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Now In The Camp That Have Gone From Hot To Not

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “During the fourth quarter of last year, 2,404 sales closed in Manhattan, a 1.2% dip year-over-year. The median sales price, meanwhile, remained flat at close to $1 million, according to a report by Douglas Elliman. However, the median sales price in the luxury segment, defined as the top 10% of sales, dropped 24% year-over-year to $4.8 million.”

“Zillow and Pulsenomics LLC asked more than 100 real estate gurus to predict what would occur in 2020 housing markets. As for 25 major local markets, those folks polled did not like what they saw in California, with the state home to five of the six U.S. metro areas with the poll’s worst outlooks. ‘Many West Coast markets hit an affordability ceiling that set off declining home values in the most expensive of these,’ said Zillow economist Skylar Olsen. ‘Indeed, this price correction — a clap back from having appreciated with too much exuberance in the recent past — pushes many previously hot markets to the bottom of our experts’ list.'”

“The co-founder of a popular online ticketing marketplace sold his Bal Harbour condo for $9 million, a loss from its previous sale in 2018. Property records show Vivid Seats co-founder Jerry Bednyak sold Oceana Bal Harbour units 2102S and 2102S to 2018 West Churchill Trust. The double unit spans 7,442 square feet with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It last sold in 2018 for $13.25 million.”

“Metro Denver home prices, after years of effervescent gains, are going as flat as that unfinished bottle of champagne. ‘Metro Denver real estate values have peaked and are falling in some locales,’ said Van Lewis, a broker associate with Re/Max Alliance in Aurora. ‘Nothing drastic, but definitely a change from recent years.'”

“‘Denver’s home price growth came crashing back to Earth after several years of stratospheric increases. We forecast that to continue, with a mere 1.4% price growth over the next year,’ said Jeff Tucker, an economist with Zillow. Denver isn’t alone in seeing the party come to an end. Denver is now in the camp of metros that have gone from hot to not. Several of the hottest housing markets from 2018 — San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Seattle — have all suffered sharp slowdowns, Taylor said.”

“The value of Lululemon Athletica Inc. founder Chip Wilson’s Vancouver waterfront mansion has fallen 11 per cent to about $65-million, a high-profile example of the downturn in the city’s housing market. Mr. Wilson has seen his property’s assessed value drop nearly 18 per cent from the peak of $78.8-million in mid-2017. In the city of Vancouver, the median value for detached properties fell to $1,568,000 in mid-2019, down 10.7 per cent compared with $1,755,000 in mid-2018, BC Assessment said in its latest annual review. The median value for condos slipped to $686,000 within Vancouver’s city limits, down 7.3 per cent from $740,000.”

“House prices have started to fall for the first time since 2012. Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the, Ronan Lyons, says the owner-occupier sector is just one part of the housing system. ‘We’re seeing no more upward pressure on prices and in fact slight downward pressure in prices. That is indeed a good thing, but it doesn’t mean we have an entirely healthy housing system yet,’ he said.”

“There are about 1.83 lakh unsold housing units in urban area worth Rs 1.39 lakh crore. The SBICAP study had estimated that nearly 4.58 lakh housing units were stalled. Some of the reasons behind projects getting stalled have been the liquidity crunch and reports of developers diverting homebuyers’ payments to other projects. Some homebuyers have even stopped making payment since several projects have been stalled for years and some builders have gone bankrupt.”

“Private home prices in Singapore rose just 0.3% in the final three months of 2019, further evidence that government cooling measures levied in mid-2018 have taken the heat out of the city-state’s residential real estate market. Slower home-price growth could make it harder to work through an apartment glut, however. The city-state is grappling with a housing oversupply that some market watchers say may take as long as four years to clear. There are almost 32,000 units — some finished, others under construction — in the pipeline.”

“Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said Melbourne’s market had seen three phases over the past decade; a soft period in 2010-2011, a boom from 2012 to 2017 and a correction from late 2017 to mid-2019. South Yarra’s median house price jumped from $725,000 in 2010 to $1,477,750 in the year to November this year, with a peak of $1.760 million in 2017.”

