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If I Had Known Then What I Know Now, I Wouldn’t Have Bought Into This

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, is ditching his multimillion-dollar equestrian estate on the outskirts of Atlanta and is poised to take a sizeable loss in the deal. The former wrestler turned actor has put his expansive home on the market for $9.7 million (US$7.5 million), a price tag that’s roughly $1.95 million less than the star paid for the place just over a year ago.”

“Late-night talk show host Lilly Singh just sold her Hollywood home for $1.475 million — or $20,000 less than what she paid for it in 2016.”

“The full-floor Fifth Avenue apartment of late Broadway producer James M. Nederlander is headed for auction next month without reserve, according to Platinum Luxury Auctions, which is handling the sale. The sprawling three-bedroom unit and accompanying one-bedroom staff apartment, which together once asked as much as $27.5 million in 2019, will sell to the highest bidder regardless of the final auction price. The Nederlanders purchased the condo 2000 for $13.47 million, according to property records, and the family has listed the home for sale on and off for more than a year. The condo was most recently asking $16.99 million.”

“The Seaport no longer seems to be sizzling, some real estate agents say. It’s difficult to judge how COVID-19 and the shutdowns have affected sales. ‘I don’t think the data helps figure out what is going on,’ Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said. ‘A new condo development opens and a raft of deeds come in the first month. Throws things out of whack. … A realtor friend of mine has told me he feels a decline in buyer interest in Boston condos.'”

“The company behind one of the highest-profile projects in the history of the Garden State is being taken to court over misrepresentations they supposedly made in marketing their building along with a slew of alleged defects and problems that have purportedly gone unaddressed at the property. One of the plaintiffs, Yujiao Zhang, claims in the lawsuit that she was only allowed one hour immediately before her scheduled closing to conduct an inspection of the unit she agreed to purchase. Zhang, who was set to purchase a $1.59 million condo in the building, also claims China Overseas indicated to her that ‘she would not be allowed to delay closing even on discovery of substantive issues with the unit during her inspection.'”

“All the plaintiffs in the lawsuit agreed to buy units priced over $783,000 and claim to have repeatedly tried to cancel their contracts. Supposedly, their requests have been ‘repeatedly delayed and ignored’ and their deposit money is still being held in escrow.”

“It turns out that buying a Toronto condo doesn’t have to cost you millions. According to Zoocasa, some units are selling for cheaper prices than in 2019, thanks to a growing lack of demand.”

“The company behind a £32m development, intended to help regenerate Kilburn High Street, has gone into administration after years of delays. It has left buyers, who put hefty deposits into apartments, in limbo after their move-in dates were repeatedly delayed. One first-time buyer put down his life savings – more than £25,000 – on an apartment in 2018. His move-in date was spring 2019 but Godfrey London sent emails throughout 2019 and 2020, repeatedly delaying it. He has still not moved in. ‘I’m furious,’ he said. ‘I had worked hard to get a deposit together. It’s had a massive impact on my life. I imagined I would be moving in with my partner.'”

“Buyers who were allowed to move in last summer have complained. ‘It’s been an absolute nightmare,’ said one. ‘If I had known then what I know now, about what I’m living with, I wouldn’t have bought into this. When I moved in, maybe half of the apartments were finished. The others had wires sticking out, kitchens weren’t properly installed. There was still construction going on. There are still construction crew on-site now, constantly in and out. We have been living in what I feel is a construction site.'”

“Turkey’s construction companies are facing higher costs and fewer buyers after the government stopped encouraging a borrowing boom and switched its focus to fighting inflation. The industry, hit hard by a currency crisis in 2018 which led to a slump in demand for new homes, enjoyed a brief reprieve last year as the government coerced banks into flooding the market with cheap loans to combat the economic impact of COVID-19.”

