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Growing Price Cuts Are A Sign That Sellers Are Getting The ‘It’s NOW Different’ Message

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Foreclosure activity in North Texas has been steadily climbing since the end of pandemic-related federal restrictions last year. ‘In the past, when the market was red hot and someone just filed for foreclosure, you could sell your house in a day,’ said Curtis Roddy, chief operating officer of Foreclosure Listing Service. ‘Now, with properties sitting on the market for 20 or 30 days before they get an offer, it’s not as easy to sell a property before it goes into foreclosure. While there’s still a lot of equity in some of these houses, we’re just not seeing people being able to sell them before the auction as quickly.'”

“In the first eight months of 2022, 4,740 homes have been filed for foreclosure in the major North Texas counties. That’s almost triple the number of filings than during the first eight months of 2021, when a federal moratorium on foreclosures was still in effect for most of the year.”

“There are a lot of abandoned homes in Lee County — homes we could use right now in southwest Florida as we navigate the housing crisis. In one Cape Coral neighborhood, neighbors are dealing with two homes that have been sitting vacant for at least three years. The homes are off of Northwest 33rd Place. One neighbor lives right next door to one. ‘It’s been like this with boards and garbage,’ said Tony Allen. ‘The weeds up to the windows. Rats were going through my backyard.'”

“In just six months, Sam Brinton, a real estate agent in Salt Lake City, Utah, has witnessed a complete reversal in buyer sentiment. ‘It’s a night and day difference,’ he says. ‘Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines because the market has cooled down so much. Last year, the market forces pushed you into a home and pushed you into doing it sooner than you wanted . It was like ‘now, now, now high, high, high,’ says Brinton. ‘Whereas now the market forces are pulling you away.’ In Salt Lake City 56% of homes for sale had a price drop in July. Nearly 70% of homes for sale in Boise, Idaho, had a price drop in July, the highest share of the 97 metros, according to Redfin.”

“Nearly 70% of home sellers in Boise, Idaho cut the asking price on their house in July, Redfin reports; a remarkable turn for the once-hot real estate market.Nationwide, the number was 32% — up from 27% in July 2019. This is just the latest indication that the pandemic housing boom is going bust, as higher mortgage rates chill demand for homes.The median listing price for a home in Boise fell $30,000 to $613,000 in July from the prior month, according to Zillow. But prices are still, as Crazy Eddie was famous for yelling, ‘Insane:’ In July 2019, the median list price for a home there was $381,000.”

“While other places in the country might be seeing somewhat of a housing crash, it’s not the case in the Inland Northwest. However, local realtors say the housing market is cooling off after a boom over the last couple of years. There are currently about 1,000 houses on the market in Spokane. That’s a huge increase compared to last year when the Spokane Association of Realtors says they probably saw 300 on the market. ‘Part of that is because of institutional buyers that are going and buying–because the real estate market was pistol hot a couple years ago or last couple of years. And now it’s going to get back to ho-hum and then you’re going to see the money go somewhere else,’ said Rob Higgins, CEO of the Spokane Association of Realtors.”

“The median price of an existing house in the city slid 3.9 percent last month to settle at $365,000, while that of a new home in Bakersfield decreased 5.3 percent to reach $447,500, according to local appraiser Gary Crabtree. Statewide, the existing median was reported to be off 3.5 percent at $833,910. ‘The numbers still look really, really good to me,’ said President Anna Albiar of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors. ‘I think it’s healthier that you have buyers and there’s a little more inventory for them to choose from. We’ve been asking for it,’ she added. ‘Now that we’ve got it, we shouldn’t be lamenting it.'”

“Home Partners of America, the single-family landlord owned by Blackstone Inc., will stop buying homes in 38 US cities, becoming the latest institutional investor to back away from an overheated housing market. The company, acquired by Blackstone in June 2021 for $6 billion, told customers that as of Sept. 1, it is pausing applications and property submissions in Boise, Idaho; Fresno, California; Memphis, Tennessee, and 25 other areas. It will go on hiatus in 10 additional cities on Oct. 1. Home Partners isn’t first large investor to back away from the US housing market, which reached a frenzied state during the first half of the year. Invitation Homes Inc., American Homes 4 Rent, and KKR & Co.’s My Community Homes are among landlords that have slowed purchases during a period of high home prices and rising financing costs.”

“A Connecticut estate once owned by former President Donald Trump and his late ex-wife has returned to the market — and for way less than its 2014 asking price. The approximately 6-acre waterfront estate in affluent Greenwich was asking for a tidy $54 million. Having bounced on and off the market for more than 10 years, it’s now up for sale for $29.9 million. ‘I had priced it at a very high price initially with the concept that if someone really wants it, I guess I’ll sell it,’ Robert Steinberg told the Journal. ‘But I mispriced it.'”