“According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, the median house price within nine holiday destinations dropped by up to 16 percent in the three months to November 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. Parts of Waiheke Island and Wanaka, where the median house price tips $1 million, have become slightly more affordable, while Pauanui has also taken a knock. People looking for a little peace and quiet away from the rat race may still be able to unearth a property for under $500,000 in places like Te Anau and Taupo – or could re-consider places like Mangawhai Heads, Paihia, Oneroa or Onetangi, where latest data shows that prices have pulled back.”

“Life may be getting slightly easier for Hawaii’s renters because apartment rents have flattened and are declining in many parts of Oahu, two new housing studies show. ‘In the last three to four years, rents have flattened or decreased,’ said Matt Brummel, president of Honolulu Property Management, which manages 1,000 apartment units, most of them on Oahu. ‘Supply has increased to where it lets renters be more picky and choosy and don’t need to pay the same rent.'”

“This trend became evident even before vacation rental rules on Oahu were changed. Those effects have not yet been fully studied and it will be some time before a more definitive analysis is completed, but experts think it will cause further good news for Hawaii renters as more units formerly rented to tourists become available to local people. About 1,448 housing units were built on Oahu in 2018, 881 were built in 2019 and 671 will be built in 2020, says housing analyst Ricky Cassiday. ‘The average rents are going down,’ he said.”

“In one downtown building, for example, a lower-floor unit rented for $3,800 a month in 2014. More recently, a nicer unit in the same building came up for rent and was leased at $3,400, or $400 a month less, Brummel said. When the tenant in the $3,800-a-month unit moved out, the landlord realized that rents had fallen so much that he decided to sell instead, he said. ‘Everything comes back on the table when the landlord listens to the market.’ Cassiday said.”

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This Post Has 107 Comments

  1. ‘Metro Denver home prices, after years of effervescent gains, are going as flat as that unfinished bottle of champagne. ‘Metro Denver real estate values have peaked and are falling in some locales,’ said Van Lewis, a broker associate with Re/Max Alliance in Aurora. ‘Nothing drastic, but definitely a change from recent years.’

    This article is interesting as someone who watches how local media work with the RIEC. Their fear is showing. You are gonna have defaults out the whazzo Van. Maybe start that “short sale specialist” thing if you haven’t already.

      1. But real estate builds “wealth”! Oh, wait a minute, debt isn’t wealth and a mortgage can be an enormous burden, depending on terms and conditions (T’s & C’s). I’m sure everyone put at least 20% down…

        mortgage (n.)

        late 14c., from Old French morgage, literally “dead pledge,” from mort “dead” + gage “pledge.” So called because the deal dies when the debt is paid or when payment fails.

        late 14c., morgage, “a conveyance of property on condition as security for a loan or agreement,” from Old French morgage (13c.), mort gaige, literally “dead pledge” (replaced in modern French by hypothèque), from mort “dead” (see mortal (adj.)) + gage “pledge” (see wage (n.)). So called because the deal dies either when the debt is paid or when payment fails. Old French mort is from Vulgar Latin *mortus “dead,” from Latin mortuus, past participle of mori “to die” (from PIE root *mer- “to rub away, harm,” also “to die” and forming words referring to death and to beings subject to death). The -t- was restored in Modern English based on Latin.

        And it seemeth, that the cause why it is called mortgage is, for that it is doubtful whether the feoffor will pay at the day limited such sum or not: and if he doth not pay, then the land which is put in pledge upon condition for the payment of the money, is taken from him for ever, and so dead to him upon condition, &c. And if he doth pay the money, then the pledge is dead as to the tenant, &c. [Coke upon Littleton, 1664]

        1. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I do know the REIC will insist lower shack prices mean biblical disasters, even as they pay lip service to the “poor priced out renters who need help on the ladder”. And the REIC would sell their grannies for a month of commissions.

          1. Pretty funny how they want high prices and low prices at the same time. Of course that’s why they all want tax breaks and giveaways (“down payment assistance”), because that’s how you please both owners and renters. How to pay for it? They say tax the rich, but really we’re just headed for MMT.

    2. ‘Metro Denver home prices, after years of effervescent gains, are going as flat as that unfinished bottle of champagne. ‘Metro Denver real estate values have peaked and are falling in some locales,’ said Van Lewis, a broker associate with Re/Max Alliance in Aurora. ‘Nothing drastic, but definitely a change from recent years.’

