They’re Taking More Time, Causing Sellers To Panic A Little
A weekend topic starting with Fortune. “Last year, months before the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to combat inflation, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that inflation was already a problem, and would get a lot worse in 2022. His predictions were accurate. If Summers is right, his index would have huge implications for how far the Federal Reserve may have to go to fix inflation. It could mean that the Fed would have to resort to the same extreme means employed by the central bank to tame inflation in the 1980s under former Chairman Paul Volcker.”
From Bloomberg. “US Treasuries tumbled, sending 2-year yields surging by the most since 2009, after an unexpected jump in inflation increased speculation the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates more aggressively over the next few months. ‘We are looking at a stagflationary environment,’ Michael Darda, the chief economist at MKM Partners, said on Bloomberg television. ‘The Fed is still behind the curve.'”
The Sydney Morning Herald. “Former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian Macfarlane says recent mortgage borrowers at risk of being squeezed by higher interest rates should not prevent the central bank from raising rates to the appropriate level, as it tries to slow the economy and dampen inflation. Macfarlane said ‘easy money’ in Australia had triggered a surge in housing lending. While he did not express a firm view on how high the cash rate would rise, Macfarlane said the RBA’s decisions on interest rates could not be ‘held hostage’ by the most recent or marginal borrowers.”
“‘I think the central point I want to make is that you can’t allow the marginal mortgage borrower to determine the central bank’s ability to change interest rates. They can’t be really held hostage by the most recent mortgage borrower.'”
The Canadian Press. “High household debt and elevated housing prices have become bigger vulnerabilities in the past year, but the economy can still handle the rising interest rates needed to tame inflation, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said. ‘Our primary focus is getting inflation back to target. You know, monetary policy is not housing policy,’ he said. ‘The increases in housing prices we’ve seen have been unsustainably elevated and we are expecting to see some moderation in housing activity and frankly, that would be healthy.'”
The Toronto Star in Canada. “The average home price in Burlington dropped by 14.75 per cent, from $1.3 million in April to more than $1.1 million in May. In May, Toronto area home sales plunged 38.8 per cent annually as rising interest rates pushed down the average sale price of all houses and condos to $1.21 million, a $121,000 drop from the February market peak of $1.33 million, according to a recent TRREB report.”
The Denver Gazette. “The sudden rise in mortgage rates has homebuyers and potential sellers asking their real estate agents whether Colorado’s red-hot market is cooling off. ‘I think we hit a peak in late March or early April,’ said Sunny Banka, who tracks data on Aurora and Arapahoe counties on behalf of the Colorado Association of Realtors. Banka notes that over recent weeks, she’s getting 25 emails a day from agents announcing price reductions on homes.”
“‘What I’m paying attention to is how drastically the average price has changed,’ said Matt Leprino, spokesman for the Colorado Association of Realtors ‘When we suddenly see average prices, which had gone up $100,000 a month in Denver, drop off, it means the really expensive homes have hit the wall,’ Leprino said. ‘On a $3 million property, when you have huge interest rate shifts, we’re talking really big-buck changes between payments.'”
“‘We’re definitely seeing more inventory and a lot of price reductions,’ said Amy Berglund, managing broker of Re/Max Professionals’ City Properties office in Denver’s Highlands neighborhood, a popular area luring younger homebuyers with its abundance of dining and its proximity to Lower Downtown. ‘Properties have fallen out of contract and come back on the market,’ said Berglund. “There is still very strong buyer demand, but they’re being much more picky, and their purchasing power is a little diminished, so they’re taking more time.'”
“That, said Berglund, is causing sellers to panic a little: ‘Things are not flying off the shelf; rather it’s more indication of a return to a normal market.’ In Steamboat Springs and Routt County, sellers were offering price reductions and were accepting contingency offers, according to the CAR report. ‘I think this is more the simple seasonal shift,’ said Leprino. ‘When you’re starting to see price reductions, we’re on the other side, and have reached our cap.'”
From Mansion Global. “After an epic two-year run—not just in Austin but in major cities around the country—the luxury real-estate market is finally cooling. Real-estate agents in places like New York, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons say the frenzied deal making and record-setting prices that characterized the past few years has eased, thanks to a growing disconnect between what sellers want and what buyers will pay.”
“According to Redfin, the biggest drops in luxury sales took place in Nassau County, N.Y., where sales slid 43.5% for the three-month period between Feb. 1 and April 30, 2022, compared with the year-earlier period, followed by Oakland, Calif., with a 35.1% decline. During the same period in Dallas and Austin, where values skyrocketed during the pandemic, sales slipped 33.9% and 33%, respectively, and West Palm Beach’s luxury sales were down 32.8%, Redfin data show.”
“Drew Meyers, of the Los Angeles brokerage Westside Estate Agency, said the uncertainty has led some sellers to rush to list properties to try to catch the tail end of the hot market. Mr. Meyers says he has three sellers with property that will be priced at between $6 million and roughly $50 million that are pushing up the listing dates for their properties. ‘They want to get this stuff done and get it listed while the market is hot. They don’t know what the future holds,’ he said.”