“But sales of properties have dipped sharply in the past few months, with demand for mortgage loans slumping. Interest rates on borrowing have jumped after the central bank was forced to hike its benchmark rate to 17 percent from 8.25 percent in September to rein in inflation and defend the lira, which had dived against the dollar. ‘We benefited from the loans … but it was short-lived,’ said Ismail Kazanç, CFO of Turkish real estate firm Torunlar REIC. ‘Plans for new projects are now hit by an increase in financing and construction costs, as well as fluctuating demand.'”

“Australians are being urged to avoid buying apartments in postcodes where the number of units is set to double and even triple within two years. Prices for units however could fall in some suburbs where there is already an oversupply of apartments and rental vacancies have surged. Rouse Hill in Sydney’s north-west was considered most at risk with the number of apartments set to triple, or rise by 200.4 per cent, from 833 to 2,494.”

“Gosford on the Central Coast, north of Sydney, was also considered a risk with the number of apartments forecast to rise by 72.9 per cent from 2,554 to 4,413. New developments in Darwin were expected to see the new of apartments surge by a third as a similar phenomenon caused unit stock at West End, in Brisbane’s inner south, to climb by a quarter. The recommendation to avoid buying apartments in these suburbs was based, not just on planning approvals for new units, but also a forecast of weak rental demand.”

“Mascot, near the airport, is expected to see a 13.3 per cent increase in new apartments within the next two years and this area of south-east Sydney is also home to a cracking apartment tower. ‘High-profile issues about defect issues in high-rise apartment blocks has caused enormous reputational damage for the entire industry and has seen many investors lose interest in high-rise developments,’ said Brett Warren, the Brisbane director of Metropole Property Strategists.”

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    2. ‘Late-night talk show host Lilly Singh just sold her Hollywood home for $1.475 million’

      What would that be, a condo unit maybe?

      1. Anyone want to make a prediction about what the bail out will look like for all the banks owed money by the people in forbearance due to covid shutdowns?

      2. Interesting. I can’t imagine magnitude of the unintended consequences. Well…maybe I can.

        So first…the same person who is occupying the house might have a first shot at buying it based on the current value and not the owed value? I’m thinking there would be an incentive to make the property worth less as only the current occupant can.

        Second…so People Who Matter can band together and force the auction winners to give it to them instead?

  2. ‘some units are selling for cheaper prices than in 2019, thanks to a growing lack of demand’

    And the growing supply! Depending on which lion you listen to, there are 20k-50k airboxes coming in the next year or so in Toronto.

  3. ‘I don’t think the data helps figure out what is going on…A new condo development opens and a raft of deeds come in the first month. Throws things out of whack’

    What Tim here is saying is that the median gets skewed when new airboxes are launched. That’s right, the median can be skyrocketing when prices are sinking like a turd in a well.

    ‘A realtor friend of mine has told me he feels a decline in buyer interest in Boston condos’

    This is why you make the big bucks Tim.

  4. ‘she was only allowed one hour immediately before her scheduled closing to conduct an inspection…China Overseas indicated to her that ‘she would not be allowed to delay closing even on discovery of substantive issues with the unit during her inspection’

    And the point of an inspection is?

    ‘All the plaintiffs in the lawsuit agreed to buy units priced over $783,000 and claim to have repeatedly tried to cancel their contracts. Supposedly, their requests have been ‘repeatedly delayed and ignored’

    You all got schlonged.

    1. China Overseas

      So foreign, Chinese speculators got schlonged in Joisey. Whoulda thunk that could happen?

      1. We have a global central banker problem. Their money-printing schemes have washed over every nook and cranny of the economy in seemingly every country in the world. Ben posted about a massive housing bubble in Nigeria of all places, and the prices were insane. And Cambodia, and on and on.

        And what’s their answer to all of this? More money! They are promising the same policies but even bigger. And these fraudsters sit back with Cheshire Cat grins and nobody questions them. You know why? Because you are not allowed to. Danielle Dimartino Booth, who worked for the FED, said as a reporter you are not allowed to ask any questions that they don’t want you to. If you do, you will never be allowed access again. Sounds like a bunch of Nazis to me.

