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Prices Have Come Down Considerably, Sellers Are More Realistic And Inventory Is High

A report from the Dallas Morning News in Texas. “Just over 15% of people who were surveyed by LawnStarter.com said they were sorry they bought their home. Looking around the country, the greatest percentage of buyer regrets were in Wyoming, where almost half the people who purchased a property said they regretted the buy. So how about Texas? Do our new homebuyers have a lot of remorse? Texas ranked 34th for homeowner satisfaction with their new purchase, ranking between Massachusetts and Minnesota on the buyer regrets list.”

“Along with Wyoming, the bottom of the list includes Washington, D.C., Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma. The unhappiest homeowners were those who paid more than $900,000 for their house.”

From Yahoo Finance. “Millennials are anticipated to play a crucial role in driving the housing market this year. Most of these individuals will turn 30 next year and consider buying their first home. In fact, millennials are expected to take half of all mortgages next year, surpassing both Generation X and Baby Boomers, per realtor.com.”

“The report states that demand for especially entry-level homes will pick up, courtesy of millennials driving overall demand. In fact, buyers will certainly benefit from almost flat home prices, which are anticipated to increase only 0.8%. The report added that home prices may even decline in cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and San Francisco.”

From Patch New Jersey. “$300K Price Drop On This Ocean City Property. The buyer can build a dream home at the end of the 17th Street lagoon. Now the property only costs $1.2 million.”

The Tribeca Citizen in New York. “For so many reasons, it is a great time to buy. Interest rates are extremely low, prices have come down considerably, sellers are more realistic and inventory is high. Some buyers anticipate even lower prices, but as most savvy investors will tell you, it is impossible to time the market and just when you think it’s time, chances are prices and competition will be on the upswing. If history is a guide, the window of opportunity may close in a year or two.”

From Homes & Property on New York. “Jennifer Lawrence has dropped the asking price of her Manhattan penthouse by £2.6 million. The Hunger Games star, 29, originally put her NYC base on the market for £11.8 million but has struggled to sell it. She bought the place for £11.9 million in 2016, so it seems she overpaid.”

The Cohasset Mariner in Massachusetts. “A strong local economy and continuing low interest rates have resulted in a robust January Norfolk County real estate market, according to Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell. However, a definite concern was in the area of foreclosure activity. ‘During January,’ said the register, ‘there were 15 foreclosure deeds filed compared to 12 during the same time period in 2019. Also, there was a 36% increase in the number of Notice to Foreclose Mortgage filings, the first step in the foreclosure process. The foreclosure numbers seen in January are a stark reminder that while the local economy remains strong, some of our neighbors are having trouble paying their mortgage.'”

The Seaside Signal. “With new, lower prices for Seaside High School, Broadway Middle School and Gearhart Elementary School, interest is growing from potential buyers, officials say. The new prices represent about a 30% reduction, district project manager Jim Henry said at the meeting, with price tags of $3.5 million for the Seaside High School, $2.9 million for the Broadway Middle School and $1.2 million for the Gearhart Elementary School.”

“‘We’ve reduced the cost by about 30% on each property just to account for that’s a cost that will have to be borne by a developer when they buy the property,’ Henry said. ‘From what we’ve seen over the last year they’ve been on the market, there doesn’t seem to be a market.'”

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  1. ‘the greatest percentage of buyer regrets were in Wyoming, where almost half the people who purchased a property said they regretted the buy. So how about Texas? Do our new homebuyers have a lot of remorse? Texas ranked 34th for homeowner satisfaction with their new purchase, ranking between Massachusetts and Minnesota on the buyer regrets list’

    ‘Along with Wyoming, the bottom of the list includes Washington, D.C., Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma. The unhappiest homeowners were those who paid more than $900,000 for their house’

    DONG!

    2. I wonder about the Washington DC folks. My guess is they all bought “vibrant” condos and are regretting the sky high condo fees. And if they paid $900K for one they are smart as a box of rocks.

      1. Friends of mine paid over $900,000 for an older house in Cleveland Park. They really regret it. Mortgage is higher than equivalent rent, and they keep throwing money at this thing.

  2. ‘From what we’ve seen over the last year they’ve been on the market, there doesn’t seem to be a market.’”

    Best HBB quote of the day.

  3. Fed: easing
    ECB: easing
    BOE: easing
    BOJ: easing
    SNB: easing
    Denmark: easing
    Australia: easing
    Brazil: easing
    Russia: easing
    India: easing
    China: easing
    Korea: easing
    Indonesia: easing
    Turkey: easing
    Mexico: easing
    Chile: easing
    Philippines: easing
    South Africa: easing

    1. According to one of the Real Vision Finance videos, this is why Millenials are piling into bitcoin. To them, every other asset class is at record highs and overpriced.

