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Sellers’ Normal First Reaction Will Be Denial

A report from WFMY in North Carolina. “‘It’s like Wal-Mart on Black Friday and TVs are on sale and we’re all waiting at the door to get in. That is the housing market right now,’ said Ashauna Harris, owner of Empire Realty Group.”

From Mass Live. “Redfin found the number of homes newly listed for sale surpassed 2019 levels during the four weeks that ended July 4. That’s the the first time this year that’s happened. Homebuying demand has also recently — somewhat — tapered off, according to pending sales data, Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index and Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey of number of mortgage applications. Realtor.com found similar indications in its June housing market report.”

“‘It seems that we’re at a turning point in the housing market, where prices have gone up so much that buyers are backing off and home sales are starting to get sluggish,’ said Daryl Fairweather. ‘Sellers are noticing this and are wanting to sell at the top — they feel like this is as good as it gets.'”

“It’s being observed nationally but, Fairweather said, pandemic-trendy metros — rural or suburban areas that people moved to to get out of dense cities — could be the first places to see home prices level off. Areas in rural Pennsylvania, for example, are already past their housing-price peak, Fairweather said.”

The Easy Valley Tribune in Arizona. “Has the time come for sellers to get nervous? After months of riding the wave of low inventory, big demand and quick turnovers, sellers may be headed for a rude awakening, according the Cromford Report, which closely tracks the housing market in Maricopa and Pinal counties. It noted that more homes are coming on the market and that its own index for measuring the markets in Phoenix and 16 other nearby communities is trending away from a sellers’ market.”

“‘The number of active listings is increasing by roughly 300 per week,’ Cromford said. ‘The number of showings is in decline and the number of contracts getting signed is getting smaller as each week goes by. All this makes sense,’ it continued. ‘When prices leap by over 35 percent, demand is suppressed and supply stimulated.'”

“Cromford said that while questions may arise as to when this downward trend will level out, ‘the honest answer is that no-one knows. Buyers are more cautious now than they were in 2005. Sellers’ normal first reaction will be denial. Some will blame their agent,’ it added, predicting: ‘These sellers will probably be complaining that they are not getting the viewings and offers their house deserves. This is because they have so quickly become accustomed to a frenzied market. They will now need to get re-adjusted.'”

From WPRI. “If the state’s housing market has been less than kind to you recently, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors has some encouraging news The state’s housing inventory nearly doubled from May to June, though President Leann D’Ettore cautioned it’s too soon to tell whether that trend will continue. ‘We were looking at around 800 to 850 listings available on the market in May, and in June, we were looking at about 1,500 listings,’ D’Ettore said.”

“Right now, D’Ettore said the median price for a single-family home in Rhode Island is $385,000, which is the highest number the organization has seen since it started recording data. What stands out most to D’Ettore is the number of homes that sold for a million dollars or more, which saw growth of 242% in June 2021 compared to June 2020. ‘It’s the highest percentage of that increase that we’ve ever seen,’ D’Ettore said.”

From CNBC. “The revived New York City real estate market is seeing strong demand and attractive prices relative to recent history, a top broker told CNBC. Christopher Kromer said potential buyers can still find reasonable opportunities, after real estate prices in the city were depressed during the height of the Covid pandemic. ‘For the most part, if you’re buying today, it’s probably less expensive than it would have been three or four years ago,’ he said.”

“Kromer said he believes the recent record median sales price is likely impacted by dynamics in the luxury market. ‘I think it’s probably tilted with a lot of high-end closings. The luxury market has been booming lately with a lot of discounts.’ The recent activity in the luxury market has not wiped away the city’s high inventory levels created by the pandemic, Kromer said. ‘What’s driving this are more realistic sellers and softer prices,’ the broker said. ‘We still are at near-record levels of inventory. So, the sellers are going down to meet the buyers at their prices. The buyers have options.'”

From The Real Deal. “The West Hollywood Edition may soon be up for grabs, The Real Deal has learned. The trendy 190-key hotel at 9040 Sunset Boulevard, owned and developed by the Witkoff Group and Howard Lorber’s New Valley, is being marketed for auction through a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure, according to marketing documents seen by TRD. The development also includes 20 luxury residential units — not included in the foreclosure.”

“Motcomb Estates, an investment vehicle for billionaire brothers Simon and David Reuben, is pursuing the UCC foreclosure against the property on behalf of Brentwood-based Ascendant Capital and the Reuben brothers, a spokesperson for the Reubens said. Ascendant could not be reached for comment. The brothers are major real estate investors in the U.K. who have made recent moves in the U.S., including a $275 million mezzanine loan for Michael Rosenfeld’s Century Plaza and a $170 million deal to buy a New York retail property from SL Green Realty. They helped Ascendant finance a mezzanine loan on the Edition, the spokesperson added.”

“Over the past year, lenders have sought to take advantage of distress in the market by initiating more of these foreclosures in an attempt to take control of properties. The Reuben brothers are no stranger to pursuing foreclosures. In March, they sued to foreclose on 15 unsold units at One Thousand Museum, a luxury condo tower in downtown Miami. The developers of the property called the lawsuit ‘completely unexpected.'”