      – ‘Nothing drastic’: No, not yet, but things are just getting started. Anyone who bought near or after the bubble peak might live to regret it. I foresee lessons in whazzo pounding on sale.
      – Ex nihilo Yellen bucks (and associated RE commissions) going to money heaven. The Fed’s bubble-nomic model needs some tweaking here, as there’s no contingency for the downside. Of course, no one could see this coming years ago…

        1. OK. Mustn’t spook the herd. The RE news out a couple of years should be interesting in that they won’t be able to spin it / hide it anymore.

  2. ‘the median house price within nine holiday destinations dropped by up to 16 percent in the three months to November 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. Parts of Waiheke Island and Wanaka, where the median house price tips $1 million, have become slightly more affordable’

    What articles like this don’t focus on is these are second shacks. There’s no jobs anywhere near able to support these prices. It’s also completely speculative as one could just stay at a hotel or resort and have someone else make the bed and scrub the toilet.

        1. “Cleaning lady”? These “vacation homeowners” are loaded up with subprime mortgages. They don’t have two dimes to rub together.

          1. I did say “if they could afford it” and given that there are people who make a living cleaning other people’s homes, there are some who can afford it.

          2. There’s millions of unqualified borrowers borrowing piles of money for rapidly depreciating houses.

            Can they afford it too?

  4. ‘this price correction — a clap back from having appreciated with too much exuberance in the recent past’

    Now you tell us Skylar!

    ‘the median sales price in the luxury segment, defined as the top 10% of sales, dropped 24% year-over-year’

    Hmmm, sinking like a turd in the well since 2016 and down it goes even worser…

    1. A “clap back” eh? 🤣

      These realtor claptraps come up with some beauts…. some real beauts.

  5. “Zillow and Pulsenomics LLC asked more than 100 real estate gurus to predict what would occur in 2020 housing markets. As for 25 major local markets, those folks polled did not like what they saw in California, with the state home to five of the six U.S. metro areas with the poll’s worst outlooks. ‘Many West Coast markets hit an affordability ceiling that set off declining home values in the most expensive of these,’ said Zillow economist Skylar Olsen.”

    – West coast, esp. CA leads, w/ high-end housing also leading. This has already reached flyover markets and lower-tier housing.
    – It’s clear that we’re in another housing bubble (2.0), and moving down on the other side of the peak. And yet the REIC/MSM complex won’t mention the “b-word”.
    – The decline, like the increase, will take several years to play out. Slow motion train wreck, and that’s just one asset class of “The Everything Bubble”; all will eventually fall back to earth. Q: What’s the opposite of the “wealth effect”? Whatever it is, we’ll know soon enough.

    1. They are admitting what was obvious a year and a half ago about the west coast. First I found multiple references to price reductions, then it started showing up in statistics. Then they couldn’t maintain the illusion and YOY stats went south. That so many did this in near unison leads me to believe it was a larger issue: lending had run its course/ran out of buyers. Mel Watt getting the boot might have played a role, we’ll have to wait for a book to come out or something.

      And it’s worth noting a trend I spotted several years ago. Take NYC: rents fell then prices fell in the most expensive areas. And they fell even more on the most expensive streets. Same thing happened in London, Vancouver, Sydney, etc. Take the bay aryans: most expensive got hit first, fastest and furthest so far. Palo Alto crapped their pants 6 months from multiple offers over asking.

      Yeah, I know about the reverse wealth effect. But as the WSJ was puzzling about the other day: “how can NYC have all this crater when the economy and stocks are pretty good?”

      It just might be that lower housing prices are good for the economy.

      1. +1

        “how can NYC have all this crater when the economy and stocks are pretty good?”

        “It just might be that lower housing prices are good for the economy.”

        – Potemkin economy; debt is not wealth – pulling demand forward leaves future air pockets.
        – QE, ZIRP, buybacks, jawboning, and other (temporary) stock market interventions – and yet, somehow, the dotcom bust (2000) and the GFC (2008-9) still happened.
        – Fed and Government housing interventions – and yet, somehow, housing bubble 1.0 collapse happened.
        – “Free markets, I hardly knew ye.”

        “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” – Sir Josiah Stamp

        Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

        Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

        All the King’s horses, And all the King’s men

        Couldn’t put Humpty together again!

        1. “pulling demand forward leaves future air pockets”

          Yep. The political strategy is to time economic air pockets to land on a future office holder’s term of service, or failing that, shift the blame elsewhere.

