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Investors Are Weakening

A report from Real Estate Weekly on New York. “The City’s largest organization of landlords of rent-regulated apartments is calling on the city to freeze this year’s property tax assessments. The city’s new tax assessment roll shows the value of Class 1 properties, that’s one-to-three family homes, went up by 5.3 percent to $23.2 billion. The overall market value of Class 2 (cooperatives, condominiums and rental apartment buildings) fell to $320 billion in FY22, decreasing by $27.6 billion, or eight percent. But in Brooklyn, where values fell 5.2 percent, billable assessments have increased 3.2 percent.”

“Through all of this landlords have still been required to pay their property taxes, mortgages, water bills, and other building operating expenses. ‘As landlords’ struggles continue because of dwindling rent collections, the City is once again proposing increased property tax assessments for hundreds of building owners across the five boroughs,’ said Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords.”

The Beacon Hill Times in Massachusetts. “Boston has seen, according to one study, the median price for a one-bedroom fall by 17 percent citywide between January 2020 and this month, and Beacon Hill hasn’t been immune to this trend. Will Natoli, who rents about 50 apartments each year said, ‘Landlords keep slashing prices until something sticks.'”

The Los Angeles Times in California. “Tenants are abandoning leases and many landlords worry they won’t be able to recover overdue rent, said Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles. Additionally, the L.A. rental market has dipped, with median two-bedroom rents in the region now at $1,990, nearly 10% lower than last year, according to Apartment List.”

“With rents going unpaid and vacancy rates ticking up, landlords are having troubles paying their mortgages and other bills, Yukelson said. ‘I am hearing more and more from property owners that are concerned about holding on, that have received notices of default and have had to dip into emergency funds or retirement savings to keep their rental properties afloat,’ Yukelson said.”

The Commercial Property Executive. “According to Cushman & Wakefield, San Francisco’s office vacancy rate reached 16.7 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, up 300 basis points over the previous quarter and 11 percent compared to the same period of 2019. ‘San Francisco’s office market has suffered the nation’s most severe drop in occupancy and asking rents. Remote work and the pandemic have proven to be a major threat to the city,’ said Joe Muratore, co-CEO of Graceada Partners.”

“The report about the city’s financial plan also notes that office activities generated about 75 percent of the city’s GDP before the coronavirus outbreak. The absence of office workers has severely damaged the city’s downtown, and sales tax dropped by 43 percent between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020. Due to the exodus of tech workers, however, ‘the city also saw virtually no growth in online sales tax,’ the report says. Muratore also expects a 10 to 15 percent drop in the value of downtown real estate and projects that the recovery might take four to six years.”

“Another indicator that the outmigration of office workers, specifically those in the tech industry, is putting downward pressure on San Francisco’s economy is that apartment rents have significantly dropped in areas where large concentrations of tech workers live, according to The Five-Year Financial Plan report. Asking rents decreased 25 percent in November 2020 compared to November 2019, the largest drop recorded in a major city across the country.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area often talk of the ‘buyer fatigue’ that can take hold when clients become worn down by fierce bidding wars and runaway prices. Now some ‘seller fatigue’ is infusing the downtown condo market. Many landlords who have been struggling to rent units have decided to try their luck at selling, but that has been a challenge too.”

“‘I think certain investors are starting to get tired,’ says Manu Singh, a real estate agent with Right at Home Realty Inc. ‘I’m seeing some seller fatigue.'”

“New condo listings hit the market in early January, he says, and the fresh supply is motivating some sellers to agree to offers that they would have spurned in the fall. ‘Investors are weakening,’ he says, of those who haven’t been able to collect rent or sell the unit at the price they hoped for.”

From Bloomberg on the UK. “London’s luxury housing market is enduring a lonely lockdown. Homes in the most expensive areas of the capital are sitting empty for more than two months before finding tenants, the longest waiting period since the last financial crisis, according to LonRes. And that’s despite rents recently plummeting at the fastest annual pace in a decade.”

