thehousingbubble@gmail.com
Blog

We Are In A Period Of Price Discovery

A weekend topic starting with the Associated Press. “While REITs overall are lagging the broader stock market this year, apartment REITs are among the worst-performing. The 15 apartment REITs included in the Nareit index have a negative total return of 26.2%. ‘It’s totally a renters’ market in those large metros,’ said Joshua Clark, economist at Zillow Group. ‘In many cities we’re seeing extremely high shares of listings with concessions, the vast majority being actual months of free rent.'”

The Real Deal on New York. “An appraisal of Kushner Companies’ 248,457-square-foot retail condo at 229 West 43rd Street slashed its value by 80 percent, to $92.5 million, from $470 million in 2017, according to Trepp. The property is now valued well below the $225 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan backing the property. The appraisal’s drastic reduction shows how severe the pandemic’s impact has been on Times Square retail. With tourism falling by more than 80 percent and nearly 9 in 10 office employees still working remotely, retailers in Times Square are vacating and landlords are finding it difficult to find new tenants.”

“Kushner bought the property for $296 million in 2015 from Lev Leviev’s Africa-Israel. The company soon secured $370 million in refinancing, including a $70 million mezzanine loan from Paramount Group, a $15 million mezzanine loan from SL Green and a $285 million CMBS loan from Deutsche Bank.”

From New York 1. “One landlord in Brooklyn says many building owners are suffering like their tenants. Deferred mortgage payments may have helped earlier in the pandemic, but those amounted to ‘kicking the can’ down the financial road, and allowing debt to pile up. Garo Yellin is a landlord in Brooklyn. He agreed to give all his commercial and residential tenants a break but laments the lack of assistance for property owners who own one or two units or small buildings. He says many owners are not the commercial realty giants.”

“‘Mortgages, taxes, insurance, maintenance — all with zero, mainly zero, help with any of that,’ Yellin says.”

The Real Deal on Florida. “The pandemic brought especially bad timing for the owner of a South Beach hotel, which purchased it last year, embarked on a multimillion-dollar renovation, and ended up losing its investment. Leste Group and its partner, Moto Capital Group, last month foreclosed on the newly renovated Lord Balfour Hotel on Ocean Drive, The Real Deal has learned. In August of last year, the U.S. arm of Henley, a United Kingdom-based private equity firm, paid nearly $35 million for the Lord Balfour.”

“More UCC foreclosures are expected in South Florida as some hotel owners opt to walk away from whatever equity they have in their properties. Experts say many highly leveraged borrowers are at a crossroads, deciding among selling at a discount, throwing the keys back to their lenders, or buying more time from lenders.”

“Without a federal bailout, an estimated 38,000 U.S. hotels could close permanently, while another 28,000 are at risk of being foreclosed on, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Last month, the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel in Beverly Hills closed for good, after having embarked on a full renovation just before Covid hit.”

The Dallas Business Journal in Texas. “The Cooper’s 390 units that hit the market last month were among 6,665 apartment units completed in the third quarter of 2020 in Dallas-Fort Worth — the most completions in the nation, according to Richardson-based multifamily housing analytics firm RealPage Inc. DFW additionally remains the country’s construction leader by a big margin, with ongoing development totaling 40,349 units.”

“Cindy Harris, vice president of development at Lang Partners, said she’s concerned that the market may be reaching an oversupply. ‘Market-wide, DFW-wide, I think it’s going to be a real challenge over the next year or so at minimum,’ Harris said. ‘We have a declining job market and we have a growing level of supply. Those are not usually metrics that favor the apartment business.'”

“DFW apartment developers could be overbuilding if too many of the new units that hit the market by year-end are in luxury complexes, said Rob Warnock, research associate at Apartment List. ‘Right now, a lot of people are looking to cut back on their housing spending, not promote themselves to a nicer apartment,’ he said. ‘Even before the pandemic, luxury apartments had been coming up faster than people were occupying them. Those are the units that are in oversupply.'”

