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If They’re Not Going To Get A Deal, They’re Not Going To Buy

A report from the Wall Street Journal. “The bubble has room to grow before it bursts, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. But it is inflating fast. Bruce McNeilage began building houses to rent out around Nashville, Tenn., in 2005. These days Kinloch can borrow far more from a commercial real estate lender forging into suburban rentals. Mr. McNeilage’s problem is that others are bidding up houses and lots. ‘I am boxed out,’ he said. ‘There’s too many people chasing things and they’re willing to overpay. It’s silly money right now.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Paul Kershaw, associate professor at the University of B.C., said incomes for millennials and young Gen-Xers aren’t keeping up, and home ownership for those younger Canadians is generally down. ‘Their earnings after inflation have gone down by comparison to decades ago, while we have tolerated an economy that’s lost complete control over home prices. The conclusion needs to be if a pandemic induced recession is unable to slow down home prices in Canada, then we have to recognize that even if it’s unintentional, our housing system is designed in order for home prices to leave earnings behind.'”

“Realtor Shali Tark, who specializes in the Richmond market, said she’s already seeing signs of change. Buyers might have reached a ceiling in terms of what they can pay, and borrow. ‘I’m starting to see the shift now, back to where prices have gone up so much for certain assets that I can’t guide my clients to pay more in this market, and we have to wait and see if other properties offer better value. Also, the buyers are exhausted and aren’t able to pay more. Another one of the trends I’m starting to see for single family homes in Richmond is buyers who aren’t following through with a sale because they can’t get their financing.'”

“Some lenders aren’t willing to finance a house that has gone up $400,000 in a month, for example.”

From Bloomberg on New York. “Manhattan homebuyers are coming back to the market they left a year ago. Just don’t expect them to overpay. Of the 2,457 homes that sold in the quarter, 97 per cent closed at or below the asking price – the highest share since 2009. ‘If they negotiate a deal, they’re going to sign,’ said Steven James, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s New York City office. ‘And if they’re not going to get a deal, or if the sellers are still unreasonable, they’re not going to buy. There are a lot of offers being placed, but not all the offers are being accepted.'”

From Brownstoner in New York. “The lavish corner limestone at 17 Prospect Park West across from Prospect Park is back with a price cut. The Montrose Morris-designed Park Slope mansion has been on and off the market several times since being snapped up by an LLC in 2015 for $12.4 million. Most recently asking $12.9 million, it’s now listed for $12.25 million — that’s $150,000 less than the current owner paid for it.”

The New York Post. “‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Jen Shah was arrested for alleged money laundering and defrauding hundreds of elderly people in a telemarketing scam. But her alleged victims weren’t the only ones getting faked out — so were Bravo fans. The $3.9 million Salt Lake City rental actually never belonged to Shah, The Post has learned. Off of reality TV, and in actual reality, Shah’s longtime home is located in Sandy, Utah, which she owned with her husband from 2004 until she sold it at a loss in June 2020. They initially purchased the home for only $302,069. It eventually sold for $213,000.”

The Connecticut Mirror. “Last November, Nicolas Rodriguez and his wife Carmen had to scale back their hours at the medical equipment factory where they have worked for 21 years. His wife has been sick for months and needs another surgery on her gallbladder, but the high deductible for her first surgery, along with the mortgage on their Hamden home, drained their savings.”

“Anxiety cripples him. He can’t pay for the next surgery his wife needs or the mortgage for the home his three children need. Nicolas and Carmen are undocumented immigrants and don’t qualify for state health insurance, they earn too much to get help from any of the nearby hospitals’ charitable programs, and Nicolas was turned away when he sought mortgage assistance from the state.”

“‘I’m really feeling a lot of pressure about how to pay all of these bills and cover the costs,’ Rodriguez said. ‘I tapped into my savings. I’ve spent all of my savings to keep up with the mortgage. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to make the payments in the future. I’m living day-to-day. We’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s terrifying.'”

“The Rodriguez family is not alone. Across Connecticut, lower-income families are facing foreclosure at higher rates, renters are facing a wave of evictions, and a hot housing market and ever-changing banking rules are putting home-ownership further out of reach. At least one out of every 14 residential mortgages in Connecticut was delinquent or in foreclosure in February, the 13th-highest rate in the United States and well above the state’s pre-pandemic level, according to the real estate data firm Black Knight.”