The Morning Consult. “Tech-savvy millennials fled to the suburbs during the coronavirus pandemic, fueling a hot housing market that enabled nonbank and fintech mortgage companies to grab a big piece of the growing market share, churning out loans at a faster pace than more traditional bank lenders.”

“That booming market has so far shielded a vulnerability. Homeowners had multiple options to buoy their finances, from refinancing opportunities to extra unemployment insurance and stimulus checks. As those programs come to a close this year, most homeowners that took advantage of coronavirus-era policies to delay their loans have now exited forbearance, staving off a widespread, 2008-style foreclosure crisis that many feared at the start of the pandemic.”

“The risk is especially high for servicers of Ginnie Mae securities, where nonbanks dominate — roughly 75 percent as of the end of June, according to the mortgage analytics company Recursion. Ginnie Mae guarantees securities backed by loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Program for Veterans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Housing Programs and a Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian Housing program.”

“The cost of servicing a delinquent loan is also more expensive than it was in 2008 due to CFPB regulations, said Richard Koss, chief research officer at Recursion and a former economist at Fannie Mae, putting pressure on this newly powerful crop of servicers. ‘During the financial crisis, there were all of these horror stories about people at servicers just not answering their phone calls, and people lost their homes because they just didn’t know what their options were,’ Koss said. ‘Servicing is a money-making machine in a boring market, but if things turn bad and people stop paying, it’s not so fun anymore.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “The Toronto-area real estate market appears to be taking a bit of a breather in July. June marked the third consecutive month in which sales declined in the Greater Toronto Area. ‘Things are kind of trodding along,’ says Davelle Morrison, a real estate agent with Bosley Real Estate Ltd. ‘It feels like it’s slow.'”

“Ms. Morrison listed a one-bedroom-plus-den unit at 76 Shuter Street with an asking price of $640,000 – and instead of setting a date for submitting bids, she’s accepting offers any time. Potential buyers are booking showings, she says. But so far, the unit hasn’t sold, despite the fact that it’s close to the Eaton Centre’s shopping and dining.”

“She also listed a condo in the Yorkville area for $1.25-million, but it did not sell when she put it on the market in May. And when she compared her listing with others on the market at the same time, only two of 16 had sold, she says. Ms. Morrison plans to bring the listing back out in the coming weeks at a lower price of $1.15-million. Meanwhile, the west end is loaded with the huge developments at Cityplace and Liberty Village, among other projects.”

The Daily Record in the UK. “94% of people who had purchased a home since March 2020 said they had felt under pressure to buy quickly, typically taking just 46 minutes to view their property, Aviva found. Around nine in 10 (92%) pandemic buyers had found problems that they had not noticed during the viewing. Shockingly some 50% of people who had agreed on a purchase during the pandemic said they now regret the price they agreed to.”

“The insurer interviewed 2,200 UK home owners, including 500 who had agreed a purchase between March 2020 and June 2021. Nearly a quarter (23%) of those who bought between March 2020 and June 2021 said they agreed a figure over the asking price. A third (34%) of people buying during the pandemic said they were spurred on by the stamp duty holiday and 32% did not want to miss out on homes selling fast. A similar number (30%) said they had lost out on other properties because they had not made an offer quickly enough.”

“Owen Morris, managing director, personal lines, Aviva said: ‘Our research reveals many people are finding problems with their properties only when it’s too late. These range from more minor irritations, such as the need to decorate, to more worrying problems such as crumbling brickwork or a risk of flooding. It can be easy to fall in love with a home on first viewing, but we’d urge people to do their homework and proceed with caution when making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.'”

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This Post Has 114 Comments

  1. Charlotte, TN Housing Prices Crater 21% As Rural Lot And Bulk Land Values Plunge

    https://www.movoto.com/charlotte-tn/market-trends/

    As a national land broker explained, “There is a globe full of land were fully 95% of it goes undeveloped. Land is essentially worthless dirt. If you paid more than $500 an acre, you got ripped off.”

      1. “Realtors are liars.”

        “Train your children to throw rocks at them.”

        Wrong! Become a banker and convince these lying realtors to send their marks to your bank.

  3. ‘Servicing is a money-making machine in a boring market, but if things turn bad and people stop paying, it’s not so fun anymore’

    Translation = it’s all fun and games til somebody loses an eye. This non-bank issue has been sitting there growing like a bomb for years. I worked with a lot of “servicers” on the property preservation side. It’s a revolving door of know nothings and half a$$ed training. You know who is going to have this dropped in their lap? People who haven’t been hired yet and never working in the industry. I’d bet a bunch of the non-banks will just unplug the phones and disappear.

    1. ‘During the financial crisis, there were all of these horror stories about people at servicers just not answering their phone calls, and people lost their homes because they just didn’t know what their options were,’ Koss said. ‘Servicing is a money-making machine in a boring market, but if things turn bad and people stop paying, it’s not so fun anymore.’”

      speaking of unplugged phones, I just had a new user agreement pop-up when logging in to my credit union this morning. I actually took the time to read it & right in the middle of the legalese was: “you agree to notify us immediately if you change, cancel, or modify your cell phone.”
      thought “immediately” was pretty strong language . . refused to sign the agreement, then found out I couldn’t even logout without another pop-up demanding I sign.
      I mean, JFC! you can’t even LOGOFF a website without demands to sign a legal agreement? that’s like locking the lobby doors & refusing exit unless you sign away your rights.

      what.the.hell?!?!

      yep, things are getting desperate for the bankers and they are covering. their. arzes.
      they learned big time from the last downturn – – the proles WILL NOT EASILY ESCAPE their obligations!