From Bisnow. “Many CRE experts are predicting the worst pain is yet to come, and unless more federal stimulus or a vaccine hit the market in the next few months, the industry may see a larger wave of business closures, loan delinquencies and foreclosures. Nearly one-quarter — 22.94% — of lodging commercial mortgage-backed securities loans were delinquent at the end of September, according to Trepp Analytics data.”

“One-third of hotel asset managers report fears of imminent default, foreclosure or a forced sale of their asset, according to Hospitality Asset Managers Association’s October survey of 100 members. About 60% predict a 50% to 75% decline in revenue per available room compared to budget for their entire portfolio, HAMA noted. Some retailers also are on their last leg. Retail delinquencies associated with CMBS loans have been rising for months, from 7.86% in June to 14.76% in September, Trepp data shows.”

“‘We don’t subscribe to the idea that retail is dead at all, but obviously there are some headwinds, and I think we are in a period of price discovery around retail,’ said CBRE Global Chief Economist Richard Barkham. ‘Economists overall stress there is some runway left for asset owners facing a financial squeeze, but time is running out. ‘We are starting to see a lot of distress in the CMBS and the lending market, so a lot of properties are behind on their interest payments and their mortgage payments for sure,’ Moody’s Analytics REIS CRE Economist Barbara Denham told Bisnow.”

From Socket Site in California. “Rents in Oakland mostly held firm through June. But as we highlighted back in July, signs of weakness had emerged. And with the weighted average asking rent for an apartment in Oakland having just dropped to under $2,400 a month, asking rents in the city are now down 19.6 percent on a year-over-year basis and roughly 21 percent below a 2016-era peak of closer to $3,000 a month, with the average asking rent for a one-bedroom in the city having just dropped to under $2,000 a month (versus closer to $2,500 at peak).”

“At the same time, listing activity for apartments in Oakland has nearly doubled since the end of June and is up over 60 percent versus the same time last year. And while the jump in listing activity in Oakland still lags the even larger jump in San Francisco, as does the relative decline in rents, the gaps continue to close (with San Francisco rents now down around 23 percent on average).”

From The Counter on California. “It’s odd to talk about ‘silver linings’ when the National Restaurant Association says that 100,000 restaurants have closed, and another 40 percent predict they likely won’t survive another six months without further aid. But that’s how realtor Miriam Janousek described a spate of openings built on top of other businesses’ demise in Ocean Park, a beachside neighborhood in Santa Monica, California. For months, she said, the Main Street business district felt like ‘a ghost town, a scary place with an ominous feeling,’ but new businesses have begun to sprout in long-vacant spaces.”

“Edobox is the first but not the last fast-casual project from Chef Makoto Okuwa, best known for full-service restaurants in Miami, Mexico City, Panama City, Panama and São Paolo, Brazil. One business partner, Sky Strouth, surveyed the work in progress just days before opening and agreed: For better or worse, and it’s both, this is the future, and they intend to make the most of it.”

“‘Smart people are making deals right now,’ said Strouth. ‘Deals are good—and unfortunately, the hard part of that is that someone went out of business to make it so. Capital’s frozen up at food halls, people sitting back and waiting’ until indoor dining eases up, said Strouth, ‘so we decided to do something else.’ Another food-hall project in Washington, D.C., probably won’t open until the end of 2021.”

The Portland Business Journal in Oregon. “Two separate Californian buyers bought apartments in Gresham for a combined $42 million. A Canadian real estate trust picked up ones in Hillsboro for $48.2 million. Yet another buyer snagged 90 multifamily units in Vancouver for $20.5 million. You might think the apartment-building market is hot right now. Not so, say the numbers.”

“The pandemic has hit four pillars of the real estate market in different ways. Retailers are getting pummeled. Many offices are sitting unoccupied. Industrial properties are holding strong, reinforced by e-commerce. ‘Multifamily kind of fits in the middle,’ said Gary Griff, C&W’s senior director of capital markets. Even before March, the multifamily market was overbuilt, with plenty of new development coming in the past four or five years and vacancies increasing. ‘Since the pandemic, it’s dramatic,’ he said.”