  5. ‘$20,000 less than what she paid for it in 2016’

    So much for the red-hotcakes UHS. Eat yer crowz Thornberg.

  6. ‘will sell to the highest bidder regardless of the final auction price. The Nederlanders purchased the condo 2000 for $13.47 million’

    You are about to witness over 20 years of bubble go poof in NYC.

  9. Why would The Rock sell an estate after only one year of owning it? If he wanted to engage in short-term speculation he should have bought BTC.

    1. I don’t get it either, was there some huge life change that made it impossible to pay for it anymore like a pet died?

      1. The rock definitely took a haircut, lol!

        Bet hes not feeling too juiced about the whole situation right now – oh wait. . . !

        The jokes just write themselves today. Maybe some of those late night SJWs like Lilly who I’ve never heard of in my life could get out of the way because theres a lot of good humor out there, albeit gallows humor thanks to their puppet masters. You could just look at the comments for any Pedo Joe video – before they purged them – to see that fact.

    2. Sorry…posted almost the same question below before seeing yours.

      One possible answer: The entertainment industry is in a deep depression with no end in sight.

      1. The young lady featured at the top of the story I am about to post once played a borrowed Stradivarius in our living room, when she was a college student and a rising star in the classical music firmament. My wife was her temporary hired accompanist at the time. The pandemic situation has been very tough on entertainers.

        1. Entertainment
          A ‘Great Cultural Depression’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers
          Dec. 25, 2020 at 6:33 pm Updated Dec. 26, 2020 at 9:43 am
          The acclaimed violinist Jennifer Koh in the Hudson Heights section of Manhattan. Soon after the pandemic struck, a year’s worth of bookings vanished for Koh, who found herself streaming concerts from her apartment. (Elias Williams / The New York Times)
          By PATRICIA COHEN
          The New York Times

          In the top echelons of classical music, violinist Jennifer Koh is by any measure a star.

          With a dazzling technique, she has ridden a career that any aspiring Juilliard graduate would dream about — appearing with leading orchestras, recording new works, and performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

          Now, nine months into a contagion that has halted most public gatherings and decimated the performing arts, Koh, who watched a year’s worth of bookings evaporate, is playing music from her living room and receiving food stamps.Pain can be found in nearly every nook of the economy. Millions of people have lost their jobs and tens of thousands of businesses have closed since the coronavirus pandemic spread across the United States. But even in these extraordinary times, the losses in the performing arts and related sectors have been staggering.

          During the quarter ending in September, when the overall unemployment rate averaged 8.5%, 52% of actors, 55% of dancers and 27% of musicians were out of work, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. By comparison, the jobless rate was 27% for waiters; 19% for cooks; and about 13% for retail salespeople over the same period.
          …

          1. I honestly am troubled by the thought of Jennifer Koh on food stamps. My wife, who is not a famous virtuoso with a touring schedule and recording contracts, somehow has managed to keep teaching 50 piano lessons a week on Zoom since the start of Governor Nuisance’s California economic shutdown last March. Working seems a lot better than relying on food stamps, for those with the option.

          3. “We’re talking about a year’s worth of work that just went away,” said Terry Burrell, whose touring show, “Angry, Raucous and Gorgeously Shameless,” was canceled. Now she is home with her husband in Atlanta, collecting unemployment insurance, and hoping she won’t have to dip into her 401(k) retirement account.

            A friend’s son got a business degree in hospitality, i.e., a hotelier, and he’s been out of work long term. Adding pressure, there’s two children and a busty wife.

          4. Working seems a lot better than relying on food stamps, for those with the option.’

            liberals reward a good story conservatives reward hard work.

            Your wife seems to fall into the hard work part of the economy so going forward…. IDK

          5. 52% of actors, 55% of dancers and 27% of musicians were out of work

            Why, oh, why do I think that most of them pull the D lever every election?

            Do any of them complain, demanding that the economy reopen?

            This year should be a great one for BK lawyers.

        2. I used to go to a few Broadway shows a year.

          Their workness is off the charts.