“But in ZIP codes in Connecticut where more people of color live, there are much higher rates of people behind on their mortgages or in forbearance, a special agreement with the lender to avoid foreclosure, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta show. For example, in the Hill neighborhood in New Haven, one out of every nine residential mortgages was behind in November.”

“In Southwest Connecticut, one out of every six homeowners with a Federal Housing Association mortgage — designed for low- to moderate-income borrowers — were seriously behind on Aug. 31, the seventh-highest rate of the country’s 169 largest metro areas, according to an analysis of federal data by the conservative think-tank the American Enterprise Institute. In New Haven and its nearby suburbs, one in eight FHA homeowners were behind, the 22nd-highest rate in the country.”

“Given that FHA mortgages make up 20% of Connecticut’s housing market, the number of people more than 90 days behind on their mortgages offers some insight into how profoundly the pandemic has affected the state’s lower-income homeowners, said Jeff Gentes, an attorney at the center specializing in foreclosure prevention.”

“‘This give us a sense of how pronounced the fallout will be,’ Gentes said. ‘The question is, have we provided enough income support for some people and temporary mortgage relief to stave off a housing market-triggered recession?'”

The Dayton Beach News Journal in Florida. “Realtors in the Volusia-Flagler area now outnumber the amount of active property listings by a ratio of at least 3-to-1, according to Geri Westfall Adams, the broker/owner of Geri Westfall Real Estate in Ormond Beach. At last count, the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors had 2,700 members, and the Flagler County Association of Realtors had close to 1,300. And that’s not counting the West Volusia Association of Realtors and New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors.”

“When the last real estate boom crashed with the onset of the Great Recession in 2007, the number of members belonging to the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors plunged from 3,600 to just 1,200, recalled Geri Westfall Adams. While she doesn’t anticipate a sudden real estate market collapse this time around, she said she would not be surprised to see a large number of Realtors decide to drop out.”

“‘A lot of agents don’t even have a listing right now,’ she said. ‘If they’re not doing any sales and not getting any new listings, they don’t want to pay their dues and end up giving up their license.'”

“Maxine Johnson and her husband recently sold in Ormond Beach’s Chelsea Place community on March 28, 2021. While there have been many reports of homes being put under contract the same day they were put on the market, Jared and Maxine Johnson wound up waiting 85 days to finally get an acceptable offer on their 3-bedroom, 2-bath home. The big challenge was the fact that it sits on a small lot behind the Panera Bread-anchored shopping center next door.”

“‘We had more than one offer, but not at the same time,’ said their Realtor, Geri Westfall Adams. The Johnsons wound up selling their home for $385,000, down from their original asking price of $410,000. They bought the house brand new in 2017 for $350,000. ‘They essentially broke even after closing costs,’ said Adams.”

“Alisa Rogers, board president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors, said more homes could start to come on the market as more people get their COVID-19 vaccinations. ‘I do think that by next year or by the end of this year, we’ll see more homes on the market. We also could see some foreclosure and short-sales,’ said Rogers.”

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This Post Has 105 Comments

  1. ‘Some lenders aren’t willing to finance a house that has gone up $400,000 in a month, for example’

    Now that’s some sound lending!

  2. ‘A lot of agents don’t even have a listing right now…If they’re not doing any sales and not getting any new listings, they don’t want to pay their dues and end up giving up their license’

    A housing bubble makes you poor and then it pops.

    ‘The Johnsons wound up selling their home for $385,000, down from their original asking price of $410,000. They bought the house brand new in 2017 for $350,000. ‘They essentially broke even after closing costs’

    See, even in the red hotcakes buying and selling shacks to each other is an unproductive, stupid exercise. Oh some make money, mostly do nothing middle men and lazy crooks.

    1. ‘They essentially broke even after closing costs’
      ‘………………………………………….after closing costs’
      ‘………………………………………………….closing costs’

      I think people ignore that these exist in order to make themselves feel like a savvy investor. We’re getting booted out of our place after 5 years, as it will be sold. Offered to buy at Listing Price * .94, minus any needed maintenance cost. (don’t need realtors; updates needed for carpet, appliances, cabinets, countertop, painting)

      Landlord countered with Zestimate minus 2%. Sorry, my guy. Keep it, do the work, and sell for maybe the same net amount.