“Newer, amenity-rich apartments are leasing up slowly, Griff said, noting that he’s aware of some in town where occupancy has stalled at about 80 percent and rents are 10 percent to 15 percent lower than expected. Free rent and free parking have become tenant concessions, he said.”

The Washingtonian. “The latest data evaluating Washington’s luxury apartment market shows the Covid-19 pandemic continues to seriously impact both rents and vacancies. On average, rents in the types of high-end, amenity-packed buildings that have proliferated in Washington are down 10.7 percent within the city of DC, and 7 percent metro area-wide, compared to the same time last year.”

“Delta Associates, an authority on local commercial real estate, released the findings this week in its 2020 third quarter report, concluding: ‘The unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the resulting prolonged economic slowdown in its wake has impacted the apartment market more than initially expected.’ Indeed, the third quarter stats show the rental market has become even weaker than it was during the second quarter of this year.”

“But even as prices fall, tenants are moving out: Inside the city, buildings are 7.8 percent vacant, up from 4.4 percent last year. Throughout Washington, the vacancy rate is 5.5 percent, compared to 4.3 percent in September 2019. Rents have been particularly affected in DC’s core downtown areas—including Logan and Dupont circles, Mount Vernon Triangle, and the West End.”

“Combined, the average rent in those places is down 12.7 percent from last year. Capitol Riverfront and the Southwest Waterfront aren’t far behind—rent is down 12 percent there. Upper Georgia Avenue, Columbia Heights/Shaw, and NoMa/H Street have seen rents fall 11.7 percent, 10.6 percent, and 10.1 percent respectively.”

Related Posts
This Post Has 104 Comments

  1. ‘The 15 apartment REITs included in the Nareit index have a negative total return of 26.2%’

    You can see, the entire industry is fooked.

    1. this is crazy – what happens to the pension funds that invested in REIT (because they thought that it was safe)

      is someone hiding something. What is mark-to-market for pension funds?

      1. When I was studying accounting, we did a deep dive on how the accounting rules, approved by DC, had set up pensions for failure. Basically allowed them to eat their cake and have it too. What we have here is a text-book example of why artificially low interest rates, forced low for way too many years, encouraged yield chasing to the point of irrational. I could see these guys were losing money in late 2014. Luxury apartments built in the last several years made up 90% plus of construction. They didn’t care: the plan was to sell to a greater fool. That works until it doesn’t.

        I was thinking about the San Diego mortgage fraud report yesterday. If shacks are so hot, and multiple offers to the moon Alice!, why resort to fraud? Because they are out of buyers.

        1. If shacks are so hot, and multiple offers to the moon Alice!, why resort to fraud? Because they are out of buyers.

          It’s no different than what’s going on in the auto/RV/boat industry. They are scraping the bottom of the barrel now with subprime loans. There is rapacious appetite for them, though, because they are high yield – while they’re performing that is….

          Might there be some pension funds buying up securities backed by auto/RV/boat loans? I’d bet the answer is undoubtedly “yes.” The entire system is rotten to the core. It needs to collapse and be reinvented.

        2. Anecdotally San Diego homes are selling at ever skyrocketing prices on steadily thinning transactions volume.

          If not for REIC assurances that this time is different and that it’s different here in San Diego, I’d almost guess that we are watching the parabolic blowout stage of a bubble, just before San Diego joins San Francisco and Manhattan in Craterville.

  2. We see this time and again:

    ‘Even before March, the multifamily market was overbuilt, with plenty of new development coming in the past four or five years and vacancies increasing. ‘Since the pandemic, it’s dramatic’

    1. ‘Right now, a lot of people are looking to cut back on their housing spending, not promote themselves to a nicer apartment,’ he said. ‘Even before the pandemic, luxury apartments had been coming up faster than people were occupying them. Those are the units that are in oversupply.’

      1. ‘Right now, a lot of people are looking to cut back on their housing spending, not promote themselves to a nicer apartment,’ he said.

        B…b…but that means the basic assumptions underpinning the development of thousands of “luxury” apartment complexes are fundamentally flawed. Which means those developments are going to end up going bankrupt en masse.

