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Reminders To Home Sellers That The Sky Is Not The Limit

A report from Mortgage Professional America. “Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American, looked at 50 housing markets across America. In all but two of those markets (San Jose and San Francisco), owning made more sense than renting. For mortgage professionals looking to communicate this information to prospective borrowers, Kushi offered a straightforward takeaway: the house is paying you.”

From WHYY in Pennsylvania. “Jobin is one of a growing number of homeowners in the region unable to pay their home loans nearly a year into a pandemic that has cost hundreds of thousands of jobs across the region. Before the pandemic began, she was a home health aid. The hours were always unpredictable but she was able to average 40 hours a week — enough to keep her mortgage paid and food on the table. When March hit, her hours began to dwindle to 16 and then none at all.”

“The latest available census data shows about 13% of homeowners behind on their mortgage in the Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area which includes Reading, Camden, and Wilmington, Delaware. The share of troubled loans signals a growing crisis, said Ira Goldstein, the president of Policy Solutions at the Reinvestment Fund. ‘We’re getting close to what it was during the worst recession since the Great Depression,’ he said.”

“Jobin is doing all she can to be one of the homeowners spared in this crisis — and trying to remain focused on its silver linings. ‘I adore the time I get to spend with my kids,’ she said. ‘Before I was working full-time and they were at school full-time and we didn’t really see each other. [Now], we’re able to watch movies, talk, and read together.'”

The San Antonio Current in Texas. “After sitting on the market for a couple of years, country singer George Strait’s estate in the ritzy Dominion neighborhood has been re-listed at $7.5 million, knocking a quarter off its original asking price. The King of Country’s Santa Fe-style home originally went on the sales block in 2018 at $10 million, then the price dropped to $8.9 million in 2019. The latest price cut took place Sunday, the Express-News reports.”

The Real Deal on Illinois. “A court-appointed receiver is casting for a buyer for the landmark Congress Theater. The vacant Logan Square venue has hit the market, months after a long-sought redevelopment effort for the 160,000-square-foot property was canceled when lender AEG foreclosed, according to Crain’s. Developer Michael Moyer had planned to restore the near century-old former movie and music theater with 4,900 seats and add 14 apartments and a 30-room hotel. He received approvals to build a 72-unit apartment residential project next to the theater.”

“But now, a court-appointed receiver has hired Frontline Real Estate Partners to market the building after entertainment giant AEG Worldwide filed a $24 million foreclosure suit in August, according to Crain’s. In addition to being the lender, Los Angeles-based AEG had also agreed to lease the theater space at 2135 North Milwaukee Avenue. But the company alleged in August that a group led by Moyer defaulted on $14 million in loan payments dating several years back.”

From Westfair Online. “Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., described the rental market in New York City as still being crushed. He said the Manhattan residential rental market has been down about 22% in terms of net rental rates recently and he’s seen some segments down as much as 40%.”

From Westword in Colorado. “A new report reveals that rent in Denver fell by more than 5 percent in 2020 — the biggest drop in a decade. In previous years, Rob Warnock, Apartment List added, ‘cities like Denver brought in a huge annual influx of out-of-towners looking to take advantage of the strong job market. Now those same movers can access jobs without living as close to the city center. So it’s not just a story of people leaving Denver. It’s also a story of people not coming to Denver.'”

From Inside Nova. “For the year ending in January, rents in Arlington were down 14 percent from a year before, standing at $1,673 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,025 for a two-bedroom unit. In San Francisco, where the average rent is down a whopping 27 percent from January 2020, the decline seems to have hit bottom, at least for now. Also among the top 10 in terms of percentage declines in median rent for the year ending in January were New York City (down 21 percent), Seattle (20 percent), Boston (19 percent), Oakland (15 percent), the District of Columbia (14 percent), Arlington (14 percent), San Jose (13 percent), Chicago (13 percent) and Jersey City (12 percent).”

From Bisnow. “Fitch CMBS Senior Director Melissa Che doesn’t believe there will be a slew of fire sales in the hard-hit hotel and retail CRE segments like first projected when the pandemic hit. ‘I don’t think there are going to be fire sales across the board,’ Che said. ‘I think stimulus has played a big role, and servicers have played a big role in terms of granting short-term debt relief. We know this health crisis is different from the prior great financial recession. It’s a medical health care crisis, and servicers have done a great job quickly addressing the short-term debt relief needs. I don’t think servicers wanted to foreclose on everything because we are in a very unique situation right now.'”

