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Right Now It’s A Screaming Good Deal, Why Not Have Two Of Them?

A weekend topic starting with two reports from the Globe and Mail. “Berkeley Loh, 29, and Tom Holmes, 35, have been together a few years and living in their 800-square-foot Olympic Village rental, but they always had a plan to buy. They’d seen friends and family members buying properties, and they had a fear of missing out. ‘You feel behind or something, I think that has something to do with it,’ said Ms. Loh. ‘Our group of friends and family, everyone is buying. We never felt like we were not going to buy. It just seemed like the next thing to do.'”

“Adds Mr. Holmes: ‘We have never bought into the fact that the millennials will be renting forever. We’d hear these things like, ‘They aren’t going to own cars — they’ll just rent cars.’ No, we want property and we want a Tesla.'”

“‘John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty, says he’s seeing the return of a particular type of investor that we haven’t seen in some time: house flippers. ‘These first flippers made a significant amount of money in a very short period of time and that’s the spark that is needed to fuel more investors to want to do the same thing,’ he says.”

“Since the start of pandemic restrictions, the overriding message from Ottawa has been that interest rates will be low for a very long time and, if the economy sputters, they have plenty of tools at their disposal to kickstart it, he says. ‘I don’t blame investors for wanting to jump into this market,’ he says. ‘The consensus view from the investors I hear from is that, if you’re going to invest in a housing bubble, you want to ride the bubble that governments are supporting on the way up and the one they’ll throw every policy tool available at to avoid a decline in house prices should things cool.'”

The New York Times. “The last decade has been a period of relatively low interest rates. That incentivized many homeowners to stay in their homes longer than they would have in the past, clinging to cheap mortgages. The low rates also encouraged many homeowners who bought a new home not to sell their previous one but to treat it as an investment property instead.”

“‘Right now it’s a screaming good deal to have two properties: When my mortgage rate is 2.7%, why not have two of them?’ said Michael Simonsen, the CEO of Altos Research. ‘It took a long time, I think, to realize that that’s what was going on.'”

From KHON in Hawaii. “The tourism-dependent island has left many on Maui without jobs during the pandemic and the uncertainty has kept many people in their homes, unable to pay the mortgage. ‘The banks are respectful, they’re not going to kick somebody out during a pandemic, so they’ll wait, and then some [foreclosures] will start popping up here and there, and I think it’s probably going to be like, two or three years, and you’ll start seeing more and more foreclosures,’ said Joe Hogin, Realtors Association of Maui president. ‘Everything’s going up, but what goes up, it’s going to go down.'”

The Inlander in Washington. “On March 18, 2020, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee made it temporarily illegal for landlords to evict anyone for not paying rent. As the pandemic raged, Inslee extended the moratorium again and again. A few weeks ago, Ben Stuckart, director of the Spokane Low-Income Housing Consortium, reached out to Spokane’s 10 largest low-income housing nonprofits to assess the damage. Nearly a quarter of their units — 1,100 households in all — were at least a month behind on rent. Total them up, and those 10 providers were owed more than $1.3 million in Spokane County alone.”

“‘It’s affecting their ability to pay their mortgage payments, any loans they took when they built their low-income housing,’ Stuckart says. ‘It puts them at risk as a nonprofit — if they go under, that puts all of their housing units at risk.'”

“Landlord Keith Kelley is in the process of selling at least one of his own West Central properties, taking it off the rental market entirely. ‘I’m liquidating property,’ Kelley says. ‘I’m fighting tooth and nail to keep my business alive.'”

From KSBY in California. “Right now, county officials estimate there is upwards of $25 million in rent debt in San Luis Obispo County. County Supervisor Bruce Gibson said, ‘[The] money [is] going back to tenants, so they can stay up on their rent, so they can stay in their housing and money also going back to landlords because the ripple effect there is they face foreclosure.'”

“Ken Trigueiro, the CEO of People’s Self Help Housing, is optimistic about the program. ‘Probably, you know, landlords aren’t going to be able to make any profits at this time. But you know, paying the bills is the most important thing,’ he said.”

The San Jose Spotlight in California. “Robert Aguirre, a 67-year-old advocate for affordable housing, hasn’t been able to pay his rent since the pandemic started. He’s lost track of exactly how much he owes his landlord. ‘The situation is bad for tenants and I’m concerned when the money is gone and the eviction moratoriums expire, many people may become homeless,’ Aguirre said. ‘But right now landlords are really getting screwed.'”

From The Real Deal on New York. “The owner of two Midtown office buildings claims its bank threw it to the wolves after promising to help it weather the pandemic. R&B Realty Group told a state court in Manhattan last week that Signature Bank did not honor a verbal pledge to extend forbearances on 28 West 36th Street and 32 West 39th Street, instead declaring loans on those buildings in default and selling the debt to distressed-asset buyers.”

“The landlord alleges that Maverick Real Estate Partners, which purchased the mortgages, is taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to grab R&B’s buildings for a song. ‘Among other things, [Maverick] is charging a default interest of 24 percent on each of the loans, and seems intent to continue to do so in order to … acquire the buildings on the cheap,’ R&B’s complaint states. (Rates above 25 percent are subject to New York’s usury law.)”