          1. And by the way, we currently are witnessing the multiyear expansion of a historically ginormous air pocket, aka economic bubble, fueled by a protracted series of hair-of-the-dog Keynesian economic stimulus measures on steroids.

            When this blows up, watch out below, and get ready for more bailouts that “nobody could have seen coming.”

          2. “…hair-of-the-dog Keynesian economic stimulus measures on steroids….”

            Here is one for ‘ya.

            In the final quarter of 2012, the average term of a new car note stretched out to 65 months, the longest ever, according to Experian Information Solutions Inc. Experian said that 17% of all new car loans in the past quarter were between 73 and 84 months and there were even a few as long as 97 months.Apr 14, 2013 (From marketwatch)

            Yet another fad is re-sell of used clothing. To be fair, the sites I am familiar with re-sell some pretty high end threads.

            But you can see a trend line here: Push as much and as far out into the future, hold you breath and hope all goes well.

      2. “It just might be that lower housing prices are good for the economy.”

        I seem to recall this same conversation on this blog in 2006 or 2007.
        Lower house prices leads to people buying houses which leads to people hiring movers, buying furniture, appliances, TVs, spending money at Home Chepo, hiring trades for projects etc.

        None of which is on the priority list of the downtrodden loanowner of an overpriced upside down home.

        1. That might sound good in theory, but that’s not what we saw. All of the Home Cheapo spending and furniture buying and hiring of trades was done in 2006-2007 with cash-out refi money. I know; I saw the crowds at the home and garden shows lining up to schedule estimates.

          Then in 2009-2012, lower house prices came along with the recession. It was supposedly a good time to buy,* but by that point nobody had any money. Homeowners were underwater and renters were laid off from their lucky-ducky jobs. Few end-consumer families bought, few people moved, nobody bought furniture or appliances, and trades were going out of business. The only buyers were pools of cash like hedge funds who planned to rent until appreciation penciled out to sell.

          The laws of supply and demand for long-term durable goods differ greatly compared to consumables.

          ———–
          *unless you’re named Oxide and you post on HBB. Then you’re reamed a new one for months and even years on end.

          2. “That might sound good in theory, but that’s not what we saw.”

            It’s what I saw happen in SE Region IV from pretty much 2015 through now. It just didn’t happen in 2009 – 2012 time frame.

            “Then in 2009-2012, lower house prices came along with the recession.”

            Around here, what I call a false floor was put under crashing house prices in 2009 or 2010, those prices stayed low and flat through 2011 – 2012. Very little inventory for sale, robo signed victims kicking back for a couple of years of rent and mortgage free victim living while the banks held and dribbled out the houses. Where they had already evicted the owners, they left them listed as owners for what I guess was liability and to tell people who called about the houses, as I did on several occasions, they couldn’t talk about the property because the owner on the loan was still the owner. (in some cases 2 – 3 years after they were evicted)

            In other words by 2013 house prices and sales began to creep up and by 2015 sales combined with the light at the end of the Obama tunnel kicked in and all that lower house prices are good for the economy cr@p started. 2015 and 2016 were better and by 2017 the area where I live has been booming.

            Unfortunately house prices in my area have come back to and gone through 2005 and 2006 highs. So unless the other half of New Jersey moves down here I would expect a correction.

          3. My area is just barely getting back to 2005-2006 highs. And to get a 2005 price, the house needs to be renovated top to bottom. Cosmetic flips need not apply.

          4. Oxide, you and I are two of the few people on this board who have kept our same names. I bought in 2010. However, I think we both bought the minimum house we thought we needed not what we would have bought if housing had been allowed to correct to normal pricing. However, the globalists would not allow that to happen since Americans are suppose to use their homes for collateral to buy goods produced in third world countries to speed up the leveling of the world. If you are a nationalist, housing is to live in and the more affordable the better. It helps the economy that are able to move from location to location as job vacancies occur. In an era of one million dollar houses who wants to pay $60,000 to a Realtor every time they need to sell?

          5. people on this board who have kept our same names.

            I am still here. I bought in 2013 with saved cash. I bought modestly and outside the bubble.

            Buying in 2012 at “2004 prices” with decades of debt obligation while claiming that this was going to make one rich was astonishing. Claiming that this was conservative genius is merely confabulation.