An exodus of office workers and dearth of global visitors has hammered swanky hotspots such as Mayfair and Knightsbridge, forcing landlords to slash their rents or see their properties stay unoccupied. The number of luxury pads up for rent in central London has surged by 75% from a year earlier. For owners of the multi-million pound homes, it could be a long winter.”

“‘It’s probably going to be another few months of accepting lower rents than maybe you’ve historically got,’ said Marcus Dixon, head of research at LonRes. ‘It’s just about the need for landlords to ride this out.'”

“A flood of vacant homes came onto the market. Landlords have also struggled to fill short-term rental properties popular with tourists as well as those aimed at international students, workers and visitors. That doesn’t look set to improve anytime soon, with the government closing all travel corridors this week.”

“London luxury rents are seeing the biggest annual slides since the aftermath of the financial crisis, plummeting more than 14% across the capital in December compared with a year earlier. It’s not only the city center that’s suffering; the outskirts are seeing the steepest falls as wealthy tenants choose to live even further afield than the suburbs, said Dixon.”

“Sellers aren’t faring much better than landlords. Before the coronavirus struck London, the sales market briefly enjoyed two quarters of growth before prices slumped, continuing an overall decline that’s been playing out for years.”

The New Daily on Australia. “Apartment prices in Australia’s three largest capital cities either stagnated or declined through the pandemic year. But in dreaded news for apartment owners, there’s more pain on the horizon. High-rise CBD apartments – reeling from low migration, oversupply and bad publicity following Sydney’s Opal Tower saga – will continue to lose value until a vaccine is rolled out, SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said.”

“Mr Christopher said they were particularly on the nose with investors as COVID-19 had encouraged a regional housing boom and dragged down inner-city rents. And although green shoots are emerging, Mr Christopher told The New Daily it was a ‘zero-sum game’ for apartment owners. According to SQM analysis, Sydney CBD apartments on average sell for nearly $290,000 less today than in January 2020.”

“So, with major city apartments under a cloud, how can apartment hunters avoid buying a dud? Buying off the plan – where owners enter contracts to buy an apartment upon its completion 12-18 months down the track – is inherently precarious, Suburbanite’s Ms Porter said. Since the Royal Commission, lenders wait until 90 days before settlement to assess a borrower’s lending capacity, she said.”

“This means owners, who are relying on getting the right level of finance to fund their purchase, could face a shortfall if their bank believes they are too risky to provide a larger loan or decides the apartment is worth less than the sale price. If they are unable to make up the shortfall, they risk losing their deposit.”

“‘Not all lenders will use JobKeeper in their measure of sufficient income, so that could impact their ability to borrow,’ Ms Porter said. ‘And if the lenders shift policies and make it harder to borrow, which has happened a lot in the last 18 months, the buyer could be left in a position where they’ve signed a contract and they’re liable to pay a 10 per cent deposit if they default.'”

“Charter Keck Cramer director of research and strategy Angie Zigomanis found that, in pre-COVID times, over half of purchased Melbourne CBD apartments sold at a later date for the same value or less. He told The New Daily that until overseas students and investors return, inner-city apartment hunters should recognise prices may drop further. ‘If you’re trying to mitigate losses, look at buildings that might be a little more unique in the marketplace,’ Mr Zigomanis said.”

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This Post Has 92 Comments

  1. ‘And if the lenders shift policies and make it harder to borrow, which has happened a lot in the last 18 months, the buyer could be left in a position where they’ve signed a contract and they’re liable to pay a 10 per cent deposit if they default’

    You mean they walk away? Sacre bleu!

    BTW, this article didn’t have Porters first name that I could find.

  2. ‘With rents going unpaid and vacancy rates ticking up, landlords are having troubles paying their mortgages and other bills, Yukelson said. ‘I am hearing more and more from property owners that are concerned about holding on, that have received notices of default and have had to dip into emergency funds or retirement savings to keep their rental properties afloat’

    Default? But we’re all in this together?

    I mean dammit, this is California. RE is the ticket to never ending wealth and gold nuggets? Wa happened Thornberg?