“The landlord said it has been unable to pay principal or interest on its loans since May 2020 because rent collection was only 30 percent to 40 percent from April to February. Since buying the loans from Signature, Maverick has told tenants at the West 36th Street building to pay it rent directly, the lawsuit asserts. R&B called the action an ‘end run’ around Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s bans on commercial evictions and foreclosures, telling the court Maverick’s attempt ‘should not be permitted.’ In a separate case, Maverick sought to foreclose last week on a Chelsea apartment building at 416 West 25th Street, alleging the owner had defaulted on a loan in May 2019. A judge had previously stopped the foreclosure.”

From Slate. “Big cities have clearly lost some verve during the pandemic. The signs are everywhere, from vacant storefronts to idle stages to muted downtowns. A weekly drumbeat of data, on sales tax receipts and school enrollment and home prices and rents, offers bits and pieces of evidence to back this up. Between 2011 and 2015, an astounding 952,000 people moved out of New York City—and another 265,000 New Yorkers died. At that rate, it would take just 35 years for the nation’s largest city to be left to the rats.”

“Overall, departures have always exceeded arrivals in large cities. This is in part because some walkable, central neighborhoods in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York have been, on net, losing people for years as rents go through the roof. Manhattan’s Upper West Side, for example, lost 12 percent of its population between 2006 and 2018 as median household income rose.”

From Realtor.com. “Justin Bieber and his wife have officially sold their smaller—but still very spiffy—spot in Beverly Hills. The listing came on the market about a year after they had picked up the property in 2019, for $8.5 million. An $8 million deal on the home closed last week—so the hit-maker took a hit. The couple had originally placed the home on the market for $9 million in the fall of 2020. It reportedly sold fully furnished.”

“Bieber announced to his Instagram followers his intention to unload the property, and in the fall of 2020, placed it on the market with a $9 million price tag. ‘I think I wanna sell my home in Beverly Hills who wants it,’ the Grammy winner teased to his followers.”

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    3. They all keep spending, I keep saving. I figure at some point I should be rewarded, right? There has to be a meltdown where all these fools are forced to sell all their toys and everything else they borrowed for. Because they’re in debt up to their eyeballs.

      1. Reward? You’ll get pie in the sky when you die.
        Of all the clownworld events in the past year, I most mourn the loss of meritocracy and karma.

    4. “We want property and we want a Tesla.”

      So much for owning nothing and being happy, eh Klaus?

      Just heard an interview with Joel Salatin (the famous farmer). He confirmed what other realtors have been saying: serious farmland, i.e. 10+ acres, is sitting on the market. But houses on 2-5 acres are red hotcakes, selling within days over asking. Millenials and retirees want OUT of the downtowns and away from the vibrants. And a chicken in every back yard. Even beanie boy is on board.

      1. 10+ acres, is sitting on the market.

        It’s overpriced. Do you think it would be sitting on the market if it was a dollar? Everything sells at the right price. This is a land bubble. Houses are just the sticks that adorn it.

      2. serious farmland, i.e. 10+ acres, is sitting on the market

        Not around here. Most lots w/ 10+ acres are going under contract in a few days.

      3. ‘So much for owning nothing and being happy, eh Klaus?’

        I met Klaus once. I had no idea who he was or what he was about.
        It sends a chill down my spine to know I was ever in the presence of such pure evil.

  2. ‘The low rates also encouraged many homeowners who bought a new home not to sell their previous one but to treat it as an investment property instead’

    I’m seeing more articles mention buying a second shack before selling. Check. So who is loaning the money? Do these people qualify for two loans? I doubt it.

    ‘Right now it’s a screaming good deal to have two properties: When my mortgage rate is 2.7%, why not have two of them?…It took a long time, I think, to realize that that’s what was going on’

    Well Mike, people have been hoarding onions and nickle coins too. Why not 5 shacks, or 10?

    1. “Do these people qualify for two loans?”

      With subprime handed out like cheap candy since 2011 and the rampant appraisal fraud, they likely qualify for 3 or 4 death pledge mortgages.

    2. If you are wondering why housing prices keep marching higher during a bad recession, why there are no homes for sale in your area, or why the local homeless population keeps getting larger and larger, look no further than the abnormally low lending rates, easy money mortgage lending policies, and monthly rent and mortgage payment moratoriums designed to protect the already-housed and sustain Housing Bubble 2.0.

      1. One further thought on the dearth of housing inventory on the market in much of the U.S., accompanied by stubbornly high and ever-increasing prices:

        Other than the absence of consternation from on high or Congressional inquiries, this is not much different from the GameStop short squeeze. In both cases, you have an excess supply of easy money driving an effective shortage in an asset class as investors chase up the parabolic price phase of a bubble. In both cases, it will eventually end in tears, just like every previous collapsed bubble did.

        1. I might die before I ever own another house. Or better yet, I am starting to think I won’t even want one in retirement. I think I’d rather just move around a little. I don’t like “buying” bad neighbors and all their associated ills anyway. When I rent, I can just up and leave.