      Maybe if he’d offered a new Mercedes at that price. /s

        1. I think it’s that, plus he’s likely not planning to do much work, only carpet and some paint.

          To be fair, I’m confident some dum-dum will give him his asking price or more in this market. It’ll go on in late May or June. We’ll see if it’s timed right.

    2. “They essentially broke even after closing costs”

      The Johnsons don’t realize how lucky they are!

  3. ‘I’m really feeling a lot of pressure about how to pay all of these bills and cover the costs…I tapped into my savings. I’ve spent all of my savings to keep up with the mortgage. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to make the payments in the future. I’m living day-to-day. We’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s terrifying’

    Wow Nick, I can’t see how this is scary with all that sweet equity you got rolling in. I mean, this is the hottest of the hot. You can always sell, says UHS, even in this very article. Of course if 1 in 5 of the people of color around you are similarly fooked, after paying the UHS, etc, you may have to bring some mullah to the table, which you ain’t got!

    Golly, it’s almost like somebody is a lion.

    1. The article doesn’t say when these folks purchased the house. If it was more than, say, two years ago, they need to sell, pay for the wife’s surgery, start over and rent. Done. (I know someone who needed her gall bladder removed. It’s torture.) I guess I won’t ask how both of them were able to work illegally for over 20 years.

      1. Another gall bladder surgery? Didn’t they remove it the first time?

        And yeah, it’s interesting how two illegals have been gainfully employed for 20 years in a factory and have a 400k house.

        2. “And yeah, it’s interesting how two illegals have been gainfully employed for 20 years in a factory and have a 400k house.”

          Where’s the due diligence?

  4. Broomfield, CO Housing Prices Crater 14% YOY As Double Digit Price Declines Blanket Denver Area

    https://www.movoto.com/broomfield-co/market-trends/

    As a noted economist said, “I can ask $50k for my run down 10 year old Chevy pickup but where is the buyer at that price? So it is with all depreciating assets like houses and cars.”

  5. Let’s step back a bit and look at this picture. Last year, after the Chinese communist party and their fellow mass murderers like Fauci, released this virus and spread it around the world, we had this phony purposeful recession forced upon us. Probably to destroy the capitalism, help out the crooked, senile pedophile, move along the globalist/communist agenda, etc. But if you’ll recall, credit tightened up a lot. Then the globalists turned on their bubble games and voila! peoples greed took over.

    Just what we needed, right? Sure, just when faceless county health bureaucrats can suspend 600 years of common law property rights, it’s a great time to buy a shack! Millions of people lose their jobs, stop paying mortgages, and you end up like these fooked illegal aliens in Connecticut (remember how Obammie-era GSE’s kicked off the loans to illegals – consequences!)

    So many lies. And now we got the establishment gatekeeper media getting a little worried. Using the B word. We gotta do something or these corporations are gonna get their a$$es kicked. It was always going to end up this way.

    1. ‘Their earnings after inflation have gone down by comparison to decades ago, while we have tolerated an economy that’s lost complete control over home prices. The conclusion needs to be if a pandemic induced recession is unable to slow down home prices in Canada, then we have to recognize that even if it’s unintentional, our housing system is designed in order for home prices to leave earnings behind’

      You see how blatant it’s becoming? Let’s go back to last decade: that dog Bernanke said it straight out: we’re gonna blow housing back up to fix the damage from the housing bubble. Plenty of people said BS. Nobody stopped them though.

      It is intentional. Look at Australia and Canada. They don’t even hide it anymore.

    2. ‘It was always going to end up this way.’

      So true. People come to believe their own BS and think that they’re the master of the universe. People really are just like the villains in every James Bond movie, particularly the part where they get overconfident and screw it up. The ring of power is just too shiny to resist grasping for. It would be great comedy if they were the only ones getting hurt. Every so often they really screw it up, and civilization goes down with them.

      Evil plans are in motion, but the only thing that is certain is that they won’t turn out the way that evil people planned them. The stakes are getting higher. Somebody could get hurt.

      ‘Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.’
      — Mike Tyson

      At least the weather is beautiful and planting time is coming. I’m doing my best to feel Panglossian about it. Hopefully it all works out for the best. It’s better than getting angry about it. If we’re really lucky, we’ll never even know how close we came.