    1. I find it despicable that a person can qualify to not pay rent, but then at the same time not only collect unemployment but collect the “extra $300 per week” as well. There should be something that forces those deadbeats to hand that extra $300 over to the landlord for rent. Instead, they’re stiffing the landlord and living high on the hog.

      1. Totally agree bailing out people is communism and bad news. When I was out of work several years ago, there was no bailouts and when my unemployment ran out, I still had to find a way to pay rent and eat.

        1. there was no bailouts and when my unemployment ran out, I still had to find a way to pay rent and eat.

          +1. I had to find a job!

      2. “…There should be something that forces those deadbeats to hand that extra $300 over…”

        The whole situation stinks as bad as a week old Mackerel that has been sitting in the hot sun.

        Want to bet that a large portion of non rent payers have side hustles that pay in cash? My gut tells me that it is >>50%.

        The gig economy didn’t die when Covid arrived.

        Whether it’s mowing lawns or selling weed, those are free Benjamins that no one knows about.

      3. You can garnish wages in AZ if you get a judgement.

        You’re Despicable!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfsTk5i7mPw

        I dunno. I’m kind of enjoying watching these communist getting hoisted by their own petard. If California was the poorest state before, imagine what it’ll be like when they can’t finance anything. Take the former sword catching Larry. Now he’s frozen soup line Larry. Dress up warm for the line Larry, maybe you can thaw out the soup with the bums around one of those trash can fires.

      4. You have to qualify to not pay rent? I thought all you had to do was stop paying.

        Glad I don’t own any rentals.

        2. It depends on the state. The federal moratorium, issued by the CDC, requires the tenant to sign the conditions. Individual state governors in have issued unconditional moratoriums on top:

          Eviction ban until Jan/Feb/March: CA, CT, DE, HI, IL, KS, MN, NV, NC, WA
          Eviction ban until May/June: NY, OR
          Eviction ban until “end of emergency”: DC, MD, MN (CDC conditions), NJ, VT

          Source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/emergency-bans-on-evictions-and-other-tenant-protections-related-to-coronavirus.html

  3. ‘The absence of office workers has severely damaged the city’s downtown, and sales tax dropped by 43 percent between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020. Due to the exodus of tech workers, however, ‘the city also saw virtually no growth in online sales tax,’ the report says’

    Well, you bay aryans can always turn to shoplifting. Nobody will arrest you.

  5. I wasn’t even going to prepare a post as I’m trying to get caught up on financials and tax document for my profit making enterprises. But the crater was too wide and deep, even with an abbreviated search this AM.

    ‘Real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area often talk of the ‘buyer fatigue’ that can take hold when clients become worn down by fierce bidding wars and runaway prices’

    This is funny. MSM can’t help but pine for the days of red-hotcakes.

    ‘the fresh supply is motivating some sellers to agree to offers that they would have spurned in the fall’

    Chase that market down Manu.

  6. ‘Sydney CBD apartments on average sell for nearly $290,000 less today than in January 2020’

    Wa happened to my FOMO Australia? Gosh, I guess the idiots that listened to you guys are well and truly fooked. Of course, this is Australian pesos, so that works out to what, a few avocados and toast?

      1. Remember We Are The Majority – Don’t Let The Globalists Gaslight You!

        The Alex Jones Show
        January 21st 2021, 10:45 am

        1. “Globalists”

          Adult males are back in little girls bathrooms again. Any parent who finds themselves in the position of having to explain this to their young daughter, thank a globalist.

    1. “The property, built in 1775”

      Man, George Washington and John Adams wouldn’t even stop by that dump.

      PUTNAM HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT

      In the district and listed separately on the National Register, the circa 1700 Putnam Cottage/Knapp’s Tavern was a home, farm, and tavern that has welcomed George Washington and John Adams among other notable visitors.

      https://greenwichhistory.org/pres_putnam_hill/

    2. Why is the pool so far from the main house? No pool-house or outdoor kitchen nearby. If you want grab a snack from the fridge or use the restroom you’d have to get out of the pool and walk across 100 feet of lawn (no walkway either) to the house. The outbuildings are much more interesting than the house. 47 photos and not a single interior shot. I’m sure they only went through the motions to put this house on the MLS. They would much prefer a private sale to a “discerning” buyer.