          Even changing the script to put in their political nonsense.

          Well, they are getting everything they wanted.

          Stupid should hurt.

      2. “One possible answer: The entertainment industry is in a deep depression with no end in sight.”

        But surely “The Rock” has diversified investments such as tech, which has had a steady quarterly harvest.

        2. The Rock is the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. He has a net worth of $400 million. (For comparison, Harrison Ford is worth $300 million.) Surely he could afford to just sit on that ranch for a while, maybe use it to house orphans or something? It looked pretty nice — much nicer than that $ 40 million 🙄 Greenwich estate with the pool a hundred feet from the house.

          1. ‘Surely he could afford to just sit on that’

            Maybe he skipped the Cage/Depp School of Real Estate Riches.

      3. One possible answer: The entertainment industry is in a deep depression with no end in sight.

        I haven’t been a big patron on the cinema for the past few years. And I find watching old classics to be satisfying and entertaining. Not having to skip past homo-erotic “love scenes” is a big plus to the classics as well (of course, you can’t do that at all at the cinema).

        1. We watched all four glorious hours of ‘Gone With the Wind’ over the holidays, something we most likely would not have done if the theaters were open.

    3. Looks like he bought it Oct. 2019. His dad died in Jan 2020. Maybe it was something he bought for his dad, who knows. Johnson made $90M+ for FYE 6.30.20. He’s probably not sweating the hickie here.

    4. Why would The Rock sell an estate after only one year of owning it?

      Well, the place is in Hotlanta, which has been having some serious vibrancy issues lately. Maybe he decided he wasn’t going to spend any time there and decided to unload it, even if it meant taking a big loss.

  11. “The former wrestler turned actor has put his expansive home on the market for $9.7 million (US$7.5 million), a price tag that’s roughly $1.95 million less than the star paid for the place just over a year ago.”

    What’s the investing logic of buying such a posh spread, only to dump it a year later at a loss?

    1. “What’s the investing logic of buying such a posh spread, only to dump it a year later at a loss?”

      That asymmetrical swimming pool really should have a love grotto, IMHO. Anyway, maybe the property was owned by a confederate officer or politician who kept slaves?

  12. Re-post from the last thread.

    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.

    COVID Karens please stay in Denver and stay off my mountain.

    1. I guess we could have been arrested for not wearing masks on our recent trip to Joshua Tree NP, a vast, sparsely inhabited desert with an area larger than Rhode Island. At some point, individual discretion seems like a better choice than extreme command and control lockdown measures.

    2. “…and stay off my mountain…”

      Is it even medically safe to wear a mask at high altitude, i.e. 2000+ meters?

      As a practical matter, who is out there to infect?

      Even on very well traveled routes (i.e. Mt. Whitney) I have hardly seen anybody, or any living animal (except at rest stops). Even at rest stops hike groups tend to group hundreds of meters apart.

    3. ‘if you think I’m going to be hiking and snowshoeing while wearing a mask.’

      I didn’t even think about needing a mask in the National Forest. Masks while running/hiking?? DUMB Of course, Biden might end up shutting down everything and no need for the mask.

  13. If the government burns fossil fuels does it still cause global warming ? The junior college next to me runs diesel generators for days when the powers out in CA. And the powers out often these days .

  14. Ocasio-Cortez on CNN video: “We still don’t feel safe around other members of Congress.”

    Gaslighting like a junior high school hottie.

    1. “We still don’t feel safe around other members of Congress.”

      Yet it is she and her ilk who want to send half the country to reeducation camps.

    1. Didn’t Housing Bubble 1.0 peak in 2006?

      Seems like Housing Bubble 2.0 may have just reached a similar zenith.

      The Financial Times
      an hour ago
      US existing home sales hit 14-year high
      Matthew Rocco

      Sales of previously owned homes in the US climbed to a 14-year high in 2020, as low borrowing costs and the shift to working and learning from home boosted demand during the pandemic.

      The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76m in December, up 0.7 per cent against November and 22 per cent versus the same month in 2019.

