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Eye-Popping Price Increases And Bidding Wars Suddenly Seemed To Be A Thing Of The Past

A report from the Review Journal. “LVR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during June was $480,000. That was down from the all-time record price of $482,000 in May, marking the first time since April of 2020 that local home prices declined from one month to the next. LVR President Brandon Roberts, a longtime local Realtor, sees prices stabilizing as fewer homes are selling, more homes are hitting the market and more sellers are lowering their asking prices.”

“By the end of June, LVR reported 5,746 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 134.1 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 1,340 condos and town homes listed without offers in June represent a 133 percent jump from one year earlier.”

The Coeur d’Alene Press. “In recent columns, Neighborhood of the Week has been highlighting the various price cuts on homes around North Idaho. This week focuses on price changes around our sprawling, gorgeous Lake Coeur d’Alene. I also like all three recently price-slashed choices in the Mineral Ridge area, across from Higgens Point. That includes a two-bedroom, almost 1,000-square-foot cabin and plenty of lake frontage, down $95,000 to around $1.1 million.”

“A three-bedroom, 1,450-square-foot home with an amazing deck, huge windows and an incredible lake view recently sliced $26,000 off the asking price to hit just under $870,000 asking. And don’t sleep on the three-parcel listing with a lakefront cabin (accessible by boat) with two bedrooms and 500 square feet priced just under $600,000 (down $76K earlier this week).”

The Spokesman-Review in Washington. “Homebuyers in Spokane County found more available properties in June. An increase in new listings is a bright spot for buyers with 805 homes available as of July 8, a 137.5% increase over 339 homes during the same time in June 2021. Ken Sax, a broker who oversees about 770 licensees in Washington for Professional Realty Services International, said he’s seeing more price reductions on homes and rate buydowns. Tom Hormel, 2023 president -elect for the Spokane Association of Realtors advises sellers to avoid overpricing their homes.”

“Although the market will be brisk, it’s not the same playing field as last year when homes were selling within days and fetching dozens of multiple offers, he said. ‘Please don’t expect a two- or three -day sale with 15 offers,’ Hormel said. ‘That’s not the market we’re in.’ ‘A neutral, balanced market is six months,’ Sax said. ‘We have a long ways to go, but the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. For a seller, it means sell now. Because the longer you wait, I think it will equate to less of a sales price.'”

A press release. “‘The market slowdown is giving buyers more opportunities to negotiate, especially with sellers whose homes have been on the market for a while,’ said Columbia, SC Redfin real estate agent Jessica Nelson. ‘I tell my sellers that they need to price their homes realistically from the get-go. If they don’t, their home may end up sitting on the market and they may have to drop their price—possibly more than once—to attract buyers.'”

The Detroit Free Press in Michigan. “Last summer, the typical negotiation was for how much over the seller’s asking price. Today, buyers have a bit more leverage and can sometimes knock 5% or so off a listing. ‘So I’m able to negotiate for my buyers right now,’ said agent Abe Talebof RE/MAX Leading Edge in Dearborn Heights. ‘A year ago, you were negotiating up, not down.'”

Inside Indiana Business. “Indianapolis-based real estate firm F.C. Tucker Co.’s monthly real estate data shows the number of homes for sale in the 16-county central Indiana region increased about 61% compared to this time last year. The real estate firm also reports pended home sales decreased 6.4% compared to a year ago. ‘Inventory has increased yet again in June as more new listings enter the market,’ said Jim Litten, chief executive officer of F.C. Tucker Co. ‘Although home prices are still higher than this time last year, we should start to see some stabilizing trends in the coming months signaling a more even-keeled market with even more available inventory and homes spending more time on the market.'”

The New York Times. “This spring should have been a busy time for home sellers. Instead, the season was a dud, stalled by a dramatic spike in mortgage rates that stunned even industry experts with its chilling effect on the market. The frenzied environment we had become accustomed to — with its eye-popping price increases and bidding wars that left buyers dejected and sellers giddy — suddenly seemed to be a thing of the past. Markets like Tampa, Florida, and Phoenix, which saw some of the biggest price increases, may take a hit, dropping by margins of 5-10%.”

“The time has come for sellers to reset their expectations. List your house today, and it is unlikely that 24 hours from now you will get to pluck an all-cash bid that’s $150,000 over list price from a sea of contingency-free offers. ‘Those days are over,’ said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. ‘Don’t expect multiple offers.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “531 Beatty St., No. 703, Vancouver. Asking price: $1.548-million (May 16). Selling price: $1.48-million (June 1). The owner undertook a major renovation on the unit but never lived in it due to personal circumstances. Listing agent Ian Watt says a lot of people viewed the unit and he received one offer. ‘The market is kind of soft, and not the way it was four months ago,’ Mr. Watt said. ‘Having said that, people are starting to come back to the table. A lot of people haven’t bought yet and missed out due to multiple offers. Of course, now they are negotiating, whereas before you paid over-asking.'”