From Oakland News Now in California. “There are affordable apartment units all over Oakland, you just have to look past the lies. Oakland, California, and America, is in the middle of The Pandemic, where a deadly virus, still of unknown origin, has thrown our economy into a downward tailspin. A number of Oakland landlords are acting as if there’s still money out there to be gotten, asking for $3,000 per month rent, when many can barely afford $1,500 a month. I have several friends in the real estate industry in Oakland who have told me they can’t see leasing a unit on Lakeshore, with a Lake view, for less than $3,000 per month rent, only to have to drop their ask to $2,000 per month rent, then $1,500 a month rent.”

“The truth is that ‘Vacancy is through the roof,’ said Sid Lakireddy, president of the California Rental Housing Association. ‘The market’s beaten up.'”

“Want proof? Look at the website Apartments.com. Nook on Valdez has a studio at 2425 Valdez, Oakland, CA Studio $1,260 – 1,725. Plus, get this: they are offering 4 Weeks Free on select apartments! And here’s what’s available at that address 2425 Valdez, which is near Broadway and 27th: Studio 1 Bathroom $1,260 – 1,295 175 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN G Available Now. Studio 1 Bathroom $1,260 – 1,295 175 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN G Available Now. Studio 1 Bathroom $1,310 – 1,390 181 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN E Available Now. Studio 1 Bathroom $1,310 – 1,345 181 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN E Available Now. Studio 1 Bathroom $1,355 – 1,390 181 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN E Available Now.”

“That’s just one of what Apartments.com says is 127 listings, but that only goes by address; there were 10 examples of units at that address, all under $1,500 in rent.”

The Boulevard Sentinel in California. “The price of a house — even in a sellers’ market — has to adhere to some semblance of reason. The three homes featured below sat on the market for more than 100 days and then sold at discounts to their asking prices and for less than the median price in the region. They stand as reminders to Northeast Los Angeles home sellers that the sky is not the limit, even here, even now.”

“Address: 4104 Shelburn Ct., Highland Park. Sold for: $850,000. Discount from Asking Price: $135,000. Days on Market: 166. After languishing on the market for nearly half a year, it finally sold for $850,000, or $515 per-square-foot, a price that could actually be considered a steal. Address: 4838 N. Maywood Ave., Eagle Rock. Sold for: $853,000. Discount from Asking Price: $125,000. Days on Market: 149. A rare two-story near the intersection of Eagle Rock Blvd. and Yosemite Dr., this 3-bed, 3-bath Eagle Rock home was also listed near $1 million in late summer. It’s not a designer home by any means, but it’s spacious, well located and — after the $100,000+ price reduction — a very good value.”

The Daily Record. “Sean Connery’s former mansion in the French Riviera has had its price slashed in half to £13.3 million after it failed to find a buyer. The late James Bond star lived in the property on the C te d’Azur near Nice. It was put on the market last May with a guide price of £26.7 million but a purchaser has not yet been found.”

From Business Daily on Kenya. “The cost of homes in upmarket Kileleshwa and Kilimani suburbs, which accounted for 45 per cent of all properties on sale, registered the biggest decline in the year by 9.9 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively. The firm linked the price fall to high land prices amid a pandemic economic fallout – which has led to job losses and pay cuts – as well as cuts on bank loans and mortgages.”

“‘We have seen the Kilimani and Kileleshwa markets move from steep price growth, in all ways a price boom, until it reached levels that buyers could no longer reach with the roadblocks in mortgage finance and reduced liquidity from a global pandemic,’ said Sakina Hassanali, head of property development consulting and research at HassConsult.”

“This, she said, forced property developers to put up smaller apartments with lower price tags resulting in an oversupply in the market. ‘While smaller apartments dominate the new build market in Kilimani and Kileleshwa and provide middle-income housing at lower ticket prices, the sheer volume of new stock created rental price vulnerability for larger and older stock during the economic slowdown caused by 2020’s global pandemic, resulting in rental price corrections.'”

From Newshub New Zealand. “A Kiwi economist is expecting investors to sell off their worst properties during New Zealand’s housing frenzy. Tony Alexander told The AM Show he predicts house prices will continue to rise strongly in 2021, but expects the return of loan-to-value ratio restrictions (LVRs) to impact the market. He said investors are now going to be selling off their faulty properties while the market is still hot.”