        Oh dear…we’re going to need a bigger memorial for all those dear departed Yellen Bux.

  3. “More UCC foreclosures are expected in South Florida as some hotel owners opt to walk away from whatever equity they have in their properties. Experts say many highly leveraged borrowers are at a crossroads, deciding among selling at a discount, throwing the keys back to their lenders, or buying more time from lenders.”

    “Without a federal bailout, an estimated 38,000 U.S. hotels could close permanently, while another 28,000 are at risk of being foreclosed on, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Last month, the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel in Beverly Hills closed for good, after having embarked on a full renovation just before Covid hit.”

    http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4082501.html

    http://www.nrn.com/finance/restaurant-oversupply-worsens

    http://www.rstreet.org/2017/07/24/is-the-real-estate-double-bubble-back/

    1. Interesting
      I (sitting on a couch) hypothesize/guess that 1) upscale hotels in downtown locations, 2) fancy hotels in vacation locations will suffer most. Heard through that grapevine that a SPA and Resurant billins are down 80%. I suspect that more streamlined hotels like Embassy suites, La Quinata Inns — more modest hotels will do much better.

      It is really sad for the employees. The daughter of a close friend – has spent the last 15 years working her way up a hotel chain management chain. She is currently the #2 manager in an upscale hotel in So.Cal – where she makes a good salary and a good work/life balance. They suspect that there is going to be really big changes upcoming – and are cutting out almost all spending

      1. Covid is very similar in mortality rates to the Spanish Flu and a similar government response now compared 1918. 620K died in the US with the Spanish Flu. Given the population US 3X growth since 1918, I expect due to the gross lack of response, were will see a death rate approaching 1.5M by 2021. Maybe less since we have antibiotics and other anti-viral drugs now.
        After the Spanish Flu disappeared in 1920, the Roaring 20’s started.

        Be prepared for the second Roaring 20’s.

        If central city condos and houses plummet more, I’ll be buying before companies like Blackrock get the same idea.

        The next question is the Roaring 1920’s led to the Great Depression in 1929. Will history repeat itself in 2029?

        1. Given the population US 3X growth since 1918, I expect due to the gross lack of response, were will see a death rate approaching 1.5M by 2021

          Bahahahahahahaha!!! Yeah, good luck with that – another 1.25 million deaths in the next 2+ months.

          1. We’re already in an economic crisis of “Great” proportions. Now we have the technology to stretch it out for decades.

        2. gross lack of response

          Trump went to the mat for HCQ. The FDA and the CDC deliberately shot him down with flawed “studies.”

    2. I remember a few years back, Ben was posting articles where they stated too many hotels were being built in SoCal! This was well before the Pandemic.

      1. Ben was posting back in 2014 that the market started to melt down. Then Mel “Subprime Shady” Watt implemented his ‘pedal-to-the-metal-anybody-with-a-pulse’ lending standards. And here we are today.

  4. ‘An appraisal of Kushner Companies’ 248,457-square-foot retail condo at 229 West 43rd Street slashed its value by 80 percent, to $92.5 million, from $470 million in 2017, according to Trepp. The property is now valued well below the $225 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan backing the property

    Well, it was cheaper than, oh never mind. Are we there yet? Hey troll, here’s yer price discovery.

    1. What sort of rents was the property commanding to justify a value of over $1,890 per square foot ($470-million/248k sf)?

      Not one, but two mezzanine loans?

      What’s the over/under on the total legal bills on this one before it’s resolved? Remember – at least 2 mezz loans, a CMBS loan (with who knows how many tranches) and an unknown number of stakeholders in the equity entity.

      My guess is when all is said and done, the legal bills will end up between $5 million and $10 million.

    2. Well, it was cheaper than, oh never mind. Are we there yet? Hey troll, here’s yer price discovery.

      I think the “SuperfluousInvestor” troll (2nd Jingle account, perhaps?) disappeared like a fart in the wind.