    3. Do these people qualify for two loans?

      My guess is they are using the rent from the old house as income to qualify for the new mortgage. I’ve heard a couple stories that banks would demand a signed 12-month lease as part of the doc package. Of course that bank is probably overlooking the fact that the rent money is needed for the old house too.

      1. rent from the old house as income to qualify for the new mortgage

        Assuming your tenants are paying rent and you have recourse if they’re not. Those two things have been particularly problematic in CA the last year.

    4. “So who is loaning the money? Do these people qualify for two loans?”

      I overheard a realtor on her cell phone last week talking to (I’m guessing) the opposite realtor in a transaction, talking about how she was pushing her clients into bridge financing, and how easy hard money loans were to get so her clients could buy without first selling their old house. I think she was trying to assure the seller’s realtor that her buyers could perform. She used the phrase “oh, the wife really wants the house.” So obv it’s a done deal.

      2. how easy hard money loans were to get

        A short-term loan at 9% interest borrowed on the assumption of selling a relatively illiquid asset. What could go wrong?

  4. When I hear of homelessness I am reminded of the 1930s hard time Depression Stories I heard growing up. Except my families were always something like: Aunt Betty and Cousin Joe lived with us, or we moved into Grandpa’s house, we planted a garden, Tommy went to high school at night as he was able to get a job at 16, your Uncle sold their car and now they walk, your Cousin joined the Navy/WPA, etc., etc.

    It does not always work out this way I know, but once the family support, love, and guidance are thrown out the window things break down … that is for sure. But I thank God I was taught you do not have to have a new car, you can wear your cousin’s hand me downs, living with family is acceptable as an adult as long as you pay reasonable room & board [imagine that], you look for a job every day or at least clean out a neighbor’s garage for five bucks if nothing has turned up yet and worse of all as a child I used to hear “Come on we are all going to visit Grandma this Sunday afternoon”

    When I go to my folks’ grave, I thank them every time. I just wish I had done it more when they were alive to hear it.

    1. I’m seeing something very similar in my neighborhood:

      Aunt Carmela and Cousin Jose and the new baby lived with us, or we moved into the basement of Abuelo’s house, we planted a tomatoes and chili peppers and had a duck and a chicken, Tomas studied for his GED at night as he was able to get a job at 16 spackling drywall, your Uncle Deigo walked to the Lowe’s parking lot for day work until he and Uncle Antonio could scrape together for an old truck, the Garcias sold their car and got a beater with peeling paint, Mia takes the bus to the nursing home to empty pans, your Cousin Carlos joined the Navy, etc., etc.

      Coming to a Cold War suburb near you. You know, those smaller houses that white people used to live in before they traded up to a McMansion.

  6. “Our group of friends and family, everyone is buying.”

    Each trying to outdo the rest, right? Housing narcissism!

      1. I have never had social media. I saw Fakebook for what it was from its inception. That being said, an older family member – mid 50s – has been living on Fakebook for years. I wasn’t aware of this until recently. Apparently the pictures and stories paint a canvas of the idyllic life with seemingly no flaws, especially in the pics by professional photographers during the holidays, birthdays, etc. But there’s something not captured – the malignant narcissism, extreme emotional abuse and overall toxic A F situation between the walls of that house.

  7. The Financial Times
    Opinion On Wall Street
    Bitcoin cannot replace the banks
    Cryptocurrency hopes are based on a misunderstanding of how money is created
    Bitcoin is turning out to be a good way to reinforce the system we already have
    [FAKE PHYSICAL BITCOIN PHOTO]
    © SASCHA STEINBACH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
    Brendan Greeley yesterday

    For several hours on Wednesday, the digital services the US Federal Reserve uses to clear transfers between banks were offline due to an “operational error”. Bitcoin holders crowed about the reliability of their payments network, distributed among all the computers mining coins. Zac Prince, chief executive of BlockFi, a crypto lending company, showed more restraint, pointing out on Twitter merely that payments over crypto “continue to operate normally”.

    One argument in favour of buying and holding bitcoin is that cryptocurrencies will eventually replace banks themselves, as their services for storing and transferring money will no longer be needed. This will, in turn, make bitcoins so valuable that they will replace “dirty” dollars as currency, leaving those with bitcoin in possession of the only real money.

    Holding any asset in the hope that it becomes money is, to be sure, a long-term investment strategy. But it also shows a flawed understanding of how dollars work, and who creates them now. Most of what currently functions as money in the US and any developed economy does not come from the government. It comes from commercial banks. Banks do not just hold money, or transfer it. They create it.

    Misunderstanding over this is widespread enough that in 2014 the Bank of England put out a paper, Money creation in the modern economy, to clear things up. University textbooks teach that banks take in deposits, then lend them out. This is exactly backwards, the BoE explained. A commercial bank decides to make the loan first, then it tops up the balance in your account. That top-up is brand-new credit money.

    So-called “fiat” money derided by bitcoin supporters is usually defined as government-issued currency not backed by an asset like gold. But a lot of fiat money, which we use for purposes such as paying taxes, is actually a bunch of loans, regulated by governments but produced by commercial banks.