“‘It’s not going to continue like this, there will be a slowdown,’ he told The AM Show. ‘Some of it is going to be natural in that the deposit that you have got to come up with is going to be too big. And some of the investors who have been around for a number of years, generations, they know what to do when the frenzy comes along – you sell off your crap, the stuff that needs a new roof, or the new floorboards, you start flogging that off.'”

The Globe and Mail. “Now that the frenzy has abruptly ended – with huge declines Tuesday in the share prices of Redditors’ favourite stocks such as GameStop, (down 60 per cent), AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (-41.2 per cent) and BlackBerry Ltd – (21.1 per cent) – it is clear the whole flare-up never lived up to its original billing. As for the price of silver, which hit an eight-year high on Monday, it fell 7 per cent. Instead of being an epic showdown of the People versus the Man, it now seems more like the usual Wall Street wrestling match in which rival groups of money-hungry traders scramble to make a buck by promoting their own versions of the truth.”

“In the case of the folks that congregate on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, this promotion has reached epic proportions. The pseudonymous posters have a simple message they keep repeating – that small investors are rising up against the fat cats of the investment industry.”

“The rhetoric around this manoeuvre can hit extreme levels. So can the self-righteousness. ‘We have to FIGHT for this to work out, it’s a [expletive] blood bath,’ stocktipsinstockings wrote in a post on Tuesday as GameStop shares plummeted. ‘You’ve now seen how the game is played, how it’s rigged, how it’s contorted and drawn out and galvanized to benefit the other side of the trade desk.'”

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This Post Has 95 Comments

  1. ‘I adore the time I get to spend with my kids,’ she said. ‘Before I was working full-time and they were at school full-time and we didn’t really see each other. [Now], we’re able to watch movies, talk, and read together’

    Not to worry Jobin, this whole time yer stuffing yer face with cheetos, the shack is paying you!

    1. At 21, she found herself without stable housing, raising two children in a shelter.

      “found” herself?

      1. It’s word choice, isn’t it? Notice how often you’ll read or hear “capital rioters”. Yet AP put out a directive to their writers (do this or you don’t get paid) to not describe rioters as rioters.

        I’m reminded of the night video I posted last summer from downtown LA. A line of peaceful protestors had formed across a street and one car tried to get around them. The peaceful protestors then chased this car with a truck full of peaceful, caught them, and as the woman broadcasting said, “the protestors are pulling the driver out of his car!”

        So yeah, she “found” herself with a shack loan, with kids and no husband. She’s sitting on her fat a$$ watching teevee, and “grateful” the guberment has some free cheese.

        1. I guess I found myself gracefully retired and with much more than I need.

          Now I better find myself out front with a snow shovel.

          1. Update: I have since found my porch and sidewalk shoveled and my truck dug out. I’ve always been a lucky guy!

        2. The prince with the glass slipper saw her two rugrats and the half-eaten bag of Cheetos, and he “found” himself putting the spurs to his horse.

        3. and “grateful” the guberment has some free cheese.

          According to the article, she says that the forbearance is a “gift from God.” 🙄 Yeah right. It’s a gift from us.

          1. According to the article, she says that the forbearance is a “gift from God.” 🙄 Yeah right. It’s a gift from us.
            Maybe I/we taxpayers should start referring to myself/ourselves as “God.”

    2. Does it seem a little perverse that shacks are able to pay their occupants at the exact moment in history when so many folks have stopped paying their shacks?

      Have houses somehow turned into magic money machines?

  2. ‘A new report reveals that rent in Denver fell by more than 5 percent in 2020 — the biggest drop in a decade’

    This is just a gotdam lie. Rents fell more than that in Denver 4 or 5 years ago.

    1. ‘I have several friends in the real estate industry in Oakland who have told me they can’t see leasing a unit on Lakeshore, with a Lake view, for less than $3,000 per month rent, only to have to drop their ask to $2,000 per month rent, then $1,500 a month rent’

  4. This is a pearl clutching article.

    NPR — A Long Time Coming — Given DHS Warning, A Look At U.S. Domestic Extremism Threats (2/3/2021):

    “The state of domestic extremism is unusually visible at the moment because it was on display at the Capitol on Jan. 6. NPR’s Hannah Allam, who has covered domestic extremism for years, witnessed the attack. “Standing outside the Capitol that day, I saw all the strands of American extremism in one place,” she said. “All the groups that I cover under one umbrella there. The established groups were there, the white nationalists, the neo-Nazis, some of the militia groups.”