“In May, contracts on Manhattan condos priced between $10 million and $19.99 million were down 41.2% compared with contracts in May 2021, while inventory jumped 42.9%, according to Miller Samuel data. In the Hamptons, contracts on single-family homes in that price range in May dropped 83.3% year-over-year while listings were up 20% compared with the year prior.”
“‘It’s a hard fall from grace,’ said Cody Vichinsky, president of Bespoke Real Estate, who said that in the Hamptons’ previously frothy market, some C-quality properties hit the market with A-quality prices. But at a certain point, buyers won’t pay double the prior sale price in a short period of time, Mr. Vichinsky said. He cited a newly-built house in Watermill, listed in the $30 million range, that has been on the market for a year. He said the seller turned down his client’s offer of $28 million. ‘I bet he’s kicking himself now for not taking it,’ Mr. Vichinsky said. ‘He was hypnotized by what the headlines were saying.'”
“Richard Steinberg, a luxury real-estate agent at Compass, said he has been having ‘the price-reduction conversation’ with clients on at least 50% of his exclusive listings. Without offers or the promise of deals, many of them will have no choice but to listen, he said. Mr. Steinberg said he sees the greatest reduction in activity on properties priced between $2 million and $5 million, a price range in which he says buyers typically rely on mortgage financing and are dealing with increased interest rates. Above $5 million, buyers are less concerned about interest rates, but they are expecting that the shifts in the financial markets will result in bargains on the real-estate front.”
“In West Palm Beach, which has experienced a flurry of investment, Redfin data show the number of luxury sales slipped 32.8% year-over-year for the three months ending April 30. Agent Erin Sykes, of Nest Seekers International, described the last few weeks of economic turmoil as a ‘reality check’ for sellers who want 20% to 30% price appreciation on their property in just a few months’ time. When prices were rising, people saw real-estate investing as a way to get rich quick. ‘They saw it as a game that could never be lost and we all know that real estate is not invincible,’ she said.”
A press release. “For a luxury buyer, a higher mortgage rate can mean a monthly housing bill that’s thousands of dollars more expensive. The year-over-year cooldown is also a reflection of the market for high-end homes coming back to earth following a nearly 80% surge in sales a year ago. ‘The pool of people qualified to purchase luxury properties is shrinking because the stock market is falling and mortgage rates are rising,’ said Elena Fleck, a Redfin real estate agent in West Palm Beach, FL.”
The Dallas Morning News. “Homebuyers struggling to find something may finally start to see some relief with a sharp annual increase in listings. Active single-family home listings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose 26% year over year in May, with 10,560 homes on the market at the end of the month, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information System. ‘There is a degree of healthiness that is coming back to the market,’ said Chris Kelly, CEO of Ebby Halliday Realtors. ‘It’s still going to be a competitive marketplace, but I don’t think it’s going to feel like quite the circus as it has over the last year and a half.'”
“Agents have seen some homes that would have had 20 offers last year now only get a handful in recent weeks, said Bryan Pacholski, senior managing director for Compass in Dallas. Pacholski said that, with overall inflation, homebuyers are beginning to reassess their budgets. ‘There’s just a level of exhaustion around all of it,’ he said. ‘Buyers’ urgency has changed.'”
Comments are closed.
This is the video above:
Interest Rate Hike Having A HUGE Impact On Home Sales. Is This The Bottom?
‘Jun 10, 2022 Looking at the Bank of Canada interest rate hike’s impact on the real estate market in Halton and Peel. I cover Burlington, Milton, Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton in this video and see how the housing market is going in the month of June so far. We cover detached homes, semi detached, condos and townhouses.’
UHS says he doesn’t compare recent sales prices to the peak cuz: “it’s a more shocking number…”
UHS says he doesn’t compare recent sales prices to the peak cuz: “it’s a more shocking number…”
Conceal, omit, lie and defraud.
Coeur D Alene, ID Housing Prices Crater 11% YOY Soaring Mortgage Defaults And Plunging Rental Rates Decimate Idaho
https://www.movoto.com/coeur-d-alene-id/market-trends/
From your link:
Median Days on Market
101,930
Do you know how ridiculous you look when you link to nonsense like that? Apparently not since you do it on an almost daily basis.
Do you know silly you look deriding what others may choose to post? See, now I did it. Just proves we’re both a$$holes.
I wouldn’t call you an a$$hole, but if you think it’s inappropriate to question someone’s obviously bogus data then you are a moron.
There you go again taking falling housing prices personal.
Coeur D Alene, ID Housing Prices Crater 11% YOY Soaring Mortgage Defaults And Plunging Rental Rates Decimate Idaho
https://www.movoto.com/coeur-d-alene-id/market-trends/
The following is an example of just a few that i am seeing. It will probably ramp up after 3-4 central bank rate increases.
I am probably a little more sympathetic that others — for folks that made bad decisions (as advised by ‘real estate professionals’). It doesnt change the fact that many others will be in trouble.
[Note. Mississauga is a suburb of Toronto with 700K residents]
posting anonymously because of bad experiences in the past in other groups. Looking for guidance / direction.