    Creating new credit money is a good business, which is why, century after century, people have found new ways to make loans. The US historian Rebecca Spang points out in her book Stuff and Money in the French Revolution that the monarchy in pre-revolutionary France, to get around usury laws, took lump-sum payments from investors and repaid them in lifetime rents. In 21st-century America, shadow banks pretend they are not banks to avoid regulations. Lending happens. You can’t stop lending. You can’t stop it with distributed computing, or with a stake to the heart. The profits are just too good.
    …

  8. Will the bond vigilantes freak out even more it the U.S. “goes big” on its next stimulus package?

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus economic impact

      House of Representatives passes $1.9tn Covid stimulus package

      Relief bill includes $1,400 cheques, jobless aid, and funds for state and local governments
      Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said the bill ‘saves lives and saves the livelihoods of the American people’

      Lauren Fedor and James Politi in Washington yesterday

      The House of Representatives has passed a $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, as US president Joe Biden cleared the first big hurdle on the way to securing congressional approval for his economic stimulus bill.

      The Democratic-controlled House passed the expansive legislation, which includes $1,400 direct payments, an extension of federal top-ups to unemployment insurance, and another $350bn for state and local governments, early on Saturday morning with the support of the vast majority of Democratic lawmakers.

      The vote was a significant milestone for Biden, who has made the stimulus package his top legislative priority for his first 100 days in the White House. Biden last week said the US economy would come “roaring back” if Congress approved his proposals, while Treasury secretary Janet Yellen this week told G20 finance ministers that they should also “go big” with fiscal support to help the pandemic-ravaged global economy.
      …

      1. I just read yesterday that the local hospital has the fewest “Orange Man Bad Virus” patients since the beginning of this whole sham. There is absolutely no reason for anything to be closed, there is absolutely no reason to be extending rent/foreclosure moratoriums, enhanced UE bennies, or any of this nonsense. This a 100% manufactured economic seizure which culminated in a Coup d’etat by billionaire globalists with a figurehead who should be in a memory care facility.

        1. “This a 100% manufactured economic seizure which culminated in a Coup d’etat by billionaire globalists with a figurehead who should be in a memory care facility.”

          IOW, a thing of beauty.

          😁

          1. Dying “with COVID” vs “from COVID” are two entirely different things. The deaths are exceedingly inflated. You know this, you’re just playing dumb.

          2. Very well then, if I’m so dumb, enlighten me. What does it mean to die “of COVID” as compared to “with COVID?” Is it like the difference between dying of cancer or with cancer? Where are you getting your medical guidance? I’d like to make my own judgment, rather than parroting some curated headline like the liberals do.

            (And don’t give me the crap about the motorcycle accident. There weren’t a half million of those.)

          3. Dying “with COVID”

            Sadly, we’ll never know. The PCR test for Covid-19 (CCP Flu) was developed by a guy in Germany who did not have a sample of the virus. He used a sample of a previous SARS virus and sent the test to China to see if it worked on their sick people. I don’t think we’d even be using this PCR test if we weren’t in a declared State of Emergency.

            At 45 Amplifications the results of all the millions of PCR tests are supposedly bogus. The directions are to do 25 amplifications at the max. We’ve known this for a year. Isn’t it interesting that there’s been no side by side comparison of methods, anywhere? For an entire year? Any respiratory infection is a serious thing, but the panic we’ve experienced is clearly purpose built.

            I think we must stay in the State of Emergency until full deployment of the vaccines. If the SOE was to be lifted, the vaccines would be illegal, because they are not tested and certified. I don’t know when that will be, but I fear my First Mate will not set foot on my boat until such time. Is it too much to hope that they can get this done by June?

          4. I had a brother who died of cancer. Oh, wait, his death certificate states that he died of cardio-vascular failure. But this cardio-vascular failure of his was brought about by the cancer that was ravaging his body.

            So which is it? Did he die of cancer or not? His death certificate says not, hence another tally went into death via cardio-vascular failure. If there was some sort of incentive in place that would reward the cause of death to be due to the cancer then no doubt the stated official cause of his death would be cancer.

          5. Q. How many people die of old age?

            A. None.

            “It’s common, in our society, to say that someone ‘died of old age.’ But nobody ever actually dies of ‘old age.’ There are always other pre-existing diseases—or new diseases—that cause the deaths in question. ‘Old age’ isn’t something you’d put on a death certificate—most likely, it would be something like cardiac arrest, which occurs due to some underlying issue such as an infection, heart attack, or cancer. For example, a clot could go into the lungs which prevents somebody from oxygenating their brain or their body, and which then causes the heart to stop. When somebody dies, whether or not they’re young or old, some disease or disease-process has caused their body to stop working.”

            How Do People Actually ‘Die From Old Age’?
            https://gizmodo.com/how-do-people-actually-die-from-old-age-1844521439

          6. (And don’t give me the crap about the motorcycle accident. There weren’t a half million of those.)

            So you’ve decided that only happened one time? The fact of the matter is that we’ll never know the truth, because they weren’t interested in the truth from the start. “Excess deaths” is likely the only statistic that would even shed light on the subject, but that’s going to include all of the “deaths of despair” which are epidemic now, and have nothing to do with dying from COVID.