  5. ‘Garo Yellin is a landlord in Brooklyn. He agreed to give all his commercial and residential tenants a break but laments the lack of assistance for property owners who own one or two units or small buildings. He says many owners are not the commercial realty giants’

    I don’t see how the last comment is relevant Garo. The big boys are taking an even larger a$$-pounding. Next time try an area that’s not a socialist sh$t-hole.

  6. ‘It’s totally a renters’ market in those large metros,’ said Joshua Clark, economist at Zillow Group. ‘In many cities we’re seeing extremely high shares of listings with concessions, the vast majority being actual months of free rent.’”

    Oh my. How the worm has turned. Renters who have been gouged for years by greedy landlords are now in the catbird seat and are going to take full advantage – especially the creditworthy ones.

    As for me, my landlord was more than fair during the past few years when he could’ve charged prevailing market rates, but valued a reliable tenant over getting top dollar. So now I’m going to reciprocate by not pushing for cheaper rent or concessions, since I’ve very happy with the deal I’m getting.

    1. ‘It’s totally a renters’ market in those large metros,’ said Joshua Clark, economist at Zillow Group. ‘In many cities we’re seeing extremely high shares of listings with concessions, the vast majority being actual months of free rent.’”

      I don’t want gimmicks. Just lower the fawking rent already.

      1. I don’t want gimmicks. Just lower the fawking rent already.

        Won’t happen until all the gimmicks have been exhausted.

        1. Think about car rebates. Why not just lower the MSRP sticker on the car? But they never do, not even when real prices, after ‘incentives” and rebates are 70% of MSRP,

    2. When the virus hit in March, we received a “we understand” letter from our PM giving us a $500 reduction in next month’s rent which would continue until the crisis was over. May’s invoice arrived, rent was still $500 less and we were very pleased and grateful. Three weeks into the month, we got a call from the sheepish PM saying it was a mistake and to please send the $500 along with June’s rent.

      I was annoyed because I hadn’t expected anything at all, but sure warmed up to the thought of a few months of lower rent. I can only imagine how her other tenants took it.

      1. That’s “low rent,” pardon the pun. You don’t promise something then take it back. I would have been tempted to say “Sorry, I’ve had a financial event due to the virus and now I’m not sure what I’ll be able to afford.” Give them a jolt.

        1. That’s “low rent,” pardon the pun. 😃 So true.

          The LL, PM and the lawn guy (that sounds like the beginning of a joke) showed up in the backyard yesterday – no call, no knock. My husband was lying in bed listening to their conversation. I wasn’t home. I called the PM later to ask what that was about. There’s a leak in the backyard’s sprinkler system, as it turns out – no idea how he could have known since the backyard isn’t maintained at all. I wonder what that has cost us in water bills.

          As it turns out, we have had a financial event. Husband can’t work anymore, too old, bad back, so there goes that chunk of change. During the call I asked the prop mgr if our lease will be renewed at the end of February (yes). I also told him there was no way we would be able to pay a penny more in rent (no increase planned.) I like him, FWIW, but neither answer means a thing.

          1. a leak in the backyard’s sprinkler system, as it turns out

            How do they know this while you, living there, do not?

          2. The backyard is all dirt. We never go back there. Our water bill always goes up in the summer so I didn’t notice anything. It’s not set to be watered. The lawn guy got rid of all the scrub about two months ago (only time since we’re here, 5+ years) so it’s back down to bald. The dust problem in the house is now even worse. I wish they had left it alone.

            Also, distracted. Started feeling weird around the beginning of the lockdown, doctors closed so I delayed going. When I finally got there, not good news; doubt the wait made much difference. TMI territory, I’ll just say I am going to be operated on in ten days or so 🤞🏻

          3. “As it turns out, we have had a financial event. Husband can’t work anymore, too old, bad back, so there goes that chunk of change.”

            Oh boy, talk about bad timing. Is he old enough to draw his SS, or is he an SSDI case?

          4. We’re both old enough for SS thank goodness. We could downsize, rental-wise. and likely will, but my poor pets will end up in a shelter. Breaks my heart, but that’s probably what’s going to happen. Too bad; they’ve been treated like gold their whole lives.

          5. “We could downsize, rental-wise.”