Spouse and i bought a semi for 1 mil 1 year ago in mississauga. Paid down 20% via exhausting all my family savings of last 7 years. Got a rate of 2% that lasts till 2025. Have no other investments or savings yet. Major chunk of the household income goes into mortgage. In 2025 the rates will be at 5% so maybe 50-75% of the family income will go into monthly payments.
A) should I get a 2nd job and start making extra payments preemptively? Ready to do this if there is a large payout at 2028 by virtue of the market picking up again.
B) should I plan to sell (& downsize) in the next 3-7 year horizon ? If yes, how ?
C) Convert this to a rental property and move out further from Toronto, and stay cashflow positive by being a renter in cheaper suburb? And never sell this basically. Move back in if/when the situation is more feasible.
Any other suggestions/options greatly appreciated.
If you have an anchor around your neck and the water is rising, what should you do?
1 million for a duplex in a place that makes Dumver look balmy?
so maybe 50-75% of the family income will go into monthly payments.
Good gravy. I only spend about 15%, and I wish it was less. This is simply insane. And for a duplex in Mississauga.
Airtight lending here…
I have one:
D) Put yer head between yer knees and kiss yer a$$ goodbye!
Not saying the others aren’t valid.
What? You asked fer options.
Aussie gov prepares bail out for nations largest home builder:
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/nsw-racing-to-save-metricon-from-collapse/news-story/b1974f323c5d0d78e0e368869c18f983
Mansion Global is wall street journal. The OK has been given to fook the sellers.
Is the Wall Street-Federal Reserve Looting Syndicate getting ready to execute the next Great Muppet Reaping?
‘We’re definitely seeing more inventory and a lot of price reductions’
Wa happened to my shortage? It’s looking like all of Colorado is taking a big sh$t, like the whole state of Washington.
Seems that way.
Golden, CO Housing Prices Crater 11% YOY As Double Digit Price Declines Blanket Denver Area
https://www.movoto.com/golden-co/market-trends/
‘you can’t allow the marginal mortgage borrower to determine the central bank’s ability to change interest rates. They can’t be really held hostage by the most recent mortgage borrower… ‘Our primary focus is getting inflation back to target. You know, monetary policy is not housing policy,’ he said. ‘The increases in housing prices we’ve seen have been unsustainably elevated and we are expecting to see some moderation in housing activity and frankly, that would be healthy’
See, central bankers are heros! Sure during CCP virus they “needed the growth” from shack bubble. Now, “let’s break it off in yer a$$!”
I told you this would happen. It always does. No crystal ball.
Read em and weep:
GRAPHIC-Central banks double down in fight against ‘galloping’ inflation
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/graphic-central-banks-double-down-135144075.html
Everybody but Japan.
“Central banks double down in fight against ‘galloping’ inflation”
Now giddyup DebtDonkeys……. Pronto!
Laguna Hills, CA Housing Prices Crater 27% YOY As Orange County Sellers Capitulate And Demand Collapses
https://www.movoto.com/laguna-hills-ca/market-trends/
“Median Days on Market
7,551”
More of your stellar data.
There you go again taking falling housing prices personal.
Laguna Hills, CA Housing Prices Crater 27% YOY As Orange County Sellers Capitulate And Demand Collapses
https://www.movoto.com/laguna-hills-ca/market-trends/
Yellen the Felon is too busy advocating for “racial equity,” fighting “climate change,” and virtue signaling to do her one and only job as Treasury Secretary.
https://twitter.com/SecYellen/status/1532434489498030105
‘You know, monetary policy is not housing policy,’
The Bernanke seemed a little confused on that point.
I get the distinct impression that the heads of the real estate and financial sectors are the ones calling the shots on monetary policy.
“See, central bankers are heros! Sure during CCP virus they “needed the growth” from shack bubble. Now, “let’s break it off in yer a$$!””
CoronaScam simply provided cover for what they were already planning to do….. raise rates double digits.
Did anyone really believe a rapidly depreciating asset like a house was worth multiples of construction cost (lot, labor, materials and profit)?
Lone Tree, CO Housing Prices Crater 19% YOY As Denver Suburbs Choke On Soaring Mortgage Defaults
https://www.movoto.com/lone-tree-co/market-trends/
Wait for it: with globalist oligarchs and Big Ag going all out to control the food supply, it just won’t do to have the peasantry becoming more self-sufficient when it comes to growing or raising their own food. Look for the Biden regime to come up with new pretexts to crack down on anyone seeking to unplug from the system and its control over their lives.
Backyard chicken farms are linked to salmonella outbreak that has infected 200 people across the US and led to at least one death
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10905587/Backyard-chicken-farms-linked-salmonella-outbreak-infected-200-people.html
I’ve noticed signs popping up at the Aldi in my hood limiting the number of certain items you can buy at once.
limiting the number of certain items you can buy at once. I was ordering Dog Treats from Walmart.com and they limited the number of packages I could order. I could only order one of this particular dog treat.
Is dog food the next baby formula?
How’s that “Build Back Better” working out for ya, low-income/low-IQ Biden voters?
