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It Becomes A Bit Like A Ponzi Scheme

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Kansas City area Realtors are looking ahead to the next few months in the housing market. ‘Six months ago, you can go to a seller, you can say, ‘Hey, throw me out your dream number and let’s go get it and it would work,’ he said. ‘With the rates rising, people aren’t able to offer $30,000 over for their homes anymore,’ said Realtor Jake Beckner.”

“‘We’re seeing more negotiations. We’re seeing price reductions,’ said Jeff Carson, director of Realtor Advocacy for the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors. Carson said buyers have started to slip into the driver’s seat in negotiations. ‘Right now, sellers are starting to groan and that they should have jumped on to this sooner,’ he said.”

“Housing sales in Amarillo have decreased compared to the same time last year. Cindi Bulla, a board member of the Amarillo Association of Realtors, said 2021 was a blockbuster year, so the decline is expected. ‘Sales prices across Texas did increase 19.1 percent second quarter over second quarter,’ Bulla said. ‘The numbers and the volume that we were seeing in 2021 were unsustainable. We couldn’t do that year over year. You have to take ‘slowdown’ by comparison to probably the biggest, the most rapid paced marker we’ve ever seen – certainly in my career.'”

“DFW’s hot market might be cooling off. ‘There are certainly some buyers that may have been impacted by the changing mortgage rates and the amount of house they can afford,’ said Peter Winscott, the regional sales vice president at the real estate tech company Orchard. ‘However, there are also buyers who are seeing competition slow down a bit and may be experiencing buyer’s remorse around the fear that they are over-spending, particularly if they bid over asking to win the house.'”

“For the past couple years, the very heated Portland metro real estate market was unforgiving to buyers that didn’t have the perfect offer. However, the market has cooled slightly. Savvy buyers and sellers now are wise to understand and consider having such a contingency. Sellers are more motivated now to entertain one, especially if your home is market-ready, all spiffed up, and priced right to sell. Your contingent offer may be the best thing the Seller has seen. The worst thing they can say is ‘no.’ but they often say ‘yes’ instead.”

“As REALTORS in the Berkshire discuss local trends, a common conversation is how aware the buyers are of the shift in the market and the higher cost of home loans, while sellers are still thinking the market is where the sky was the limit on prices, favorable seller terms and quick cash closings.  ‘A lot of homeowners are still pricing homes based on the market of six months ago,’ says George Ratiu, manager of economic research for Realtor.com. ‘There is a gap between what homeowners are asking and what they’re getting.'”

“Rising supply in June led to drops in Ada County home prices, the Idaho Press previously reported. For example, RE/MAX Capital City Realtor Sheila Smith listed a condo for $315,000 this winter. Another comparable unit in the same building is for sale right now, but for $290,000, a drop of about $25,000 for similar units with the same number of bedrooms and square feet. Homes are sitting on the market for an average of 14-30 days, Smith said. But in an even market, houses may be on the market for 60-90 days, she said. ‘There’s this kind of jumping the gun, which I think that that is part of what we’re seeing,’ Smith said. ‘We’re seeing values drop because we’re doing all these price drops in reaction to this increased supply.'”

“Homebuilders’ sales are falling in the Las Vegas Valley and around the country as higher mortgage rates keep putting the brakes on the market. Over the past two months, some builders have started to slash their base asking prices ‘for the first time in a very long time,’ added Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research president, Andrew Smith. ‘After months of racing to put up homes in order to meet the red-hot housing market conditions, builders are suddenly seeing more and more contract cancellations, sellers of existing homes cutting prices and homes lingering on the market,’ said Nicole Bachaud, an economist with Zillow.”

“‘We’re seeing supply rise, demand come down. We’re seeing houses sit on the market longer. We’re finally seeing price reductions for the first time in a long time,’ Sara Coers, Associate director of IU’s Center for Real Estate Studies said. ‘I think we’re not going to slow down completely, but we’re going to come off the madness a little. They’re not going to get the absolute top dollar, they’re not going to get it in a day, and they’re maybe going to have to give things back.'”

“Is it safe to say housing has ‘crashed’ when Southern California’s homebuying pace drops by 25% in a year to the sixth-slowest June in the past 35 years? I’m bemused by how sensitive the real estate industry is over how springtime’s dramatic homebuying slowdown is described — even when few in the industry foresaw such rapid cooling. For example, ‘Even though we have seen sales decline, economists are still saying it is unlikely home prices will crash,’ says a recent newsletter from the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors.”

“I consulted Merriam-Webster’s trusty online dictionary, looking for what would serve as the ‘economic’ definition of a crash when used as a verb. It said: ‘to go to a lower level especially abruptly.’ And ponder synonyms for crash from Merriam-Webster: crater, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, sink, skid, tumble.”

“In a nearly dormant real estate market, some sellers are confronting the revival of an anachronistic practice: Nervous buyers are making their offer to purchase a property conditional on the sale of the one they already own. Matthew Regan, a broker at Royal LePage Real Estate Services, saw a few buyers attach the clause during the market slowdown of 2018 but it disappeared when sales rallied again. In Oakville and Mississauga, where Mr. Regan concentrates much of his business, offers conditional on the sale of the purchaser’s property are rare today but starting to pop up, he says.”

“Mr. Regan says the pace of sales in London tends to lag the Greater Toronto Area by six to eight weeks, and sellers are more likely to be receptive to such a condition in areas where their property has been sitting for a long time. ‘This might be the first offer they’ve seen.'”