            Or move out by the airport and get used to wearing ear plugs. There’s always outliers like Pahrump, but you’ll need a reliable low-mileage car.

          6. We could downsize, rental-wise. and likely will, but my poor pets will end up in a shelter. Breaks my heart, but that’s probably what’s going to happen. Too bad; they’ve been treated like gold their whole lives.

            This is horrible. There’s got to be a better answer.

          7. If you’re both old enough for SS, and your husband can no longer work, then why do you need to be in Las Vegas? You could move anywhere and buy a cheap house and live off SS. If you’re in Vegas because of family, maybe the family can take the pets.

          8. Thanks, rip, oxide, appreciate your kind responses.

            I’m sure I’ll figure something out, hopefully avoiding home maintenance, ear plugs and Pahrump. For now, I’m just going to try and get through the next two weeks.

          11. Thanks, P-S and RR. Got to make sure I get out and vote before I go into the hospital. If I didn’t that would kill me 🤣

          12. “I’m sure I’ll figure something out, hopefully avoiding home maintenance, ear plugs and Pahrump.”

            I’m sure there’s fewer take-offs (and landings) these days and the foreseeable future, so it’s easy on the ears, and the rentals are cheaper…anything to save the pets you love and love you in return.

  7. “An appraisal of Kushner Companies’ 248,457-square-foot retail condo at 229 West 43rd Street slashed its value by 80 percent, to $92.5 million, from $470 million in 2017, according to Trepp.

    Whoever is the counterparty on all that vaporized Yellen Bux collateral has got to be as nervous as a nine-year-old at the Neverland Ranch.

    1. Whoever is the counterparty on all that vaporized Yellen Bux collateral has got to be as nervous as a nine-year-old at the Neverland Ranch.

      The FED is on a toxic CDO buying spree. ‘S’all good.

        1. “The yield on the Vanguard fund was 1.65% as of Sept. 30, the most recent available date. As I write this, the yield on a 10-year Treasury, the security it generally makes the most sense for a retail investor to buy and hold to maturity, was 0.76%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury was 1.56%.”

          The fed’s low interest rates have driven the pension funds into dangerous illiquid investments.

      2. The Fed is nuking the middle class to keep its asset bubbles and Ponzi markets levitated.

        The record homelessness lies on the FED’s doorstep.

        1. And they refuse to own it, or even acknowledge their role.

          Their low rates policy is also killing U.S. pensions, another natural consequence of their No Financial Gambler Left Behind risk subsidization program.

          1. Plenty of financial gamblers are going to be left behind. Not the Wall Street grifters, of course – the Fed will always have their backs – but the small-time yield-seekers, i.e. small landlords, who speculated on the Fed’s asset bubbles are going to end up getting burned.

        2. The record homelessness lies on the FED’s doorstep.

          Sadly, we are the ones who have to deal with the consequences. The people who matter don’t have to deal with the homeless camping out in front of their gated community mansions.

  8. “One landlord in Brooklyn says many building owners are suffering like their tenants.

    “We’re all in this together.” Except, we’re not. Some of us refused to buy into the Fed’s speculative mania bubbles.

  9. Garo Yellin is a landlord in Brooklyn. He agreed to give all his commercial and residential tenants a break but laments the lack of assistance for property owners who own one or two units or small buildings.

    Die, speculator scum.

  10. Nearly one-quarter — 22.94% — of lodging commercial mortgage-backed securities loans were delinquent at the end of September, according to Trepp Analytics data.”

    Is that a lot?

  13. WTF? There’s already too many hotels for post-COVID-19 levels of hotel demand. Why should people who never, ever stay overnight in a hotel be charged for the cost of rescuing this overcapitalized industry? Let the shareholders eat their crow, and move on.

    “Without a federal bailout, an estimated 38,000 U.S. hotels could close permanently, while another 28,000 are at risk of being foreclosed on, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Last month, the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel in Beverly Hills closed for good, after having embarked on a full renovation just before Covid hit.”