  6. “Anxiety cripples him. He can’t pay for the next surgery his wife needs or the mortgage for the home his three children need. Nicolas and Carmen are undocumented immigrants and don’t qualify for state health insurance, they earn too much to get help from any of the nearby hospitals’ charitable programs, and Nicolas was turned away when he sought mortgage assistance from the state.”

    Upsetting for sure. But in this market, probably cheaper to find a new wife. Keep the crap shack.

    1. The wife is sick. Solution: dump her in a landfill and get a healthy one, like she’s a dog. Days like this I’m glad I stayed single.

  7. From the last post….lol I love this. It sounds like some dates I went on.

    “One way that buyers in this hot real estate market are making their offers stand out is by waiving contingencies. ‘Our agents are basically asking the first question: just how uncomfortable do you want to get?’ said Earl Rozran, vice president of experience at Sereno Real Estate.”

    1. “Our agents are basically asking the first question: just how uncomfortable do you want to get?”

      Gawd, I hope the historians record this line accurately.

  10. ‘A man in the grocery store made an ominous gesture toward an Asian couple shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. Pointing his hand in a gun gesture, he said, “If I had an AK-47, I would kill you (expletive) Chinese right now.”

    ‘The incident, as related by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West during a recent Palo Alto Human Relations Commission meeting, is one of many examples of hate crimes county and city law enforcement and prosecutors are dealing with, they said.’

    ‘Hate crimes and hate incidents — demonstrations of hatred that are not associated with a criminal act — are rising dramatically in Santa Clara County and in Palo Alto, police and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said during a Palo Alto Human Relations Commission meeting in mid-March.’

    ‘The troubling trend caught the commission off guard. The rise was far steeper and the range of incidents were more alarming than they knew, said commission members, who have been aware of multiple hate incidents in the city since at least 2020.’

    ‘Chief Assistant District Attorney Jay Boyarsky, who spoke at the meeting, said there are hate incidents and hate crimes. While there are far fewer known hate crimes, the number of incidents is likely in the hundreds or thousands in Santa Clara County, and most of the crimes and incidents go unreported.’

    ‘In a recent hate crime in Palo Alto, where a panhandling woman attacked a man of Middle Eastern descent and beat him with a laptop, one could argue she attacked him because he didn’t give her money when she asked.’

    ‘The incidents were disturbing, the commissioners said, after West described the details. In one case, the defendant overheard his neighbor speaking to his sons in Hebrew in the backyard and began yelling through the fence, “You Jewish? What language do you speak? I’m going to show you,” and then sprayed them with a hose. A young Hispanic gang member told an older Black woman sitting on a park bench to “get her Black a– out of there or he would kick her in the face” and he called her the “N word” several times. In Mountain View, a woman approached an Asian couple having lunch, spat on them and told them to go back to their country. A man in an apartment told his neighbor and the neighbor’s girlfriend to go back to Africa, to go back to being slaves and picking cotton. He threatened to get someone with a gun to go after them and threatened to smash their car windows, then made a hand gesture simulating a noose.’

    https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2021/04/02/hate-incidents-in-palo-alto-santa-clara-county-jump-dramatically

    1. But this is vibrant and diverse Santa Clara county, in the heart of wokifornia. Racism there is unpossible.

      1. “But this is vibrant and diverse Santa Clara county…”

        Indeed, and also some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

        1. I wonder if the grocery store incident was at the Safeway in Santa Clara? I’ve been on the receiving end of glares from vibrants and H1-B’s in that store.

    2. The only time in the USA I received a verbal lashing for speaking a foreign language in public was in beautiful tolerant Southern California.

  11. If you give them free money…it’s racist.

    If you don’t give them free money…it’s racist.

    “But in ZIP codes in Connecticut where more people of color live, there are much higher rates of people behind on their mortgages or in forbearance, a special agreement with the lender to avoid foreclosure, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta show.”

    1. “If you don’t give them free money…it’s racist.”

      That’s today, in case any underrepresented minority group member is denied a loan to purchase whatever kind of house they want to buy at whatever price the seller asks.

      “If you give them free money…it’s racist.”

      This comes later, post bubble collapse, when people who were handed out loans like candy realize that they owe more on their loans than what their homes are worth.

      1. realize that they owe more on their loans than what their homes are worth

        That doesn’t sound like free money to me. If you have to pay it back, it isn’t free.