“In the first half of 2022, 8,644 owner-occupied apartments were sold in Denmark, down a third from 2021’s tally of 12,947 flats sold by that time. ‘Now it is starting to be more of a buyer’s market, where sellers also have to realise that if they want to sell they have to lower the prices,’ said Mira Lie Nielsen, housing economist at Nykredit, one of Denmark’s major banks and the country’s largest mortgage lender. A further slowing down can be expected in 2023 and 2024, she predicted. ‘There will now be a number of years with falling prices on the apartments market,’ she said.”

“New Zealand’s housing market lost $40 billion of value over the first half of this year, new data from Corelogic shows. The country’s average residential property value is now $1.018 million. There were mortgages secured against 20% of that value. ‘The sharp post-Covid upswing in values has now given way to a firm correction, and the falls already seen to date have been spread across most geographical areas and price brackets. It’s possible the national average property value will ultimately drop by -10% to -15% by the middle of 2023, which broadly suggests we’re potentially halfway through this correction in both duration and scale,’ said Corelogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson. Davidson said it had been more than a decade since there had been a similar drop in sales activity.”

“‘In the coming five to six years … the chance that housing prices outperform inflation is actually very, very low,’ said Chau Kwong-wing, chair professor of real estate at the University of Hong Kong. ‘The important issue here is that the increase in property prices is from 2009, as a result of quantitative easing, and that is going to end. That means there will be much less money flowing around looking for investment.'”

“An economist in China, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal, told VOA Mandarin that real estate companies have never been regulated. ‘When the economy is good, with the continuous expansion, most of the properties can be delivered. But when the economy is not good, it becomes a bit like a Ponzi scheme. If there is no follow-up funding, they will not able to complete construction,’ she said.”

“Sydney house prices fell 2.7 per cent to a median of $1,552,015 million in the June quarter, Domain’s latest house price data, published on Thursday, showed. That is the steepest drop since March 2019 and takes the median house price below the March 2022 price peak. Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said house prices fell almost five times faster than unit prices in the June quarter. ‘What was clear over the June quarter for Sydney was [that] the downturn gathered momentum, and not only did it gather momentum it also spread geographically,’ Powell said.”

“The pricier parts of Sydney, closer to the CBD, were leading the way. The median house price in the North Sydney and Hornsby region recorded the largest fall, down 8.4 per cent at $2.72 million. That was followed by the inner west, where the median fell 8.3 per cent to $2.2 million. But the downturn has begun to catch on in areas further from the city. ‘There are fewer people and less urgency. The FOMO that was driving the market last year is gone. Now people are scared of overpaying,’ Laing+Simmons chief executive Leanne Pilkington said.”

“Millennials have reacted with a mixture of consternation and good humor to reports of an avocado oversupply in Australia. The soft textured fruit has been synonymous with millennials, a byword for the generation that reached adulthood in the early 21st century, ever since Australian millionaire Tim Gurner put his ability to purchase property at a young age down to his aversion to avocados. Speaking on the subject of the younger generations during an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Gurner claimed: ‘When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t trying to buy smashed avocado for $19 and 4 coffees at $4 each.'”

“The comments were made in the context that Gurner was explaining he worked hard for his success and made sacrifices rather than waste money on short-term enjoyment. Millennials have been reacting with a combination of tongue-in-cheek confusion and fury at the fact they are now being asked to eat more avocados after being previously told it was the reason they were failing to climb the property ladder. Comic book illustrator Elliot Baggott was among those who struggled to contain his delight at this turn of events, tweeting: ‘Well, well, well. Look who’s come crawling back.'”

“Author Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò also reveled in this turn of events. ‘While Boomers were partying in their homes with affordable mortgages, we studied the avocado toast,’ he wrote. ‘And now that the crates are full and the barbarians are at the gates they have the nerve to ask us for help?’ Coder Aditya Mukerjee dubbed it ‘the ‘millenials are overspending on avocado toast’ to ‘millenials are killing avocado toast’ pipeline’ while Twitter user Glamazonjay wrote: ‘Y’all told us avocado toast was dropping our credit score.'”

“Tom Gara, a writer joked: ‘Avocado glut just as housing prices begin to cool off? This is an obvious millennial trap, don’t fall for it.’ Fellow journalist Emily Zanotti added: ‘The time has come, Millennials. Avocado toast to save the world.’ There were memes and gifs alongside the humorous astonishment. It quickly went viral with many millennials viewing it as archetypal of the out-of-touch attitude of the previous ‘boomer generation,’ who grew up at a time when housing was relatively cheap and still believe younger generations can afford property through disciplined spending.”

“Elsewhere, GrimAvenue said ‘This is the kind of crisis I was meant for’ with LOTNorm reflecting how ‘Our whole lives are measured in whether we’re buying too many avocados or too few avocados.’ Meanwhile an exasperated danglinghemmie simply asked: ‘DO WE GET THE AVOCADO TOAST OR NOT?'”

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This Post Has 142 Comments

  1. From the 14:24 video above:

    Agents Get Ready For Lower Incomes. Are we in a BULL TRAP? 2022 Canadian Real Estate Market.
    Jon Flynn Broker of Record, Flynn Real Estate Inc.
    Jul 26, 2022 In this video I look for a new career, talk about a possible real estate Bull Trap and compare to the stock market and crypto (bitcoin) markets and of course talk about how much real estate agents make and what they should expect to make in the coming months and year. With the housing market slowing in Canada most will have to change with the times.

  2. ‘Six months ago, you can go to a seller, you can say, ‘Hey, throw me out your dream number and let’s go get it and it would work’

    That’s some sound lending right there.

    1. I kinda remember the experts saying in 2005 that lending was sound; subprime, no problem. But I am sure they are all much wiser now and would never make the same mistake again.

      1. Not only that, the CEO of fannie said in May 2005 the company was going all in on subprime. Later they couldn’t produce financial statements.