The Toronto Star in Canada. “Some buyers who purchased pre-construction homes as an investment could be at risk of having to sell at a loss if interest rates keep rising, which could affect prices in the wider real estate market, according to experts. In a practice called assignment sales, some purchasers buy homes with the expectation of reselling their contract with the builder before the unit is ready for occupancy. It’s a common investment practice that allows buyers to profit on the rising real estate value of new developments.”

“Mark Morris, a lawyer at legalclosing.ca, said falling home values are wiping out the potential for assignment sales. That will force those pre-construction buyers to close at a time when rising interest rates make the carrying costs of the homes prohibitive. In some cases, assignment sellers have agreed to buy multiple units, making it all the more difficult to close on their purchase agreements.”

“If it’s a matter of forfeiting a 20-per-cent deposit, Morris expects those who aren’t able to sell on assignment will simply walk away when it comes time to close on the unit they agreed to purchase. ‘It is a growing problem and it is something that is on the horizon,’ he said. Pre-construction values set the price floor for the entire category of homes, including resale condos, so if those who bought to sell on assignment experience widespread financial distress, the pain will be contagious, Morris said.”

From News.com.au in Australia. “Struggling construction titan Metricon has listed more than 50 display homes for sale as collapse fears continue to grow. In May, reports emerged that Australia’s biggest builder was on the verge of ruin, as claims the company was facing serious financial problems spread. Those industry-wide problems have already seen Gold Coast-based Condev and industry giant Probuild enter into liquidation in recent months, while smaller operators like Hotondo Homes Hobart and Perth firms Home Innovation Builders and New Sensation Homes, as well as Sydney-based firm Next have also failed, leaving homeowners out of pocket and with unfinished houses.”

“It comes after it recently emerged that Australia recorded a staggering 3917 liquidations or administration appointments across all industries during the 2021-22 financial year. The construction sector led the charge, representing 28 per cent of all insolvencies. According to consumer credit reporting agency Equifax, ‘small-scale operators in Australia’s construction industry could well be the canary in the coal mine for the difficulties that lie ahead for this sector.'”

From Vietnam Express. “The tightening of credit for property development has had a major impact on the market and could cause an industry crisis this year, experts fear. Since 2020 developers have been dependent on bank loans as the government imposed stricter rules for bond issuance, and the latest tightened policy on credit is a ‘knock-out blow’ to an already weakened market, Huynh Phuoc Nghia, a senior consultant at Global Integration Business Consultants said. Developers jacked up prices amid the property fever last year and earlier this year and now get to choose whether to continue with that or try to meet the actual demand there is with appropriate prices, he said.”

“A price drop has already been occurring. Tran Khanh Quang, CEO of developer Viet An Hoa said since May prices have been cut by around 10 percent. In the next six months there could be more developers seeking to dump their inventories for cash, meaning they could sell at even lower prices or even losses, and this could lead to a crisis, he said.”

“Data from his company shows that in the last three years 80 percent of property buyers have been investors buying for profits and not for housing use, and of them 70 percent used bank credit. This means they would soon have to sell their assets even if it means losses, Quang added.”

From Bloomberg. “The China Evergrande Group suffered its first rejection from local creditors to extend a bond payment deadline, in a development that marks growing impatience with the distressed builder at the centre of the nation’s property debt crisis. Holders of a puttable yuan-denominated bond from the firm’s main onshore unit Hengda Real Estate Group rejected a plan to further extend payment past a July 8 deadline by six months, according to a Shenzhen stock exchange filing Monday. The company had held a meeting last week to seek creditor approval, but more than 90% of the voting holders rejected the proposed extension.”

“‘This is the first time it failed to extend an onshore bond and will constitute a default,’ said Li Kai, CIO at Beijing Shengao Private Equity Fund Management Co Ltd. ‘It will create a new path for restructuring and will have implications in pricing of real estate bonds, especially extended bonds. We expect more onshore defaults from here.'”

The Telegraph. “In recent weeks, things have soured for burgeoning fintechs. The technology industry has endured a bleak few weeks. Venture capital has dried up, with many companies slashing their valuations and axing jobs. Klarna, the Swedish ‘buy now, pay later’ specialist, has plummeted to a market valuation of just $6.5bn following its latest funding round, from $46bn this time last year. Its global headcount has reduced by 10pc – around 700 job losses.”

“Other fintech companies have also laid off staff in recent weeks, including London-based trading platform Freetrade, which cut 15pc, and Nuri, the German digital bank, which let go one-in-five employees.  One City analyst says: ‘If it was raising money now, I’d be gobsmacked if it didn’t take a discount. The valuation you’d seek today is a lot lower than one you could have sought in January.'”

“Tom Bull, head of fintech growth at EY, says the broader fintech sector has for years benefited from rock bottom borrowing costs to drive growth. That trend, combined with a vast amount of capital to prop up tech firms, has gone into reverse. ‘In a strong wind, even a turkey can fly,’ says Alfonso Marone, UK head of technology, media and telecoms at KPMG.”