  13. ‘There’s too many people chasing things and they’re willing to overpay. It’s silly money right now.’

    Glad everyone is in agreement that we are in a mania, and it’s only a matter of time before prices return to planet earth after straying off into outer space.

    1. “The bubble has room to grow before it bursts…”

      Would now be a good time to buy a home, just before the bubble bursts and everyone’s loans go underwater?

        1. Seems like a lot of folks are planning to get on board the bubble as it is still rocketing up, on the presumption that they will be able to offload before it collapses.

          The exit could get crowded quickly!

    2. “Bruce McNeilage began building houses to rent out around Nashville, Tenn., in 2005.”

      The property bubble extends about a sixty mile radius around Nashville.

      Small businesses out here in SoCA are still closed or operating at reduced capacity….restaurants, nail and hair salons, etc. So I was thinking how can this conflagration n the real estate market be happening? Right now the bubble fever seems worse than any other time in the last 10 years. My only explanation….fraudulent PPP loans. The money has to be coming from somewhere and it’s not a booming economy. The only thing left is government largesse and sketchy lending.

  14. “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Jen Shah was arrested for alleged money laundering and defrauding hundreds of elderly people in a telemarketing scam. But her alleged victims weren’t the only ones getting faked out — so were Bravo fans. The $3.9 million Salt Lake City rental actually never belonged to Shah, The Post has learned.”

    Reminds me of the day my former SIL, a lifelong Utahn, described her home state to me as ‘the scam capital of the world.’

  15. Another sign of the K recovery. See below for subprime auto borrowing trends vs new car sales that are increasing.


    A greater share of people with low credit scores has been falling behind on their car payments in recent months, a sign of stress among consumers whose finances have been hit hard by the pandemic.

    Some 10.9% of subprime borrowers with outstanding auto loans or leases were more than 60 days past due in February, up from 10.7% in January and 8.7% a year prior, according to credit-reporting firm TransUnion. It marked the sixth consecutive month-over-month increase and the highest level in monthly data going back to January 2019.

    More than 9% of subprime auto borrowers were more than 60 days past due in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly figure in data going back to 2005.

    The missed payments are increasing in what has otherwise been a period of relatively low consumer delinquencies, with stimulus payments, unemployment benefits and other measures keeping many borrowers afloat. The rising subprime delinquencies point to an uneven economic recovery and a deep divergence between those who can navigate the coronavirus downturn and those who can’t.

    1. I read somewhere that new car sales are approaching the 17 million per year rate. Allegedly people are worried about future supply (due to rumors of parts shortages, especially electronics) and are buying now.

      1. Car electronics is old technology but proven under harsh car operation conditions. I was talking to one of our foundry Directors that work directly with TSMC and other foundries. He said its all kinds of big companies horse trading wafer starts right now.

        Program mangers that pissed off the suppliers in the past are getting fired because they cant get wafers ( chips ) out . One company that happened to has a name like a comic book movie series.

        1. Car electronics is old technology but proven under harsh car operation conditions.

          Certainly true for components that make cars go (ECU’s, etc.). But there is also a lot of gadgetry in cars that has nothing to do with the drivetrain, starting with that great big touch screen in the middle of the dashboard, which you must have for the back up camera. Then there are all those sensors that warn you when backing up, blind spots, lane drift, etc. I do wonder what the durability of those gadgets will be. Will they conk out after five years and require a pricey repair job, assuming the parts are even available?

          1. “Then there are all those sensors that warn you when backing up, blind spots, lane drift, etc. I do wonder what the durability of those gadgets will be.”

            In light vehicle crashes all the electronic stuff in the damage area is replaced, not tested. In the Honda line-up the difference between EX-L vs Touring trim levels is mostly electronics, and the higher insurance cost reflects that.

          3. Didn’t we read some article about the sensors on self-driving cars not surviving a typical car wash?

            Other than Teslas crashing when on auto pilot, we don’t hear much about self driving cars these days. I remember a few years ago when we were told that they were doing great and that they would soon be ubiquitous.

    2. Not to mention the fact auto demand has been collapsing since March 2020. Now manufacturers are shutting production using the excuses, “we’re running out of computer chips”.

      We looked at a Caddy CT5 back in December and test drove. The salesmen has called twice a month ever since. I saved his last voicemail. He used the word “desperate” when describing level of activity.

