including my kin in Ohio, the ones who don’t accept $ocial $ecurity)

        1. Do you know how many different blends of gasoline there are for each region of the US? EVs though run on the same type of electrons.

          1. EVs though run on the same type of electrons.

            Cute. Electricity is not an energy source. For your “Tesla is the only thing in the world”, about a 20% efficient conversion of actual fuel at best.

          3. Nothing like a coal powered car.

            So are you saying we should get off coal as soon as possible and transition to renewables? If so, we agree.

          5. Wouldn’t requiring Teslas to run on renewables make them a still more costly form of transportation?

          6. easy to follow

            We already dissected the math here. 20%. One fine point that didn’t get covered is your 1200 pound battery. That’s like having eight passengers all the time. Efficient indeed. One day we will run out of fools who pretend to save by wasting more.

          7. Wouldn’t requiring Teslas to run on renewables make them a still more costly form of transportation?

            How much does sunshine cost?

      2. “Congress doesn’t seem to care” (well, that’s only 200 red.state votes)

        Oh, sorry this article is x1 week old. $ad.

        ‘Outrage’ in Iowa biofuel$ industry over propo$ed EPA blending rule$

        KGLO News | DES MOINES | OCT 16, 2019

        DES MOINES — Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel industry reacted in di$belief and anger Tuesday after the Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft policy on future biofuels production targets.

        The president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association was first to react, saying he was outraged the EPA failed to implement the details of a plan President Trump announced 11 days ago. Trump’s outline suggested oil refineries would be forced to blend more ethanol in gasoline next year, to make up for the ethanol blending waivers granted this year. The Iowa Corn Growers’ leader said the EPA’s document fell “well short” of that mark.

        The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association blasted the EPA for reneging on Trump’s biofuels deal. The Iowa Biodiesel Board said the EPA’s plan did not restore the integrity of the Renewable Fuels Standard, as Trump had promised.

        The EPA, in issuing its announcement, included comments from Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst as well as Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg — all Republicans — all of whom the EPA quoted praising the proposal.

        1. Don’t tell that to the Red.$tate farmer$, you’ll make them feel like fool$ driving around in their $78,000 Mega.Dualees$ with expen$ive mud tire$!

          M.A.G.A = Make. Agriculture.Great.Again!

          2. ” are burning diesel”

            ye forgot the word “Bio.diesel” … = “$mall corn” Detail$

            Also,
            “you’re supporting a coal power plant and all its pollution.”

            coal is regional, … & in it’$ last breath of $urvival, nationwide.

          2. No, but you’re supporting a coal power plant and all its pollution.

            Believe me, as soon as I’m able to buy coal-free electricity, I will. PG&E’s rolling blackouts is probably going to be good for the home battery + solar business.

          3. What’s holding you back? The cost?

            I recently looked into solar panels as I am concerned that the Green New Deal folks will start shutting down power plants once they are in control, meaning electricity will likely be rationed and I would like to run the A/C even if just a little bit during the summer. But they are still very expensive.

          4. What’s holding you back? The cost?

            Well, it’s because we don’t own, we rent an apartment. Our utility doesn’t allow us to buy renewable credits which funnel investment into renewable energy. I view that as kind of buying free range chicken eggs. Sure, there are cheaper alternatives out there, but for moral/ethical/health reasons people will buy something more expensive if they have a reason.

            If we did own, we’d probably take advantage of Tesla’s $50/month rent-solar-roof array scheme as that seems very positive from those I know who have done it. Keep in mind a couple of my extended family is in solar sales.

          5. Thanks for being on this blog. I’ve been reading since BEFORE bubble 1.0. There is a lot of good info, but there’s also a lot of misogynistic, MAGA-filled, anti-reality/science drivel to wade thru. I just bought a plug-in hybrid. Live in Simi Valley. Opted for 100 💯 renewable energy from SCE. Renting and waiting for 2.0 to burst. Thanks for being a beacon of light here. It’s a fairly hostile place for women in general, but thanks for being “one against many.”

          6. Saw your comment back here 🙂
            IMHO, the comments section is not as friendly as it used to be. Reflects the times, I think.
            About misogyny – when I was in the restaurant biz, as the owner/mgr, some male customers would give me their critiques of the waitresses’ and barmaids’ attractiveness. I guess I their expectation was that I’d do something about it. Usually, they were the ugliest men, both inside and out. Never forgot that.
            In fairness, some here obviously got a raw deal from their spouses.

          7. IMHO, the comments section is not as friendly as it used to be. Reflects the times, I think.

            It only takes one or two people of the right personality type to have a huge affect on the “feel” of a group. Nobody can replace OlympiaGal.

      4. Years ago, someone suggested that the order of the Presidential primaries should be determined by the voter turnout in the previous election. I agree. Because frankly I’m tired of being politically beholden to pet issues in Iowa and New Hampshire.