      1. then found out I couldn’t even logout without another pop-up demanding I sign.

        You can just close the browser. If it’s a phone app, you can just close the app.

        I suppose they can refuse you online service until you agree to their online terms,

        1. in colorado
          yer missing the forest for the trees. I KNOW I can “just close the browser.” the point is, why should I HAVE TO !?
          when normal business activity is suspended to gain a one-sided advantage, you have to ask yourself that eternal question: WHY?

          we both know the answer

          1. FWIW, my credit union will periodically require me to use a code they send me via SMS to login on my desktop. After I’ve entered the code I click “remember this device” and it remembers it for a few months and doesn’t ask me for the special code again.

            I don’t use the credit union’s phone app, so for all I know they do the same thing as yours with phones. As far a I can tell, it’s done for security, to keep people from hacking into your account. I’m going to guess that if you tried to login from a friend’s phone, they will reject your login, so perhaps that’s why they want you to update your phone #.

  4. ‘The number of active listings is increasing by roughly 300 per week,’ Cromford said’

    Wah happened to my shortage Cromford?

    ‘The number of showings is in decline and the number of contracts getting signed is getting smaller as each week goes by. All this makes sense,’ it continued. ‘When prices leap by over 35 percent, demand is suppressed and supply stimulated’

    Something these clowns won’t say is that it was entirely predictable. But go back and read their cheer leading prior. Now it’s the “nobody knows” thing. Prices up 35%, if true, highly suspect, is bat sh$t crazy, and they knew that. The whole REIC did.

    1. Shortage of supply –at least in used SFH –was offset by some of the demand removing itself, and by owners finally putting marginal/zombie houses on the market.

      Example: A zombie(?) fixer house on my block was just put up for sale, very similar to mine. It was a grandma-finally-died house, and I guess she picked a good time to die. The house shows decades of deferred maintenance — by my estimation, $80 to pass an inspection, $120K to be made nice. Even in its sorry state, the poor shack still went pending for $25K over what I paid for mine in 2012. And it’s worth doing the renovation. Even at the high renovation cost, any flipper can easily make $50K profit.

      2. We have two houses in our area that fit that description. One was vacant for 18-20 years or so. Owners live not far away and would stop by every now and then. They finally sold, thank goodness as the place was an eyesore.

        The other was owned by an older couple one of whom recently passed. Tons of deferred maintenance. I didn’t realize how bad it was, i.e. stove didn’t work, or I would’ve prompted them to get some assistance. He was a vet so he may have qualified for something from the VA. In any case, we got her moved to a 55+ community where they have breakfast everyday and social hour at night so she is in a much better setting. She got about $80k more than we paid for our place back in 2012ish and it is practically a tear down.

        1. “we got her moved to a 55+ community”

          That was very nice of you to help out your elderly neighbor. Americans do this kind of thing all the time out of the goodness of the hearts, but it rarely gets reported. Way to go 🙂

  5. It had three small rooms just another shanty anyways.
    She was out shopping houses with a realtor on a saturday.
    And at dinner time she signed a contract on a shack in suburban DC.
    The realtor hollered Hey theres no need to stamp your little feet.
    Then he said I got some news this morning from Rocket Mortgage.
    Today you’re deep in mortgage debt so go and jump from the nearest bridge.

    https://youtu.be/nv33eaygVDQ
    Bobby Gentry – Ode to Billy Joe

    Falmouth, ME Housing Prices Crater 21% YOY As The Long Flatulent Sound Of Toxic Gas Escapes From Housing Bubble

    https://www.movoto.com/falmouth-me/market-trends/

  6. ‘Sellers are noticing this and are wanting to sell at the top — they feel like this is as good as it gets’

    Inventory pouring onto the market at a perceived peak is proof these people were speculating all along.

    ‘We were looking at around 800 to 850 listings available on the market in May, and in June, we were looking at about 1,500 listings’

    DONG!

    ‘Right now, D’Ettore said the median price for a single-family home in Rhode Island is $385,000, which is the highest number the organization has seen since it started recording data. What stands out most to D’Ettore is the number of homes that sold for a million dollars or more, which saw growth of 242% in June 2021 compared to June 2020. ‘It’s the highest percentage of that increase that we’ve ever seen’

    And this does what to the median price? Like the NYC article, prices can be sinking like a turd in a well – for years – and the median statistic shows an increase.

    1. “Right now, D’Ettore said the median price for a single-family home in Rhode Island is $385,000, which is the highest number the organization has seen since it started recording data.”

      Rhode Island is a beautiful state but some counties have some of the highest property taxes in the country plus the average state income tax Is around 5%. A $400k house could easily cost you $800 a month in property taxes.