  10. Snippet from the LA Times piece: “Federal protections allow tenants to avoid eviction if they notify their landlords, though all back rent is due immediately once the program expires. President Biden, on his first day in office Wednesday, signed an executive order extending the rules through March.”

    Kicking the proverbial can to buy some time. Will landlords be put under the banker’s sword?

    1. This all will end at some point. Free rent forever just can’t work. But jeebus it’s been going on almost a year. Unreal. Can you imagine not having to pay for shelter for a year? Boy, that would be nice.

      1. My recollection is we watched that for quite a while about a dozen years ago. Maybe different people for different reasons, but same result.

    2. Every banker will be made whole on the taxpayer dime.

      It’s illegal for rich people to lose money in this country.

      1. “Every banker will be made whole on the taxpayer dime.”

        Not every banker, just us well-connected worthy ones.

        The big and strong will absorb the small and weak.

        God’s Plan.

      2. “It’s illegal for rich people to lose money in this country.”

        Oh they’ve lost plenty on mansions and split-tail birds.

    3. Kicking the proverbial can to buy some time.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if the eviction moratorium is repeatedly extended throughout the year. Landlords should just cut their losses and not dip into savings to pay the mortgages. Sure, their dreams of an early and easy retirement have been shattered, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

      1. We’ll know more in a couple weeks, when there’s more data on the adenovirus vaccines. Those will have a much smoother rollout. My guess is the freebies will go on until end of June. By then, the vaccines will likely be available walk-in.

        1. By that point a lot of jobs will be gone for good, it wont matter if the infection rate plummets, we will be in a depression, which will be made worse by $6 gas and a $15 minimum wage.

          No only will the moratoriums be extended but we will be told that UBI is absolutely necessary (along with a VAT to fund it), and if you oppose it you’re a seditionist and un-American.

          1. And when it gets that bad, there won’t be anything left in Denver worth stealing. They’re gonna start driving up to Loveland to get their gibs.

            And you will like it 🙂

          2. They’re gonna start driving up to Loveland to get their gibs.

            We have lots of guns here in the Valentine City.

      2. “Landlords should just cut their losses and not dip into savings to pay the mortgages.”

        I haven’t heard much about CRE (apartments, office, retail) property value assessments and/or taxes, which are most likely decreasing. I would expect the fed to purchase a bank’s REO properties at par, a la The Great Recession.

    1. I went to the link in-browser and there were no comments – maybe they have been disabled. Haven’t tried in-app.

      1. That’s a shame, because the comments were pure gold. I expect them to hide the downvotes soon, they just haven’t figured out that you can do that.

          2. Now they are only 32,000.

            Yep, and that’s exactly what my Bitchute link captured. They are actively scrubbing downvotes. Ask yourself this: Why would this new administration be doing something like that? The answer is simple: It was a coup and they are trying to hide it.

          3. The answer is simple: It was a coup and they are trying to hide it.

            Scott Adams is pointing out today that the unusually low starting poll numbers for the incoming administration are very inconsistent with the vote totals.

          4. unusually low starting poll numbers for the incoming administration This “numbers” are obviously erroneous and will be adjusted (and re-adjusted) using the same level of tech used in last November’s election. And you will LIKE it.

          6. They must be slowing down their removal of downvotes to make it less obvious. In a world where victors write the history books over a period of years, spreading a lie over a month makes little difference.

    3. Almost every video on any MSM youtube channel in the past couple of months is getting ratio’ed. Where are all the left voters? Have they been told to disengage?

      1. Their numbers were vastly inflated, and a lot of them were paid trolls. Once the fix was in, and this diapered dandy was installed, there’s no need to pay them anymore.

        1. there’s no need to pay them anymore

          So that’s why they’re still rioting, their paychecks stopped.

      2. Werent that many to begin with (hence the need to rig the election) and most are back on their couch stoned in bliss that Pedo Joe rules over them or theyre breaking windows and spray painting stuff in the PNW.