    “But the most disturbing part,” she said, “is that now, side by side with organized violent actors, you have thousands of otherwise ordinary conservatives who are fans of Donald Trump.” Believing the former president’s lies about his election defeat — known as the “big lie” — as well as the QAnon conspiracy theory and other falsehoods, they mingled with extremist groups in what analysts view as “mass radicalization.”

    The legal and political barriers to enforcement can also be greater because the U.S. government is obliged to respect the rights of U.S. citizens. What do you do, Leiter says, if you’re an FBI agent and learn of a citizen who’s armed and speaking harshly about the government? Americans have a right to be armed and speak harshly about the government.

    https://www.npr.org/2021/02/03/963343220/a-long-time-coming-given-dhs-warning-a-look-at-u-s-domestic-extremism-threats

    Today is Wednesday, February 3rd and Joe Biden was not elected as the president of the United States.

    1. More bedwetting and pearl clutching.

      The Atlantic — The Capitol Rioters Aren’t Like Other Extremists (2/2/2021):

      “On January 6, a mob of about 800 stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of former President Donald Trump, and many people made quick assumptions regarding who the insurrectionists were. Because a number of the rioters prominently displayed symbols of right-wing militias, for instance, some experts called for a crackdown on such groups. Violence organized and carried out by far-right militant organizations is disturbing, but it at least falls into a category familiar to law enforcement and the general public. However, a closer look at the people suspected of taking part in the Capitol riot suggests a different and potentially far more dangerous problem: a new kind of violent mass movement in which more “normal” Trump supporters—middle-class and, in many cases, middle-aged people without obvious ties to the far right—joined with extremists in an attempt to overturn a presidential election …

      the demographic profile of the suspected Capitol rioters is different from that of past right-wing extremists. The average age of the arrestees we studied is 40. Two-thirds are 35 or older, and 40 percent are business owners or hold white-collar jobs. Unlike the stereotypical extremist, many of the alleged participants in the Capitol riot have a lot to lose. They work as CEOs, shop owners, doctors, lawyers, IT specialists, and accountants. Strikingly, court documents indicate that only 9 percent are unemployed. Of the earlier far-right-extremist suspects we studied, 61 percent were under 35, 25 percent were unemployed, and almost none worked in white-collar occupations …

      most of the insurrectionists do not come from deep-red strongholds. People familiar with America’s political geography might imagine the Capitol rioters as having marinated in places where they are unlikely to encounter anyone from the opposite side of the political spectrum. Yet of those arrested for their role in the Capitol riot, more than half came from counties that Biden won; one-sixth came from counties that Trump won with less than 60 percent of the vote.”

      https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/the-capitol-rioters-arent-like-other-extremists/617895/

    2. “known as the “big lie”

      That is what’s being pushed, there can be no question about Joe Biden being a legitimately elected president. Anyone who believes differently has bought into the “big lie” they were told by Donald Trump.

        1. “We saw it with our own eyes. That’s not going to go away.”

          Look at the end of yesterdays thread, your own eyes are not to be believed or mentioned. There is only one side to this debate and you’re not on it.

    3. “But the most disturbing part,” she said, “is that now, side by side with organized violent actors, you have thousands of otherwise ordinary conservatives who are fans of Donald Trump.” Believing the former president’s lies about his election defeat — known as the “big lie” — as well as the QAnon conspiracy theory and other falsehoods, they mingled with extremist groups in what analysts view as “mass radicalization.”

      The “mass radicalization” is because “otherwise ordinary conservatives” have become incensed over the systemic corruption that has permeated all levels of government. They are fed up with being forced to pay the bills for bloated gub’mint programs and “woke” lunacy that benefits only the elites and the parasites who openly scorn traditional Americans. The blatantly rigged election was the last straw, showing 74 million newly disenfranchised voters that they have no voice in a system rigged against them and deeply hostile to their values and interests.

  5. ‘I don’t think there are going to be fire sales across the board…I think stimulus has played a big role’

    Ah yes, the CRE people still praying for free cheese.

    ‘I don’t think servicers wanted to foreclose on everything because we are in a very unique situation right now.’

    Fitch has never been wrong about anything, have they?

    1. “Ah yes, the CRE people still praying for free cheese.”

      Praying is for the little people. Real Estate professionals lobby their corrupt representatives with the mother’s milk of politics, money.

  6. ‘in all ways a price boom, until it reached levels that buyers could no longer reach with the roadblocks in mortgage finance and reduced liquidity’

    This is a credit event.