        1. I would go one further you can’t even declare your intentions until the year of the election…Jan 1st 2020 is the earliest you can do anything. Including fundraising………Then all the primaries in June then on to the elections

        2. “pet issues in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

          Iowa = 3,123,899
          New Hampshire = 1,330,608

          Clowniforicateyerexwife: 39,143.818

          $enators per state = 2

          (Smiling about the $tate of inju$tice!)

          Happy that the polluted wind$ blow East … Is there still cheap $helter.$hacks in Wyoming?

          1. Is there still cheap $helter.$hacks in Wyoming?

            Nope, it all got bubbled years ago. They were behind the times in 2010 so when everybody else crashed they were just thinking about crashing when the Fed saved us all. So they didn’t learn anything at all last time except buy the dip in Arizona houses for wintertime use.

          2. “Nope, it all got bubbled years ago.”

            Visited friends in Douglas, WY recently … Jack$on seems to bee the magnet for out.of.$taters … No coal, no evil EPA job$, no evil FDA job$, no evil BLM job$ … $ad.

    1. “The mom, pediatrician Anne Georgulas…”

      If she were a welfare mom this case wouldn’t have reached this point.

    2. We’re all just monkeys with cars and clothes. I suspect the boy may have been his only child and she is intentionally trying to take away the chance of his genes propagating any further in order to hurt him at the deepest possible level. I used to think women would never hurt children to get back at an ex but I no longer assume that.

      1. Or the boy could have been an only child and mom always wanted a princess to dress up for ballet.
        Or the boy could have been mentally ripped up by the divorce and is expressing gender confusion to get attention and love.

        1. She’s actually not his “mom”. The child was conceived with his father’s sperm and a donor egg and she carried the child to term. She technically has no biological relation to him. Also single women/lesbian parents grooming male children for this sort of thing is frighteningly common, as I’ve seen in my travels around the internet. 🙁

          1. she carried the child to term

            Speaking as a mother who had three pregnancies to get one child, that’s the most important part.

          2. Also single women/lesbian parents grooming male children for this sort of thing is frighteningly common

            Some call this sacrificing the children to Moloch.

          4. “The child was conceived with his father’s sperm and a donor egg and she carried the child to term.”

            Wow, a progressive virgin? 🙂

    1. To a lot of people around here, Adam is living the dream…

      On the other hand. WTFFF do they need over 4000 employees for?

      1. He may be living the dream, but what he’s done and how he’s financially benefited is essentially everything that’s wrong with corporate pay structures in a nutshell. If he had no employees, he wouldn’t even have 2 nickels to rub together, yet they get a pittance and he rides off into the sunset with more money than 99.999% of humans would make in 100 lifetimes.

        1. I forecast all that cash will be exchanged for 3 hots and a cot.

          Say.. 4 years ago I made it clear the MID would go away.

          1. Well, Madoff went to the slammer, so there is hope. Though I don’t recall Bernie’s investors paying him to go away at first.

            Perhaps Neumann has dirt on Softbank that they prefer stay behind closed doors? I’ve never heard of an incompetent CEO getting that kind of golden parachute to go away.

    2. Welcome to the oligarchy, hipsters and Millennials. Enjoy your shafting.

      Meh, they’re young, they’ll find other jobs. Maybe they wont pay as well, but they’ll find them. Now, when they’re 50 and they get dejobbed, then they’ll learn the meaning of fun.

  21. Best explanation of panicked liquidity injections by the Fed (that I’ve seen):

    Intervention

    Excerpt:
    The Fed has gone into full intervention mode. Not only into full intervention mode, but accelerated intervention mode. Not just a little “mid cycle adjustment” but full bore daily interventions to the tune of dozens of billions of dollars every single day. What’s the crisis? After all we live in the age of trillion dollar market cap companies, unemployment at 50 year lows and yet the Fed is acting like the doomsday clock has melted as a result of a nuclear attack.

    Think I’m in hyperbole mode here? Far from it.

    Unless you think the biggest repo efforts ever by far surpassing the 2008 financial crisis actions are hyperbole
    […]
    What? You don’t think Fed is not all about markets? Where have you been? After all the Fed’s stated policy objective now is to extend the business cycle by any means necessary. And they can’t do that with falling stock prices.

    And so they are in accelerated, daily, intervention mode. Because this is what it takes. The questions investors have to ask themselves is this: What if it’s not enough? And what is it they are not telling us? Why are they are forced into these historic unexpected measures? Wha happens if they lose control? We may know more next week.

    2. The Fed has an unlimited balance sheet with unlimited access to capital (the printing press), so why can’t they just carry the entire US economy?

      1. The Fed has an unlimited balance sheet with unlimited access to capital (the printing press), so why can’t they just carry the entire US economy?