      For the full year, existing home sales jumped 5.6 per cent year on year to 5.64m. That was the highest level since 2006, when sales totalled 6.48m.

      “What’s even better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more buyers expected to enter the market,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
      …

      1. I guess it’s down to the HBB to point out sales shouldn’t increase with historically high prices. Unless there’s something other than supply and demand going on.

        2. We could also point out that sales and prices don’t normally rocket up against the backdrop of an economic depression.

          This time really is different, and I won’t pretend to know where we go from here.

        3. “Unless there’s something other than supply and demand going on.”

          Could it be fraud? Rampant appraisal and mortgage fraud?

          Hmmmmm?

  17. OK – i know that this Yahoo Finance article is probably written based on NAR talking points. But how are they able to massage the data to show the following?? Both 1) sales highest since 2006 and 2) median price Y/Y
    —-

    “Home sales rose in December, and for 2020 as a whole, we saw sales perform at their highest levels since 2006, despite the pandemic,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a press statement. “What’s even better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more buyers expected to enter the market.”

    The upbeat result follows rosy data released Thursday. Housing starts and building permits also ended the year at the fastest pace in 14 years. U.S. home construction jumped 5.8% in December to 1.67 million units, according to the Commerce Department.

    The housing market has been a bright spot in the overall economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Record low mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand from COVID-19 lockdowns have put upward pressure on home prices, which has been rising at rates not seen since March 2014.

    According to the NAR, median existing-home price in December was $309,800, up 12.9% from December 2019, as prices increased in every region. December’s national price increase marks 106 straight months of year-over-year gains. And it’s the highest level ever for a December, according to Yun.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/existing-home-sales-hit-december-2020-150355680.html

  18. – While MFH and CRE are cratering, SFH is in another mania/bubble. Rising prices, from the lowest mortgage rates in history via massive Fed MBS purchases, are worsening an affordability problem for first time buyers again, as wealth inequality only gets worse. House price is inversely proportional to mortgage rates. “Asset bubbles for me, but not for thee.” All of this is occurring during a (made in China) global virus pandemic and economic contraction. The Fed continues to target asset price inflation and the “wealth effect” in stocks and housing, since valuations and CPI are still too low, according to the Fed.

    1)
    https://news.yahoo.com/us-existing-home-sales-hit-160312995.html
    US existing home sales hit 14-year record despite pandemic
    Fri, January 22, 2021, 9:03 AM

    Record low mortgage rates amid the coronavirus pandemic fueled a US housing boom last year, pushing existing home sales to the highest since 2006, according to a survey released Friday.

    Existing home sales totaled 5.64 million in 2020, 5.6 percent higher than in 2019, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said.

    Even as prices rose due to high demand and constrained supply, low borrowing rates and the pandemic’s disruptions to daily life allowed those who could afford it to buy homes.

    In December, the pace of sales rose more than expected to 6.76 million annualized, 0.7 percent more than November but 22.2 percent higher than the same month last year.

    “Home sales rose in December, and for 2020 as a whole, we saw sales perform at their highest levels since 2006, despite the pandemic,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.

    “What’s even better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more buyers expected to enter the market.”

    Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics disagreed, saying much of the gains were fueled by a wave of home buying that peaked over the summer.

    “We expect a renewed, sustained, increase in housing activity in the spring, when the Covid pandemic should be receding, but sales are unlikely to rise further before then,” he said in an analysis.

    Joel Kan of the Mortgage Bankers Association warned the rising prices and tightening inventory could cut into future sales.

    “More acute affordability challenges will emerge if inventory stays this tight and home-price growth continues to accelerate,” he said in a statement. “This in turn would be especially challenging for first-time homebuyers, who make up a third of all home sales.”