  7. ‘She also listed a condo in the Yorkville area for $1.25-million, but it did not sell when she put it on the market in May. And when she compared her listing with others on the market at the same time, only two of 16 had sold, she says. Ms. Morrison plans to bring the listing back out in the coming weeks at a lower price of $1.15-million. Meanwhile, the west end is loaded with the huge developments’

    Chase that market down Davelle.

    1. Ms. Morrison plans to bring the listing back out in the coming weeks at a lower price of $1.15-million.

      If the Fed’s Everything Bubble bursts “in the coming weeks,” the Yellen Bux valuations of such insanely overpriced condos are going to plummet. This is as good as it gets, Ms. Morrison-Greedhead.

  8. ‘they had felt under pressure to buy quickly, typically taking just 46 minutes to view their property, Aviva found. Around nine in 10 (92%) pandemic buyers had found problems that they had not noticed during the viewing. Shockingly some 50% of people who had agreed on a purchase during the pandemic said they now regret the price they agreed to’

    ‘they agreed a figure over the asking price. A third (34%) of people buying during the pandemic said they were spurred on by the stamp duty holiday and 32% did not want to miss out on homes selling fast. A similar number (30%) said they had lost out on other properties because they had not made an offer quickly enough’

    ‘one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives’

    The winnahs!

    Urgency and shortages are the oldest snake oil tricks in the book.

    1. “Urgency and shortages are the oldest snake oil tricks in the book.”

      Yep, they are used because they work.

  9. The development also includes 20 luxury residential units — not included in the foreclosure.”

    Does the homeless encampment on the sidewalk outside convey with the property?

  10. Oh dear…

    ‘A group seeking to ensure that elections are run fairly said this week that an in-depth analysis of mail-in ballot images obtained through a court order shows that the hand-count audit in Fulton County, Georgia, last year “was riddled with massive errors and provable fraud.”

    ‘The analysis turned up at least 36 batches of mail-in ballots, containing 4,255 votes, that were added redundantly to the audit results, according to Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia (VoterGA). Nearly 3,400 were for Democrat Joe Biden.’

    ‘The team examining the ballots also found seven audit tally sheets (pdf) they believe were falsified to contain fabricated vote totals. In one example, the group said, a batch containing 59 ballot images for Biden and 42 for former President Donald Trump was reported as 100 for Biden and zero for Trump.’

    ‘The analysis revealed that 923 (60 percent) of the 1,539 mail-in ballot batch files contained votes that were incorrectly reported in the county’s official 2020 election result, compared to the audit totals, VoterGA said.’

    “We believe that there is massive audit errors,” Garland Favorito, founder of the group, told a press conference in Georgia on July 13.’

    ‘The group received the images as part of a court case after it petitioned in late 2020 to get clearance to inspect all mail-in ballots cast in the county in the 2020 election, alleging that fraud took place. The petition cited witnesses to the alleged fraud, including Favorito and other poll watchers and workers.’

    ‘Asked about the new claims, a Fulton County spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email: “This is related to a matter that is the subject of pending litigation. Therefore, we do not wish to respond.”

    ‘Favorito said elected officials have known about the discrepancies “for a long, long time,” and he accused them of having “covered it up.” Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), who is challenging Raffensperger in the Republican secretary of state primary, in a video called on him to resign.’

    “In Fulton County, there is now undeniable proof of voter irregularity if not outright voter fraud,” he said, pointing to the evidence presented by VoterGA.’

    ‘Raffensperger has claimed that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which saw Biden beat Trump in Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes, out of over 4.9 million cast.’

    ‘Trump said in a statement on July 14: “The news coming out of Georgia is beyond incredible. The hand recount in Fulton County was a total fraud! They stuffed the ballot box—and got caught. We will lose our Country if this is allowed to stand.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/election-integrity-group-analysis-of-ballot-images-in-georgia-county-shows-provable-fraud_3901787.html

    2. The libs will never believe the evidence. To them, there is no evidence and every source is compromised. If we were to pick a moment that the country was lost, it’s the moment that John Roberts refused to hear that Texas case.

        2. Went to HS in the Bronx with Roberts’ wife, same small class all four years. I saw articles about the strange adoptions (and speculation regarding them) over the years but didn’t realize she was the momma until last year. Just surprised, for no particular reason.

      2. I’m still waiting for an explanation as to how he managed to adopt two children from Ireland when adoption of Irish children by non Irish nationals living outside Ireland is ILLEGAL. How this didn’t come up during his confirmation hearing tells you more than you want to know about who runs Washington DC. His kids were either kidnapped or illegally trafficked out of Ireland or both. There is no gray area.

        1. Lin Wood has whistleblower testimony that it was arranged by Eptstein in order to gain entry into The Club.

  11. Shockingly some 50% of people who had agreed on a purchase during the pandemic said they now regret the price they agreed to’

    This is my shocked face. Oh, and realtors are liars.

  12. Comrade Pelosi and the DNC “leadership,” as well as their FBI Chekists, took a knee for these commies. Isn’t that special.