            I found this from the CDC:

            “Data is provided through the 48th week of 2020. So far this year, the CDC reports that 2,877,601 people have died. At the same point in 2018, the number was 2,606,928, and in 2019, it was 2,614,950. The number of deaths to this point in 2020 is at least 260,000 greater than either of the past two years. But that number is an underestimate because the CDC publishes data based on the number of death certificates it has received. Since it can take a couple of weeks for all death certificates to be recorded, the numbers for the last two weeks, at least, will increase as time goes by. If the last two weeks produce a similar number of deaths as the weeks before, the margin to this point will actually be close to 310,000.

            So, 310,000 “excess deaths” over 2019. That’s a far cry from 500,000, and like I said will include a whole lot of “deaths of despair.” Have many people died from COVID? Yes. Are they overestimating the number? Absolutely.

            https://www.kare11.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/verify-comparing-total-deaths-from-2020-to-2019-and-2018/501-355b857c-e7e9-40e4-b31d-11500cbcb103

          7. By the way, when I said “sham,” I’m talking about the entire situation beyond the inflated death numbers – the lockdowns, the rigged election, etc.

          8. I watched a young lady who wanted to be a skydiver plummet toward the earth in a fetal position until a barometric sensor activated her reserve parachute, which snapped her upright for a couple of seconds until her feet contacted “terra firma.”

            One skydiver said, “That reserve saved her life!”

            A second skydiver said, “No, it just extended it.”

          9. Blue, if COVID causes a death, I’m pretty sure that there’s enough virus to be detected at less than 25 cycles.

            Since you are over 65, I’m pretty sure you’ll have the vaccine by May (remember you need to wait 2-3 weeks for immunity to kick in). Not sure how Canada will handle your first mate, or if she’s old enough. Now, if you’re planning to refuse the vaccine and you’re waiting for everyone else to get herd immunity for you and the emergencies are lifted, I doubt it will happen that soon.

            Oh, wait, his death certificate states that he died of cardio-vascular failure. But this cardio-vascular failure of his was brought about by the cancer that was ravaging his body.

            Mr. Banker, your brother’s doctors were correct. IIUC, if the condition is listed at all on the death certificate, then he died “of” cancer (and with it). COVID is the same way. What the laymen thinks of as the real cause of death is usually the contributing factor.

            I don’t think dying “with” anything is a defined medical term, but the examples of dying “with COVID” are people whose death was completely unrelated; that is, they still would have died even if they didn’t have COVID. The motorcyclist for example. I guess you could say George Floyd died with COVID too, but I’m not sure.

          10. you’ll have the vaccine by May

            Actually, my hospital texted me today that they have a shot ready for me now. I don’t think that herd immunity will save one single vulnerable person from an endemic virus. Looks like the shot they’ve conjured will probably make you sick, don’t know. I have a certain reluctance to take a novel genetic therapy drug, these things have never been good before. Not trusting a medical complex that crushed cheap therapeutic treatments. I don’t think they care if I survive.

          11. What is it about doing your own research that is so difficult to grasp ?

            With all due respect , “Professor” , we are all here thanks to a country/world full of entitled people like you , unable and/or unWILLING to do their own damned reading , searching , and research !

            https://www.bitchute.com/video/0GsgiYrDlQ8g/

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BDFUJcDmNM

            “when you gonna wake up , and strengthen the things that remain ?” – Bob Dylan

          12. FWIW, my mom’s death certificate lists colon cancer not dehydration/starvation in hospice care. The cause of death is up to the physician and is ultimately subjective. Provide incentives and you get what you incentivize.

        3. Since you brought up my favorite subject, the CCP Flu, today’s anecdotal is that instead of hiking in the close Front Range foothills near Morrison, driving another 10 miles west to Conifer means much less mask Karens.

          Masks are a like a religion to all the Denver Karens. Out in Conifer almost nobody wears them on trails, because non-Karens all know that outdoor transmission of CCP Flu on a hiking trail is non-existent.

          2. Suppose we define “death by covid” as someone who dies after they come down with the disease, who otherwise wouldn’t have died.

            And suppose that half a million people in the U.S. who died since March 2020 fit the above description.

            And suppose that about half a million more people died in the March 2020 through February 2021 period who met the above definition of “death by covid” than would otherwise have been expected to die over the period?

            Would the above conditions be sufficient to convince you that what happened in the past twelve months was somewhat extraordinary, and not just a political hoax cooked up by people who think Orange Man Bad?

          3. We don’t have to “suppose” anything. Dying “of COVID” is quite clearly defined to be that COVID is listed as the contributing cause of death on the certificate, with the immediate cause being something like pulmonary failure. The other day I posted the link to the CDC guidance describing this.

            than would otherwise have been expected

            That’s called “excess deaths.” Chris Martenson at Peak Prosperity was using excess deaths to approximate COVID deaths. However, this was done in the early days of the disease when more people were dying and test kits were scarce and we didn’t know if people dying at home had COVID or not. But now with better treatments and tons of test kits, that metric is less applicable.

          4. “be sufficient to convince you”

            Um, yeah. I wear a mask at the grocery store, and I don’t complain about it.

            I do not, and will not, wear a mask while exercising outdoors. Outdoor exercise, that gets vitamin D and boosts the immune system. The outdoor exercise that your tyrant governor declared illegal, because reasons.