    1. ‘Some of it is going to be natural in that the deposit that you have got to come up with is going to be too big’

      Ahem…

      ‘they know what to do when the frenzy comes along – you sell off your crap’

      Good to know Tony.

  8. ‘Instead of being an epic showdown of the People versus the Man, it now seems more like the usual Wall Street wrestling match in which rival groups of money-hungry traders scramble to make a buck by promoting their own versions of the truth’

    To me the whole thing could be seen as a narrative. Narratives are bunk. For instance, writing this stuff up as “epic”, using loaded horsesh$t language, etc. “We stuck it to the man!” not mentioning they were stuffing unearned money in their pockets. This flimsy debacle won’t even be a footnote in a week, that’s how epic it was.

    “Mommy, the man ripped muh face off and is schlonging me!”

  9. Studio 1 Bathroom $1,310 – 1,390 181 Sq Ft FLOOR PLAN E
    Am I reading this right? $1310 for 181 Sq FT Apt? In Oakland???
    Still wayyyy too expensive.

    1. If you bought silver in 2012 you’d just be breaking even right now.
      I sold some I bought in 2011 -2013 and sold at a small loss.

      1. I bought silver at $5, although I have some that was around $1(coin). It’s a modest insurance policy against hunger, which I haven’t had to use. As an inflation hedge, it would look really bad long term.

  13. Lockdown lovers image file, no caption needed edition:

    https://i.redd.it/lkwd50cyb7f61.jpg

    And an article for all the yellow mattress sleepers.

    Westword — Acting Like the Pandemic Is Over in Fort Collins and Beyond (2/2/2021):

    “a visit to Fort Collins on Saturday, January 30, showed that many Coloradans are either letting their guard down or flat-out rejecting safety protocols they never liked in the first place.

    At one shop, multiple people without masks were inside the tightly packed place, including a small family and an employee moving in merchandise. Given the close quarters, staying away from them was extremely difficult — and the situation was made worse by some space-invading tendencies.

    We subsequently headed to one of the flea markets, where the man behind the counter wore a paper surgical mask dangling from one ear in what appeared to be a childish comment on the facial-covering mandate. “What’s your problem?” his actions (and scowl) seemed to say. “I’m wearing one!” He waited on multiple customers without the mask getting anywhere near his nose and mouth, but at least one shopper didn’t mind — since he was unmasked, too.

    From there, we headed to the lovely shopping district of Old Town, where we witnessed more of the same. At last half of the people we eyeballed left the facial coverings off as they strolled outside, with multiple groups of what looked to be college-age pals or older friends in close proximity, faces bared.

    Likewise, gaggles of diners on makeshift outdoor patios, and many of those actually inside eateries, eschewed the advice to don masks except while eating or drinking. The overwhelming majority of mugs were uncovered whether patrons were waiting for food to arrive or had already finished and were enjoying a post-repast chat.”

    https://www.westword.com/news/pretending-the-pandemic-is-over-in-fort-collins-and-beyond-11892020

    Covid Karens maybe you should just STAY HOME if you’re so afraid of a disease with a 99.98% survival rate.

    2. I don’t know what these bed wetters are talking about. When I go out to run an errand, 99%+ are wearing masks in the shops. They’re upset that some people walking OUTDOORS aren’t wearing masks? I’m surprised that this clown didn’t mention that people in cars aren’t wearing them.

      What a bunch of Karens. What really makes me laugh are stories of Karens cheating to get to the front of the vaccine line.

      1. It’s part of the Westword’s continuing series about the horror of living without fear. Fort Collins is the latest installment of hit pieces that previously targeted Castle Rock and Colorado Springs.

        Articles like this are a welcome reminder not to spend money in and generate sales tax dollars for the City of Denver.

      2. “I’m surprised that this clown didn’t mention that people in cars aren’t wearing them.”

        I was stopped at a light yesterday and the Twit in the car stopped next to me was all by himself with the windows rolled up and a mask on. I thought to myself…

        There’s a Biden/Harris man.

        “It’s Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.” – Mark Twain

        1. “There’s a Biden/Harris man.”

          I was looking at a news clip of the flooding around San Luis Obispo, CA from the recent rain storms, and there were a couple of people walking along the Chorro Creek footpath…wearing masks. LMFAO!

      3. “…They’re upset that some people walking OUTDOORS aren’t wearing masks?…”

        Colorado is a workers paradise compared to California.

        Proposals are afoot that even hikers (on state / federal lands) must wear masks.