  3. Oh dear…Aussie FBs seemed to think artificially suppressed interest rates could go on into perpetuity. Guess not.

    NAB hikes rates for owner-occupiers and investors by as much as 0.6 per cent

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/interest-rates/nab-hikes-rates-for-owneroccupiers-and-investors-by-as-much-as-06-per-cent/news-story/2e9641970d5f55384895ff0faf013949

    A major Australian bank has announced increases to its interest rates in a move that will have borrowers worried.

    1. Yet another market where FB’s will be paying all their after tax income on he mortgage.

      How anyone would consider maxing themselves out on a variable rate mortgage , especially in a record low interest rate environment, is beyond me. It’s like they are begging to get burned.

  4. ‘Right now, sellers are starting to groan and that they should have jumped on to this sooner,’ he said.”

    Those groans are going to be turning into piercing pig-like squeals in the not-too-distant future.

    1. No kidding. I see some listings on my feed that aren’t even within 100k of their competition. They will have try the cancel and relist trick to try to save face.

  5. ‘There’s this kind of jumping the gun, which I think that that is part of what we’re seeing,’ Smith said. ‘We’re seeing values drop because we’re doing all these price drops in reaction to this increased supply.’”

    Now that was some word-cloud babbling worthy of our esteemed VP.

  6. Globalist propaganda mouthpieces are finally acknowledging that shack prices are dropping, but are trying to minimize the extent of any possible bubble bust.

    Australian real estate: House prices to drop by as much as 15% in next 18 months

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/australian-real-estate-house-prices-to-drop-by-as-much-as-15-in-next-18-months/news-story/96163e77b625161fd4281d16bd5b8eee

    House prices could plunge by as much as five per cent in the next five months and are expected to be down by 15 per cent by the end of next year.

    1. The problem created by all of these open predictions of falling housing prices is that investors banking on appreciation, who thought real estate always went up, may take a hint to dump properties on the market before losing a bundle of highly leveraged money.

      Result: Larger than predicted price declines.

  7. Even our fake, Soviet-style inflation stats can’t conceal the extent of soaring prices. Meanwhile, despite the Fed’s incessant jawboning about mythical pending rate hikes, they continue to expand their balance sheet as they buy up debt no sane investor would touch, using Money Printer Go BRRRRR to create trillions more Yellen Bux out of thin air as they hurtle us down the road to Weimar Republic 2.0.

    Key Fed inflation measure hits new 40-year high of 6.8% as shrinking economy puts new pressure on central bank’s plan to raise interest rates

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11061903/Key-Fed-inflation-measure-hits-new-40-year-high-6-8.html

      1. Bacon avocados? What kind of sorcery is that?? I need to incorporate those into one of the latest offerings over at Bug-fil-A. I’ll have everyone eating bugs in no time, they will line up for it!!

  11. Democrat-Bolshevik control freaks must yearn for the day when they finally import enough servile Democrat-on-Arrival dependency voters to attain their permanent Democrat super-majority. When that tipping point arrives, the Dimms can be as arbitrary and capricious as their CCP ideological mentors when it comes to imposing surveillance and control measures on the population.

    Wuhan locks down one million people over four asymptomatic cases of Covid-19

    https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/wuhan-locks-down-one-million-people-over-four-asymptomatic-cases-of-covid19/news-story/e0ed71a7231cd031f396ad8115d0fa14

    China has continued its extraordinary pursuit of a Covid-zero policy left behind by the rest of the world, locking down a million people over four cases.

    1. If they bought that many there will be plenty of brow beating in the MSM to get that jab: if you don’t get one you’re a horrible person, winter of illness and death, etc.

    2. Biden is close to announcing the new booster shot vaccine for the Fall, that they didn’t require any trials or testing of the new booster vaccine , that’s suppose to address all the new mutations such as omicron.
      So, in that trials can be rather revealing on just how much death and injury a warp speed vaccine can cause, why not just get rid of any requirement to have trials, as the FDA did.
      So, the spin will be that the original vaccines and boosters became ineffective because the virus mutated, but the vaccine still saved you from severe disease and death. This is in spite of the vaccinated dying in hospitals as I speak of whatever version of the virus.
      I said a long time ago that the variant mutation theory would be used to justify constant jabs to keep this medical tyranny going, resulting in probably 6 jabs a year until they kill you, and than it will be blamed on climate change.

      1. And hordes will be tripping over each other to get the next booster.

        Anyone remember that website that showed country stats, and which showed most countries losing 50% of their population by 2025, until it was brusquely revised to not show that?

        1. I have a friend who took the first two shot. He suffered from some strange ailments after the shots .
          When he inquired with his doctor should he be getting the boosters, this doctor said that he doesn’t need boosters.
          I content that if the entire medical community just rebel and revolt against this mass genocide, they will save their own selves in the final analysis.

          1. I know someone who developed intense and unrelenting itching after shot #3. She continues to blame her symptoms on the condo in an old building she had just moved into. Couldn’t be multiple injections of the miracle “vaccine” causing an adverse reaction…

      2. “So, the spin will be that the original vaccines and boosters became ineffective because the virus mutated, but the vaccine still saved you from severe disease and death.” Yup. With no proof. As massive “vaccine” failure becomes more apparent and difficult to hide, will TPTB double down on blaming the un-injected for the mutations?

        I know 4X injected people who can’t wait for the new, exciting Omicron specific “vaccine”….this so-called vaccine that doesn’t stop infection or transmission. One such seemingly intelligent person declared: “I will be the first in line!”. These folks know I survived (!!!) infection in May sans injections, yet because I had the gall to do my own research after 38 years in healthcare I’m still considered a weirdo conspiracy theorist and maybe even a threat. Mass formation psychosis?