“Crypto-asset trading on Revolut’s app has also become a significant revenue stream and digital currency markets have gone into freefall, forcing players to slim down. Coinbase, one of the world’s biggest crypto companies, has cut nearly 20pc of staff, while Robinhood let go almost 10pc in April. The City analyst adds: ‘You only have to look at Robinhood in recent months to see that crypto money has gone out the door. The problem with so-called super apps is they risk being all things to all people. I’m on the fence about whether this is a model that can work.'”

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This Post Has 139 Comments

    2. I watched the car repo video from yesterday. What an eye opener, thank you! I didn’t know that there was a pandemic moratorium on repos. I also didn’t know that banks and repo outfits have the car key codes. No more noisy tow. Now the repo man can just go at 3 am and quietly drive off with the car without risk of being thwarted.

      As soon as auctioneers/banks give up on their wishing prices, we’re going to be flooded with cars, just like for houses.

      1. “…flooded with cars, just like for houses….”

        Not to mention Rolex watches

        Fundamental question: If these people are so rich, why are they wasting time shopping for groceries? Don’t they have their own private shopper who does the drudge work for them?

        1. If these people are so rich, why are they wasting time shopping for groceries? Don’t they have their own private shopper who does the drudge work for them?

          I have a friend whose mom lives in a mansion in Beverly Hills. Back in the 1980s is when I first found out that these people don’t go grocery shopping, they have all of their groceries delivered.

      2. “Now the repo man can just go at 3 am and quietly drive off with the car without risk of being thwarted.”

        In the barrio and ghetto when the car stops running the payment stops too. Of course that is not the way the loan works on paper, but reality is another matter. There are modern wheel-lift tow trucks that are able to drive-off in seconds if the vehicle is accessible.

        1. yeah, the repo man don’t need key codes. The repo tow trucks are amazing and lots are hidden underneath stock looking pickups. the slide out, grab the wheels (even when paralell parked) and grab the car and they are gone in less than 30 seconds.

          then they drive a mile or so, then secure the car to the lift and off they go to the repo yard. I think the key codes are only for the repo yard to take the car to auction and sell it.

      3. What an eye opener, thank you!

        Eye-opening, indeed. The loose-lending on these auto loans is mind-boggling, and the FBs who “bought” them will have no compunction about shirking their financial obligations.

  2. From the 12 minute video above:

    5 reasons why there ISN’T a housing shortage
    Jul 7, 2022 Housing is a basic human need. But a lack of affordable housing to buy or rent is fuelling a housing crisis here in the States. Research claims that the US needed 3.8 million homes in 2019, which grew to 5.2 million homes in 2021. In this video, we’re going to look at 5 reasons why there ISN’T a housing shortage in the States.

    Chapters
    0:00 Introduction
    2:15 Population growth
    4:48 Density
    5:31 Rental Units
    7:18 Interest Rates
    8:28 Mismatch
    9:18 Sponsorship
    10:02 Conclusion

    Declining population growth
    According to the US Census Bureau, the country’s population grew by fewer than one million people in 2021, slower than during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and World War 1. Permits for single-family homes declined from a peak of 1.7 million in 2005 all the way down to 400k in 2010, a massive 70% drop. Even in 2020, the number of permits issued was only 1 million, far lower than 2005. However, overlaying this graph with the population growth graph tells a very different story.

    The ratio of population growth to new housing permits should be around 1.5, 1.5, meaning 1.5 people added for every 1 permit. In the mid-2000s, right before the last housing crash, the Population / Permitting Ratio dipped below 1.5. 15 years later, we’re back in the same danger zone. 0.8 people were added in 2020 for every 1 permit. For the first time in US history, more units were permitted than the population grew. This means that we’re heading towards oversupply, NOT a shortage.

    1. The mls has exploded with houses, and continues to grow every day. Geez, it’s almost like the entire housing market was cornered by speculators or something.

      1. nah, that’s crazy talk. You sound like one of those conspiracy theorists.

        I notice looking at new listings here, that at least a 1/3 of them are empty. Now new construction is typically empty but there’s very very few of those here (small town, no new developments) and sure some people moved out before selling it. But generally you get the house on the market BEFORE you fully move out. So why are all these houses empty at picture taking day? Before it even hits the MLS? Even rentals you usually sell with tenants in place.

        Unless just possibly they are all owned by speculators/people not selling their old house cuz money was free and housing only goes up.

        1. “…just possibly they are all owned by speculators/people…”

          No way to obtain hard data that I know of, but my gut tells me there are hundreds of millions of square feet of unused housing. (USA wide)

          So the bottom line is us taxpayers are subsidizing all this nonsense.

  3. ‘This is the first time it failed to extend an onshore bond and will constitute a default’

    Wa happened to the watermelons? My garlic!

    Hey bloomberg, are you sure they didn’t make a “last minute payment”? That had to be one of the strangest things I’ve seen in the MSM.

  4. Oh dear…the globalist Quisling regimes in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada seem to be leading the pack when it comes to the implosion of Housing Bubble 2.0.

    At least 15 builders have already gone bust and more could collapse

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/at-least-15-builders-have-already-gone-bust-and-more-could-collapse/news-story/edd793499f93a9461ee81b5209408ac3

    At least 15 builders across Australia have collapsed within the past year and there are fears more may fall soon.