          5. somewhat extraordinary

            That is rather subjective. Suppose the CDC says 350,000 died in 2020 with a positive Covid test on record. Suppose 120,000 that normally die of other respiratory disease, of which there weren’t any in 2020. Suppose that on average 3 million people die here per year +/- 250,000.

            I wonder what the death count would have been if the FedGov wasn’t paying a bounty on Covid scalps.

    2. The Biden admin bombed Syria before they passed the stimulus bill.

      They got a bomb before you got a check.

      1. With globalists controlling Washington, we’re gonna be at war in the Middle East for another fifty years.

          1. So, fake news 24/7 with censoring of any dispute, but
            you trust the mysterious World of Medical Tyranny that suppressed cheap therapeutic meds in favor of emergency use of new vaccines that they don’t know the long term effects . So only under the declaration of a emergency Pandemic can untested vaccines be used. So, you have inaccurate tests with a big campaign to get people tested with no sickness.
            Government imposes Lockdowns, yet makes a exception for Commie Rioters and looters ordering the Police to stand down.
            Small business is destroyed by Lockdowns, but it’s OK for people to go to Big Box stores in droves and they profited by the Lockdowns.
            And Big Money relief in the billions by the Feds to chosen Entries, while the rest get peanuts.
            Medical Monopoly getting in the trillions from Government to deal with Declared emergency Pandemic, with emergency vaccines, not time tested. Dr Fauci and Bill Gates making a fortune on vaccine investment.
            Covid used to justify mail in ballots and other election laws changed which resulted in election results that weren’t possible according to mathematics.
            Constant change in story as to the origins of Covid. China back to normal Commerce wise, and not really mass vaccination of their people, but China is making Vaccines for other Countries touting their vaccine is better because they use the old technology.
            CDC said they don’t have the isolated proof of Covid 19, yet variant strains are the new threat.
            Big Globalist Monopolies getting their agendas that the Majority didn’t want.
            Biden letting illegals in without any concern they are vaccinated.
            Fauci and other talking Heads saying masks aren’t protective at first , than changing the narrative to two masks being recommended, that isn’t following the Science.
            Big Techs assault on first amendment by censoring fact and dispute to 24/7 fear mongering narratives.
            Locking down entire Populations over a flu threat that doesn’t affect 98.97% of population, but mostly older people with co morbidities, who for decades have died from respiratory failure.
            So, a inaccurate test and testing of people not sick to declare a Pandemic, with a inaccurate model projection on what the death toll would be, if not for Medical Tyranny by Pandemic Declared for Political and Profit Motive and used as a weapon for a power grab.
            Same with unproven Climate Change BS.
            So, for people who blindly trust our Corrupted Government, and the Monopolies and other forces that are in control of the narratives, go ahead and think it isn’t possible that Covid19 could be a unjustified Pandemic and Scam used for a power grab.
            Go ahead turn your life over to endless vaccines and wearing useless masks that take your breath away knowing they have to suppress all facts to pull this assault on humanity off.
            Go ahead let Bill Gates , the vaccine king, also take your beef away in favor of fake beef and bugs as he tries to Monopolize the food industry by buying up the farm land..
            Go ahead believe that the White Race and America is bad, when it’s the takeover of corrupted Government by the Globalist Monopolies who are partnering with Foreign enemies.
            They are trying to normalize this insanity when it’s obvious who the victims of their power grab are and will be. And in case you didn’t know, they were planning a Pandemic, long before Covid .So if you believe Chinese people falling in the streets from Covid that launched this fear mongering, and China somehow didn’t have a spread into their greater population, than your a sucker.
            Nope, nothing adds up, and when nothing adds up its not the time to suspend your brain and trust Government or Monopolies like Big Pharma. Lockdowns and endless vaccines are the new normal , but it isn’t normal, and worse it isn’t justified, and it’s a POWER GRAB Scam in every way.

            IMHO

    3. The Financial Times
      Warren Buffett
      Buffett warns of ‘bleak future’ for debt investors
      ‘Bonds are not the place to be these days’ Berkshire Hathaway chief tells shareholders in his annual letter
      Warren Buffett told shareholders it was best to eschew the fixed income market
      © Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
      Eric Platt in New York 3 hours ago

      Warren Buffett warned that debt investors faced a “bleak future” days after a sell-off pummelled government bonds and sent reverberations through global stock markets.

      The 90-year-old chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway told shareholders in his closely followed annual letter that it was best to eschew the fixed-income market, in which the company is itself a large player.

      “Fixed-income investors worldwide — whether pension funds, insurance companies or retirees — face a bleak future,” he wrote. “Competitors, for both regulatory and credit-rating reasons, must focus on bonds. And bonds are not the place to be these days.”

      Treasury prices slid dramatically last week, driven by shifts from investors who see faster economic growth taking hold. Optimism around a global expansion has also rekindled concerns about a spike in inflation, however nascent, and the prospect that central banks may have to adjust their stimulative policies.