    2)
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-22/surprise-u-s-existing-home-sales-gain-caps-best-year-since-2006
    Markets
    Surprise U.S. Existing-Home Sales Gain Caps Best Year Since 2006
    By Olivia Rockeman
    January 22, 2021, 8:00 AM MST Updated on January 22, 2021, 8:14 AM MST

    “Homeowners are smiling because they’re seeing price increases,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said on a call with reporters. “The frustration is coming from the first-time buyers who don’t have any housing equity and they’re trying to save up for a down payment.”

    “Today’s market is unhealthy, people are making hurried decisions and prices are rising way above income growth,” Yun said.

    Available inventory declined 23% from a year earlier to 1.07 million units, the NAR said. It would take 1.9 months to sell all the homes on the market at the current pace, also a record low.

    The median selling price rose 12.9% in December from a year earlier on an unadjusted basis to $309,800, reflecting more purchases of higher-end properties.

    “Trees don’t grow to the sky.” – German Proverb

    Stein’s Law: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” – Herbert Stein (1916-1999), Economist

    “bubbles always pop.” – The lesson of history, since at least “Tulipmania.”

    – On the “wealth effect:”

    https://www.hussmanfunds.com/comment/mc210118/
    The Speculative “V”
    January 16, 2021

    On the “wealth” of a nation

    Somehow, policy makers have come to imagine that the paper value of securities is equivalent to prosperity. It’s a fallacy that has been repeated across economic history, and it always ends badly. We can certainly hope that government support helps the economy in other ways that will benefit households, employment, and productive investment. It had better, because prosperity is created in the real side of the economy, not the financial side. Wealth is not created by fluctuations in the price of securities, but by value-added production: the creation of output that has greater value to society than the inputs used to produce it.

    See, securities [and inflated housing prices] are not net economic wealth. Every security is both an asset to the holder and a liability to the issuer. It is a claim of one party in the economy – by virtue of past saving – on the future output produced by others.

    – Printed $ is not wealth. Just look at the balance sheet of a healthy family, corporation, or sovereign nation. Wealth = Assets > Liabilities. The Fed balance sheet and U.S. national debt say the liabilities column is well in excess of assets. MMT is just a useful lie to justify irresponsible monetary and fiscal policies. In spite of the narrative (lie), there are consequences. Just look at the financial health and (lack of) prosperity of any (other) banana republic.

    1. [i posted something similar just above your post]

      Let alone causality, not even common sense correlation to the actual economy and people’s lives [unemployment, reduction in bonuses, businesses under lockdown]. Yet housing prices are going up just inversely to mortgage rates. But with a long list of exceptions – condos in most of the US, some mansions, north-east coast, greater LA.

      This is truly a K economic recovery – and the upper middle and upper class (including me) who might be tempted to grin should watch out for the ramifications (not the least of which will be tax increases)

      2. This is truly a K economic recovery – and the upper middle and upper class (including me) who might be tempted to grin should watch out for the ramifications (not the least of which will be tax increases)”

        Redistribution to Flatten the K ?

        1. the upper middle and upper class (including me) who might be tempted to grin should watch out for the ramifications

          The biggest being signs that the elite maybe don’t need what you do so much any more.

  21. Wierd comparison – as nuts as the US real estate market has been, the Canadian market has grown 25x more. This is absolutely crazy given the lack of matching productivity or growth metrics in the Canadian economy

    Canadian Real Estate Prices Were Up Over 8%
    Canadian real estate prices made a massive jump last year, despite the pandemic. Real home prices increased 2.93% in Q3 2020, from the previous quarter. This brings annual gains 8.27% higher than the same month last year. Across the country, prices have doubled since 2005, and that’s after adjusting for inflation. One note worth taking away is, almost half of the gains occurred in the past 5 years. That’s a very rapid acceleration, even before considering the other half of the growth took twice as long.

    U.S. Real Estate Prices Were Up Over 3%
    U.S. real estate also made substantial gains over the past year, but it doesn’t look like much compared to Canada. Real prices increased 0.81% in Q3 2020, making them 3.45% higher than a year before. Across the country, prices are only 3.96% higher than they were in 2005, in real terms. In other words, prices have been moving largely with inflation over the past few decades.