$5 gas is here: AAA says nationwide average hits new high
https://dnyuz.com/2022/06/11/5-gas-is-here-aaa-says-nationwide-average-hits-new-high/
We carpooled today. We are sitting in the San Isabel National Forest just below treeline, west of Leadville right now taking a break.
Loanowners can’t afford to do this.
Hi Ben, I didn’t see any mention of “asset bubble” or “housing bubble” by the REIC or UHS in a quick search of the article excerpts you posted above.
It’s the 900 lb. gorilla, or elephant in the room that everyone is dancing around, but avoiding any mention of. Think “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and one wouldn’t be far off.
It’s intuitively obvious to the most casual observer that governments, in collusion with central banks have blown a massive housing global bubble. This includes stonk and bond bubbles as well in the U.S. as well.
Apparently this policy and action was fine while Housing Bubble 2.0 inflated globally and “The Everything Bubble” inflated in the U.S., even after the recent painful 21st century experiences of the dot-com bubble (stonk bubble 1.0) bursting in 2000 and Housing Bubble 1.0 bursting in 2007-10.
Now we’re having massive 70’s-style inflation due to central bank “money” (fiat) printing over the past 13 years, and esp. during and after the CCP virus pandemic. Despite what we’re told, this isn’t Putin-flation, but rather Biden-flation.
The story was that MMT (magic money tree) was sound. What happened? Now the pain begins as global interest rates have to rise to fight inflation. 100’s of PhDs plus literally an army of 1000’s of employees at the Fed, and yet they claim that “no one saw this coming,” even after that last two asset bubbles burst. The arsonist is in charge of the fire brigade.
It’s almost as if this was intentional; the plan all along to destroy the U.S. economy or something. First it’s inflation and then it’s deflation, as the asset bubbles burst. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of job growth and innovation in a healthy free market system. These are being decimated, which in turn is decimating Main St. and the economy. First came the pandemic lock-downs and labor shortages, now it’s inflation. I don’t think I could have dreamed up a worse scenario if I tried.
Asset bubbles always burst. This includes housing, which has been financialized into just another commodity asset class. House flippers are commodity traders, which comes with the same level of speculation and risk. First sales decline and inventory rises, then prices decline. I’m seeing all of these now, but somehow, “it’s a mystery” as to the cause.
“The advocates of public control cannot do without inflation. They need it in order to finance their policy of reckless spending and of lavishly subsidizing and bribing the voters.” – Ludwig von Mises
“The most important thing to remember is that inflation is not an act of God, that inflation is not a catastrophe of the elements or a disease that comes like the plague. Inflation is a policy.” – Ludwig von Mises
“The gold standard did not collapse. Governments abolished it in order to pave the way for inflation. The whole grim apparatus of oppression and coercion, policemen, customs guards, penal courts, prisons, in some countries even executioners, had to be put into action in order to destroy the gold standard.” – Ludwig von Mises
“The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent upon abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau.” – Ludwig von Mises
“The market system is the basis of our civilization. Its only alternative is the Führer principle.” – Ludwig von Mises
“There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.” – Ludwig von Mises
so, your saying there’s a chance . . . !?
Would this be a good time to buy the dip?
The Financial Times
US economy
US inflation resumes rapid rise by accelerating in May
Consumer prices rose 1% during month and 8.6% from a year ago, adding more pressure on Fed to cool the economy
A motorcycle rider refuels at a Shell gas station in San Francisco, California
The peak in US inflation has been partly delayed by a further climb in energy prices as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Colby Smith in Washington yesterday
US consumer price growth surged in May, accelerating 1 per cent, as rising energy and services inflation added urgency to the Federal Reserve’s plans to aggressively tighten monetary policy.
The monthly rise in the consumer price index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, was significantly higher than the 0.3 per cent increase in April and above economists’ expectations of a 0.7 per cent rise.
The annual rate of inflation rose to 8.6 per cent, the highest level since December 1981.
…
The Financial Times
US economy
Janet Yellen draws flak in political battle over high inflation
US Treasury secretary under fire over Biden administration’s failure to bring prices down
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee
Janet Yellen was pressed by lawmakers over whether stimulus spending had fuelled high inflation
James Politi and Colby Smith in Washington 3 hours ago
Under attack from Republican lawmakers at a congressional hearing this week, Janet Yellen offered a spirited defence of Joe Biden’s efforts to bring down high inflation, the biggest threat to his presidency.
An 8 per cent inflation rate in the US was unacceptable and Biden’s “number one objective” was to get it down, the Treasury secretary told the House Ways and Means committee on Wednesday.
“We are by far not the only economy to face inflationary pressures like this,” she added.
…
More Kabuki theater. Wall Street’s Republicrat duopoly puppet show just voted overwhelmingly to give financial terrorist Jerome Powell another four years as Fed Chair.
“We are by far not the only economy to face inflationary pressures like this,” she added.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Coincidentally, so is the Fed’s path to reining in inflation.