            Underestimating people’s tolerance for pain and stupidity over the past decade’s rebubble wasn’t genius on my part either. It will be interesting to see this play out in the next decade, or just get more ridiculous and dangerous.

      3. “…rents fell then prices fell in the most expensive areas.”

        Falling rents are the death knell for used home sale price appreciation in an area. Since rental housing and owner-occupied housing are consumption substitutes, falling rents siphon off demand for owner-occupied housing, transmitting price reductions to used home sale prices if the rent reductions are sufficiently large.

        Falling rents aren’t exactly an encouraging sign for those who believed that annual home equity wealth gains would go on uninterrupted forever.

        1. PS Our rent is slightly higher in our new place than the old one, but the floor space is larger and it’s a single-family residence, not half of a duplex. We had two other places lined up as possibilities, but went for the one where the owner was willing to negotiate on the rental rate.

          1. “PS Our rent is slightly higher in our new place than the old one, but the floor space is larger and it’s a single-family residence, not half of a duplex.”

            Sounds like a win for you Professor.

            Congrats

  6. Get ready for $5 gas after we go to war with Iran.

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

    1. I don’t think ornage tard realizes the consequences of this. How can you justfying killing a general of another country when there’s no war?

      1. The Iranian general was at the Bagdad (Iraq) airport, not in Iran. What was he doing there? It’s a mystery.

        1. When the U.S. backed the Shia in Iraq we were inadvertently backing Iran. The first thing the Shia did in power was to create a secret police group of killers to hunt the Sunni. Try some reading of “our guy” Colonel James Steele.

        2. What’s so odd about being in Bagdad airport?

          I have been to many international airports myself.

          1. Yeah, but you’re not a general from an enemy nation, and you didn’t fly in on a air force jet from said nation.

      2. Between 2009 and 2015, out of 473 strikes between 64-116 non-combatant deaths occurred. However during that period, the Obama Administration did count all military-age males in strike zones as combatants unless explicit intelligence exonerated them posthumously.
        Civilian casualties from U.S. drone strikes – Wikipedia
        https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Civilian_casualties_from_U.S._drone_strikes

        Obama’s covert drone war in numbers: ten times more strikes …
        https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com › stories › obamas-covert-drone-wa…
        Jan 17, 2017 – Obama embraced the US drone programme, overseeing more strikes in his first year than Bush carried out during his entire presidency.

        1. Drones kill rescuers in ‘double tap’, say activists – BBC News
          https://www.bbc.com › news › world-us-canada-24557333
          Oct 22, 2013 – Altogether 18 people died in the two rounds of drone strikes. One of … This practice, known as a “double tap”, as journalists have described, … however, US President Barack Obama said the drone strikes in Pakistan and other …
          “Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama Be …
          https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu › flr › vol69 › iss1
          by S Alexander – ‎2017 – ‎Related articles
          A “double-tap” drone strike involves bombing a target, waiting a period of five to twenty minutes, often during which first responders arrive, and then bombing the …
          [PDF]Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama Be …
          https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu › cgi › viewcontent
          by S Alexander – ‎2017 – ‎Related articles
          Samuel Alexander, Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama Be Investigated for War …. A “double-tap” drone strike involves bombing a suspected military.
          US Condemns ‘Double Tap’ Terror Strikes, But Is It Obama …
          https://www.mintpressnews.com › douple-tap-drone-strike-first-responders
          Jul 20, 2013 – The U.S. often launches second drone strikes on an area after rescue … the dead., Barack Obama, double tap, Drone Strikes, Drones, Pakistan, …
          The Obama administration may be guilty of war crimes …
          https://www.theguardian.com › commentisfree › nov › obama-administrati…
          Nov 5, 2013 – Is President Obama a suspected war criminal? … The “double tap” involves launching an initial drone strike, which is followed by a second …
          Outrage at CIA’s deadly ‘double tap’ drone attacks | The …
          https://www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas
          Sep 25, 2012 – The expansive use of “double-tap” drone strikes is just one of a … The Obama administration is unlikely to heed their demands given the zeal …
          Obama Reflects On The Controversial Decision To Expand …
          https://www.youtube.com › watch
          Dec 19, 2016 – President Obama reflected in his NPR interview on the controversial decision to expand drone … Obama Reflects On The Controversial Decision To Expand Drone Strikes | Morning Edition | NPR …. Double tapping weddings.
          “Double Tap” Drone Strikes on Taliban – jstor
          https://www.jstor.org › stable
          by BG Williams – ‎2013 – ‎Cited by 6 – ‎Related articles
          New Light on CIA “Double Tap” Drone Strikes on Taliban “First. Responders” … The article titled “Obama terror drones: CIA tactics in Pakistan include targeting …
          Drone Fact Sheet | CODEPINK
          https://www.codepink.org › drone_fact_sheet
          Mar 16, 2019 – A “double tap” occurs when a second drone strike follows the initial strike … President Obama must approve every drone target, but it has been …
          U.S. Drone Strikes Are Said to Target Rescuers – The New …
          https://www.nytimes.com › 2012/02/06 › world › asia › us-drone-strikes-are…
          Feb 5, 2012 – U.S. Said to Target Rescuers at Drone Strike Sites … The bureau counted 260 strikes by Predator and Reaper drones since President Obama …