    Black Lives Matter blames US, praises Cuban regime, social media erupts

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/black-lives-matter-blames-us-praises-cuban-regime-social-media-erupts

    Black Lives Matter faced fierce criticism late Wednesday after posting a statement that blasted the U.S. and praised Cuba’s government while the island was destabilized by historic protests and violent crackdowns.

    The statement – originally posted on Instagram and later tweeted and retweeted – blamed the U.S. embargo for the country’s instability and credited the Cuban government for historically granting “Black revolutionaries” asylum.

  13. Taper tantrum time?

    “Homebuying demand has also recently — somewhat — tapered off, according to pending sales data, Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index and Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey of number of mortgage applications. Realtor.com found similar indications in its June housing market report.”

  14. “‘It’s like Wal-Mart on Black Friday and TVs are on sale and we’re all waiting at the door to get in. That is the housing market right now,’ said Ashauna Harris, owner of Empire Realty Group.”

    People are rushing to get into Wal-Mart because the prices have been lowered, but people are rushing to get into housing because prices are higher. The psychology that drives these two groups of buyers is different but their behavior is the same.

    There is a difference in the crowd psychology that drives these two groups of people.

    1. In the case of the sales at Wal-Mart price and value are NOT the same; the price is dropped but the perceived value remains fully intact, hence the rush of the masses into the store to take advantage of the intact values at the lower prices.

      But in the case of the current real estate buying mania price and value ARE the same which means rising prices translate into rising values. Those whose minds are possessed by the mania are willing to pay any price for this perceived value because they are convinced that these values will always go up. In a fanciful world of forever increasing home values it is not possible to overpay for a home.

      1. Also, the purchase of a T.V. at Wal-Mart is not normally seen as an investment decision, rather a T.V. is perceived by most people to be a consumption item; most people do not expect the value of their T.V. to increase over time. This perception does not apply when it comes to the valuation of houses.

      2. A key difference between the relationship between prices and demand at Walmart and in the used home market regards the buyer’s future plans.

        Since people assume they will use the cheap crap they buy at Walmart for a few months, then chuck it, it makes sense to wait until it’s on sale.

        By contrast, people buy homes with a plan to sell for later at a much higher price to pocket home equity gains, since real estate always goes up. High prices following a rapid pace of recent appreciation are favorable indicators of large future home equity wealth effects, and hence have the effect of driving demand to ever greater heights.

  15. “But go back and read their cheer leading prior.”

    “Prices up 35%, if true, highly suspect, is bat sh$t crazy, and they knew that. The whole REIC did.”

    They used what works. Using what works makes them money.

    The whole REIC knew it was bat sh$t crazy but bat sh$t crazy is what makes them money.

    Use what works.

  16. They work because people are stupid, not all people are stupid but enough people are stupid so as to make various time-worn persuasive tools work, and work well.

    1. “not all people are stupid”

      I think most (>98%) are stupid when it comes to mania and FOMO. They just accept, rationalize & fully participate.

    2. Dumb ’em down, and profit. Our taxpayer-funded system of public education dumbs ’em down, and guys like me get to profit.

      😁

        1. “In January, City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises first sounded the alarm, announcing the course failure rate for students nearly doubled during the Covid shutdown.”

          OMG, what is one to do?

          “A few months later, in May, North Avenue announced students would not be held back for failing classes.”

          No Child Left Behind.

    3. You just need a critical mass of people with buckets of money and boxes of stupid to keep it going. So long as the REIC can get financing into these people’s hands, the music can keep playing and the partiers can keep getting up and dancing. Not everyone needs to be stupid, just tge marginal home buyer.

    3. Whoa….

      Just a month ago, a PHD guy was spouting on TV that lumber prices are here to stay. His college should revoke his PHD.

  18. Deterrence? 🤣 See copper theft from Nevada factory.

    Where space exploration meets the cartels and their drug trafficking:

    “After the drugs have been crossed over, they will walk all night to get it across through here, and it even passes through SpaceX, making its way all the way to the bay and South Padre Island,” Yami asks.

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX Facility has some of the strictest security this state has seen, but this is not enough to deter smugglers.

    1. I’m sure the “campus” extends far beyond the buildings and launch site. I doubt the fringe areas are all that secure. Yeah, get too close to the launch pad and things will probably get interesting fast.

      1. I doubt the fringe areas are all that secure.

        You would be wrong.

        https://twitter.com/RudyMTweets/status/1404917614032338957:
        Just in: Cameron County District Attorney notifies #SpaceX Boca Chica that unauthorized road closures and enforcement by contracted security officers may be in violation of state laws including felonious impersonation of a public servant. #RGV
        @krgv

    1. I guess there is something to be said for a house that is say, 20+ years old. Especially in Colorado, where expansive soils are a common problem. I know a lot of people who replaced all their windows after 10 years or less, because of expansive soils, as not a single one would open anymore.

    1. I am reminded of a joke based on the paradox:

      A mathematician and a physicist line up on running tract. 100 yards away there is a lovely young lady eagerly waiting for the first one to reach her.

      That race rule is that a bell will sound, after which the contestants can reduce the distance by half. It will sound again after ten seconds, after which they can again reduce the distance by half, it will ring again after 5 seconds, then 2.5, and so forth.