The Financial Times
Eurozone economy
Rate rise prospects raise concerns for debt-laden eurozone countries
Spread between German and Italian bond yields has raced higher this week
ECB’s plans to withdraw such stimuli renew pressure on bonds of southern European nations
Nikou Asgari in London
2 hours ago
Investors are starting to worry again about high levels of government debt in the eurozone, as the prospect of rising interest rates revives concerns that have largely lain dormant in recent years.
Borrowings by debt-laden countries including Italy, Greece and Spain have increased in the decade since the region’s sovereign debt crisis — in part because of the coronavirus pandemic’s drain on government finances.
Markets were more willing to fund those large debt piles while borrowing costs were ultra-low and the European Central Bank was continuing with its massive bond-buying programme. But the ECB’s plans to withdraw such stimuli — with an end to asset purchases and a quarter-point rate rise planned for July — mean the bonds of these southern European nations are once again under pressure.
Borrowing costs for Italy and Greece have climbed sharply, with Italy’s 10-year yield hitting its highest level since 2014 on Friday — although they remain far below the heights scaled in 2012. Still, the worry for many investors is that a sustained rise may reignite concerns over how manageable Rome’s or Athens’ debt loads are.
“I think the situation’s worrying but not critical,” said Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING. “Sometimes the markets can talk themselves into a frenzy and lose confidence,” he said, adding that it becomes a “self- fulfilling prophecy”.
…
The Financial Times
Markets Briefing Equities
US stocks drop in worst week since January as inflation accelerates
Yield on 2-year Treasury rose above 3% in anticipation of more aggressive action from the Fed
A woman shops at a Target store in California
The US government’s consumer prices report showed the annual pace of inflation rose to 8.6% in May
Kate Duguid in New York and Naomi Rovnick in London yesterday
Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indices recorded their worst week since January as fresh evidence of red-hot inflation and expectations of an aggressive central bank response led to big losses on Thursday and Friday.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 5.1 per cent this week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which is stacked with interest rate-sensitive growth stocks, dropped 5.6 per cent. Friday’s losses for the S&P and Nasdaq were 2.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.
The US government reported on Friday that consumer prices had risen at an annual pace of 8.6 per cent in May, above April’s 8.3 per cent reading and exceeding economists’ forecasts as prices for food, energy and shelter all increased.
Line chart of Week-to-date performance (%) showing US stocks suffer biggest weekly losses since January
The persistent evidence of inflation drove fears that the Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates strongly and steadily in order to slow down economic growth.
On Thursday, markets were rattled after the European Central Bank spelt out its own plans for tightening monetary policy.
The ECB, which has long been one of the world’s most accommodative central banks, signalled that it may lift its main deposit rate above zero in September, which would be its first departure from negative interest rates in eight years. It also said that it would end net purchases of member states’ debt, sparking fears about financial stress for the bloc’s weaker economies.
As Wall Street equities fell on Friday, the yield on the two-year Treasury note, which moves with interest rate expectations, rose above 3 per cent. The last time the two-year note surpassed this psychologically significant level was in 2008.
Meanwhile, the yield on the five-year Treasury surpassed the yield on the 30-year bond, an indication the market believes that the Fed’s campaign of raising rates could tip the US economy into recession.
…
Is the central bankers’ electronic money press broke?
R u lovin’ the $5+/gal gasoline!?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dollar5-gas-is-here-aaa-says-nationwide-average-hits-new-high/ar-AAYl3k9?ocid=wispr&li=BBnb7Kz
The Financial Times
US Inflation
Petrol prices in US hit $5 a gallon as inflation picks up
Shock at the pump comes as prices continue to rise after hitting a four-decade high
Rising energy prices are a large part of the continuing surge in inflation, which accelerated once again in May
Colby Smith in Washington and Derek Brower in New York
9 hours ago
The average price of petrol in the US hit $5 a gallon for the first time in history on Saturday, adding further pressure to decades-high inflation that has become politically costly for the Biden administration.
The new $5 milestone, reported by the AAA motor club, means US petrol prices have risen by more than two-thirds in the past year and have more than doubled since Joe Biden entered office.
Rising energy prices have fuelled a substantial part of the continuing inflation surge, which accelerated once again in May and is now running at the fastest annual pace since December 1981. The latest consumer price index, released on Friday, showed prices up 1 per cent last month alone, or 8.6 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The administration has repeatedly sought to pin the blame on Russian president Vladimir Putin, pointing to the country’s invasion of Ukraine as a main reason for the sharp uptick in crude prices, which have in turn pushed up fuel costs.
International oil benchmark Brent has risen to more than $120 a barrel since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine — up from lows near $10/b during the depths of the pandemic two years ago.
In recent months, the White House has announced the release of record volumes of oil from a federal emergency stockpile in order to ease the supply crunch, and has also called on Saudi Arabia and other Opec+ countries to significantly increase supply.
The White House has also blamed US oil companies for their reluctance to drill.
Speaking in Los Angeles on Friday, the president took aim at ExxonMobil, the US’s biggest oil company, saying it had “made more money than God this year”.
US oil company executives say Wall Street investors’ demand that they spend a windfall from high oil prices on dividends, not new production, has held back spending on new supplies.