          1. The willingness to be jabbed was Joe Malone’s permutation on an old leftist ideas of racism, anti-Semitism, etc. as mass formation psychosis.

            Not certain that’s his name.

          2. Mass formation psychosis is Mattias Desmet’s brainchild popularized by Robert Malone.

        2. I know 4X injected people who can’t wait for the new, exciting Omicron specific “vaccine”

          When they have a stroke, clots or a heart attack, they will blame it on “global warming”. Assuming they survive the incident.

  13. “I consulted Merriam-Webster’s trusty online dictionary, looking for what would serve as the ‘economic’ definition of a crash when used as a verb. It said: ‘to go to a lower level especially abruptly.’ And ponder synonyms for crash from Merriam-Webster: crater, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, sink, skid, tumble.”

    I consulted with the Big Fat Bastard and between filling his face with two fists of Big Mac’s he said;

    …. realtors are liars and every closing is a crime scene.

    Sonoma, CA Housing Prices Crater 28% YOY As Inventory And Price Reductions Skyrocket Across California

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

    1. And ponder synonyms for crash from Merriam-Webster: crater, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, sink, skid, tumble.

      Sounds similar to the witches in Macbeth
      First Witch:
      Round about the cauldron go;
      In the poison’d entrails throw.
      Toad, that under cold stone
      Days and nights has thirty-one
      Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
      Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

      ALL:
      Double, double toil and trouble;
      Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

      The witches represent pure evil. They are not real characters, and, indeed, they can be seen simply as the voice of temptation in the mind of Macbeth. Almost like the sleaziest of Realtors

      1. We need to bring back witch burning. Let the flames lick around their wizard sleeves!! I miss the 90’s, the 1690’s. Is that wrong?

    2. I also heard a Doctor say that for a couple of decades now, they knew that vaccines were not working with the elderly with compromised immune systems with co morbidities. Every year 50 to 70 thousand died of respiratory problems , the flu, etc.

      I believe the first target for genocide was the elderly, as well as people with co morbidities. They knew that a vaccine wouldn’t save this group , yet they marketed the vaccines as the collective duty to save grandparents. Medications might of saved many, but they censored the use of life saving meds .
      The evidence shows the hospital protocols were massively killing the people that were subjected to their unsuccessful treatments,while sucessful treatments were stonewalled.
      Everybody is witness to the fake new narratives in which a fake test was used to lable everything Covid , where money incentives were used for a Covid death in hospitals.
      Covid was a faked pandemic, but I don’t rule out that bio weapons were unleashed in specific locations . The objective was to trick the world into lockdowns, and medical tyranny. Same with Climate Change fraud to change the world into a One World order dictorship.
      Biden has said that he is about to use Executive Orders to respond to the Climate Change emergencies, apparently because we had some hot days in summer.
      And how unlucky can earth be that climate change, Covid and now the Gates predicted monkey pox is all emerging at the same time to justify a transformation into a world of deprivation of fuel, food and forced poison vaccines, and you will own nothing, eat bugs and be happy, while they inject electronic into your body.
      Fake narratives , fear mongering and mass psychosis to accomplish this absurd new dictorship by a cult of fraudsters and murderers. Unreal

      1. Survival in this age of Fraud and Big Lies will require simplicity and honesty. Aim to need little and don’t promise to pay what you don’t have.

        1. simplicity and honesty

          Starting a vegetable garden is harder than I thought it’d be.

          2. 👍🏻 I kid about that. “Look at this tomato! It only cost $30 to grow!” I’d give mushrooms a whirl, though.

          3. I was growing vegetables, and it is hard because they are attacked constantly by bugs, insects , critters , you name it.
            I was sucessful with radishes and beans , but my other crops I got maybe one forth of the yield because of attack by insects and nature. They do have organic pest and insect control , but you have to constantly spray, raising the cost to produce your own.
            I hear that seaweed can be used for fertilizer, and that’s what they used in Ireland , before they got hit with the great
            potatoes famine.
            I agree that’s its not as easy as one would think.

          4. Even though I’ve binge-watched a number of YT videos, there’s a huge learning curve as to what works in my zone and yard. I’ve been starting from seed using an old AeroGarden my mother had. I’m having problems with mold and leggy seedlings. I’ve ordered a grow light and dug out of storage a wire shelf to create a better setup. Critters have helped themselves to a couple plants as well. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most patient person and fussy.

          5. It only cost $30 to grow!”

            After I bought compost, vermiculite and peat moss for a 4’x4′ planter, my husband remarked that what I spent would buy a lot of vegetables! And that was just the soil!!

          6. It’s worth it.

            Keeping a backyard vegetable garden kept my paternal grandmother alive into her 90s, for decades after my grandfather passed. And until he became disabled a decade ago, my dad’s backyard urban garden was his source of spiritual and physical nourishment for decades of retirement.

          7. I was growing vegetables, and it is hard because they are attacked constantly by bugs, insects , critters , you name it.”

            Here in CA land of perpetual drought i use a bucket to catch dishwater soap and soap is somewhat effective on discouraging insects. Add tobacco and its pretty good but not sure if its safe for eating ? might be ?

          8. what I spent would buy a lot of vegetables

            Decades ago I bought a farm. Those tomatoes and steaks were pretty expensive. I enjoyed it though and raised a bunch of kids there.

            Look for neighbors who have gardens and talk.

          10. + I’ve always had a brown thumb. Can you say that anymore, or is that cultural appropriation by fair-skinned me?