      The first bell rings, and the mathematician, knowing that he will never reach the young lass, stays put.

      The physicist does move, knowing that he will get close enough to her for all practical purposes.

  23. South Africa deploys more than 20,000 troops as death toll tops 100

    South Africa calls up army reserves to assist police in quelling deadly unrest following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma.

    Bad for S.A. real estate ??

    1. Since in the riot areas there is nothing left to loot, the riots will end. But the stores will remain empty and I doubt any replacement merchandise will be shipped in, or that the stores will reopen anytime soon. When food supplies start to run out, it should get interesting again.

        1. You have to wonder how much of the country is without power or water right now. I read that a refinery was shut down by rioters. There goes the petrol and diesel.

    2. “Bad for S.A. real estate ??”

      I don’t know. Might be a boon for both stonks and housing judging by what has happened in this country.

  24. Markets
    ‘Bond King’ Gundlach says inflation environment today reminds him of the 1970s: ‘Jimmy Carteresque’
    Published Thu, Jul 15 2021 2:12 PM EDT
    Updated 12 Min Ago
    Maggie Fitzgerald
    Key Points
    – Doubleline Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said Thursday with inflation rising and Treasury yields remaining so low, U.S. bonds are essentially negative yielding assets.
    – “We’re talking about the CPI at 5.4%, and if we want to use the 10-year Treasury it’s not even at 1.4%, that’s a negative 4% interest rate. That’s Jimmy Carteresque,” Gundlach said.
    …

    1. Portfolio Perspective
      The best ways to invest when inflation takes off
      Published Thu, Jul 15 2021
      2:25 PM EDT
      Annie Nova
      Key Points
      — Inflation surged more in June than it has in more than 10 years, and the news has investors worried.
      — Rising prices can erode a portfolio’s profit.
      — But there are some moves investors can take to shield their money from inflation — and even take advantage of the environment, experts say.
      A customer shops for produce at a Chicago supermarket on June 10, 2021.
      Scott Olson | Getty Images

      Inflation surged more in June than it has in more than 10 years, and the news has investors worried.

      That’s because rising prices can erode a portfolio’s profit. Most simply, as the cost of living swells, your returns don’t go as far.

      That’s a particularly tough challenge for retirees, who may rely mostly on their investment yields to pay their bills, whereas younger people still have a salary. And then there’s the fact that inflation can cause the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, which tends to be bad for equities.

      “In general, inflation is usually negative for stocks,” said Amy Arnott, a portfolio strategist at Morningstar.
      …

      1. “She pointed to history: Between 1973 and 1981, inflation rose by more than 9% a year. During the same period, stocks shed about 4% annually.

        But don’t panic — doing so has never helped an investor.”

        That’s pretty bad…

        1. One thing I recall about inflation that seems to be missing from recent Fed inflation chatter:

          What Is a Fool in the Shower?

          “Fool in the shower” is a metaphor attributed to Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, who likened a central bank that acted too forcefully to a fool in the shower. The notion is that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once. This phrase describes a scenario where a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve, acts to stimulate or slow down an economy.

          The expression is best summed up as the scenario when central banks or governments overreact to swings in the economic cycle and loosen monetary and fiscal policies too far and too fast, without waiting to gauge the impact of their initial actions. When the fool realizes that the water is too cold, they turn on the hot water. However, the hot water takes a while to arrive, so the fool simply turns the hot water up all the way, eventually scalding themself.

          1. Yep. These idiots should have just monitored everything. Instead, they just dropped a QE bomb over the entire world. Methinks it was on purpose, to enrich their buddies beyond their wildest imaginations.

          2. Methinks it was on purpose, to enrich their buddies beyond their wildest imaginations.

            To hear Kashkari tell it, in the newest Fed documentary from PBS’ Frontline, “who cares if the rich are getting richer, if the poor are being helped as well? And in fact, that not enough is being done to help the poor so the Fed should yet increase its efforts.”

          3. “What Is a Fool in the Shower?”

            I prefer, “Riding the Tiger;” better consequences, IMHO.

    1. I love the race to the exits that ensues at the point of bubble collapse. It’s always exciting to witness, and the financiers’ claims that “noone could have possibly seen it coming” are predictably humorous.

  26. It’s like Wal-Mart on Black Friday and TVs are on sale and we’re all waiting at the door to get in. That is the housing market right now

    That analogy would be apt if TV’s quadrupled in price on Black Friday. And if they did, no one would be camping out, waiting to get in.

    Of course, TV’s are a disposable good. Buy one, watch it until it breaks, then throw it out. So you want to spend as little as possible*, because eventually its value will be zero, or negative if you have to pay to throw it away.

    *Unless you’re showing off your super duper, mega TV. But even then you will probably shop around and there won’t be any bidding wars for them.

    1. Of course houses would quickly drop to zero without an ongoing expenditure of money and labor to maintain them. But since real estate always goes up, it’s always worth the investment to purchase a house, no matter how high the price.

      Also noteworthy: Since home equity gains are not taxed up to $500,000, pouring sweat equity into a home purchase is a means to transform labor into wealth that is income-tax exempt…something I hadn’t considered previously.