    2. There were too many pop-up hotels even pre-COVID. What is really sad is that those Yellen bux, along with constructing buildings, paid for a lot of jobs in the $40-50K(?) range. My guess is we’re going to permanently lose about 1/3 of retail-type jobs in malls and hotels and small shops.

    1. “Revenue projections for the league this season were missed by about $1.5 billion, the person said. The losses were the result of a combination of factors —”

      And these factors are …?

      1. “… the shutdown caused by the pandemic,”

      2. “… the cancelation of 171 regular-season games, completing the season in a bubble at Walt Disney World without fans,”

      3. “… the nearly $200 million price tag for operating that bubble and …”

      4. “… a yearlong rift with the Chinese government that saw NBA games not shown on state television there.”

      No mention of any other reason so I guess these four reasons are all inclusive.

  15. “The 15 apartment REITs included in the Nareit index have a negative total return of 26.2%.”

    That’s enough to get me looking at the Vanguard REIT Index fund. Down 12.2% year-over-year. And the yield according to the note? It is 3.63%, unadjusted. How are those 5.0% cap rates working out? Regular investors are in no position to know.

    It isn’t down 26.2%, and I’m not sure 26.2% is enough to say that the sword has hit the ground. Certainly not in NYC, where the insanity was greatest.

  16. “For months, she said, the Main Street business district felt like ‘a ghost town, a scary place with an ominous feeling,’ but new businesses have begun to sprout in long-vacant spaces.”

    New businesses soaring in the U.S.

    https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/10/10/the-number-of-new-businesses-in-america-is-booming

    “The pandemic has had all sorts of unexpected consequences, from a boom in sourdough-bread baking to more people listening to nostalgic music on Spotify. Less noticed is a once-in-a-generation surge in startups. The government regularly releases figures on new-business formation, derived from applications for tax registrations. And “high-propensity” business applications—those displaying characteristics typically associated with firm-creation and the employment of staff—recently reached their highest quarterly level on record.”

    The sensible response was to go out of business, and plot a comeback when this was all over.

        2. It was a poor joke. But I’m overly tired with all the woke, PC, reverse racism garbage going on. I’m kind of in a “fawk you” state of mind at this point. I’ve never wanted Trump to win more, just to stick a finger in the eye of these whiny pukes.

        3. By the way, I was kind of reminiscing about my Halloween costumes as a child. My mother used to make all of them, and she was extremely talented. One of them was a “hobo,” and she’d use charcoal on my face! Talk about not PC….

          1. My mother used to make all of them, and she was extremely talented.

            Mine too. She made some amazingly cute ones for my son too before she passed.

  20. I was trying something over on Marketwatch for the past several weeks to confirm my suspicions. I noticed all of the commenters supporting Trump were getting their comments scrubbed, with the comments section being full of toxic anti-Trump spew, so I started supporting Trump and disagreeing with both articles and comments, but always respectfully, always staying within their guidelines. Regardless, I have been banned. Any post of mine is automatically “rejected,” saying “Your comment was rejected as it apparently was not aligned with our Community Guidelines.”

    To confirm it wasn’t the content, I simply typed “I love Marketwatch” and other things praising the site. All rejected. I post this because it’s just another indication of the anti-Trump establishment in all media. It’s disgusting. I will not use Marketwatch anymore.

    1. TheHill has gone the same way. All the media manipulation makes me wonder if those polls are rigged too. At one point Biden was showing a double-digit lead. That just doesn’t sit right, given that several times during the primaries, he was pronounced dead. It will be interesting to see what the final raw numbers look like — whether Biden can hold on to the Clinton voters and whether Trump can hold on to his own voters.

      1. All the media manipulation makes me wonder if those polls are rigged too.

        I would think that the ghost town like Biden “rallies” would be more than enough to confirm that.

      3. You can’t be that dense. Maybe the same fake news outlets that lie about everything also make up phony polls? Get outta here!

    3. Sorry but MarketWatch is left-wing crap now. Just as bad as Yahoo Finance and Google Business. Gonna have to find a new finance aggregator site. Their leftist editorialism on everything just makes me want to puke. SillyCon Valley lame-oes.