    Canadian Real Estate Prices Have Grown 25x Faster Than U.S. Prices Since 2005
    The consistent growth without correction over nearly two decades has disconnected the two. Canadian real estate prices didn’t just see double the growth over the past year. Since 2005, real estate prices have grown over 25.31 times faster than U.S. real estate prices. This is not a normal trend.

    1. The household mortgage debt balance reached $1.6T. This exceeds the Canadian GDP. This is nuts …

      I could not find the same for the US – but have the following for all household debt: In the second quarter of 2020, the household debt to GDP ratio in the United States amounted to approximately 84.57 percent.

      Spurred by record-low rates and housing market dynamism, Canadians borrowed at an unprecedented pace in 2020, with national mortgage debt growing by 7.4% annually in November.

      The latest data from Statistics Canada showed that the overall household mortgage debt balance reached $1.66 trillion during the month. The surge was accompanied by a sharp spike in mortgage loans, which reached a new high of $28.7 billion during the third quarter alone.

  22. “The actor, tequila tycoon and former wrestler listed the home on Tuesday for $7.5 million, a price tag that’s roughly $1.5 million less than the star paid for the place using an entity just over a year ago.”

    Don’t worry. The Rock said it was still cheaper than renting.

    1. tequila tycoon

      What’s with actors and their brands of tequila? George Clooney has one too, which he sold for hundreds of millions. I’ve never seen his brand of tequila in any store.

    1. ‘These places need to start being burned down with the people in them if they won’t comply.’

      ‘F***ing wops. I hope they all get Covid.’

      Nazis.

      1. “Nazis.”

        I have been thinking these cheerleaders and supporters of conservative voices and Trump supporters being censored or worse along with those reporting family members who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in DC would have been model citizens in 1933 – 1939 Germany.

  24. Something I’ve been meaning to comment on lately but haven’t – twice in the past month I have seen abandoned cars on the side of the road with no wheels and tires, and other things stolen off of them. These are not junkyard vehicles, these are obviously stolen then stripped. And they were abandoned on fairly busy roadways.

    I wondered to myself how this is possible even under the cover of darkness. The thieves are brazen. I wanted to take pictures but it was a 45 mph road and not possible. One was a late model Camaro, the other was a Chevy Tahoe or something. They were removed within a day or so.

    This is anecdotal but I feel a sea change in my gut, that things are really deteriorating despite all the BS from on high about the economy.

    1. Car thefts are through the roof here in the Centennial State. There was a news story about a dude in Dumver who had his car stolen, and it was never recovered. With the insurance money he bought a replacement, which was also stolen.

      1. In the last few months in Folsom I’ve noticed the Next Door Karens have a lot more theft to talk about and suddenly nobody is so worried about how fast the teens drive between subdivisions. Because it basically never freezes/snows here I notice that I’m in the minority actually parking in my garage. Most people are using it for storage. And then their cars get broken into out on the street…

        1. Many of my neighbors have their garages packed with cr@p, even though we have basements. So their pricey cars sit on the driveway. I would say that the majority of my neighbors leave their cars outside, even though most have 3 car garages.

        2. Fun fact: The carport was invented (or at least popularized) by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He hated clutter and guessed that people would be less likely to store clutter in an open garage where the neighbors could see it.

          He hated basements too, but I’m not sure why.

          1. He hated basements too, but I’m not sure why.

            Is it his fault Californians don’t build basements?

          2. Is it his fault Californians don’t build basements?

            Are there any houses in Clownifornia that don’t have a cracked slab?

          3. “Is it his fault Californians don’t build basements?”

            More likely the weather, e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes affect the eastern half of the U.S., so the need for a subterranean shelter.

          4. affect the eastern half of the U.S., so the need for a subterranean shelter

            Basements are common in the Centennial State, the main reason being that slabs are poor insulators and drain heat from a house.