      3. When the general is involved in terrorism, he is no different than OBL. How do you justify killing someone in another country without notifying that country? No difference between OBL and the general.

          1. Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran have been active in terrorism throughout the world. Google terrorism and they will pop up.

          4. Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran have been active in terrorism throughout the world ??

            We inflict a worse terrorism on many countries and have for a long time…”Economic”

    2. Get ready for $5 gas after we go to war with Iran ??

      LOL…$5 will be a bargain…Try gas rationing…

      2. Keep dreaming. It will just make oil go up enough to make the Permian profitable. We are self sufficient in oil.

      3. Maybe, maybe not. The US is an oil exporter and if they have to the US can retrench. Either way, I’ve lived without a car before and I’m in a position where I can live without a car again. Not fun, but doable.

        1. During the best Obama years, oil was over a hundred dollars a barrel. Higher oil prices are good for the U.S. economy.

          1. During the best Obama years, oil was over a hundred dollars a barrel. Higher oil prices are good for the U.S. economy ??

            Well, that’s why the economy did so well under Obama…

            Lets see if Fat Face can multi task…Next up; NK nuclear test…

          3. “Higher oil prices are good for the U.S. economy.”

            Incorrect.

            For instance, grossly inflated housing prices collapsed the economy back in 2008.

          4. Dan I assume you’re being sarcastic?
            In a similar vein, global warming is caused by the decline in pirates.

        1. The US wasn’t self sufficient in oil in 1974. Trump’s years are far better than the average Obama year but there is no question that Obama’s best years were with oil over $100 a barrel.

          2. My point. Geopolitics are completely different now than they were the last time we had a escalated punch-up with these yahoos.

          3. Oxide, I am not being sarcastic but it does point to the problem that not everything which raises GDP helps the average worker. Higher oil prices will raise the amount of drilling in this country, directly employing people. It will result in a need for more steel pipe and the need for vast amount of electricity to frac the wells. This will employ coal miners both to produce thermal and met coal. Since we are self sufficient in oil the oil produced will be exported reducing our trade deficit. All of these actions increase GDP not reduce it. What killed the US economy in previous oil shocks was the money flowing out it the country to pay for imported oil. Now, for car drivers it sucks. However will it cause a US recession, the answer is no. Did the OPEC nation’s go into recession when the price of oil surged?

      5. “LOL…$5 will be a bargain…Try gas rationing…”

        Is this a prediction or just your giddiness from the event?

        1. “Get ready for $5 gas after we go to war with Iran ??”

          Please forgive me for everything except the giddy part. I assume you were talking about what would happen if an actual war with Iran were to happen not the assassination that just took place.

      6. Isn’t that all states do? Again I ask you, what terrorism?
        No, most states do not target civilians including women and children nor do they support groups which do. Iran does and that is why it is listed as a terrorist state.

        1. “Nothing surprises me anymore…”

          Here’s one for you Dawg

          Earlier this evening and possibly driven by a recently viewed buy 1 Big Mac Get one Free commercial I found myself in a McDonald’s Drive-thru. Sitting in my old beat up 2004 F-250 which still runs well, I place my order and pull up to the pay window. In front of me is a dude driving what appears to be a 2019 blinged out Ford Explorer Limited. (Limited to the number of people they can get to sign a 72 month car loan)

          After a few minutes of daydreaming and wondering why I am at a McDonald’s the girl leans out of the drive-up window and hands Captain Limited his credit card back and says something shaking her head, but his SUV doesn’t move. After another minute or so he leans out and hands the girl some cash.