  21. I think the Founders of this Country did not perceive a few future things, or they would of put more protections in on Government.
    It would of been hard to perceive,

    ,1, Globalism of production.
    2, Federal Tax on income
    3, Commie Big Gov.
    4, Necular Bombs
    5,Monopolies propped up by Government, and Government in bed with private industry.
    6 A welfare State.
    7, Open Borders and welfare to non Citizens.
    8. America being Military watch dog for the World.
    9, USA jobs and manufacturing transferred to China and other low wage Countries.
    ,10, Climate Change false narratives to create Government power over people.
    11, Computers and TV controlling information and fake social engineering.
    12, Government controlling what people will get .
    13, Court Stacking.
    Anyway I’m sure that you could add a lot more to the list.
    But, my point is that these were future events that have undermined the Government for the People that was set up.

    Now a Corrupt Biden with the puppet Harris wants to go further with a treasonous take over of Government in service of the people In favor of Top Down control by the few.

    How they can brainwash people to vote for their insanity and hellish power grab is disturbing.

    1. How they can brainwash people

      Most people do not even try to think for themselves. Just gaslight them.

      1. So we just have a fake press that puts in Politicians that are corrupt, treasonous, and in collusion with anti American hijacking of education, the Welfare rackets, the Court system, and crazy rewrite of history, and with crazy false narratives like ClimateChange and racism?
        That must be the longest run on sentence I just wrote.

        1. the longest run on sentence

          Accurate though! Fortunately we have internet access to thinkers not bought and paid for.

    1. Yeah, that’s the wrong kind of high oil prices that the oil patch and frackers like. It would be due to him shutting down the industry.

      1. due to him shutting down the industry

        What makes you think he would? Are you spoiled having a president who actually does what he says he will?

        Besides, if you want to build “renewables” you’ll need twice as much oil than if you don’t. Forever.

    1. Yeah JB, it snowed lightly up here yesterday, and evening temperatures are in the high teens; wind chill in the single digits! However, the forecast has high forties next week by Wednesday, so there’s a few more road bike workouts ahead.

  25. Why do falling housing prices instill such fear and rage in some? Even going so far as saying “you can’t publish that!”?

    Get used to it….. and a lot more of it.

    Bellevue, WA Housing Prices Crater 26% YOY As Housing Prices Plummet Across Pacific Northwest

    https://www.movoto.com/bellevue-wa/market-trends/

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

      1. The fear is palpable.

        A lot of people’s identity is very wrapped up in where they appear to be on the economic ladder. Take away the bubble money and you destroy the identify they have spent decades curating. Eventually they will figure out that none of those people they were showing off for matter, but it can be a gut-wrenching transition.

    1. Jackson Browne called out the “peace, love and understanding” generation right as that prevention was starting to fade. Just a bunch of pretenders.

      1. More evidence is coming out that the Biden family is corrupt and compromised.

        But , you have a total suppression by News saying in summary that it’s Russian disinformation. The FBI made a statement it isn’t Russian disinformation.
        Look, when the Press becomes a agent for obstruction of Justice, than its a rigged deck.
        Actually people should thank the Trump Voters for being a Resistance to this corrupt power grab by anti American forces and money Looters now embraced by the Dem Party.
        23 years of the selling out of America, that only raised the power of Communist China, is a disaster. Throw the bums out of office.

        1. Actually people should thank the Trump Voters for being a Resistance

          It’s tough for “The Resistance” to be grateful to the actual resistance.

          1. The real truth is the Politicians in around 1996 sold out to the Money powers.
            This created Monopolies by Globalism, Health Care, Gov. Supplement of rigged systems and false wealth creation by debt and Ponzi Schemes.
            So, capitalism went out the window in favor of all these Gov sponsored rigged monopoly systems.
            This system looted the USA and created the class warfare, rather than the false narrative of racism.
            So, the evil big money Looters have their fake news to control the narratives. This is so the real cause of all problem won’t be discussed. This sets the stage for Commie take over has a incorrect solution to capitalism being hijacked by Globalism Monopolies and Top Down control.

Comments are closed.