      1. transform labor into wealth that is income-tax exempt

        I’d rather pay taxes on $50 than earn $5 tax free. Anyway, they should pay taxes on their “profit”.

        1. Well frankly I don’t understand the huge subsidies U.S. politicians dump on home ownership. Why should Big Brother care about whether I own a home or rent one?

          The market distortions created by ownership subsidies have served to greatly screw up a lot of people’s lives in this country.

    2. “Of course, TV’s are a disposable good. Buy one, watch it until it breaks, then throw it out.”

      Better yet just throw out your TV and don’t replace it. 10 years free of television…one of the best decisions I ever made.

  27. Anybody here one of the twelve that have Jen’s panties in a wad?

    White House slams Facebook as conduit for COVID-19 misinformation

    Reuters
    July 15, 2021
    4:03 PM EDT

    WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – Facebook is not doing enough to stop the spread of false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday, part of a new administration pushback on misinformation in the United States.

    Facebook, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, needs to work harder to remove inaccurate vaccine information from its platform, Psaki said.

    She said 12 people were responsible for almost 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. The finding was reported in May by the Center for Countering Digital Hate but Facebook has disputed the methodology.

    “All of them remain active on Facebook,” Psaki said. Facebook also “needs to move more quickly to remove harmful violative posts,” she said.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-surgeon-general-warns-over-covid-19-misinformation-2021-07-15/

    1. more quickly to remove harmful violative posts

      The administration needs to bring in some of their buddies from China to train them on how to protect our democracy.

  28. ‘But these numbers, as shocking as they are, don’t scratch the surface of the actual number of dead Americans, said McCullough.’

    “We have now a whistleblower inside the CMS, and we have two whistleblowers in the CDC. We think we have 50,000 dead Americans. Fifty thousand deaths. So we actually have more deaths due to the vaccine per day than certainly the viral illness by far. It’s basically propagandized bioterrorism by injection.”

    ‘McCullough added that “every single thing that was done in public health in response to the pandemic made it worse.”

    https://www.algora.com/Algora_blog/2021/06/27/dr-peter-mccullough-whistleblowers-inside-cdc-claim-injections-have-already-killed-50000-americans

    What’s the penalty for mass murder?

    1. I told an old electrician who said “anyone who doesn’t get the Covid vaccine is just stupid” I wouldn’t get the “jab” under any circumstance and it had already killed more young people than Covid ever did. He walked off the job in a huff.

      2. The central planners are 100% committed to jabbing everyone because their long term social engineering plan requires access to your biology. The current program is not achieving its goals so we should plan on a significant escalation in the near future. By the end of the year we will likely have another announced pandemic emergency accompanied by lockdowns and vaccine passports to enter the grocery store or have a job or collect their bail out money.

      3. “He walked off the job in a huff.”

        I’ve stopped trying to convince anyone I know of anything. Anyone who can’t see what’s going on by now is not going to be convinced by anything. Some people’s need to conform and believe in an authority figure that thinks for them is actually greater than their instinct for self-preservation. Some people willingly drink the kool aid even when they know what’s in it.

    3. What’s the penalty for mass murder?

      If you aren’t charged with a crime, there is no penalty. Mao and Stalin were never charged with any crimes, were they?

      Just who is going to charge the Davos crowd with a crime?

    4. A close MD friend of mine who is an assistant professor at a Univ Calif Medical Center said that she’s been seeing a lot of patients with suspected Covid-19 vaccine side-effects. There’s seems to be a lid that’s been put on everything related to Covid in California, especially at the UC Medical Centers (i.e., UCSF, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Riverside). I get the feeling that the physicians don’t feel safe talking about anything related to vaccine side-effects and Covid-19 in general. That’s why I’m not mentioning where my friend is or what department she’s from.

      As for hiding deaths caused by the Covid-19 vaccine, that’s not something that is easy to do. Physicians put their licenses on the line when they complete a death certificate. And besides, there are scores of people in a hospital who are involved in the care of patients, especially ones that die.

      Back during the AIDS epidemic, I investigated if doctors were trying to hide deaths due to AIDS because of the stigma, etc. We pulled all of the death certificates signed by physicians known to treat AIDS patients and examined the cause of death and contributing causes written on the death certificates. We found no instances of death certificates not being filled out correctly with “AIDS”. It was easy to flagged death certificates of potential AIDS victims since in the beginning, the vast majority of deaths were in relatively young white males. Men in this group don’t die in large numbers and if they do die, it’s from accidents, homicide or major medical condition (e.g., sudden cardiac death, etc.).

      So back then I was confident that physicians weren’t filling out death certificates incorrectly. As for today, I still think that it would be hard to hide a death caused by a side-effect of the Covid-19 vaccine. Deaths like that are very unusual–e.g., the heart and other inflammation episodes. They stick out like a sore thumb.

      Everything about this Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t make sense. The huge spike in deaths in India and Indonesia that recently occurred. The available data shows that Covid-19 deaths have peaked in both of those places and they are falling quickly.

      And there’s the insanity going on in Australia–no deaths yet they have shut down their country. It’s insane and you can’t trust anybody or any organization right now.