    For many builders, the soaring price of materials and labour, compounded by Covid-19 delays, has eaten away at their profits.

    1. At least 15 builders across Australia have collapsed within the past year and there are fears more may fall soon.

      I know a few builders. Their companies are in debt, but they are flush with cash on a personal level. I think they fully plan on going BK with their company when this cycle gets flushed down the toilet.

  5. ‘‘We have a long ways to go, but the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. For a seller, it means sell now. Because the longer you wait, I think it will equate to less of a sales price’

    Yer a doom and gloomer Ken.

    How did you lose yer shack mate?

    The pendulum swung.

  6. Is the next central bank-engineered Great Muppet Reaping at hand?

    Reserve Bank plunges New Zealand into consumer-led recession

    https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2022/07/reserve-bank-new-zealand-consumer-recession/

    Independent economist Tony Alexander’s latest monthly Spending Plans Survey for New Zealand shows that a record net 27% of the near 1,000 respondents plan on cutting consumption spending over the next 3 to 6 months – a sharp turnaround from late 2021 when there was a net 17% positive:

    1. Yet Ardern’s party will handily “win” the next election. There will be no consequences for her or her party.

  7. ‘And don’t sleep on the three-parcel listing with a lakefront cabin (accessible by boat) with two bedrooms and 500 square feet priced just under $600,000 (down $76K earlier this week)’

    What do you do when it gets cold?

  8. Color yer money gone, Chinese baggies.

    Chinese protesters demanding bank deposits tussle with security men

    https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-protesters-demanding-bank-deposits-tussle-with-security-men-2022-07-10/

    BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) – Several people protesting in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou over the freezing of deposits by some rural-based banks said they were injured on Sunday when heavy-handed security personnel dispersed the crowd.

    The banks froze millions of dollars worth of deposits in April, telling customers they were upgrading their internal systems. read more The banks have not issued any communication on the matter since, depositors said.

    3. In China, everything is paid by phone app; they don’t have any physical cash yuan. So how do they even “withdraw” their money? Just buy real stuff until the account is empty? They can’t do even that, since the accounts were frozen. They’re picking up tips from Justin Trudeau. Yup, the money’s gone.

      BTW, Agustin Carstairs from the Bank of International Settlements intends to foist the exact same thing on us with his CBDCs. He lays this out in his Marketwatch piece:

      —-
      “Policy reforms should also prevent disintermediation: the danger that money will be held in large amounts in CDBD wallets, rather than as deposits in commercial banks, making it unavailable for lending and other productive purposes.”
      —-

      Translation: how dare you keep your own money at home (physically or electronically). It will ALL be in the banks where WE can access it at any time and decide who to lend it to. You will own nothing and you will be happy.

  9. Kurt Schlichter — Are We Looking At Another Civil War?

    “while the chance of civil conflict is low, violence is not only possible but it has been used by the left as a means of making political change in America in the past. And the evidence is that the left remains ideologically open to using violence in the future to achieve its goals.

    “[T]he blues face a real challenge. They will have those massively over-extended logistical lines. It’s nice to hold cities, but if you do not also hold all the rural territory between the cities, as well as the routes to the places where you are getting your food and fuel (and holding those is a big question in itself), then you have a real problem. The stuff that keeps cities alive has to pass through Indian country, and even assuming you could convince civilian truckers to make that passage, the blue states would still have to devote a massive proportion of their forces to defending those routes. Even a small-scale campaign against those supply lines could cause chaos in the cities. Imagine the madness as soft urban professionals, unused to privation and largely disarmed, find themselves both starving and subject to the will of the strong and merciless. It’s The Road Warrior, and there is no Mad Max coming to save you.”

    https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/07/11/are-we-looking-at-another-civil-war-n2609990

  10. “By the end of June, LVR reported 5,746 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 134.1 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 1,340 condos and town homes listed without offers in June represent a 133 percent jump from one year earlier.”

    Get to sawin’ and slashin’ like you mean it, greedheads.

  11. ‘A year ago, you were negotiating up, not down.’”

    Those indescribably stupid buyers will be the first to walk away from their underwater shacks, or more likely, squat in place without servicing their mortgages. Heckova job, banksters, creating moral hazard.

    1. “Heckova job, banksters, creating moral hazard.”

      I thank you. Oh, and I loved the fees.

  12. “Some buyers who purchased pre-construction homes as an investment could be at risk of having to sell at a loss if interest rates keep rising, which could affect prices in the wider real estate market, according to experts.

    Die, speculator scum.

    1. you mean ‘investors’ dont get an additional 20% premium for assignment sales after they did a pre-construction condo.

      Oh @#*^Y – my cousin’s boyfriend’s uncle assured me that this was the deal.

      Similar discussions in many locations in Toronto and Vancouver

  13. Santa Clara, CA Housing Prices Crater 24% YOY As Bay Area Seethes In A Pot Of Mortgage Defaults, Soaring Inventory And Plunging Rental Rates

    https://www.movoto.com/ca/95054/market-trends/

    As one Bay area broker explained, “Our internal forecast is falling prices to a level not seen since the 1990’s.”