“After fuelling Canada‘s economy through the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate market is showing signs of weakness as home prices fall and bidding wars dissipate. Lori Fralic calls it a ‘stalemate.’ ‘We are seeing lowball offers,’ said the Vancouver agent. ‘There’s lots of bargain hunters out there who are throwing out offers but if they don’t have to sell, a lot of sellers are saying, ‘no, sorry, not taking it.'”

“‘It’s anyone’s guess how much prices will fall,’ Sherry Cooper, chief economist at Dominion Lending Centres, said. Cooper noted home sales activity have declined very sharply in the Greater Toronto Area, the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area and in parts of British Columbia around Vancouver. ‘It’s the markets that experienced the 50 per cent increase in home prices that have seen the biggest correction, and that’s what you’d expect because those are the most expensive homes in Canada with the largest outstanding mortgages.'”

“House price discounts are back as sellers concede that the property market has passed its peak. Back in March, the share of agents reporting that most of their listings sold below asking price was just 15pc, according to Propertymark, a trade body. By July, this had more than doubled to 36pc. John Andrews, of Doolittle & Dalley estate agents in Worcestershire, said: ‘Until three or four months ago, we were seeing properties go for 10pc, 15pc, or 20pc above asking price. Since then we have seen the market ease back, and we have not been getting the same volume of inquiries. In the past month or so, we have been selling properties at asking price, or close to it.'”

“When Rosie Wood, 29, and her husband started looking for their first home earlier this year, they were often advised by estate agents to offer over asking price. ‘We were looking at homes at the £325,000 mark and we were being told that the sellers were looking for £330,000 or £340,000 – £15,000 over asking,’ Mrs Wood said. ‘I think they wanted a bidding war, but it is just not happening in London,’ she said. Instead, the Woods negotiated a £6,250 discount.”

“Some of China‘s state-backed financial institutions are pushing back on Beijing’s calls to support the embattled property sector due to concerns about the impact of such exposure on their balance sheets, seven people with knowledge of the matter said. ‘We can’t afford riding out the volatility before maturity. It will mess up our books,’ said a credit analyst with a Shanghai-based and state-backed asset manager, talking about interest in new bonds from developers. ‘Analysis does not work any more, because pessimism has grabbed the market … anything related to property is a no-go,’ said the credit analyst, who declined to be identified as they are not allowed to speak to the media.”

“Californians say it’s the worst time to sell a home in 17 months, a key factor behind a dramatic slowdown in homebuying. The poll results help define the housing market’s quickly deflating excitement. Is it a good time to sell? Well, 60% of Californians polled said ‘yes’ in July, down from 74% back in the feeding frenzy days of last December. On the other side of the coin, 16% said it was a good time to buy — down from 22% at the end of 2021. Back in February 2021 — 17 months ago — 60% also said it was a good time to sell.”

“And it’s no coincidence that historically low rates were followed by 28% saying it was a ‘good time to buy’ in February 2021. That’s a level of buying zeal that hasn’t been topped since. Fast forward to the summer of 2022. This same 60% selling optimism is part of a downswing. But the good-time-to-buy crowd isn’t biting. The poll’s buying enthusiasts are roughly half the size of February 2021.”

“So is it any surprise why prices are falling? Yes, falling. California’s $833,910 median sales price for a house in July was off 7% from May’s all-time high — but still up 37% in three years. Southern California’s $808,000 median was off 4% from its peak but  41% above 2019. And the Bay Area’s $1.3 million price was 16% from its top but 37% above 2019.”

“The question mark now is how sellers react to a sudden dearth of demand despite industry insiders’ insistence that ‘it was different’ this time. Remember the promised wave of ownership wannabees ready to pounce on any buying opportunity? Growing price cuts on listings is a sign that sellers are getting the ‘it’s NOW different’ message.”

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This Post Has 154 Comments

  2. ‘We were looking at homes at the £325,000 mark and we were being told that the sellers were looking for £330,000 or £340,000 – £15,000 over asking,’ Mrs Wood said. ‘I think they wanted a bidding war, but it is just not happening in London,’ she said. Instead, the Woods negotiated a £6,250 discount’

    That’s the spirit Rosie, kick em while they’re down!

  3. ‘Remember the promised wave of ownership wannabees ready to pounce on any buying opportunity?’

    Why yes, I do. Where oh where are those clowns now, shack wire?

  4. ‘After fuelling Canada‘s economy through the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate market is showing signs of weakness as home prices fall’

    The biggest mistake central banks have ever made.

      2. Regarding the major increase in the M1 money supply. The definition for M1 changed to include savings accounts in 2020. I haven’t done the math, but if we subtract this new category what does the M1 look like 2020 onwards?

    3. This was a mistake in the same sense as a misplaced detonator in the controlled demolition of a giant building. “We WANTED to blow it up, we just miscalculated how that particular charge would affect the process….”