        Really? Like that is going to happen at 8000′? Never mind you can hike on many trails and never even see another living soul for hours at a time.

    3. More medical tyranny:

      “United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby doubled down on his desire to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for corporate America, saying people eventually will accept the shots just as they’ve accepted wearing masks.

      “It will just become what is expected and what most companies do. Once the ball gets rolling, it’s going to roll all the way to the bottom,” he said during a wide-ranging virtual talk at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday.

      He said he thinks there is “a big second wave” of companies that would like to make it mandatory once others take that step.

      “I’m realistic enough, while I think it’s the right thing to do, to know United Airlines alone can’t do it and have it stick. There don’t have to be a ton of others, but there have to be others”

      https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-united-airlines-covid-19-vaccine-passports-20210202-lrd6caypd5ei7fvlrv5pdoh36y-story.html

      Nobody’s “accepted” any of this. And United Airlines will not be “accepting” my money again, ever.

      1. He said he thinks there is “a big second wave” of companies that would like to make it mandatory once others take that step.

        So, the corporate proxies will do the government’s job and make it “mandatory” if you want to do business with them.

        What do they call it when you have a totalitarian government that partners with large corporations? Fascism?

    1. Go to the NY Fed site and look at the massive injections of POMO Powell Bux into these Ponzi markets. You can’t have a stock market crater when you don’t have real markets.

  17. We’ve been saying how developers of commercial retail and office space were going to get hozed even before covid launched the mass work from home movement.

    Here is Nordstrom, a 120 year old, definitely NOT a dot com/tech company, reducing their leased office space in Seattle by 42%. That’s 500,000 more sq ft of downtown office space putting out a “For Rent” sign and adding to the glut.

    Nordstrom to vacate downtown Seattle office tower on Seventh Avenue

    They saw the bottom line savings by shifting applicable people to work from home – saving not just the rent, but the HVAC/Energy costs, security (personnel) costs, cleaning costs, maintenance costs, office supply costs, network and comms costs, and so on.

    And it’s “only 42%” because they let the lease run out and chose not to renew. You can bet your bottom dollar that landlords are doing everything they can to NOT let their tenants exit their leases early. Would not be surprised to see even more reductions as other leases reach their end.

    2. the bottom line savings by shifting applicable people to work from home

      About 30 years ago a colleague of mine got permission to work from home. We were old drinking buddies. He told me that he had spent most of the last two years remodeling his house. Eventually the boss figured this out (not my doing). Hey, if you’re gaming just keep your mouth shut!

      I put him to shame, working for over a decade from the boat, often underway. I gave them their money’s worth though, more so than most of the office lizards. I wonder how WFH will play out post plague hysteria.

      1. Post-plague, it will play out well for cubicle-dwelling fed.gov employees. If my little corner of gov is any indication, the gov has been producing as well, if not better, than pre-pandemic. Beforehand, we had a mix of people in person and over the phone. Now everyone is equally visually present on a laptop screen. No scramble for limited conference rooms or call-in phone lines. No commutes. I expect it to get even better as the schools and daycare open and workers can shove the kids out of the house. This is not lost on management, or the fedgov unions. Unions are fighting for more w@h. The big drawbacks will be downtown retail, CRE, and the prospect of even further worker isolation.

    3. Here is Nordstrom, a 120 year old, definitely NOT a dot com/tech company, reducing their leased office space in Seattle by 42%

      It’s going to be interesting, how the “old normal” won’t fully return.

      1. > It’s going to be interesting, how the “old normal” won’t fully return.

        Here’s the thing: Imagine a Nordstroms executive board meeting in the near future once everyone gets vaccinated and the attitude everywhere is “getting back to normal”.

        Now, someone in that meeting is going to say “Shouldn’t we bring all those workers back into the offices?” and someone else is going to answer with “Why? The work is getting done, the infrastructure is all set up and look at this number…look at this VERY BIG number… that’s the amount of money we ‘saved’. Wall Street Likes It. The executive compensation committee Likes It *wink*. It would go away, and we would gain nothing.”

        tl;dr — Corporate America is bottom line and profit focused and will be very loath to give up significant gains. Yes, some will come back, but no way will it get anywhere near 100%… probably less than 50% IMHO

        1. Corporate America is bottom line and profit focused and will be very loath to give up significant gains.
          I was also wondering if the Corporate diversity education departments could be trimmed/slashed since people may not interact as frequent and modules could be used the keep the training active and the Govt. off the companies back.