  14. In some cases, assignment sellers have agreed to buy multiple units, making it all the more difficult to close on their purchase agreements.”

    Or all the more easy to walk away from their failed “investment.”

    1. How are those vaccine mandates working out for ya, air travelers?

      The companies who are finding it impossible to fill vacancies are mandating – you guessed it – THE JAB.

    2. My daughter’s employer and my son’s university both mandated the vaccinations, and they got the 3rd booster too, but it didn’t prevent them getting infected with COVID during a 4th of July visit to San Jose, California. They’re both on the upswing now, but they won’t be working this week either, and they’ll need negative test results too.

    1. “It’s the Hamptons and we like to pretend real-life problems don’t exist here.”

      This is the Democrat Party.

        1. I saw an article about how “disappointed” Biden voters are with him. Of course as you said they want a different democrat, not a different party.

        2. The banks don’t like paying repo fees unless the debtor comes through with money to bring the loan current, pay all repo recovery and storage fees and update their current address and contacts including employer, family and friends. One repo shop owner I worked for had to borrow against his house to pay overhead expenses because the banks were not paying him.

          1. I would imagine the repo man has a first position lien on the car, right? Because otherwise the business wouldn’t make sense. He needs to get paid first before any of the car sale proceeds are further distributed.

          2. “I would imagine the repo man has a first position lien on the car, right?”

            Banks are smarter than that. The repo order is a contract to find the car (the hard part), recover it (steal it back from a pugnacious buyer), remove and itemize the personal effects and store them for 90-days, re-key (programming these days) the vehicle and transport it to the auction yard (no possession).

            Realize that voluntary repos, where the debtor hands the key to a feckless bank employee who knocks on the debtor’s door, make up more than 90% of all repos. The bad zip codes (yeah, red lining) and the “skips” (flee with the vehicle) are sent to hardscrabble recovery shops with skiptracers, tow trucks and dogs.

          3. And the regulations like California: “The Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (Bureau or BSIS) licenses and regulates the Alarm, Locksmith, Private Investigator, Private Security Services, and Repossession Industries. The mission of the Bureau is to protect and serve the public and consumers through effective regulatory oversight of the professions within the Bureau’s jurisdiction.”

        3. I think we can reasonably extrapolate 10%, is that a lot? Most of these cars sold for well over what the should have. If every action has an equal and opposite reaction then we should see historic discounts in the not too distant future.

          What is O’Biden going to do this time, cash for combustibles?

          2. Fifty years ago a family bought a car and drove it into the ground. Now, a car will have one lessee many owners. The low mileage lease return is usually sold by the car dealer on their used lot. After that, it’s off to the shyster used car lots near skid row where Julio or Rufus pay 20% or more financing rates. It might be sold, repo’d and re-sold several more times before ending up at a dismantler’s yard.

          3. Fifty years ago a family bought a car and drove it into the ground.

            While that is true, it didn’t take 20 years to do that. My dad had a 1974 Impala. By 1982 it was ready for the junk yard.

      2. BTW the K-da video earlier this morning: I’m pretty sure he said the mortgage people would approve any amount.

        1. We’ve also found out recently that if you could fog a mirror you could buy any car you wanted. Gee, that’s sound lending.

      1. That smug look on Trudeau reminded me of how Nancy Pelosi’s face looked January 5, 2021 when a Trump supporter told her she would be going to jail.

        Kind of like he knows something’s going to happen that his heckler doesn’t.

        1. Kind of like he knows something’s going to happen that his heckler doesn’t.

          That despite how bad things have become in Canaduh, his party is in no danger of losing. The truckers came and went, and nothing changed. I fear the same will happen to European farmers. They will be ignored like the yellow vest movement, which had no real impact.

          Protesting is no longer enough. And I’m going to guess that European farmers aren’t all that well armed, maybe a shotgun. The European police state does not fear them.

          1. I’m pretty sure that Grandpa buried a bunch in the backyard about 1945 or so all across Europe. Besides, the japanese MacGuyver showed the way.

          2. Random “accidents” are better than protests.

            The kind that happen when they are walking their dog. At night. Alone.

          3. Random “accidents” are better than protests.

            Taking out a deep stater or two won’t be very effective. There will be at least 10 candidates willing to take the deceased’s place. They’ll also know better than to go out at night alone. I suspect they already do.

            Also, just because the police can’t be bothered to investigate when something bad happens to one of us, doesn’t mean they won’t turn over every rock to catch a perp who takes out a person who matters. There are cameras everywhere now, especially in Europe.

          4. Protesting is no longer enough

            They haven’t seen a serious aggressive protest from Conservatives yet at all, let alone a cohesiveness.

        1. Too many people live in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. They will support the WEF stooges in lock step.

      3. It’s illegal to advocate violence against U.S. elected officials as U.S. citizens (seriously, don’t do this kids).

        If Fidel Trudeau sets foot in this country, he needs to be kidnapped and beaten.