        They can sure extend things for a long time. But can they do it without reducing real production any further? If very many people stop productive work to chase bubbles (or can no longer make a living from productive work) it will crash much faster no matter how much they print. But if they can keep people producing and just print enough to skim off the top…but it seems like they have to take too much to keep the machine running and it will get out of control soon.

        1. But can they do it without reducing real production any further?

          I think that perhaps the idea is that 3rd worlders will perform the read production.

      2. No kidding! If there is something valuable and desirable to all Americans, like houses for example, why can’t the Fed just run its printing press on high blast and buy a house for every American?

        Presto, chango, no more homelessness!

      1. The Financial Times
        Repo market
        Fed to increase repo market interventions again ahead of month-end
        Dramatic boost to size of the operation catches some participants off guard
        Colby Smith and Joe Rennison in New York yesterday

        The Federal Reserve surprised some traders on Wednesday by saying it would increase the amount of money it is injecting into overnight lending markets, seeking to avoid a repeat of the cash crunch that sent short-term borrowing rates soaring in September.

        Beginning on Thursday, the Fed will increase the size of its overnight operations for the repurchase or “repo” market, where banks and investors borrow cash in exchange for Treasuries and other high quality collateral.

        The markets arm of the US central bank said it would raise the limit on the amount of cash it will lend into the market to at least $120bn, up from the $75bn it had previously agreed to supply on a daily basis.

        It also said it would boost the amount it lends in the slightly longer-term, two-week repo market to at least $45bn, to cover any cash needs over the end of the month. Previously, the Fed was offering $35bn.

        The dramatic increase in the size of the operations caught some market participants off guard, because the Fed has largely been able to accommodate banks’ demands for its loans on offer recently. Bids have only outpaced what the Fed is willing to supply on two occasions since the beginning of October.

        “This is the first time it feels like they are not responding to the market,” said one repo trader. “I don’t see a reason to upsize the overnight operation so substantially.”
        …

          2. Yes. But not QE.

            Agree. But the idea is to send a credible signal to the market participants that the central bank will “do whatever it takes.”

    1. “God Bless President Donald J. Trump And God Bless America!”

      Capital letters & bold type using one hand! Impressive!

      Ya have a focu$ed $tiffy for yer Man!

  23. “We may know more next week.” ?

    Their $tated “end.of.time” is Feb 1$t 2020 … But really, they make their own rule$ … $o, $eriously don’t rely on lil.oh.me.!

  24. “‘They’ll wait,’ she said. ‘They’re not in a hurry,’ in part because they got burned or saw others get burned in the mid-2000s downturn and ‘they don’t want to get stuck in something they paid too much for.’”

    It frankly amazes me how many people will not postpone the largest personal investment of a lifetime by a couple of years to avoid overpaying at the top. I guess the concept of underwaterness is hard for most people to grasp, up until the point when they find themselves underwater and stuck in a place they can’t sell for an amount that would enable them to pay off the mortgage.

    1. I’m having a hard time convincing my wife to wait — it’s VERY predictable that house prices are going down, big time, with the WeBroke layoffs being the latest sign.

      (And, of course, if we were to buy, and then house prices decline by >20%, I get blamed, not her)

      2. Why buy a house when you can rent one for half the monthly cost?

        Buy it later after prices crater for 70% less.

        Malibu, CA Housing Prices Crater 13% YOY As One Broker Concedes “Prices Are Falling Fast And There Is No Bottom In Sight”

        https://www.zillow.com/malibu-ca/home-values/

        *Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

  25. Check out the price history on this gem. Nothing shady going on here…

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/20394-Almaden-Rd-San-Jose-CA-95120/19766878_zpid/

    Price history
    DATE EVENT PRICE
    10/23/2019 Listed for sale $1,325,000(-40.1%)
    7/30/2019 Sold $2,211,263(+178.1%)
    7/25/2019 Listing removed $795,000
    5/20/2019 Listed for sale $795,000(+22.3%)
    9/6/2016 Listing removed $650,000
    8/15/2016 Price change $650,000(-56.7%)
    5/27/2016 Listed for sale $1,500,000(+2900%)
    7/22/2011 Listing removed $50,000
    7/21/2011 Listed for sale $50,000(-92.4%)
    4/27/2005 Sold $660,000(+312.5%)
    9/14/2004 Sold $160,000(-56.2%)
    7/22/2003 Sold $365,000

    1. “ACTIVE LANDSLIDE” ??!?

      It looks like landslides have destroyed the house multiple times and people keep selling the empty lot and rebuilding. That’s the only thing that makes sense. Maybe they’re trying to attract an overseas buyer, sight unseen. Or it’s just multiple money laundering.

      That said, that has to be the weirdest house ever. Who puts a fireplace inside the wall between a balcony and a bathtub?

        1. The fireplace looks like it’s between the bathtub in the master bathroom and the master bedroom.

          1. It’s a gas fireplace. You can put those anywhere, though being that close to the window might not be a great idea.

Comments are closed.