Biden and other top officials, including Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, have repeatedly said tackling high inflation is the administration’s “number-one priority”, a message they have homed in on as the president’s approval ratings have plumbed record lows.
Republican lawmakers seized on the opportunity to grill Yellen this week in congressional testimonies, forcing her to defend the Biden administration against charges it has stoked price pressures through its spending.
…
The Financial Times
Oil & Gas industry
US oil producers ignore Biden’s rallying call to drill
Capital discipline, supply chain woes and soaring input costs keep production far below pre-pandemic peak
Myles McCormick in New York
12 hours ago
As US petrol prices scale record highs, with the cost of a gallon of fuel surpassing $5 for the first time, Joe Biden has pleaded with the country’s oil producers to open the taps and stem the surge.
But those calls — a stark departure for a president who vowed to crack down on fossil fuels — have largely gone unheeded as the industry insists its drilling spree days are behind it.
“When the White House started calling around in a panic, they thought shale oil production could grow sharply in the near term — like in a matter of months or quarters,” said Bob McNally, head of consultancy Rapidan Energy.
“They were shocked to learn that that’s like asking for blood from a stone. It’s almost impossible.”
US petrol prices have soared to unprecedented levels as the war in Ukraine exacerbates an already-tight global oil market. On Saturday American motorists were paying an average of $5.004 a gallon at the pump, according to the AAA motoring group, a fresh record. In California, they are paying over $6 a gallon.
For consumers, prices at the pump have become one of the most visible impacts of rampant economy-wide inflation. That has created a headache for the president, who many voters blame for the rise.
“Fair or not, it’s a problem for Biden as he is seen as the maestro of the economy even though there is truthfully not much any president can do to influence gas prices in real time,” said Sasha Mackler, executive director of the energy programme at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think-tank.
…
Every time silver dips I try and buy 25-50 Maple Leafs if the budget allows. I may not need it in my time left but my kids/grandkids may.
It insurance, not an investment.
You will never hear a peep from Fauxahontus, AOC, etc. about the Wall Street-Federal Reserve Looting Syndicate gouging low-income apartment dwellers.
REPORT: Top Rental Companies’ Net Income Jumps 57 Percent After Raising Rent on Vulnerable Consumers
https://www.accountable.us/news/report-top-rental-companies-net-income-jumps-57-percent-after-raising-rent-on-vulnerable-consumers/
Washington D.C. – Government watchdog Accountable.US released a new analysis of the ten largest publicly traded apartment companies by number of units, finding that they all raised rent prices and collectively saw their total 2021 fiscal year net incomes soar by 57% to nearly $5 billion. The top executives of these same companies also reported that their total compensation in the same period swelled by nearly 23% to over $66.5 million, helping them maintain lavish homes valued at a total of almost $103 million.
Accountable.US’ report also revealed numerous alarming quotes from top executives bragging about how inflation is helping their bottom lines. For example, Starwood Property Trust’s CEO called inflation “an extraordinary gift that keeps on giving” while being affiliated with Invitation Homes, known for “horror stories” from tenants, as it reported “a record year” in FY 2021 with net income jumping by over $126 million and its billionaire chairman owning a luxury waterfront Miami Beach mansion valued at almost $34 million.
Take the money and run AOC, Fauxahontus and Pelosi. It’s how congress creeps and seniletors become gazillionares.
Holy Shift! House Prices in Danger, Kitsap Real Estate Shifts
‘Jun 10, 2022 Kitsap Real Estate makes major shifts this week – this looks to be much more than Kitsap real estate correction. Double digit price reductions, and a dramatic swing from a seller market to conditions that favor home buyers signal a massive housing shift in kitsap real estate. Kitsap County Home sales staggered this week as a massive real estate shift affected the Bremerton real estate market, poulsbo, silverdale, port orchard and surrounding areas. This is much more than a Kitsap real estate correction, it might be a crash (double digit drops in a short period of time). Only time will tell.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQpUtLsMavE
3:04. Warning this is the UHS one poster called annoying.
‘Double digit price reductions’
Where is the Kitsap Sun on this?
**”Properties have fallen out of contract and come back on the market,’ said Berglund. “There is still very strong buyer demand, but they’re being much more picky . . ”
“buyers are much more picky”. interesting & very telling choice of words: buyers aren’t “careful” or “prudent” or “cautious” when making probably the largest financial decision of their lives: they are “picky”! what a childish and derogatory insult.
there are plenty of easy choices, dammit, if only those ignorant lookie loo’s would just buy Buy BUY ALREADY! TURN THOSE MACHINES BACK ON!!
however, it’s only insulting when a buyer takes a minute, or two, to carefully consider the deal, whereas the seller is just a poor victim of circumstances, never greedy, never duplicitous, etc.
get ready for a torrent of desperate realtors/brokers increasing barrage of more insults about “picky” buyers to “get off the fence” and “pull the trigger”.
(“pull the trigger” !? gee, for such a smarmy, progressive, woke type of industry they sure use a violent expression.)
Let’s see how long it takes the sheeple of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to turn on their globalist Quisling regimes once their shack valuations start cratering as the cost of living soars.