      2. I don’t HODL bitcoin, but what else should a young person do?

        Cash? Stocks?

        I live in an apartment so stores of physical metals seems crazy…

        1. but what else should a young person do?

          BlueSkye would say “eschew debt” to which Mr. Banker would cry “blasphemy.”

        2. Understand the concept of opportunity cost. There is nothing more valuable than cash (or its equivalent) when the price is right.

    3. Gold did close over 1600$ two sessions. Any technical analysts out there? I don’t see anything in the gold chart in terms of resistance between here and previous all time high. Any other insights?

      1. Any other insights

        I’ve been trading gold since the 70s and sorry I do not have a good track record!

        One thing, if you want to discuss, the big debt donkeys have been buying heavy for a few years. What are they going to do when their debts have to be settled? Gold bugs say gold does well in Deflation. They mean it goes down in price against legal tender, but doesn’t go to zero.

        1. Serious question: when will their debts have to be settled?
          Serious question: will their debts have to be settled at all?

          1. Nope. The debts don’t matter….Reagan proved it….or something like this.

            Of course you can’t pay back 100 Trillion, neither can you pay back 20 T. So, moar debt is the fuiture.

  5. “The unhappiest homeowners were those who paid more than $900,000 for their house.”

    They shouldn’t worry about having overpaid for a house. If Barney Sanders is elected, he will expropriate that $900,000 estate for public Soviet-style housing.

      2. I agree. Are there any examples of communist revolutionaries taking power by peaceful election? Seems like it always involves a bloody conflict with millions dying.

          1. Hitler formed an alliance with private business in Germany in the 1930s (IG Farben, Krupp, Vereinigte Stahlwerke, Deutsche Bank, etc.). This is the reason they were such a formidable enemy in WWII.

          4. A book …

            Trading with the Enemy: An Exposé of the Nazi-American Money Plot, 1933-1949

            Charles Higham
            Delacorte Press, 1983 – Business & Economics – 277 pages

            This perennial classic of political literature remians the only book to documnet the trading of the American financial establishment with Hitler’s Germany in World War II, from Pearl Harbor to V-E Day. Ford supplied tanks to Hitler, the Chase Bank financed the Nazi’s in Paris, ITT built rocket bombs for Goering and Standard Oil fueled U-boats in the Atlantic.

        2. communist revolutionaries taking power by peaceful…

          They have some obstacles. There is no monarchy to target. They are outnumbered by literate Americans who love their Liberty and have teeth. Before they even face these people, they will have to take out the Elite Establishment in their own party. Then their MSNBC and CNN hate feeds would go dark and they wouldn’t know what to think. No, it’s not going to happen.

      3. “Barney is uneelectabl.”

        Watched quite a bit of the debate and they have all convinced me and I’m sure many others they’re all undetectable.

        What a bunch of losers.

        Bloomberg with that Grinch that stole Christmas chin babbling about the nondisclosure agreements signed by the women he harassed will stay sealed with Elizabeth Warren cackling at him for that and calling a girl a horse faced lesbian while Biden who most of the time stands there looking like a Drug store Indian occasionally lisps about what he and Barrack did while Mayor Peep gripes at Klobuchar for not knowing the name of Mexico’s president and Bernie defending his million dollars and three houses while trying to get his arms over his head and yelling healthcare is a right.

        1. I missed the first half hour, but still got a good laugh. The pandering to the minority crowd by Warren and Biden was disgusting. Warren promises way too much, and her voice is grating. Biden is like an angry old man who’s lost in his head a lot but blurts things out from time to time, occasionally going on long rants. Pete Butt is basically a carbon copy of Marco Rubio – canned, rehearsed talking points. Total phony. Klobuchar seemed fairly sane, though what was ironic is that she attacked Trump as heartless when the same was said about her by her own employees. Apparently she’s wicked. Bloomberg got absolutely destroyed, and oftentimes because he was sticking his own foot in his mouth. Bernie was Bernie, and he laid waste to the rest of them.

          1. I went to bed rather than watch. Based on what I read the morning after, I think I got the better end of the deal.

            WaPo is lamenting that the moderators didn’t control the mayhem. Heh, MSNBC probably encouraged fireworks just for the ratings.

  7. Amusing letter today in the mail today:

    Hi Neighbor,

    As I am sure you are aware from the news, as well as new local and state housing mandates, there aren’t enough homes for sale! We currently have 2 young families who are looking to make their forever homes in Leucadia, and are having a very hard time finding the right place. Both families have 2 elementary school-aged kids and are looking for something with a good sized lot, and are open to anything from 1,000-3,000+ square feet. Beautifully renovated, or homes needing love are ok, but priced accordingly in the $1,000,000-2,400,000 range. Neither buyer needs to be contingent on selling, and would be ready to close and move quickly, or could be flexible with a longer move-in date.