          The man was driving a fifty – thousand dollar SUV and had his credit card rejected at McDonald’s

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

          1. Reminds me of many shopping experiences i have were people paying with an EBT card go put there groceries in a 50k+ new vehicle.

    3. 1 Irani General, 2 Elections (bibi, orange)

      Unnecessary for election purposes. IMO the incumbent is essentially unopposed in the next election.

  9. Oh the horror! It was still cheaper than renting!

    “The co-founder of a popular online ticketing marketplace sold his Bal Harbour condo for $9 million, a loss from its previous sale in 2018. Property records show Vivid Seats co-founder Jerry Bednyak sold Oceana Bal Harbour units 2102S and 2102S to 2018 West Churchill Trust. The double unit spans 7,442 square feet with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It last sold in 2018 for $13.25 million.”

    1. 13m , 9m thats nothing to these millionaires. Remember people with this much money burn cash briefcases in their fireplaces to heat their mansions. They also leave the AC on with all the doors and windows open during the summer. Its simple for them and basically a game. Start a “tech” company by adding an ipad to a treadmill and IPO that b$tch! Its their way of showcasing all the free money they get. FREE!!!

  11. House prices have started to fall for the first time since 2012. Economist at Trinity College Dublin

    The real estate bubble in Dublin is worse than it was in 2006. I’ve cousins there. But this time the bubble in Ireland hasn’t completely absorbed the whole country. I was there in 2006 and every cow patty in the countryside had a “site for sale” sign on it. Spec homes were built al over the countryside where there were no sidewalks, no shops, no jobs, no restaurants, and no entertainment. It was worse than the California and Florida bubbles of the same time period. This is their second real estate bubble in about a decade. Probably had not one before that in recorded history.

    Was chatting with a Chinese friend of mine today and the word is out. She said the prices of big houses in LA are dropping and a lot of Chinese investors can’t get their money out. FOMO has become FONGO. There must be a way to write that phonetically using Chinese characters.

    If I remember correctly, it was the opposite the last time in SoCal. East County and the lower end got hammered first and then the more exclusive enclaves started to pull back. But the high end, La Jolla, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, etc didn’t suffer nearly as badly as East County. This time the exclusive areas are leading the declines.

    1. “There must be a way to write that phonetically using Chinese characters.“

      Sure is “ 房地产经纪人是骗子 “

      Translates “realtors are liars”

      1. The Terracotta Army is part of the world’s largest ancient imperial tomb complex, Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum. About 8,000 different life-size statues have been uncovered. It is the largest find of its kind.
        The statues are 175–190 cm tall. Every one differs in gestures and facial expressions, some even with color showing. It reveals much about the Qin Empire’s technology, military, arts, culture, and military. Particularly revealing was the inscription stamped inconspicuously on all 8,000 statues: 房地产经纪人是骗子 which translates as….

        (ALL TOGETHER NOW!)

        Realtors are liars.

    2. “But the high end, La Jolla, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, etc didn’t suffer nearly as badly as East County. This time the exclusive areas are leading the declines.”

      This is what i am seeing up north as well. The – 1m properties still move but anything above sits, reduces, or gets pulled off by the “my neighbor sold to a money launderer for x $s, aint going to give it away” seller. The foreign withdrawal from RE is the main factor of this uturn IMO, the sidelined buyers that previously faced bidding wars are the ones scraping the over priced RE bones and once they die off the demand will be gone and all heards rushing to the exits will get slaughtered

  12. Fed drops billions in ‘helicopter money’ amid crisis fears
    Jan 3, 2020
    One America News Network

    ‘The Federal Reserve is reportedly testing the legally questionable concept of so-called “helicopter money” as it struggles to come up with a policy response to future crises.’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5KNU3MWrZY

    1. Nobody rigs markets, fixes prices and collapses demand like the federal reserve does. Nobody.

      It’s time to get these interest rates back in to the normal range of 12%-15% and get these tariffs firmly in place and get this economy going again.

      God Bless President Donald J. Trump and God Bless America!