  18. The globalist media hates and fears populist candidates who unseat the Republicrat duopoly’s corporate stooges. They want you to hate and fear them, too. But “non-approved” media outlets will point out that politicians reviled by the elites are actually quite popular with their constituents back home, who finally feel like they have someone who speaks for them in Congress.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/3/back-home-in-georgia-voters-stand-with-qanon-congresswoman

  19. So it’s not just a story of people leaving Denver. It’s also a story of people not coming to Denver.’”

    Denver is under Bolshevik occupation. The only people coming to Denver these days are out-of-state riffraff coming for the legalized pot.

  20. “Fitch CMBS Senior Director Melissa Che doesn’t believe there will be a slew of fire sales in the hard-hit hotel and retail CRE segments like first projected when the pandemic hit.

    Melissa is either clueless or a liar, or both. Fitch is the same corrupt ratings company that gave AAA ratings to toxic-waste mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) sold to “investors” (bagholders) in the run-up to the 2007 housing bubble bust. All of these lying, mendacious ratings officials belong in prison.

  21. Looking forward to missing my first Super Bowl since the first Super Bowl when I was seven. My Dad watched the game and since we had one TV my brother who was 3 years older and I watched the game too.

    I could tell my old man’s interest was peaked more than usual for watching a game but I rally didn’t get any of the NFL AFL first championship or anything. What I remember most about it besides my Dad saying “watch the guards, they’ll show you where the play is going” was these 2 guys flying over the field at halftime. Now that was a holy sh#t moment for a 7 year-old in January 1967.

    At first Super Bowl, the halftime show was truly up in the air

    By RICK MAESE
    The Washington Post
    Jan 15, 2017

    The first Super Bowl featured Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers against Len Dawson, Hank Stram and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

    Oh, and there was a 22-year-old named Bill Suitor, who could literally fly across a football field.

    Strapped to his back was enough hydrogen peroxide to propel Suitor and his space-age jetpack over the crowd, helping make the Super Bowl something much bigger than four quarters of football.

    Suitor had been flying in the jetpack — technically, the late-’60s design was called a rocket belt — for barely two years. A man named Wendell Moore invented the high-tech device for Bell Aerosystems, funded in part by the U.S. Army, which wanted a pilot with no flying experience and was of “draft age.”

    Scant video remains today of the performance, but Suitor said the marching bands assumed formations resembling a pair of players, and the giant footballs were positioned at either 45-yard line. When the oversized players appeared to kick the balls, Suitor and Courter exploded out, soaring above the field in a burst of steam.

    “That was when we took off,” Suitor said, “flying across the field away from each other.”

    Nearly 62,000 fans were in the stadium and most had never seen anything like it live. They roared with approval.

    Staying about 50-60 feet above the field, the two men circled back inward and landed near midfield. The AFL and NFL shook hands at the 50-yard line.

    https://www.sentinelsource.com/sports/national/at-first-super-bowl-the-halftime-show-was-truly-up-in-the-air/article_df009a91-bd85-5a59-8449-88da62b495ad.html

    2. I’m not even a football fan but that just all sounds like the America that they want to destroy and take away from us.

      Jeff, my dad’s last baseball game was the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Colorado Rockies opening day weekend April 2016. I had a feeling it might be his last one so I sprung for some seats a dozen rows directly above home base.

      America is slowly dying, but its stories aren’t dying.

      1. “I had a feeling it might be his last one so I sprung for some seats”

        Some things just make me smile inside and out. I’m sure there are very few if any purchases in your life that you would consider better than those opening day seats.

    3. I’m looking forward to not seeing it either. Even the commercials suck. I’m sure it will be full of unprecedented times and we’re all in this together. And inclusion.

      However, if Tom Brady wins, I’ll readily admit that he is the GOAT. If Brady can win in the middle of pandemic after only one year on a team, and without Bill Belichick, he deserves the GOAT title and all the rings he wants.

      (I still believe the Peyton was the better — or at least more talented — quarterback. Peyton’s problem was that he was too good. Good enough that his lazy GMs could get away with giving him lousy teammates. Peyton carried an entire city on his back for a decade.)

      1. Peyton carried an entire city on his back for a decade

        He dragged the Broncos across the finish line a few years ago.

    4. I can’t not watch Mahomes pick apart and dismantle Brady. The schadenfreude is too great to resist.

  22. Grocery giant Kroger Co. will close two of its stores in Long Beach, Calif., after the city council passed an ordinance last month requiring some supermarkets to pay employees an additional $4 an hour.