          11. My upstairs neighbor in S.D. grew tomatoes on the deck. At dusk the rats would come and steal them all. The tree leading to the deck would be covered with rats as well as the gas line up the side of the building. This is when I learned how impressive their climbing skills are. She decided D-con poison was the most humane solution. “They don’t feel a thing.” Soon we had half dead rats everywhere slowly crawling around on their front legs as their rear section no longer functioned. It made them easy prey for the hawks. All in all it was a disturbing scene and really gives one an appreciation for the modern food chain. In my own trials of tomato growing I never have critter problems because I never actually get any tomatoes to grow. I would starve to death on a farm. 🙁

          13. For the record these weren’t your hardened urban rats, these ones lived in the hills. They come up out of the surrounding trees and shrubs. It was somewhat alarming to realize how many were out there.

          14. @IPFreely
            Oh God. Best story ever!

            Skirmishing with Vegas waterbugs since we had a toilet clog and they sawed out a goodly portion of the wall behind to get at the pipes…three weeks ago, at least. They give me the willies, even though they are pikers in comparison to NYC ones (meaner, uglier and much faster.)

          15. It’s worth it.

            It is even though getting start hasn’t been cheap. My three tomato and bean plants are doing well. I tried interplanting basil with one of the tomatoes but all 4 basil plants succumbed to powdery mildew rather quickly.

            land of perpetual drought

            That and not much humidity.

          16. “Look at this tomato! It only cost $30 to grow!”

            Unless you live on top of rich farm soil, it’s always cheaper just to buy your produce at the store or the local farmers’ markets. Always. I’ve grown tons of things and it never, ever penciled out. And then if you want to count your time as money, the math gets really bad.

          18. insurance policy should SHTF.

            Consider canned goods in the pantry if you want insurance.

        2. meat in the freezer

          I have that as a convenience. For insurance I have pressure canner jars of meat, soups and stews in the pantry. It will keep a long time without electricity.

      2. I believe the first target for genocide was the elderly, as well as people with co morbidities.

        A great way to reduce Social Security and Medicare liabilities.

        1. “A great way to reduce Social Security and Medicare liabilities.”

          Isn’t that contra to the defacto fiscal/monetary policies of the western world? I mean if fewer people and not needing to ‘print’ as much…that kinda goes against how “they” have been benefiting from.

      3. If a loved one of mine was killed by a hospital I think ya’ll would have read about the nutcase who walked into a hospital administration meeting and got even.

        1. The problem with seeking revenge is that you would end up in jail or be killed by the police that will take you out.
          Can you imagine how the people who have been disabled for life feel about having their normal life taken by a vaccine.
          And the suffering is enormous. In the UK they have started to give some of them 120 thousand pounds , which is a merger amount to cover a life of disability.
          When I watch these injured people , along with the deaths , I’m just floored that they continue with this assault on people.
          And a undertaker just exposed they are ordering a bunch of children caskets to the degree that has never been ordered before, and trying to hide it.
          This is the definition of evil, what they are doing.

  15. A reader sent these in:

    Annie Radecki

    When you hear “builders can’t build fast enough,” it doesn’t mean builders can’t build. This aerial from the Austin suburbs is astounding – it’s >150 homes ALL in various stages of foundation work. (it’s also where the builder is now discounting homes 17%)

    https://twitter.com/ALROnHousing/status/1552835490339889153

    Danielle DiMartino Booth

    There were a few quaint comments on my feed yesterday that suggested the downturn in housing would be mild. Hope this helps

    https://twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1552627938813788162

  16. Mother Loses Custody of Daughter for Refusing Transgender Status: ‘She Is a Girl’

    PENNY STARR
    28 Jul 2022

    “They want me to have a certain understanding that there is such a thing as a child who is born transgender, and this is who they are. I do not believe that to be true. I will not lie to the court. I will not state otherwise. I believe too strongly in my oath to tell the truth. My child is a girl, and I won’t lie to her or anyone else. I think that’s good parenting.”

    664 Comments

    P-3 FE (Ret) toledofan • 9 hours ago • edited
    My daughter is allowing (and cheer leading) her two daughters into Transgenderism (16 & 12 years old). I have politely told her that I will not call them boys, as my duty to parent hasn’t stopped because she disagrees with me.

    I don’t get to see my granddaughters, because she claims it causes them distress. I hope it does… but I will be there to be their grandfather when they come out of this. Pray for the protection they need before they damage themselves. TY

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/07/28/mother-loses-custody-of-daughter-for-refusing-transgender-status-she-is-a-girl/

    1. There is language in the Old Testament of the Bible about this and the term is abomination.

      Groomers gonna burn in Hell 🔥

      1. Jesus said to the disciples:
        “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
        which collects fish of every kind.
        When it is full they haul it ashore
        and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
        What is bad they throw away.
        Thus it will be at the end of the age.
        The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
        and throw them into the fiery furnace,
        where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

        Mt 13:47

  18. I was thinking about that movie Space Odessey in which the computer HAL tried to take over the space ship. And I think they also had a picture of some monkeys throwing up a stick.
    And the thought occurred to me that our species harnessed fire and tools and advanced to modern day. It was humanity that gained mastery over tools, that brought us out of the slavery of brutal nature .
    But now you have a cult of psychos that want the tools to have mastery over the humans . Trans humanism by tools used to enslave humanity and destroy the purpose of tools, just like Hal the computer taking over the space ship.
    Klaus Schwab and his group talking like Gods who now have the technology to enslave humanity, who will own nothing, eat bugs , and become the tool of the tools, and be happy. The earth will be saved from the humans , by these goons with a plan .
    And , the goons call humans ” useless eaters ” in spite of this cult being parasites , looters, and destroyers of human mastery .
    This cult is the greatest threat to the World , as they go about destroying all that was created by humans by thousands of years of mastery of tools. And humans will have no choice in how they want to use tools, because they will decide how tools will be used to take over the world and transform the World. And , you will be injected with poison over and over because they care about saving lives. Hal is trying to take over the space ship.