      1. It’s not a K recovery, it’s a K economy.

        Those old TV shows where dad worked at a supermarket or pumped gas, and the family lived a middle class lifestyle must look like satire to today’s youngsters.

          1. Median wages are up 655% since 1971. Housing prices? Over 1500%.

            Can you say fraud? Market rigging? Price fixing?

      2. It’s not a K recovery, it’s a K economy.

        Sorry – i dont understand what you are saying. Are you saying that the economy is forever changed – and it will be K going forward?

        1. The first three years of the DJT presidency were the only time in my life that the working class saw real wage gains. Welcome to the recoveryless recovery.

  16. And as any true fan knows, in the “Real Housewives” universe, few things are more shameful than renting your own home. After all, Bravo daddy Andy Cohen once famously shaded those who choose to rent.

    “I don’t understand the concept of renting at all,” the “Real Housewives” executive producer, 52, told Forbes in 2019. “It’s just throwing money away. Especially a huge home. I don’t get it.”

    …

    Later in the article

    “However, off of reality TV, and in actual reality, Shah’s longtime home is located in Sandy, Utah, which she owned with her husband, University of Utah football coach Sharrieff Shah, 50, from 2004 until she sold it at a loss in June 2020. They initially purchased the home for only $302,069. It eventually sold for $213,000.”

    Well, it was still cheaper than renting!

  17. OK First things First……….a national Paint the damn roads act. Its staggering how many times in my life you get blinded by oncoming traffic hit a patch of fog pouring rain, and the yellow double lines are impossible to see no reflection, and there are no white lines on the edge of the roads… everything is pitch black

    The energy secretary then hit back at criticisms by saying, “If you don’t like this, then come and tell us how you would pay for it.”

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/secretary-granholm-tax-hikes-middle-class-infrastructure

  19. Any thoughts on why big corporate investors are piling into single-family housing at this late stage of Housing Bubble 2.0?

    Seems like the Mom and Pop buyers face a lot of big money competition that didn’t exist before the Fed expanded the scope of its mission to include housing price control!

    1. I guess so long as everyone agrees that housing has nowhere to go but up, this news makes perfectly good sense.

      1. I guess so long as everyone agrees that housing has nowhere to go but up, this news makes perfectly good sense.
        Worked with a guy from Countrywide who was pretty high in the Countrywide MSR valuations group. He said that there were NO (zero/0/none) scenarios they ran at Countrywide where the HPI was negative. None. I Guess they were wrong and I am guessing “everyone” might be wrong here as well.

    2. Don’t despair just yet.

      62% of those who say they’ve gotten the COVID-19 vaccine believe it’s a good idea to require proof of vaccination

      So Rasmussen polled only those who have gotten the vaccine, which automatically excludes both young healthy people who are not yet even eligible, and refusers who are, well, refusing. So the result is skewed in favor of a passport before they ask a single question. Also, the question only said “proof of vaccination.” The respondents — remember they’re age 65+ — could have perceived it as a simple paper record, same as we have for MMR, polio, and TDeP. If Rasmussen had asked separate questions about paper cards and then about Biden’s 4th-Amd-violating social credit score smartphone app, I think we would have seen a different answer.

    3. Meanwhile, in the UK, Boris Johnson tells Brits who have had “the jab” that they can’t have anyone visit them, even if they also had the jab.

      The jab seems pretty worthless if you still have to hide under your bed after receiving it.

      1. The UK is a cuck country. And so is every other one that still has pictures of the queen on their money.

    4. vaccine passports
      Not quite the same thing but a friend of mine’s daughter was told by her corporate employer that she needed to get the vaccine. She does NOT want to get it. Her Mom (my friend) said call your brother and ask him what to do. (Her brother is an attorney) The attorney said (layman’s understanding and terminology from attorney’s verbiage) tell the Corporation, politely, that you are uncomfortable sharing your medical history with anyone except your Doctor. She asked “Can they fire me that not giving they my vaccination history?” He said, sure they can fire you, But you can get an attorney to gladly take your case the damage requests will start in the millions.
      I know there are a few other attorneys out here. Agree?

      1. Agree?

        Labor law is a minefield of state and federal laws. Avvo.com is a good place to search for an employment and labor attorney.

    5. …vaccine passports in order to get “back to normal.”

      What is normal about having to supply your medical history to your barber?