      Many investors had moved to adjust their portfolios before the sell-off in Treasuries this week, buying lower-quality debt that offered higher returns. Buffett warned on Saturday that the move by insurers and bond buyers to “juice the pathetic returns now available by shifting their purchases to obligations backed by shaky borrowers” was a concern.
      …

  10. “On March 18, 2020, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee made it temporarily illegal for landlords to evict anyone for not paying rent.”

    So much for private contracts. Two parties can willingly enter into a legal mutually benificial business arrangement and some stranger can nullify the terms. When will this ever end? Why should it ever end?

    A state populated by totally dumbed-down ignorant sheep.

    Karma, patient as always, awaits.

  11. From NYT article. Zandi unintentionally gives a lot of the explanation – but does not get to the root causes.

    One is govt and govt agencies that are setting interest rates low, buying up housing-related bonds, and turning a blind eye to loosening of standards. This was the lesson that Australia, some other Asian countries, European countries like Holland and Canada proved coming out of the great recession. Just following the same approach.

    —-
    “We’re all looking for a unified field theory for what’s going on,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “We have all these disparate pieces of information. Everyone’s got their own telescope looking up into the sky, measuring different things. It’s hard to put it all together.”

    But the overall effect is clear: It’s as if the market were mucked up with a lot of sand and mud, Zandi said. And that produces all kinds of other strange behaviors and patterns. The number of people buying homes sight unseen has soared. Median sales prices in some metros are up 15% or more in a single year. In other places, the trajectory of the for-sale market has become entirely detached from what’s happening in the rental market.

    Normally, economists expect rents and home prices to move together in a given community. That’s because both respond to the same underlying conditions — a strong labor market, popular amenities, proximity to the ocean. When rents and home prices start to diverge, that’s usually a sign of something amiss, like a housing bubble inflating.

    1. “And that produces all kinds of other strange behaviors and patterns. The number of people buying homes sight unseen has soared. Median sales prices in some metros are up 15% or more in a single year. In other places, the trajectory of the for-sale market has become entirely detached from what’s happening in the rental market.”

      1. That’s entirely consistent with my point that we are currently witnessing a short squeeze in many housing markets, or equivalently, the parabolic price blowout phase of Housing Bubble 2.0.

  12. “In other places, the trajectory of the for-sale market has become entirely detached from what’s happening in the rental market.”

    One market, the rental market, is fueled by available cash money. If cash money is not available then the rental market cannot rise.

    The other market, the for-sale market, is fueled by available debt. If debt is made available to a targeted market then prices in that market can and will rise.

    The two markets, the rental market and the for-sale market, each end up going their own ways because the availability of money for each market have gone their own ways.

    1. Totally agree. The magic elixir of life which drives U.S. housing prices to heights which seem to perpetually defy the logic of fundamentals is the infusion of federally-guaranteed debt which never needs to be repaid.

    2. ‘The two markets, the rental market and the for-sale market’

      And that’s the thing. They’re not markets. Don’t get me wrong. They will be again. Just as night follows day.

    1. Clown World gonna clown.

      I just drove through central Denver and it is Mask Karen Central on the sidewalks out there today. Not outdoor dining, not standing in a line, but Karens Karening with their bacteria laden double diapers strapped to their smug little Karen faces while walking around.

      1. “…bacteria laden double diapers…”

        That’s a part of mask culture that I don’t grasp. What is it that Karens love so much about reinhaling their own foul smelling, bacteria contaminated breath?

    2. Some highlights from Tom MacDonald – “Clown World”

      You worry about leaving a better planet for our kids how bout leaving better kids for our planet

      I’m offended that your offended by me taking offence

      Black lives matter all lives matter what’s all this division for it’s modern segregation this is setting up a civil war

      Burn the circus down cause the world is full of clowns

  15. This is a pearl clutching article (lead story on the website right now).

    New York Times — In Statehouses, Stolen-Election Myth Fuels a G.O.P. Drive to Rewrite Rules (2/27/2021):

    https://archive.is/5Axt9

    If these bedwetters are so concerned about what Statehouses are doing, maybe they should consider winning some Statehouses (hint: they can’t).

    P.S. the 2020 election was stolen, you’re not fooling anybody…

    1. “P.S. the 2020 election was stolen, you’re not fooling anybody…”

      Truer words have never been spoken.

  18. Oh joy…the central bank engineered stonk investing pandemic has spread as far as The Netherlands, birthplace of Tulipmania.

    And there’s no vaccine for an investing mania.

    1. The Financial Times
      European equities
      Europe’s cautious savers catch on to share-dealing craze
      Many encouraged by rising stock market prices and some are even trading in GameStop
      A trading post on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Only 15 per cent of Germans have a direct investment in shares compared to 55 per cent in the US
      © REUTERS
      Martin Arnold in Frankfurt
      4 hours ago

      Risk-averse Europeans have embraced share trading during the coronavirus pandemic, encouraged by soaring stock markets, rising household savings and the popularity of low-cost trading platforms.

      The number of people in Germany who own shares directly or via funds rose by 2.2m to 12.4m last year — with the sharpest rise among those aged under 30, according to a recent report by the Deutsches Aktieninstitut, which represents German publicly traded companies.

      This is a significant shift for a country with relatively low levels of share ownership and where people are traditionally conservative with their money — often preferring to earn meagre interest on bank deposits rather than invest in shares.