Why Kiwis no longer support Jacinda Ardern
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2022/06/why-kiwis-no-longer-support-jacinda-ardern/
I reported earlier this week how New Zealand voters continue to turn their back on Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government.
After enjoying record strong voter support in the first half of the pandemic, support has plunged amid cost of living concerns and soaring interest rates:
Keep pushing, globalist scum.
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/west-point-is-expected-to-remove-portrait-of-american-hero-robert-e-lee/
The Great Recession misled millennials: It made them think high home prices will eventually come down
The housing markets of the mid-2000s and early 2020s share some similarities.
However, the end of the two hot cycles will be very different in nature.
That’s bad news for prospective millennial buyers hoping to see home prices fall.
https://www.businessinsider.com/home-prices-wont-come-down-millennials-cant-afford-homeownership-2022-6?amp
Have you got a bridge to sell us along with that house?
Almost every one I talk to thinks that “it’s different this time” and that there won’t be a crash. You can point out to them that if mortgage interest rates continue to climb, say to 8%, that the monthly nut is almost double of what it would be at 3%. They will insist that it doesn’t matter, because demand, blah, blah, blah.
Of course, once all that is left is a smoldering crater, they will change their tune and say that they knew there was a bubble and it was going to burst.
One of the K-da videos I watched this morning said they have seen rates as high as 8%. Their bond market got it’s a$$ kicked yesterday.
They also confuse desire with demand. Sure, a lot of people would like to buy a shanty, but since P&I, taxes and insurance pushes the monthly nut to almost $4000 (and once interest rates are 8%+it will be close to $5000) all they can do is desire, as there is no wat\y they can buy.
My concern is that the Fed will say “inflation be damned” and will keep mortgage rates artificially low by financing everything. At this point, any thing could happen.
pushes the monthly nut to almost $4000
On a 500K mortgage.
‘…My concern is that the Fed will say “inflation be damned”…”
Lets see what goes down at the FOMC meeting this week, (14th-15th).
Lets see if they have the courage to raise at least 75bps or more. (100 bps [or even more] is really what’s needed).
Thoughts?
really what’s needed
What’s needed is to go back in time and never spend tens of $Trillions that we didn’t have. Can’t do that so buckle up!
Can’t do that so buckle up!
Which is why I am concerned they will try to “revive” the housing market, regardless of how much inflation it generates.
regardless of how much
inflationit generates.poverty
Soooo, it’s different this time?? 😉
What they are trying to say is it’s a permanently high plateau for this new paradigm of synergistic synergies. Who coulda knode?
Upton Sinclair — ‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’
I’ll raise my hand again and ask: why are we subsidizing trillion$ in shack loan guarantees that are being handed out in the 5%’s when inflation is 8% or higher? I took real estate finance in the 80’s. Then inflation plus 2% was how it’s done. This was before GSE’s swallowed the market.
And you know what else? Nobody bit$hed about it cuz it was common damn sense. Of course if yer gonna loan money you have to start with inflation as the base and add for interest, risk, etc. Besides solvency risk, the lender had the risk that inflation might go higher.
Everybody was obligated to know what was at stake and lenders eating the inflation part would have been seen as insane.
Debasement of the currency debases everyone’s brain too. I wonder if the Fed has a formula for that.
“Debasement of the currency debases everyone’s brain too.”
It is a good high…until it wears-off.
The Downward Spiral Continues, All Areas Are Now Included, 2022 Canadian Housing Market
‘Jun 7, 2022 I gathered statistics from across the country to compare all areas and every area I checked are now trending the same way downward. I discuss Vancouver, Calgary, Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax real estate to see all the markets are doing. I also give my opinion on the Bank of Canada and how they’ve handled monetary policy.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuZlTVHYOTk
15:34. K-dn UHS are again blaming the central bank. I love a good downward spiral in the morning! On the bright side, days on market still says sellers market.
2 conflicting stories in the WSJ. 1) Luxury buyers stepping back on housing, 2) Swiss watch makers going even more upscale.
Wonder how this is going to play out. Will they be a luxury segment that continues to spend?
Two years ago, Austin real-estate agent Amy Deane, of Moreland Properties, was working with so many wealthy out-of-state buyers that she showed one $15 million house five times in 30 days. Now, she might get one call every other week for showings in that price range. “That big buyer pool has slowed down,” she said. “The first movers committed and moved.”
After an epic two-year run—not just in Austin but in major cities around the country—the luxury real-estate market is finally cooling.
Real-estate agents in places like New York, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons say the frenzied deal making and record-setting prices that characterized the past few years has eased, thanks to a growing disconnect between what sellers want and what buyers will pay
—-
Luxury watchmakers had their best ever year in 2021—by selling fewer watches.
The Swiss watch industry is moving ever further upmarket as brand owners target rich consumers and try to differentiate their products from the Apple Watch and other wearable tech.
Still, while this approach is boosting revenue now, it could lead to trouble in the future if the industry keeps shrinking itself by selling fewer, pricier models, analysts say.