      The world has gone insane.

      1. Note the ever increasing use of “allow” – we hear that a lot here. Makes me crazy. Nevada is a completely different place than it was when we moved here 15 years ago.

  23. Just heard Katie Pavlich, a young lady on FOX speaking about the $2 trillion Biden infrastructure plan.

    “How did George Soros get rich? By destroying economies, by making people’s currency worth nothing. That’s exactly what he’s trying to do here.”

    “This is basically just the Green New Deal 2.0 under the guise of infrastructure with a whole bunch of Racial Justice, Social Justice causes baked in it.”

    1. on FOX speaking

      Wow, Katie said his name?! I thought it was “verboten” on Fox News. Just ask Melissa Francis. Her lawsuit claiming pay disparity probably didn’t help things either.

    1. If all goes well we’ll start building in a few months. Hoping the supply chain has settled out at that point.

      The upside of this is we’re looking at alternate/more solid forms of construction such as ICF and metal framing. It’s not much more expensive, more efficient, and safer (in tornado country).

      We still need to stick frame out the interior, so I’d like lumber (and steel and pretty much all housing inputs) to come down. We’re locked on the land at this point, but still 10 days away from close. Well gets drilled tomorrow.

        1. What do you think is impatience? Drilling a well to make sure there’s water at a sufficient depth and flow rate before executing a purchase?

          1. Let me get this straight – you’re drilling a well on a piece of property you don’t yet own? WOW.

          2. The owner hasn’t identified if there is water?

            And you signed a contract?

            🤣🤣🤣

          4. Yep, it was one of the contingencies on our offer. Land with no water isn’t very valuable to us 🙂

          5. Let me get this straight – you’re drilling a well on a piece of property you don’t yet own?

            He didn’t say who’s paying for it.

          6. He didn’t say who’s paying for it.

            I’m paying for it, but what’s the downside?

            I’d have to drill the well anyway if I were to purchase. So the only “negative” outcome is if I drill and there’s an issue — dry hole, or contaminated water that can’t be economically treated.

            It’s basically money well spent if an issue is found compared to the price of the property, and no additional cost if no issues are found. Not sure I see why folks are concerned, but /shrug…you do you and I’ll do me and get on with living the life I want to live.

    2. “Lumber continues to be absurd but thought this report of inventory stacking up, pun intended, was telling.”

      Thanks for posting.

      I had to buy 8 pieces of 5/8 CDX plywood Friday, it was $59.37 a sheet, three days earlier it was $56.57 and that was up from right at $50 when I bought 59 sheets March 21.

      I was fortunate that this was all on T and M jobs, I am however going to have to buy over 100 sheets pretty soon for a job the I had bid last year. I priced the plywood at $30 a sheet which was 10% over my cost at the time. I had already planned to hold off on buying the plywood for that job figuring the price would drop, so it was nice to see your post confirming my thoughts on the situation.

      1. You’re buying on a retail account at that price. Even retail 5/8CDX is under $45.

        We bought a trailer and a half of 1/2 and it was under 25 a sheet.

          1. Go to the contractor desk and setup a cash account for yourself. It’s 20-30% less.

          2. “Go to the contractor desk and setup a cash account for yourself. It’s 20-30% less.”

            That I will check on this week.

            If it works, I will have to check with my accountant on how to execute that strategy.

          3. “…. last week.”

            I believe you it just isn’t that way around here for me or anyone I know. Now I’ve seen this crazy sh#t happen with the price of drywall, metal studs and houses for that matter and sooner or later it pops and prices come back to earth. Some (material prices) quicker than others (housing prices).

            Back to the point of the original post by MGSpiffy on this subject, “inventory stacking up”. I honestly think these lumber prices are going to crash soon that’s why I’m holding off on my next, what for me is large purchase of over 100 sheets.

        2. “We bought a trailer and a half of 1/2 and it was under 25 a sheet.”

          A couple of months ago I bought 150 sheets of 5/8 CDX at $27 a piece but not now.

          2. Years ago I did a lot of work with a business owner from Taiwan. His story was that his path to millions started when he was a boy and he smuggled rice between provinces, on foot, with a back pack. He was playing a difference of a few pennies price.

      2. This account of yours is un-possible. You see, the Fed and our Soviet-style CPI data says our inflation rate is sub-2 percent.

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