    1. “I was thinking about that movie Space Odessey in which the computer HAL tried to take over the space ship.”

      The HAL 9000 had control of the entire ship from the beginning.

      “And I think they also had a picture of some monkeys throwing up a stick.”

      That was an animal bone, and the scene was early man, a starving and thirsty forager becoming carnivorous, a meat-eating predator and king of the watering hole.

      2. The HAL 9000 had control of the entire ship from the beginning.

        David Bowman had to shut HAL down to take control of the ship.

  19. Seattle Real Estate Market Update: July 2022
    Jul 28, 2022 We’re back with another market update for Area 701—Which is known as: Downtown, Belltown, Pioneer Square, and South Lake Union.⁣
    ⁣⁣⁣
    • Area 701 currently has 232 active condos on the market—about 49 coming from the new construction buildings—leaving us with the resale number around 183 condos.
    ⁣
    • In the last 14 days we’ve about 21 condos go pending giving us a total of 52 pending.

    • 19 homes have sold in the last 14 days, with an average of 38 days on market.

    • They’re also selling at 96 percent of their list price, which means there is some room for negotiation and inventory to choose from for buyers.

    • SELLERS: Budget for that 30-60 days on market window as long as you’re priced where you need to be—and working with an agent who understands the downtown market.

    • BUYERS: If you see something that catches your eye, go ahead and jump on it because it might not be there for you as homeowners choose to take their properties off the market as we head into September-October.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK4cqQ8mEQo

    3 minutes.

    1. “it might not be there for you as homeowners choose to take their properties off the market as we head into September-October”

      Is that a threat?

  22. Can anyone recall in the 04-08 bubble when the tops were hit? I believe in most areas it was around 06, but some of the canaries in the coal mine (like phoenix, vegas) were in 05 or even 04, but I can’t quite recall. And then it took a couple of years for the defaults/foreclosures to pile up to lead to all the financial destruction in ’08. But I can’t remember if most of that start in 05 or 06.

    1. And then it took a couple of years for the defaults/foreclosures to pile up

      This why I think they will opt for inflation vs. austerity. Austerity brings forth a flood foreclosures. Last time they resorted to shadow inventory and zombie houses. The problem this time is that this bubble is far worse than the previous one and inflation is raging out of control. No amount of foam on the runway can keep this crash “mild”.

      1. “No amount of foam on the runway can keep this crash “mild”.”

        I think “they” can. Money, laws & truth are no longer a consideration for the ruling class. With the combination of Corps/Fed/Governments/Media, they will do everything to “soften” this. But we know the reality is dire…it already is for most people.

        My guess is the next bailouts will happen at State and local levels…money directly pumped by the Fed.

          1. He’s already squandering the surpluses from the good years. Once that is gone he will need bail outs.

        2. My guess is the next bailouts will happen at State and local levels…money directly pumped by the Fed.

          Followed by even more inflation. We can be Argentina 2.0

          1. Followed by even more inflation. We can be Argentina 2.0

            Right, which is why they are not going to do what Butters is talking about, because it would destroy the currency and the US dollar’s reserve status. Guess what? They’re going to tank housing. They want to. And the stock market. Speculators are going to get crushed.

      2. How many Americans are truly screwed in a housing crash? Something like 30% of households own their homes free and clear. There are probably another 20-30% who bought 15-20 years ago and can survive a housing crash. Something like 30% of households are renters. I.e. the vast majority can weather a housing crash. How many households can survive persistent, rampant inflation?

        Politicians who do not get control of inflation will be voted out of office.

          2. How did Powell keep his position?
            Inflation seemed to coincide almost perfectly with the Congress spending an extra $5 trillion.

          3. “Inflation seemed to coincide almost perfectly with the Congress spending an extra $5 trillion.”

            More likely, it is the number of family breadwinners failing to keep-up. As their number increase the tipping point approaches, and once beyond that point it’s like dominoes tipping over. We’re probably there.

    2. IIRC So Cal was still crazier in Spring 05. It was all about “buying” houses for many people I knew at that time.

      2. When the 5/1 ARMs began resetting en-masse and the borrowers couldn’t refinance it was “game-over!”

        1. When the 5/1 ARMs began resetting en-masse and the borrowers couldn’t refinance it was “game-over!”
          Wrong. You can an automatic interest rate reset based on some predetermined “index.”
          My 5 year ARM had the 1 year treasury as an in index and reset 2009. Rate went down about 200 bps when it reset. 99% of the People in 5 year ARMS were better off as the Fed funds rate plunged. It was the IOs partially but mostly it was just the tanking prices and the loss of jobs.

    3. It’s psychological, I swear. Some people are pretty hard-core and “reality based;” others choose either to delay or emotionally avoid what they intuit/see.

      I lived in north Scottsdale starting 2002 (northeast Phoenix). Most of the people I knew didn’t want to talk or even think about what could happen when the amazing run-up in home prices ended. They must have thought it would end in a wimper … or not at all.
      Maybe they just didn’t think.
      I’m pretty cynical and reality-based psychologically, so I willingly “felt” the end coming around 2006-7, or so. As I think about it, I knew something was up by the end of 2006. When I pegged the top of the market, I was off by a mere two months. Early.
      Now I’m in Colorado. This time, I was way off. Honestly, I thought this housing market was going to blow two years ago. It seems artificially delayed.
      Hope this helps

      1. “This time, I was way off. Honestly, I thought this housing market was going to blow two years ago. It seems artificially delayed.”