Swiss watch revenues rose by roughly one-third last year compared with 2020 to reach a record 21.2 billion Swiss francs, the equivalent of $21.5 billion, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, an industry association. U.S. sales grew 28%.
Luxury watchmakers had their best ever year in 2021—by selling fewer watches.
Swiss watches are bling. You wear one to show others that you made it, or at least have them think you did.
Swatch is Swiss.
Perhaps the brand is. They sell cheap digital watches, likely made in Asia.
When people say “Swiss watch”, they mean watches that are 100% mechanical, and which usually have tons of bling on them.
When people say “Swiss watch”, they mean watches that are 100% mechanical, and which usually have tons of bling on them.
Counterpoint: 36mm Rolex Explorer
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bobswatches.com%2Fimages%2FzRolex-Explorer-114270—128928w.jpg
Mechanical, functional, rugged
D’oh, I failed on the image:
https://www.bobswatches.com/images/zRolex-Explorer-114270—128928w.jpg
Ok, so the World has just short of 8 billion people.
China and India have almost 3 billion.
31% of the world is Asian .
Whites only make up 10% of the Global population. In the USA , Whites are at 57%, but are quickly declining, and the figures are probably lower than they say.
So, in terms of World population, Whites are a minority, yet whites are responsible for all evil and racism, Innsurrection, and crime.
Now , it probably true that the small Group of Globalists/WEF and Elite have a high majority of whites in their Club, but that has nothing to do with the average white citizen of the Globe.
All the false premises are a scapegoating of white race, so a small group of hijackers can force a One World Order Dictorship by them.
You always have to have a scapegoat , or a villian, or a group to blame to justify murder, mayhem, and rise to power.
The enemy is a virus, the enemy is climate change, the enemy are Christians or Republicans, racism , guns, free speech is the enemy, or gas fuel is the enemy, meat is the enemy, white race is the enemy and of course Trump.
All false premises designed to distract from the true enemy that wants to kill, injure , inject or hack,
or enslave you.
Take a look at the people screaming that all these things are the enemy 360 degrees. They are trying to avoid scrutiny.
Kootenai County, North Idaho. Look at the divergence of active and pending sales. The rapidity of this crash even surprises me.
https://imgur.com/DBcHHyd
So apparently affecting commercial RE too. I’m looking at a bunch of graphs from all over the US and Canada every day. Similar and explosive scenarios.
I just read that Stalin sent some Doctors to Africa to try to breed apes with humans , with the goal of making A stronger military force by that combo.
The expierment of species cross breeding didn’t work apparently.
The tyrants of today want to hack you and monitor you, and alter your DNA.
Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama were developed in that program.
Candace Owens Leaves Race Baiting Liberals SPEECHLESS at Congressional Hearing
https://www.bitchute.com/video/KDGkQ0BkMyg/
5 minutes. I think that what made them speechless was they were “Hoist with his own petard; and ’t shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines
And blow them at the moon. O, ’tis most sweet
When in one line two crafts directly meet.”
Candace Owens rocks!
After watching the entire 5 minute video I believe it is hard to argue with the fact that Candace Owens opened a jaw dropping can of whoop@ss on those race baiting liberal agenda driven talking point fed white Wokees.
Just in case anyone thought the propaganda being shoved down our throats by the advertisers wasn’t part of the plan, Joe Brandon manages to put enough unedited words together to let the cat out of the bag on Jimmy Kibble Live the other night.
President Joe Biden rambled and then asked rhetorically “when’s the last time you saw biracial couples on TV?,” during a segment on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on 6/8/2022.
https://youtu.be/EKC8trlvPfk
I saw that.
I was under the impression that most couples on TV, both in ads and in shows, are biracial. Not sure what Brandon was trying to do there.
most couples on TV
My bank front page online has a biracial couple, Black and Caucasian, holding their Asian offspring. I think they are ahead of the curve.
I recently saw one with a biracial lesbian couple with a biracial kid.
“Not sure what Brandon was trying to do there.”
If you want to hear Brandon introduce Jill by saying… “By the way, I’m Joe Biden’s husband she’s right there” go to 1:20
Otherwise it is cued up at 16:07 if you can handle it through 18:45 it will give you a pretty good view of Joe’s Cuckoo nest.
President Joe Biden Visits Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jun 8, 2022
https://youtu.be/ZEtPV-qvLe8?t=967
Toluca Lake, CA Housing Prices Crater 28% YOY As Desperation Blankets Southern California Housing Market
https://www.movoto.com/toluca-lake-ca/market-trends/
As a noted economist joked, “Elvis sightings are more credible than anything a Realtor says.”
Hot market != this
“In May, contracts on Manhattan condos priced between $10 million and $19.99 million were down 41.2% compared with contracts in May 2021, while inventory jumped 42.9%, according to Miller Samuel data. In the Hamptons, contracts on single-family homes in that price range in May dropped 83.3% year-over-year while listings were up 20% compared with the year prior.”
Speculators, by the time this happened, it’s already too late. You tried to time but missed the boat. Now die!!!
Various cybercurrency price charts …
https://finviz.com/crypto.ashx
A longer view of crypto charts …
https://finviz.com/crypto.ashx