      1. It’s time to get these interest rates back in to the normal range of 12%-15%

        The only time I remember interest rates being that high was during the late 70’s and early 80’s. Hardly the “normal range”.

        1. Sure it was. Full employment, rising wages, rising standard of living, full tilt productive output and it was the last time the US was a creditor nation.

          1. “rising standard of living”

            That is some serious revisionist history. The misery index, inflation and unemployment combined was the worse in US history in 1980. This steaming pile of crap was handed to Reagan and higher interest rates were needed causing even more unemployment. Conditions were so bad in the Fall of 1980, many leftists writing for the magazine the Nation were actually happy Reagan was elected because it was thought no one could fix the problems and he would be blamed when he failed opening the country to the acceptance of socialism. The left leaning baby boom generation meant as the older generations died off a move to the left was assured. Sound familiar? The belief that the millennials will stay left wing as the step in crap on the sidewalks and are mugged by their diversity ignores a previous era which I lived through.

          2. Again… The truth is it was the last time we had full employment, rising wages, max productive output, rising standard of living all together as a creditor nation.

    2. Fed drops billions in ‘helicopter money’ amid crisis fears

      Phuc the helicopter drops. What’s wrong with another “Economic Stimulus Act of 2008” a la Bush jr?

      1. “What’s wrong with another “Economic Stimulus Act of 2008” a la Bush jr?”

        It was designed to support demand not make the US more competitive with the world.

  13. ‘Local Professionals Advocating For Homeowners Facing Foreclosure. Home Solution Partners​ is a local resource for those seeking true advocates to provide services at no cost with complete confidentiality.’

    ‘With nearly 4000 homeowners facing foreclosure to date in DuPage, Kane, and Will counties, Home Solution Partner members Steven Boyles, Heather Schmidt, Jody Sholeen, and Julie Oswald provide those at risk of foreclosure, who wish to remain in their home, options for mortgage counseling through counseling programs offered by agencies such as HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), Will County Center for Community Concerns, and the Community Service Council. For those seeking to sell their home, or must consider selling due to pending foreclosure, Home Solution Partners provides services to determine specific criteria is met to Short Sale the home, then will assist the Seller to sell the home, as a Short Sale, with NO COST to the Seller. In most cases the mortgage debt will be eliminated entirely, preventing foreclosure and the long term effects associated with foreclosure. Short Sale is the selling of a property for an amount less than what is owed to the mortgage lender as negotiated and approved.’

    https://patch.com/illinois/bolingbrook/local-professionals-advocating-homeowners-facing-foreclosure

    1. This is how it went down last time. Short sales started popping up and then a flood of foreclosures. The parasite companies that preyed on FBs like this one grow in numbers. This can kicking is getting boring, crash already!

  15. There’s a Mexican guy that moved in down the street from me who drives a food truck. He usually has food left over at the end of the day, and gives me a great deal on it (rather than throwing it away). He and his family are renting, but are considering buying since rents are so high in Colorado Springs. His English isn’t very good, so he was working with a Latino realtor. So much for ethnic solidarity: the realtor is a shyster. I know this because I had two friends of mine – one a Korean-American who is intimately familiar with the local real estate market, and girl I used to work with who speaks fluent Spanish – go with him to look over the paperwork his cousin (who could barely read English) was about to sign on a new shack. Between the two of them, they told him the contract and the “deal” the slimy realtor was pitching (investor-owned house) was no bueno, and he backed out of the deal. Now the words got around, and my food truck driver neighbor has about half a dozen other amigos who want my friend to review any RE contracts before they sign them. I see a chance to do God’s work here….

    1. Yes. Capitalism works best when it is checked by moderate Christianity. Things like usury prohibited, deals could be made with a handshake and people were not constantly trying to rip people off. I know I am a grumpy old man but I can tell you that forty years ago people were more honest in their dealings and it was a better country.

  16. Throngs of Iranians poured into the street after Friday prayers in Tehran. However, instead of chanting the usual “Death to America!” or mourning the late and unlamented Qassem Soleimani, numerous eyewitnesses confirmed the crowds broke into a new chant: “Realtors are liars!”

    1. Qassem Soleimani was a part time Realtor. He was in Iraq selling vacation homes in the mountains of Iran. Justice was served by Trump and the Iraqis were protected.

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