    1. Yawn…

      DOW 30 -0.57%
      S&P 500 -0.30%
      NASDAQ -0.29%

      Markets Insider
      Bitcoin on track for biggest weekly fall since September as Janet Yellen and ‘double spend’ spook traders
      Harry Robertson
      Jan. 22, 2021, 06:12 PM
      Bitcoin has had a volatile couple of weeks after hitting a record high of close to $42,000
      R.Tsubin/Getty Images
      — The price of bitcoin was on track for biggest weekly fall since September on Friday.
      — Comments from Janet Yellen and a report of a ‘double spend’ knocked market confidence.
      — Bitcoin recovered from a sharp fall overnight to stand at $32,500 on Friday morning.
      …

      1. “Bitcoin recovered from a sharp fall overnight to stand at $32,500 on Friday morning.”

        Only landed down $9500 (22.6%) from its recent high. ‘Tis a mere flesh wound for imaginary coin traders.

    1. How true this comment is from the “YouTube Caught Deleting Thumbs Down” video. 🙂

      1 hour ago
      The dead can vote but cannot upvote.
      Respect1

  28. https://abc7news.com/ca-covid-updates-california-stay-at-home-order-greater-sacramento/9911586/

    “What happened to the 15%? What was that all about?” asked Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist and infectious-diseases control expert at University of California, San Francisco. “I was surprised. I assume they know something I don’t know.”

    State officials projected future capacity using a combination of models.

    “At the moment the projections are not being shared publicly,” Department of Public Health spokeswoman Ali Bay said in an email.

    Model inputs
    – When will Joe be “voted” in?
    – When will Newsom businesses fold if not allow to open?

  29. From the Colorado Sun:

    Colorado’s public spending has been stagnant over the last two decades, when adjusted for inflation and state population, the report found.

    They say that is if that was a bad thing.

    Make no mistake, they hate TABOR, and I expect that this year there will a prop to abolish it and there will be voter fraud to accomplish that.

      1. “Oops. Georgia!”

        Yesterday, it was Dwayne Johnson, and now it’s Sandra Bullock, both taking a substantial loss on short term ownership. What’s going on in Georgia other than Confederate history being stricken from existence?

        1. What’s going on in Georgia

          I doubt either of those two are broke. Maybe they figured they’d use the money to buy a bunker in New Zealand’s south island?

  31. Styx — Laughing at Everyone Who Actually Voted for Beijing Biden (His Failed Second Day):

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/BDTdZLdozJE/

    He knows he’s probably getting booted off of YouTube and that the future of free speech will happen on alternative platforms.

    People, all we gotta do is stop giving them money.

  33. “More than 1,200 people died from drug overdoses in Colorado in 2020, according to new numbers obtained from the state.

    The 1,216 overdose deaths marks a grim, new record for Colorado, up from 1,062 in 2019.

    Statewide, 448 people died from a Fentanyl-related overdose in 2020, more than twice the 2019 total.

    Psychologists say it’s likely the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the spike in numbers.

    “The isolation is driving a lot of it,” says Dr. Liz Chamberlain. “When we have a lot of stress, a lot of times we want to just get rid of it, or push it away, so a lot of time people will turn to substances to help them do that.”

    https://kdvr.com/news/local/a-grim-milestone-colorado-sets-record-for-overdose-deaths-in-2020/

    Happy 10 month anniversary of 2 weeks to flatten the curve.

    1. “Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped to 8.4 percent in December as a new round of COVID-19 restrictions hit the leisure and hospitality sectors.

      The rate is the highest it’s been since reaching 10.6 percent in June, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The state lost more than 20,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, on top of 4,700 jobs lost in November, marking two straight months of declines.

      The downturn in the state’s employment picture coincided with several counties moving to a higher risk rating on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 dial used to classify the severity of an outbreak, according to Ryan Gedney, a senior economist with the CDLE. The move took a heavy toll on the accommodation and food service industries, which lost 29,000 jobs in December.”

      https://www.cpr.org/2021/01/22/colorados-december-unemployment-rate-jumps-to-highest-since-june/

      Welcome to the recoveryless recovery.

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