      1. “As for hiding deaths caused by the Covid-19 vaccine, that’s not something that is easy to do.”

        I didn’t think stealing an election in plain sight right in front of the whole GD world would be either but they did it.

        1. I heard whistleblowers say that Doctors are in denial about averse effects, and a nurse at nursing home said that they were “dropping like flies ” after getting the shot.
          The Medical system knows, but they are going along with the program. Also the anti vaccines movement had been gaining steam in recent years before Covid because of the damage caused by their regular vaccine programs.
          All the popular movements, including the Trump ones , they had to rig the election to stop. They have to have censorship to destroy truth.
          You will eats bugs, have nothing and be happy.

      2. From Wikipedia: Janet Ann Napolitano (/nəpɒlɪˈtænoʊ/;[1] born November 29, 1957)[2] is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013, under President Barack Obama. She was named president of the University of California system in September 2013, and stepped down from that position on August 1, 2020 to join the faculty at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.[3]

        I wonder what goes on at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. We’re leaving for Shaver Lake so I can’t do a deep dive now.

  29. Maricopa County Auditors Seek Ballot Envelope Images, Splunk Logs After Discovering Discrepancies

    ‘Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, told senators at the Arizona State Capitol during a hearing that auditors can find no record of the county sending more than 74,000 mail-in ballots.’

    ‘Routers or router images were included in subpoenas the Arizona Senate sent last year that were confirmed legally valid by a judge after the county took the matter to court. But the county is still refusing to provide the auditors access to the subpoenaed materials.’

    ‘The county agreed to comply with the subpoenas after the late February ruling, but called for the audit to end less than a month after it had begun.’

    ‘The July 15 testimony, given in front of Fann and Sen. Warren Peterson, chairman of the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee, immediately triggered a push to conduct a new election in the state, where President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by about 10,500 votes.’

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/maricopa-county-auditors-seek-ballot-envelope-images-splunk-logs-after-discovering-discrepancies_3903611.html

    1. This is the biggest crime in the history of this country. This makes Watergate look like a non-event.

      2. It is interesting how these mega crimes are happening at the same time: central bankers debasing currencies, stolen elections, bio-terrorism masquerading as a vaccine, heads of state being murdered or dying under suspicious circumstances, and their countries then letting globalists in to administer the kill shot.

        Sounds like the Apostle John knew what he was talking about when he wrote The Book Of Revelation.

        1. “Sounds like the Apostle John knew what he was talking about when he wrote The Book Of Revelation.”

          … and on todays HBB liturgical calendar is the Feast Of The Blessed Crater Tater. Crow, Rate Raisins and Crater Taters for all the DebtDonkeys.

          Naples, FL Housing Prices Crater 15% As Housing Demand Tumbles And Sellers Mumble

          https://www.movoto.com/naples-fl/market-trends/

        2. Dr. McCullough is a hero for going around the system and getting those Doctors together to treat those patients . He needs 24/7 Security.

          I was reading that Klaus Schwab was born in 1938 in Nazi Germany. He’s a Engineer, but how did this guy get so much power. So many of the tactics being used are right out of World War 2. .
          Very bizarre hearing Schwab, Soros and Gates talking like they are the Rulers when they talk about what is going to happen.

          In California they are back to the mask mandates again, even for the vaccinated starting Sat. They are also talking more lockdowns in the near future.
          So, look at Australia with the lockdowns without cases.
          Look, its just going to be more censorship and lockdowns. They weren’t about to let people have freedom again and get back to normal and its worse in other Countries. Protests going on in France, UK and other Countries , not being reported to much.
          This is mass murder as Ben stated on his above post. Doctors and nurses just have to rebel, but they are so scared . People in general are scared of being cancelled or labeled a Innsurrectist.
          Masked verses unmasked, vaccine takers verses non vaccine takers all designed to keep the Panademic going.
          And of all places a High Court in Spain just ruled that the lockdowns are unconstitutional.

        3. In Colorado.
          Its all happening at the same time because in order to pull it off you would need a big collusion to pull it off.
          They have thought of everything that might stand in their way.
          Watch, more lockdowns to come soon . If anybody had doubt before that this is a criminal takeover using Medical Fraud as the weapon, its pretty obvious now.
          More lockdowns, more money filtered to the Culprits.

          1. Its all happening at the same time because…

            Because it can. Like a wall full of cracks, water seeps in everywhere, because it can.

      3. Sooner or later the dam is going to break and it will be a flood that not even Google or the MSM will be able to cover-up. Watergate is like a garbage bin fire compared to the Twin Towers on 9/11. Watergate isn’t even an event, since I still don’t know what exactly Nixon did that warranted his removal. In comparison, the Democrats have been cheating and stuffing ballot boxes for 100 years with impunity. Nothing to see here, though.
        https://youtu.be/aKnX5wci404

        1. “…since I still don’t know what exactly Nixon did that warranted his removal.”

          Nixon didn’t pledge fealty and blindly support Israel like our Senators from both side of the aisle during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. The resulting fallout of U.S. military arms support and near real-time aerial reconnaissance prompted the OPEC Oil Embargo that buckled the U.S. economy with crippling inflation that led to the two-income household just to survive.

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