    If you would consider selling your home in the next six months, please give us a call first to see if it might be something that our clients would be interested in. We may be able to save you the stress and hassle of having your home listed on the market and the uncertainty that comes with it. We would love to hear from you and set up a private showing to view your property and see if we can make a mutually beneficial deal!

    I hope to hear from you soon.

    P.S. We have closed several deals from similar letters, and our buyers are real. If you are considering a sale, give us a call. If you aren’t interest in selling, disregard this letter and please don’t be offended by us asking. You are very lucky to live in a highly desirable area and our buyers would feel blessed to be your neighbors!

      1. squirrel

        I don’t think I’ve ever seen a squirrel at that property. The Jack Russell Terriers flushed out some skunks and possums but no squirrels.

    2. We have closed several deals from similar letters

      Ask them to send letters from the two buyers giving more specific details.

      1. We may be able to save you the stress and hassle of having your home listed on the market and the uncertainty that comes with it.

        What uncertainty if not enough homes are for sale?!

        1. Yeah I was told with solid lending, amazing job growth, and low interest rates the Millennial and Gen Z are about to jump into the market and drive demand (and prices!) higher. Maybe all the way to the moon.

        2. With 25 million excess empty defaulted and new houses out there, 4 million of which are in CA, it’s safe to say there is no inventory problem.

          San Jose, CA Housing Prices Crater 20% YOY Sellers Bray Like DebtDonkeys

          https://www.zillow.com/san-jose-ca-95126/home-values/

          *Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

          As one economist noted, “A house is a rapidly depreciating asset that empties your wallet every day it owns you.”

      2. I get these every few months. This one was particularly amusing with the “young family” “forever home” $1-2.4M “save you the stress and hassle” in a tight market.

        1. And peppered with exclamation points! Dead giveaway. If you see a Realtor in your neighborhood, lock your doors and call the police.

      3. fictitious sale price

        Not fictitious. Tear downs are selling for $1M+:

        https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/802-San-Dieguito-Dr-Encinitas-CA-92024/16718479_zpid/

        https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/837-Stratford-Dr-Encinitas-CA-92024/16718599_zpid/

        These two were sold and shortly thereafter listed for rent:

        https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/765-Stratford-Dr-Encinitas-CA-92024/16718580_zpid/

        https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/752-Cornish-Dr-Encinitas-CA-92024/52509773_zpid/

        Prices are admittedly insane!

  9. Given central bank support of share prices, isn’t a coronavirus crash pretty much unpossible?

    Markets
    Goldman says market underestimating coronavirus risk: ‘Correction is looking much more probable’
    Published Wed, Feb 19 2020 3:15 PM ESTUpdated 4 hours ago
    Fred Imbert
    Key Points
    — “We believe the greater risk is that the impact of the coronavirus on earnings may well be underestimated in current stock prices,” Goldman strategist Peter Oppenheimer said.
    — “While a sustained bear market does not look likely, a near-term correction is looking much more probable.”
    …

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus
      Coronavirus latest: China’s benchmark lending rate cut in stimulus effort

      1. The Financial Times
        Chinese economy
        China banks cut rate to prop up coronavirus-hit economy
        S&P warns of $1.1tn surge in bad loans and annual economic growth as low as 4.4%
        2 hours ago

        Coronavirus
        Coronavirus latest: Apple supplier Foxconn warns of hit from outbreak

        1. News like this is good for stocks, as it means that more central bank support is coming.

          The Financial Times
          Coronavirus
          Coronavirus latest: Multinationals face squeeze on earnings

    2. Some market commentators are beginning to question the durability of the Everything Bubble. Might the appearance of permanence ultimately prove illusory?

      Tesla, gold and the dollar soar—an ‘everything rally’ has some stock-market investors fearing how it all ends
      By Mark DeCambre
      Published: Feb 19, 2020 8:21 p.m. ET
      ‘Some of the largest stocks in the world have entered the manic phase’: strategist
      AFP/Getty Images
      Everything is rising together
      What happens when everything rises all at once? That’s what some investors are scratching their heads about as they look out at the current landscape on Wall Street.
      …

      1. Tesla, gold and the dollar soar

        Is that another way of saying that everything is crashing relative to the dollar except gold and Tesla?

  10. Somebody posted a link in a recent thread about a house and loanowner which had been served an NOD back in 2009, and they finally got a notice of sale in 2020. That’s 11 years free rent. In my opinion, these people played the game and won. Imagine the money you could save by living rent/mortgage free for that length of time. But savers like myself who didn’t want to buy some overpriced shack got screwed, paying through the nose for ever-expanding rents. The system is completely broken.

    Not only does the aforementioned example set a bad precedent, it also encourages others to buy a shitbox they can’t afford. Heck, they saw their neighbors live for free for over a decade, why not just buy something? If you can’t pay, you just live in the house anyway.