      Christine Bortenlänger, managing director of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, said the “sensational” increase in share ownership, which included 600,000 people aged under 30 buying their first share last year, was “a good sign for the equity culture in Germany”.

      Yet there is a long way to go before Germany catches up with other countries. Even after the latest surge, only 15 per cent of Germans have a direct investment in the stock market, compared to about 55 per cent in the US and 33 per cent in the UK.

      The investing craze is also catching on in the Netherlands, where the number of households investing in shares either directly or through funds increased 17 per cent to 1.75m last year, the biggest increase since the 1990s, according to a recent survey by Kantar.
      …

    2. Brings to mind those hapless Norwegian marks who found themselves invested in sh!tty subprime mortgage bonds circa 2008.

  20. Global stocks routed as inflation fears dominate
    By Laura He and Charles Riley, CNN Business
    Updated 12:39 PM ET, Fri February 26, 2021
    American flags hang oustside of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
    Parents of young trader who died by suicide: Robinhood is to blame

    Hong Kong / London (CNN Business)
    Global stocks tumbled Friday as a sharp bond selloff encouraged investors to dump riskier assets.

    Asian markets followed US stocks lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (N225) tumbled 4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) closed down 3.6% — that index’s worst day in nine months. South Korea’s Kospi (KOSPI) dropped 2.8%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) lost 2.1%.

    European stocks also dropped sharply in early trading. The FTSE 100 (UKX) shed 0.8% in London, while Germany’s DAX (DAX) and France’s CAC 40 (CAC40) declined by more than 1%.

    US stock futures were little changed following heavy losses on Thursday. Dow (INDU) futures added less than 0.1%, while futures for S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were up 0.3%.

    Investors around the world are increasingly worried that the wave of pandemic stimulus spending could cause economic growth to accelerate and prices to spike. If inflation takes hold in major economies, central banks could be forced to hike interest rates or curtail asset purchases sooner than expected.
    After a long period of easy access to money, that could trigger a market tantrum.

    Concerns about higher interest rates are now driving market dynamics, and encouraging investors to dump riskier assets such as tech stocks. Bitcoin prices dropped nearly 4% on Friday, falling below $46,300.

    In the United States, the economic outlook has been boosted by the distribution of vaccines, along with the expectation that President Joe Biden will successfully pass a stimulus package through Congress, according to Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.

    “Investors are now fixated on the risk of inflation and economic overheating,” he said.
    …

  23. More riots in Portland last night:

    https://twitter.com/mrandyngo

    I went to the Oregon Live website and there is no mention of any of this left wing violence. Click on the “about us” link and this is what you’ll see:

    “At Oregonian Media Group, we’re building a sustainable model for journalism by delighting our readers and driving value for our advertisers as a media company.

    That means focusing on the needs of our readers and local businesses, taking bold risks and experimenting, and evolving to remain vital and relevant.”

    Who owns the Oregonian Media Group? They’re called Advance Local. This is from their “about us” link:

    “Creating meaningful connections starts with telling the perfect story. For more than 95 years, Advance Local has been a trusted voice to share the stories that move, inspire, captivate and entertain us. Today, we are one of the largest media companies, reaching millions of people through multiple platforms.”

    These are the Real Journalists.

    This is who censors left-wing violence.

      1. The Best of Portland? Find it in the Pearl.
        https://explorethepearl.com/

        “Easily one of Portland’s most desirable neighborhoods, the Pearl District is home to some of the city’s best-known chefs and restaurants, world-class art galleries, and vibrant shops and boutiques. Located in the heart of Portland, businesses ranging from finance and real estate to renowned advertising agencies and software firms can be found here, nestled among family-friendly parks that attract visitors and locals, many of whom call the neighborhood’s iconic residential buildings home. Formerly a neglected corridor of abandoned warehouses and railways, the Pearl District has earned a worldwide reputation for urban renaissance.”

      2. These Antifa vandals are supposed to hang downtown near the federal bldg by the free kitchens and urine soaked alleys. Their Portland days are numbered.

    2. More riots in Portland last night:

      Keep Portland Weird!

      When I want to see interesting things or places, I can visit them. But when I go home I want my little burg to be as dull as dishwater.

  26. This is not a rational World anymore, it’s a fake narrative World by Entities that want to have top down control of the populations.
    Ever notice how they glorify criminals, and want to release them, yet the general population has to be locked down.
    De-fund the police, with Big Corporations donating to BLM and Antifa who were looting and burning down small business mostly, while fake news labeled them mostly peaceful protestors.
    But, label 75 million or more Trump supporters terrorist who had nothing to do with the breach of the Capital building .
    They stole the election, because they couldn’t really win based on their agendas that require false narratives, . 24/7 brainwashing
    Fake news interfered with the 2020 election by the suppression of news and facts regarding the Biden Crime family, that the public deserved to know. Yet they promoted the Russian Hoax that was a Hilary paid for smear campaign to interfere with her opponent Trump and take the heat off her own violations of law,
    that should of disqualified her for the Oval Office close to a election.
    All fake narratives necessary so that the people are denied right to weigh the facts to protect themselves from fraud.

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