        F* Trudeau and FJB.

        1. Trudeau sets foot in this country

          Canadians need to take care of him, and they are not yet willing to. He would be reelected again today.

  24. If you’ve ever wondered why the Democrat-Bolsheviks seek to emulate the example of their CCP ideological mentors when it comes to disarming the population, wonder no more.

    China crushes rare protest from people demanding their life savings back

    https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/china-crushes-rare-protest-from-people-demanding-their-life-savings-back/news-story/59518d0d1bdb7cf2885e7d5912fd87d3

    Chinese officials have reacted with force after over 1000 people marched in a rare protest against alleged government corruption.

    Chinese authorities reportedly crushed a peaceful protest by hundreds who demanded their life savings back from banks that have run into a deepening cash crisis.

    Hundreds marched Sunday in protest against alleged corruption by local officials in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, multiple participants told AFP, in a rare public demonstration in the tightly-controlled country.

  25. The Financial Times
    Fintech
    Fintechs face reckoning as easy money dries up
    Valuations have collapsed even faster than they climbed, making fresh funding hard to come by
    Imani Moise in New York and Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan and Joshua Oliver in London June 23 2022

    As a wave of fintechs rode successive funding rounds to ever-higher valuations over the past five years, Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna declared its ambition to become the Ryanair, Tesla and Amazon of the sector.

    But now as central banks raise rates in a fight against surging inflation, Klarna is trying to raise fresh cash at less than half its peak $46bn valuation and fintechs are having to come to terms with a world where expansion can no longer be fuelled by cheap money and business models must be demonstrated by profits.

    A record amount of investment poured into fintech companies in 2021, but many now struggle to raise fresh funds and are discussing selling themselves or accepting lower valuations to stay afloat, according to investors, analysts and executives in the industry.

    On Thursday, payments services provider SumUp raised cash at a valuation of €8bn — significantly below the €20bn valuation mooted earlier this year.

    And as belts tighten, a fintech’s chances of survival may be measured by the amount of cash sitting on its balance sheet. “You are in panic mode if your runway is less than a year,” said Erik Podzuweit, founder and co-chief executive officer of German investment app Scalable Capital.

    Venture capital firms more than doubled their investments in the sector last year to $134bn, helping fintech valuations outperform any other tech subsector, according to Crunchbase data. Funding peaked in the second quarter of 2021 as investors such as Accel, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank and Berkshire Hathaway backed groups including Brazilian digital lender Nubank, German broker Trade Republic and Amsterdam-based payments company Mollie. Financial services companies accounted for roughly $1 out of every $5 in venture capital investment last year.

    But now public fintech valuations have collapsed even faster than they climbed as funding slowed sharply in the first quarter. Fintech valuations have had a steeper decline than any other technology sector, according to a recent report by Andreessen Horowitz partners, which cited data from Capital IQ. Valuations fell from 25 times forward revenue in October of 2021 to four times in May.
    …

    1. “Buy now, pay later” has a catchy ring to it. It brings to mind, “I’d give you a dime on Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Seems like a pretty solid business principle to support a multibillion dollar corporation.

      1. The Financial Times
        Klarna AB
        Klarna’s valuation crashes to under $7bn in tough funding round
        Sequoia’s Michael Moritz says investors are in ‘their bunkers’ and prices will recover
        The Klarna app on a mobile phone
        Klarna was once Europe’s most valuable private fintech company
        Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan in London 2 hours ago

        Klarna, once Europe’s most valuable private tech company, has had its pricetag slashed from $46bn to $6.7bn at a difficult fundraising that highlights the crash in many tech valuations.

        Michael Moritz, chair of Klarna and a partner at investor Sequoia, blamed “investors suddenly voting in the opposite manner to the way they voted for the past few years”. He predicted that “after investors emerge from their bunkers, the stocks of Klarna and other first-rate companies will receive the attention they deserve”.

        The $800mn fundraising round, announced on Monday, featured new investors including Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in addition to existing investors such as Sequoia and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

        Just over a year ago, Klarna was valued at $46bn after a $639mn funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank, the investment group behind a disastrous bet in office-sharing group WeWork. The new “pre-money” valuation, excluding the new cash, is only $5.9bn.

        Founded in 2005, the Swedish company pioneered buy now, pay later, which allows customers to delay payments or divide them into instalments. The popular form of credit was boosted by the ecommerce boom during the pandemic.

        But with inflationary pressures increasing, investors have soured on growth-chasing fintechs, which have suffered an even steeper decline than any other technology sector.
        …

        1. 6, 12, 18, 24 months same as cash. Yeah, I also don’t get it. This has been around forever. The only difference I can envision is that you borrow it online yourself instead of filling out a credit application.

          This is how furniture, appliances, carpeting, etc. have been sold for decades.

        2. Exactly my thought. Yet somehow, when a Fintech company repackages and sells the idea, it’s a cutting edge financial innovation that supports billions of dollars worth of corporate valuation.