    On Jan. 19, the Long Beach City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring grocery stores that employ more than 300 workers across the country and more than 15 per store in Long Beach to pay their local employees an additional $4 per hour.

    The ordinance is set to last for 120 days, or until the city terminates the order, which could be extended.

    Following the order, Kroger says it has decided to close two of its stores in the area. A statement released by Kroger said two stores in its Ralphs and Food 4 Less divisions will close at their Long Beach locations. ”

    is that racist ??

    1. Why stop at an extra $4? They could have required everyone in the store be paid $50/hr?

      Why not? They already require landlords to offer free rent.

    2. ?…pay their local employees an additional $4 per hour.”

      These progressive edicts never end once you demonstrate acquiescence. The last edict was regarding shoplifters enjoying no confrontation or pursuit policies. Glad they’re closing their stores.

      1. I’m sure the mayor and city council figured they had the grocers backed into a corner. It would be hilarious if every single one closed shop, and Long Beachers would be forced to drive several miles to a store in a neighboring city,

    3. What do the economists who say raising the minimum wage has no negative impact on employment say about examples like this?

    4. is that racist ??

      Short answer: food desert. There was a recent CNBC YT video on food deserts. Basic cycle:

      1. Activists complain about food deserts and unhealthy local residents.
      2. Companies open up fully-stocked stores.
      3. Locals ignore the fresh produce and healthy food in favor of candy and chips and Red Bull.
      4. Locals shoplift and riot.
      5. Companies close stores.
      6. Activists complain about food deserts and unhealthy local residents.

    1. Fed’s Kashkari says Reddit-driven stock gains don’t merit a policy response, and if investors lose money then ‘that’s on them’
      Shalini Nagarajan
      Feb. 2, 2021, 11:03 AM
      Minneapolis Fed President, Neel Kashkari.
      Thomson Reuters
      – Regional Fed president Neel Kashkari says the Reddit trading frenzy doesn’t merit a policy response.
      – He said if two groups of speculators wish to bid on a single stock over speculation, “God bless them.”
      – The dovish central banker said he is “not at all” thinking about changing his stance on monetary policy.
      …

      1. Why, pray tell, is he tilting at the windmill of a policy response to Reddit’s coordinated short squeeze?

        1. Guess he’s not interested to own the link between the Fed’s ongoing Easy Money tsunami and current risk asset price instability?

          ‘”The key now is for the Federal Reserve to keep our foot on the monetary-policy gas until we really have achieved maximum employment,” he said. The central bank is currently buying $120 billion worth of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities at a monthly pace to ease market functioning, while its benchmark interest rate remains near zero to encourage borrowing.’

      2. The Financial Times
        Opinion Markets Insight
        China’s struggle to control stock bubble offers lessons in investor mania
        There are echoes of the 2015 boom and bust in Chinese shares in current flare-ups in western markets
        China’s experience is a reminder: when the herd is unleashed, it is difficult to control
        © Reuters
        Josh Noble
        an hour ago

        What happens when millions of individuals suddenly decide to dabble in a frothy stock market?

        It is not a new question, but a timely one, as US regulators weigh the implications of a sudden burst of retail trading that has caused stock prices to pop like solar flares. Is it something to worry about, should something be done? And if so, what?

        China found itself in a similar position in 2015, when an army of novice investors flooded into equities, fuelled by cheap credit and cheered on by the central government.
        …

      3. He said if two groups of speculators wish to bid on a single stock over speculation, “God bless them.”

        Speculation wasn’t the problem. The problem was the brokerages cutting off the ability of one group to speculate on the buy side, while the other group was allowed speculate on the sell side. And Neel KNOWS this. Is there going to be a policy response to this?

        1. He’s clearly signaling the Fed’s complicity in a lame effort to whitewash their role.

          Some times it’s best to just politely say no to your PR staff.

          1. The other thought is that his press release may serve to lead the public to believe that the Fed plans no policy response, when in reality they are already executing one.

          1. Some of them aren’t stupid. My daughter and her beau made some bank day trading their stimulus checks while unemployed last year. They are more precautions currently, but they actually can afford to gamble…

  25. LOLZ! “Negative rates are on the way…but not for at least another six months.”

    Party on, Garth!

  27. Dumb question of the day: If Mr Market decided to turn south again, like in March 2020, does the Fed have an even bigger bazooka in the waiting to get it back up again?

    Or is Unlimited Quantitative Easing the biggest?

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