    1. People like that, generally, dont dave a penny. But, consumer spending makes up the bulk of GDP, so #winning, I guess.

  12. What’s a BTCH20? Sounds unpleasant.

    BTCH20 U.S.: CME
    CME Bitcoin (USD) Mar 2020
    Last Updated: Feb 20, 2020 4:58 a.m. CST Delayed quote
    Open
    Last Updated: Feb 20, 2020 at 5:05 a.m. CST Delayed quote
    $9,800.00
    -595.00 -5.72%

    1. You can’t deny that it’s an exciting ride…just like a roller coaster!

      By Samuel Haig
      9 HOURS AGO
      Bitcoin Price Plummets $800 in an Hour
      Market Update
      Bitcoin (BTC) took an unexpected dive today, plunging $600 in a matter of minutes. The plunge saw 15 of the 20 largest crypto assets by market cap down 5% or more on this time yesterday.

          3. None of the Dems Canidates are electible. The debates are just a bunch of pandering to groups to get votes .

            The premises these despots come from are bizarre to begin with. For instance that USA should have open borders along with welfare state. That the government should pay for debt chosen by people who got ripped off, child care should be paid for by government, and any other product deemed a right .

            You just undo all the faulty laws and agreements that the Politicians did in the last 25 years that gutted the USA and made it so favorable for the Globalists/1%/Elite to gain by these rigged markets.

            Health care is a price fixing Monopoly so you don’t have Government take it over so your taxes pay for the gouge.

            You don’t correct the foreign ilegal invasion on our borders by rewarding the lawbreakers and just making it a open border. These candidates want to become avocates for foreign invasion when they are suppose to be protecting USA Citizens.

            It all about the Big Government taking over and destroying the rule of law Constitution Republic. It’s all about the strong arm of using the tax codes to transform the USA into a Commie Country under the guise of equity and compassion.

            Just watching this mess of Canidates on the stage is witnessing A overreacting of Government along with a pack with the Globalist.

        2. Do you think she can gain traction with the male half of the voter population?

          I think that would require a strategy of being the anti-Hillary instead of Hillary-lite. Years ago it seemed like she might have had that in her. Not so much lately.

  13. So the most housing happiness is in the Midwest, and Texas is below average.

    I suspect that many people have heard that Texas is a low-tax state overall, but don’t find out that much of the taxes it does collect are on property until after they buy. Suddenly they become the someone else who was actually paying when they were renting.

    In the Midwest, you probably have lots of high-quality buildings that were built when the region was rich, that are available at lowish prices now that the region is poor. So, low housing prices for good housing relative to income.

  14. “Anthony Hopkins Lists Malibu Estate For $11.5 Million
    By Joseph Gibson on February 20, 2020 in Articles › Celebrity Homes”

    “An approximately 4,000-square-foot home in Malibu that’s been the property of Sir Anthony Hopkins since he purchased it way back in 2001 for about $3.8 million is now back in the news. Variety’s celebrity real estate news site Dirt reports that the acclaimed actor and his wife have listed the home for $11.5 million. The house, which in some ways may remind Hopkins of home, thanks to its resemblance to a traditional English country manor…”

    It doesn’t resemble an English country manor in the least. It’s an oversized cape that belongs in the Northeast. It was built in 1958 and clearly hasn’t been renovated since. God-awful flooring, bad kitchen layout, needs balconies or something off the back. Roof is good. Can’t argue with the view. Hopkins is wise to ditch it. Stick the $2 million reno on next celebrity sucker.

    https://www.zillow.com/homes/7023-Birdview-Ave-Malibu,-CA,-90265_rb/20556802_zpid/?

    https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celebrity-homes/anthony-hopkins-lists-malibu-estate-for-11-5-million/

      1. It cracked me up how Bloomberg last night implied that he was giving his billions away.

        This reminds me of J Paul Getty who underpaid his workers for a lifetime, he amassed a fortune, than after he died he gave it to Ssociety by show shrines.

        This is no more than ripping off the USA worker by Globalism and than picking the winners and losers after you amass billions. It’s a form of control freak elite though that they know best how money should be spent at the misery of others.

        Sanders and Warren would like to collect big taxes so they can choose who will win and who will lose.

        Everybody ends up losing .

        1. Watching these Canidates for President I could tell you they all have extreme disorders in thinking.

          The power hungry Globalist, the Commies, the immigrant avocates, the do away with law and order , the control freaks, basic little children in a sandbox.

          1. Haven’t heard much about California’s uppity Cranston family who’s schitt didn’t stink. The former Senator and Democrat got busted for widespread corruption.

          2. uppity Cranston family

            I’m sure at least one of our plentiful corrupt politicians has taken money from them. I just haven’t seen it.

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