          1. Kind of like AirBnB and Uber.

            And speaking of ride sharing, I have been told that many car stealerships have gotten rid of the shuttle van, and instead have Uber or Lyft ferry you back home or to work.

    2. fintech valuations have collapsed even faster than they climbed

      Collecting investment instead of profit as a business model.

  26. I could have sworn somebody recently posted here that German engineered green heat pumps would let them take as many hot showers as they wanted and keep them from freezing this winter despite the lack of gas imports from Russia.

    Germany Plans ‘Warm Up Spaces’ in Response to Gas Shortages

    by Paul Joseph Watson
    July 11th 2022, 5:57 am

    Cities across Germany are planning to use sports arenas and exhibition halls as ‘warm up spaces’ this winter to help freezing citizens who are unable to afford skyrocketing energy costs.

    Germany has already seen its gas supply from Russia significantly restricted as a result of its support for sanctions and the war in Ukraine.

    “We are currently preparing for all emergency scenarios for autumn and winter,” Jutta Steinruck, the city mayor of Ludwigshafen told Bild, where the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle arena is about to be converted into a warm up hall.

    As we highlighted last week, Germany’s largest residential landlord which owns around 490,000 properties is set to impose energy rationing that will cut heating to tenants at night in response to falling gas imports from Russia.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/germany-plans-warm-up-spaces-in-response-to-gas-shortages/

    1. heat pumps

      My understanding is that those things are ineffective when it’s below freezing outside.

      1. Looks like Germany planning ‘Warm Up Spaces’ in response to falling gas imports from Russia makes you correct.

      2. “My understanding is that those things are ineffective when it’s below freezing outside.”

        The post 2010 refrigerants like R-410A use very high pressure, so there is still a considerable drop past the expansion valve making them effective in below freezing conditions. However, it is an HFC refrigerant, which the government intends to phase-out.

        2. However, it is an HFC refrigerant, which the government intends to phase-out

          Which is, in itself, a total scam. Once the patent runs out on these Dupont refrigerants, they suddenly “find they are bad for the environment,” while Dupont conveniently has a replacement already waiting in the wings. See: R12 to R134A. Rinse and repeat. We’re living under Fascism already.

    2. “sports arenas and exhibition halls”

      … are all open-space and high-ceilinged and difficult to heat.

  27. SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
    Bay Area Housing Market Update Q2, 2022
    Jul 10, 2022 Is the real estate market on sale? What’s really going on?

    Now that we’ve shifted into the month of June, the sort of Spring Market party has come to an end and what it’s feeling like is a squishy balloon. You know, like the morning after the party when the balloons have sunk halfway and things aren’t feeling as hot or as wild as they were.

    So what does this mean for you if you’re a buyer or a seller? Let’s talk about it in today’s market update! Kristin and I are really excited to be back to uploading videos to this channel and bringing more value to you.

    00:00 Introduction
    01:28 Real estate is on sale.
    01:53 The spring market really shifted forward.
    02:42 The spring party has come to an end.
    03:14 The buyers who waited a long time are on vacation or distracted.
    04:04 Offer no. 1: A 4D/2BA House in Montclair
    05:44 Offer no. 2: A large Victorian in North Oakland
    07:36 Buyers have a power that they haven’t had for a long time.
    09:42 The fed has raised the interest rates.
    10:45 Tips for Sellers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9rHTekzKos

    12 minutes. At 3:20 – “prices are about 10 to 15% lower than they were.” (Crowz Thornberg – EAT!) Good video.

    1. Only offer but they “won”

      Uhhuh. Way past time to be walking away/playing hardball. That house will still be there in a month (or more) esp if you were the only offer.

  29. Is the Austin real estate market SHIFTING?!
    Jul 11, 2022 Is the market SHIFTING?! 🏠 This is what you need to know…

    Yes, the real estate market is changing. I expect prices to come down a bit in the near-term with month-over-month declines in prices. We won’t see year-over-year declines for a while (if at all) because values are up about 20% so far this year. The rising interest rates are the main factor that is slowing demand. With the quick increase in rates, some buyers have decided to sit out for a while or are having to adjust to purchasing a lower priced home. As a result, the supply of available homes is increasing. As prices begin to come down a tad, buyers are deciding if they want to wait to see if prices come down further but also knowing that interest rates are only expected to go up as the year moves on.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W_CbWliLp0

    1:15.

    1. Oh SHIFT! Nobody could have seen it coming.

      We have friends who bought in Austin a couple of years ago, at the height of the pandemic frenzy, in a fit of FOMO. They waved their inspection. Time will tell whether they overpaid.

    2. Oh no… not my free foreign language lessons!

      Duolingo (DUOL) plunged 14.3% after a downgrade on the stock by KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson to Sector Weight from Outperform “due to headwinds from inflation and signs of softness in other freemium apps” — a business model in which consumers pay nothing to download the application but are offered optional in-app purchases for premium features.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-july-11-2022-115053784.html

        1. are offered optional in-app purchases for premium features

          I think this is how.

          Also, companies like Red Hat don’t sell Linux licenses. They sell tech support contracts.