        Massive fiscal and monetary COVID stimulus gave the Housing Bubble a parabolic blowout phase.

        Now the aftermath is happening: CR8R.

      2. Now I’m in Colorado. This time, I was way off. Honestly, I thought this housing market was going to blow two years ago. It seems artificially delayed.

        The cracks are starting to show. Local UHS claim that it’s just a shift, and happy days will soon return.

      3. Some say the price action pegs the top at 2005-2006 but the financing top was when New Century Financial went under in 2007 and then a bunch of others followed right after. These were the subprimes that were allegedly contained. The following year we got the massive oil spike in the summer. This combined to crash the stock market in the fall.

        One big take away from it all for me was that all of them pretended everything was fine right up until they had exhausted all options and couldn’t make payroll. The talking heads also play along saying we must dance while the music still plays. Currently they are in the process of exhausting all options. The real crash is still ahead. Crypto is a good example of this behavior right now. We know there are huge gaping holes in balance sheets and numerous entities are broke but the music still plays for now. We could make comparisons to a number of mortgage outfits too. There is no way all of them will survive. Anyone buying now has their head in the sand or a similar spot.

        1. “…then a bunch of others followed right after.”

          The 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy spooked depositors who withdrew their money across the lending industry while housing values plummeted at the same time.

        2. Right, New Century was 2007. I think some of the most frothy areas topped in 2005, but it was 2006 where we really saw the top, and it was just the 1-2 years before the FB’s caused the financial institutions to topple.

          I distinctly remember the idea of “if you owe them 100k, the bank owns you, if you owe them 100 million, you own them” sort of thing.

          The stock market rally in the past 2 weeks seems to be part of irrational exuberance where people have really completely forgotten what happened only 15 years ago.

      4. I thought this housing market was going to blow two years ago

        I was worried about that two years ago as a seller.

  23. Wall Street traders seem to believe that the Fed’s series of interest rate hikes will end any day now. Emerging inflation data indicate recent rate hikes have had no discernible effect on inflation, suggesting the Fed’s War on Inflation has only just begun.

    1. The Financial Times
      US Inflation
      Jumps in US wage and inflation figures keep pressure on Fed
      Total pay and benefits for US workers rose 1.3% in the second quarter
      People walk past a ‘now hiring’ sign outside a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia
      Pay-related expenses in the US increased 5.1% in the 12 months that ended in June
      Colby Smith in Washington
      5 hours ago

      Two closely watched inflation reports showed little relief from record-setting price pressures in the US, underscoring the urgency of the Federal Reserve’s historically-fast campaign to cool down the economy.

      The latest employment cost index (ECI) report, which tracks wages and benefits paid out by US employers, showed total pay for civilian workers during the second quarter increased 1.3 per cent. That was roughly in line with the 1.4 per cent jump during the first three months of 2022, which was the biggest quarterly increase recorded in data stretching back to 2004.

      For the 12-month period that ended in June, pay-related expenses were up 5.1 per cent, well above the 4.5 per cent annual pace recorded last quarter. Wages were up 5.3 per cent compared with the same time last year, after registering a 1.4 per cent quarterly rise.

      “This is a print that’s going to keep Fed officials up at night and likely sets [a 0.75 percentage point rate rise] as the base case for September,” said Omair Sharif, founder and president of Inflation Insights. “The monthly inflation and activity data are going to have to co-operate in a very big way for the Fed to step down from that [pace].”

      The data, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, were released on Friday alongside the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. According to the commerce department, the headline index rose 1 per cent in June, after rising 0.6 per cent in May. That lifted the annual rate to 6.8 per cent, above the 6.3 per cent increase during the previous period.
      …

      1. For the curious, a one-month increase in PCE inflation of 1% occurs at an annualized rate of 1.01^12-1 = 12.7%.

        Clearly, inflation is accelerating.

        1. Interesting. I’ve been surprised at how resilient things have been overall in the face of this.

          I’m sure there is a chart somewhere that shows the lag between credit tightening and deflation. It would show a curve that accounted for time and intensity of the tightening. My guess is that we will begin to see various prices begin to fall soon but not without wrecking a lot of best laid plans.

          2. Close enough?

            Edward Dowd vis Gettr on July 28th: 30 year bond futures appear to be breaking out of a massive inverse head and shoulders pattern after the Fed rate hike decision yesterday (chart on left) This is coupled with a three year cycle low chart I posted a few weeks ago (chart on right). The three month T-Bill is trading 10 bp below the new discount rate. We are potentially setting up for a deflationary crash. I expect equities $SPX to top in August then we potentially begin a new move down into the fall. It can be slow or crashy. That remains to be seen.

    2. the Fed’s series of interest rate hikes will end any day now

      Edward Dowd via Gettr on July 27: Fed hiked discount rate to 75 bp today to 2.5%. Watch the 3 month T-bill. It’s at 2.48%. If over time you see this creeping lower it’s the market saying the Fed will begin to pivot. Dirty little secret…the Fed follows the market…always has.

      1. Wishful thinking by reckless speculators. The FED has another 75 basis point hike in store for September – or more.

        2. Wishful thinking by reckless speculators.

          You clearly don’t understand Edward Dowd. He’s the most black-pilled that I’ve seen/heard.

          1. You clearly don’t understand Edward Dowd.

            You clearly don’t understand that I don’t give a f who Edward Dowd is. He’s irrelevant.

          2. I don’t give a f who Edward Dowd is. He’s irrelevant.

            You should. He’s has great economic insights and is exposing the deaths and disabilities caused by the jabs in an effort to get the financial sector to hold Pfizer and Moderna accountable. You’re irrelevant. Not one comment of yours have I found interesting or enlightening.