    4. “the assertion that they’ve been removing downvotes”

      The weaponized autists of 4chan confirmed this with screenshots within hours. YouTube is owned by Google and is the deep state propaganda network.

      1. Fock Google. Fock Youtube. I’ve cut back 80% on Youtube, and I’m working on never going there again. It’s a shame because I like some of the stuff there.

        1. I’ve been enjoying BitChute much more lately. There is a lot of new original content on there. Obviously you have to sift out the duds to find the gems, but it’s worth.

          Still using YouTube for music I don’t own on CD or mp3 and for sharing links. When you do that all the suggested playlists are for other music. I can’t speak to the ads because I never use the app on my phone, using the browser on my phone with adblock to listen to tunes = no ads.

  13. The number of luxury pads up for rent in central London has surged by 75% from a year earlier. For owners of the multi-million pound homes, it could be a long winter.”

    Die speculators die!

  15. “Tenants are abandoning leases and many landlords worry they won’t be able to recover overdue rent”
    Are they seriously expecting they will get paid. Shirley you jest!!!
    They ain’t getting squat.

    1. They ain’t getting squat.

      That should be painfully obvious by now. They should stop paying the mortgage, hang on to whatever savings they have and wait for the dust to settle. Then they can decide if it’s worth it to get back into the landlord business.

  16. Aljazeera has a list of all the people pardoned by Donald Trump on Tuesday. Most are minor non-violent drug dealers. There was one for making a false statement on a mortgage application. Here is the full text;

    Eric Wesley Patton – President Trump granted a full pardon to Eric Wesley Patton. This pardon is supported by former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Mr. Patton was convicted of making a false statement on a mortgage application in 1999. In the 20 years since his conviction, Mr. Patton has worked hard to build a sterling reputation, been a devoted parent, and made solid contributions to his community by quietly performing good deeds for friends, neighbors, and members of his church.

  17. John Brennan Says Biden Admin. ‘Moving in Laser-Like Fashion’ against Pro-Trump ‘Insurgency’

    Tobias Hoonhout
    Thu, January 21, 2021, 10:20 AM

    In an apparent reference to the pro-Trump mob that rioted at the Capitol, former CIA director John Brennan said Wednesday that the Biden administration is “moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements that we’ve seen overseas.”

    Brennan went on to describe what he believed was “an unholy alliance” involving “religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians.”

    @tomselliott
    .@JohnBrennan: Biden intel community “are moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about” the pro-Trump “insurgency” that harbors “religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians”

    https://news.yahoo.com/john-brennan-says-biden-admin-152005224.html

      2. Brennan is an anti-American terrorist. And the CIA and the FBI are part of organized crime in the USA and abroad.

    2. “an unholy alliance”

      Oddly, the violent protests in Portland and NYC last night must have been by Loyalists. Naturally, anyone who follows a creed other than Socialism is a religious extremist.

  19. Motown’s Tragic Omen: Tammi Terrell Collapses Into Marvin Gaye’s Arms

    Published on October 14, 2020
    By Paul Sexton

    An event which foretold of tragedy in soul music history took place on October 14, 1967. It happened when Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were on tour in America celebrating the success of their now-classic recording of Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

    Gaye and Terrell’s show at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia confirmed all was far from well with Tammi’s health. She fell on stage and collapsed into his arms, and was rushed to a nearby hospital with what was first diagnosed as exhaustion. When doctors conducted further tests on the Philadelphia-born singer, they found that, at just 22, she had a malignant tumour on the right side of her brain.

    The pair did perform together again, and went on to record further giant hits for Motown in 1968 including “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need To Get By.” But Terrell never regained full health. She underwent a seemingly endless series of operations, and died in March 1970, some six weeks before she would have turned 25.

    https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/tammi-terrell-collapses-on-stage/

    If there was ever a song I could have watched being recorded this would be it. Especially from 1:15 – 1:42 they knew they nailed it from the sound of their voices.

    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

    13,905,192 views•
    Sep 4, 2018

    https://youtu.be/ABfQuZqq8wg

  20. Does it seem curious that U.S. stocks keep rocketing up, given flat corporate profits back to 2008?

    I guess the old rules of finance no longer apply in the New Era of Unlimited Quantitative Easing.