        2. They don’t. They only money they make is seperating suckers “investing” in them from their money. (either VC money or IPO). They don’t actually make profits and losses like that oh so dated model we used to have.

  34. 2:01

    Rage Against the Cringe

    Jul 11, 2022

    https://youtu.be/D5zEp3uDY_4

    1,233 Comments

    Daffy-13-
    1 hour ago

    Imagine an age where being a revolutionary requires parroting the system’s rhetoric.

    St. Michael of Cigarillo
    1 hour ago

    Calling them sellouts would be an understatement.

    Embargo Venom
    1 hour ago

    lol. Imagine calling yourself “Rage Against The Machine” while kneeling and slobbering for the Machine.

  36. Housing market crash? update 2022 FEDs still buying?
    Jul 11, 2022 Housing market crash? update 2022 FEDs still buying?
    Desperate social media posts in the industry?
    Listings cut by 90k?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5OYnHFON4g

    13 minutes. Loan officer in Phoenix. Says Flagstaff is off 10%. Have you heard UHS say “marry the house, date the rate”? He destroys that foolishness.

    1. Much to my surprise, two houses in the nabe are now “pending”. As far as I can tell, they didn’t drop their prices, but I could be wrong. There is a listing that dropped 10K, hasn’t sold. It seems we are still in beginning of the pre game show in my nabe; but as we all know here, things can change quickly.

  37. JUNE 8, 2022 PRESS RELEASE

    Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act. Below are the Speaker’s remarks:

    Our children are – as President Kennedy said – our greatest resource and best hope for the future. They are our precious treasure, and everything we do is For The Children.

    https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/6822-2

    San Francisco kids forced to confront homeless druggie squalor after school: video

    By Dana Kennedy
    July 9, 2022

    https://nypost.com/2022/07/09/san-francisco-kids-forced-to-confront-homeless-druggie-squalor-after-school-videosan-francisco-kids-forced-to-confront-homeless-druggie-squalor-after-school-video/

    Ricci Wynne
    @RawRicci415
    ·
    Follow
    Now ask yourself this question would you want your children to walk through this squalor just to get home from school? @JoeBiden @VP @SpeakerPelosi @SenFeinstein @LondonBreed @SFPDChief #DoBetter #democrats #politics #Police #DRUGS #SanFrancisco #California #crime #DoYourJob #NA

    https://twitter.com/RawRicci415/status/1545442338561896449?s=20&t=AKUEiUgHhDmVl-iQvpMHCw

  38. Oh dear….

    Soaring costs send thousands of home builders bankrupt

    https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2022/07/soaring-costs-send-thousands-of-home-builders-bankrupt/

    Last week, Equifax head of product and rating services, Brad Walters, noted that out of the 3,917 liquidations or administration appointments in Australia in 2021-22, 28% were in the construction sector.

    IBISWorld also reported that construction insolvencies are rising and projected that the number of firms operating across the home building industry will fall by 9% in 2022-23, “contracting for the first time in a decade” by thousands:

  41. Tucson, AZ Housing Prices Crater 14% YOY As The Toxic Effect Of Subprime Mortgages Ripples Across Arizona Housing Market

    https://www.movoto.com/az/85745/market-trends/

    As one real estate economist observed, “Current asking prices of resale housing is 350% higher than long term trend and double construction costs. It’s a long way down from here.”

    1. The Financial Times
      Markets Briefing Currencies
      Dollar surges and stocks tumble as traders weigh global growth outlook
      Euro slips closer to parity against US currency on recession concerns
      The US Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC
      Analysts expect the Fed to raise rates by as much as 0.75 percentage points at its July meeting
      Naomi Rovnick and Alexandra Heal in London and Nicholas Megaw in New York 6 hours ago

      The dollar surged and government bonds rallied on Monday, while stock markets tumbled, as traders considered the prospect of further aggressive interest rate rises in the US and intensifying recession risk in Europe.

      The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six others and has a large euro weighting, rose 1.2 per cent to a fresh 20-year high. That ascent helped to push the euro closer to parity with the greenback, with Europe’s common currency dropping as much as 1.5 per cent to $1.0032 — approaching a level not seen for nearly two decades.

      The Japanese yen also fell to a fresh 24-year low against the dollar of ¥137.75 before strengthening slightly.

      Market sentiment in recent weeks has swung between the recognition that central banks need to raise interest rates aggressively to combat soaring inflation and a concern that excessive monetary tightening may cause a global economic slowdown.

      Both narratives have firmed investors’ bullishness towards the dollar, particularly because recession risks are perceived to be higher in Europe. The European Central Bank has followed the US Federal Reserve into tightening monetary policy, but is expected to remain as dovish as possible to counter economic shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

      “We’re expecting a recession earlier in Europe,” said Sonja Laud, chief investment officer at Legal & General Investment Management. “The US is an energy exporter, Europe is an importer, and in the current energy price environment that makes all the difference.”

      Following unexpectedly strong jobs data for June, analysts expect the Fed to raise rates by as much as 0.75 percentage points at its July meeting to tame inflation, following a similar move last month.
      …

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