  24. Circuits 3 (switch leg C) and 5 (switch leg A) are turned on.

    3 is wired as a temporary 3-way switched at the front and rear doors of the tenant space. This is because the lighting control panel is “months away” from being delivered because of the usual CCP Flu bullsh*t.

    Instead of being able to pull out after final inspection, I will have to come back, months from now, probably at night or on the weekend, to install the lighting control panel and demo the temp 3-way, all because of the usual CCP Flu bullsh*t.

    “two weeks to flatten the curve” my @ss

    1. all because of the usual CCP Flu bullsh*t

      Meanwhile, China continues to lock itself down, further f#ucking up the supply chain

  26. “Is it safe to say housing has ‘crashed’ when Southern California’s homebuying pace drops by 25% in a year to the sixth-slowest June in the past 35 years?”

    Translation: CR8R

    “I’m bemused by how sensitive the real estate industry is over how springtime’s dramatic homebuying slowdown is described — even when few in the industry foresaw such rapid cooling.”

    How could so many industry professionals miss something that many posters here have foreseen for months?

    “For example, ‘Even though we have seen sales decline, economists are still saying it is unlikely home prices will crash,’ says a recent newsletter from the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors.”

    Whistling while strolling past the graveyard doesn’t work to fend off zombies.

    1. A UHS told me that there can’t be a crash happening because inventory is still below historical averages. Like that would matter if buyers suddenly vanished.

    1. You will own no copper.

      And if you dare leave any of it on the ground or in an unlocked van, it will be stolen within minutes.

      “They’re not sending their best”

  28. ‘A group of health care workers who sued their hospital over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate are slated to receive $10 million, according to a settlement agreement filed on July 29.’

    ‘About a dozen workers at the NorthShore University HealthSystem in Illinois lodged the suit in October 2021, arguing that the facility was illegally not granting religious exemptions to the mandate.’

    ‘After eight months of negotiations, the workers and NorthShore “have agreed to settle this case,” according to a memorandum filed in federal court.’

    ‘Under the settlement’s terms, NorthShore will pay $10,337,500 into a settlement fund for workers affected by its mandate—specifically, workers who between July 1, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022, asked for a religious accommodation and were denied and either received a vaccine to avoid termination or were fired or resigned. About 473 workers fit under that category.’

    ‘NorthShore will also adjust its vaccine mandate “to enhance its accommodation procedures for individuals with approved exemptions for sincerely held religious belief.”

    ‘Workers fired because they refused to get vaccinated due to their religious beliefs are eligible to apply for re-employment.’

    ‘Liberty Counsel, the legal group representing the platiniffs, described the settlement as a first-of-its-kind for an action against a private employer who denied hundreds of requests for religious exemptions to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.’

    “The drastic policy change and substantial monetary relief required by the settlement will bring a strong measure of justice to NorthShore’s employees who were callously forced to choose between their conscience and their jobs,” Horatio Mihet, vice president of legal affairs at the group, said in a statement.’

    “This settlement should also serve as a strong warning to employers across the nation that they cannot refuse to accommodate those with sincere religious objections to forced vaccination mandates,” he added.’

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/health-care-workers-who-sued-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-get-10-million-settlement_4630673.html

    1. About 473 workers fit under that category

      About $23,000 each. The hospital got off easy.

    2. I imagine the mass tort boys must lie awake at night thinking of the vaccine mandate bonanza. For once I’m inclined to root for them.

  31. Well, I have a sincere objection to genocide or being jabbed with poison. Do I get a ” don’t want to be killed or injured ” exemption?

  32. “Inflation is nothing, COVID is nothing,” he said, “ask those people who lost their children, their peace”

    Where in Chicago?

    Quit bitc#ing about not being able to afford groceries or filling your gas tanks you selfish Americans!

    I’m fighting for your democracy here so you keep sending those $billions or I’ll have you arrested like my political opponents and silence you like I did here with “unified information policy” under martial law.

    Zelensky Responds to Americans Unhappy With Spending to Support Ukraine

    BY BRENDAN COLE
    7/27/22 AT 6:29 AM EDT

    Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky said that Americans balking at the cost of U.S. support for Kyiv’s fight against Russian aggression should keep in mind “we are fighting for absolutely communal values.”

    In June, inflation over the previous 12 months hit 9.1 percent, its highest level since 1981. In May, President Joe Biden signed a $40 billion support package for Ukraine,

    Facing spiraling costs at home, the price tag for U.S. support for Zelensky could become an issue at the ballot box for Americans in November’s midterms.

    But Zelensky said the war that Washington was helping Kyiv fight was “still the war against those values that are professed in the United States and in Europe.”

    “Inflation is nothing, COVID is nothing,” he said, “ask those people who lost their children, their peace, their property at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Who is thinking about masks and COVID? Who is thinking about inflation?

    “These things are secondary, the most important thing is to survive and preserve your life, your fa

    https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-zelensky-biden-americans-spending-inflation-1728278

    1. When asked if Biden should come to Kyiv, Zelensky replied: “Very much” because it would be “the strongest signal which can be given in support of Ukraine.”

      Harris says Biden should go despite the security risks.

  33. They found the invisible handcuffs that were on AOC when she was arrested at the abortion rally. The invisible man Joe Biden has been trying to shake hands with was holding them.

  35. “I consulted Merriam-Webster’s trusty online dictionary, looking for what would serve as the ‘economic’ definition of a crash when used as a verb. It said: ‘to go to a lower level especially abruptly.’ And ponder synonyms for crash from Merriam-Webster: crater, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, sink, skid, tumble.”

    Who knew there were so many different ways to say CR8R?

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