  21. Pedo Joe thinks his alleged mask mandate applies to all federal property, including National Forest land. GFY if you think I’m going to be hiking and snowshoeing while wearing a mask.

      1. Biden Violates His Own Mask EO by Failing to Wear Mask For Photo-Op

        by Paul Joseph Watson
        January 22nd 2021, 5:45 am

        “Wearing masks isn’t a partisan issue — it’s a patriotic act that can save countless lives. That’s why I signed an executive order today issuing a mask mandate on federal property. It’s time to mask up, America,” wrote Biden.

        However, on the very same night, Biden and his family posed for two group photos at the Lincoln Memorial – one with masks and one without.

        https://www.infowars.com/

        1. There’s gonna be some interesting conversations out on the trails for the next few months that will probably end with me screaming “go back to Denver you f*ing Karen and get off my mountain”

          1. Just learn to say “Have a nice Day you B****” in some foreign language and say it with a smile on your face.

        2. To be fair, Biden has had the vaccine (two doses). But they still want us to wear masks because “you can still spread it.”

          1. To be fair

            Sorry, fair has no part in it. He said EVERYONE do this. Then he was the first to break the rule, and I guess with his whole family.

          3. they still want us to wear masks because “you can still spread it.” Mask wearing will be a forever mandate, then.

          4. At least scientifically, masks shouldn’t be forever. We’re in a transition period where the few vaccinated people “need”* to protect the many people are waiting. After that, all the masks can come off. We’ll see how long they try to stretch this out. I don’t think The People — even Dems — will tolerate another shutdown summer.

            ——————–
            *Of course, this issue could have been solved if Pfizer and Moderna had bothered to test their trial subjects — or even their first wave of vaxxed folks — for virus CT levels instead of only symptoms. Then we’d know for sure whether the vaccine stops spread. But that’s real science, which it appears no one believes in.

          5. that’s real science

            The tests aren’t being done properly (too many cycles) so how real would the science be?

  22. Parler Lawsuit Against Amazon Shot Down By Judge

    by Steve Watson
    January 22nd 2021, 5:03 am

    Paler’s entire website was hosted on Amazon servers (AWS) and was wiped from the internet amid claims of allowing incitement to violence in the wake of the Capitol breech on January 6th.

    Supporters of President Trump and other advocates of free speech flocked to the platform as a protest against big-tech censorship.

    Parler filed an emergency request in court, however US District Judge Barbara Rothstein said that Parler failed to successfully argue that they would be likely to prevail on the merits of its claims, or that a preliminary injunction was warranted out of public interest.

    “Parler has failed to do more than raise the specter of preferential treatment of Twitter by AWS,” wrote Rothstein, labelling Parler’s claims as “faint and factually inaccurate speculation.”

    comments

    1 hour ago
    The biggest tall tail sign of a completely corrupt country is it’s judicial system.
    Respect1

    https://www.infowars.com/

  23. Watched Urban Cowboy last night, although I have seen it before it was the first time I heard this…

    “Cause without Corrine and them kids hell I’d just be another pile of dog shit in the canteloupe patch just drawing flys.”

    Uncle Bob : You know Bud; sometimes even a cowboy’s gotta swallow his pride to hold on to somebody he loves.

    Bud : What do you mean?

    Uncle Bob : Hell I know, I pretty near lost Corrine and the kids a couple of times just ’cause of pride. You know you think that ol’ pride’s gonna choke you going down but I tell you what ain’t a night goes by I don’t thank the boss up there for giving me a big enough throat. ‘Cause without Corrine and them kids hell I’d just be another pile of dog shit in the canteloupe patch just drawing flys.

    Bud : I guess so.

    Uncle Bob : Think about it Bud, pride’s one of those seven deadlies you know what I mean?

    1. Watched Urban Cowboy last night

      Haven’t seen that in forever. But I remember seeing it as a youngster and thinking Travolta’s forearms didn’t look right compared to the real cowboys.

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