  5. PAUL BOIS
    24 Aug 2022

    A clip has resurfaced from 2020 of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) telling a father who paid off his daughter’s student loans that he would not get his money back under her loan forgiveness program

    “I’ve saved all my money. [My daughter] doesn’t have any student loans. Am I going to get my money back?”

    @eWarren: “Of course not.”

    “So you’re going to pay for people who didn’t save any money and those of us who did the right thing get screwed.”

    “I appreciate your time,” Warren replied as the conversation ended.

    https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1220392278411423744?s=20&t=DfDaV9P703ymN_W5FodwRA

    1. “I just wanted to ask one question. My daughter is getting out of school. I’ve saved all my money. She doesn’t have any student loans. Am I going to get my money back?” the father asked.

      “Of course not,” Warren replied.

      “So you’re going to pay for people who didn’t save any money and those of us who did the right thing get screwed?” he asked. “My buddy had fun, bought a car, and went on all the vacations. I saved my money. He makes more than I did. I worked a double shift.”

      “You’re laughing at me,” he added. “Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re doing. We did the right thing and we get screwed.”

      1. “You’re laughing at me,” he added. “Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re doing. We did the right thing and we get screwed.”

        Every POS who pulled the D-lever is an accessory to this rip-off of the responsible and the creation of vast moral hazard that is only going to hasten this once-great country’s demise.

        1. Playing by the rules is for suckers. As soon as the everyman figures this out, then it’s going to get ugly. Until then, most will continue to be suckers.

      3. **“You’re laughing at me,” he added. “Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re doing. We did the right thing and we get screwed.”**

        I am having such a hard time not being angry about this. I’ve been doing the right thing my whole life. My husband has been doing the right thing. We paid all our debts. We’re just getting raped on every end by these financial policies.

        1. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/abuse-power-wapo-and-wsj-slam-student-loan-handout-penn-wharton-sees-trillion-dollar-cost

          After the Biden administration announced its ham-fisted scheme to eliminate $10,000 in student loans for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, and $20,000 for Pell grant recipients, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal editorial boards independently wrote about what a stupid idea it is.

          “This is easily the worst domestic decision of his Presidency and makes chumps of Congress and every American who repaid loans or didn’t go to college,” writes the Journal editorial board.

          Democrats said these plans would reduce defaults. They haven’t. Federal student debt has ballooned because many borrowers don’t make enough to cover interest and principal payments, so their balances expand. Student debt has nearly doubled since 2011 to $1.6 trillion, though the number of borrowers has increased by only 18%.

          Now Mr. Biden is cutting undergrad payments to a mere 5% of discretionary income. The government will also cover unpaid monthly interest for borrowers so their balances won’t grow even if they aren’t paying a penny. This will mask the cost to taxpayers of the Administration’s rolling loan write-off. Student-loan debt won’t appear to swell even as it does. What a fabulous accounting trick. -WSJ

          The Post, meanwhile, said that Biden “Has generally embraced sensible reforms over flashy gimmicks. But his Wednesday student loan announcement did just the opposite,” adding that the plan to forgive both the $10K and $20K levels are “ill-conceived and misdirected.”

          The unemployment rate for people with bachelor’s degrees and higher is just 2 percent. It’s hard to make the case that college graduates are still facing an unprecedented crisis.

          The loan-forgiveness decision is even worse. Widely canceling student loan debt is regressive. It takes money from the broader tax base, mostly made up of workers who did not go to college, to subsidize the education debt of people with valuable degrees.

          Mr. Biden’s student loan decision will not do enough to help the most vulnerable Americans. It will, however, provide a windfall for those who don’t need it — with American taxpayers footing the bill. -WaPo

          Ouch!

          2. It’s not surprising to see that come from WaPo. They know that they just p-o’d about 70% of the country and it’s going to lose them votes. And, it sucked all the attention away from the abortion question, which so far had been their only winning issue.

            So WaPo and vulnerable Ds in Congress are pretending to come out against the loan forgiveness mainly to save their skins.

  7. Sh*t’s going to get real when FBs have to choose between heating their shacks and paying the mortgage.

    Energy crisis may have bigger impact on households than 2008 crash

    https://english.alarabiya.net/business/economy/2022/08/25/Energy-crisis-may-have-bigger-impact-on-households-than-2008-crash

    More than half of UK households risk being pushed into energy poverty this winter by soaring bills that threaten suppliers with rising amounts of debt that simply can’t be repaid.

    The crisis could have a bigger impact on households than the 2008 financial crisis, according to consultancy Baringa Partners. The bleak warning comes as bills are set to surge roughly 80 percent from October, just as the arrival of colder weather boosts energy demand.

    1. This was no accident due to incompetence. This was planned and done with a purpose: to bring economies to their knees, thus making it easier to get people to accept the great reset,

    1. And after everyone freezes their azzes off this winter in Europe, the cucks will reelect the people who got them into this mess.

      1. And after everyone freezes their azzes off this winter in Europe, the cucks will reelect the people who got them into this mess. The US is the same way.
        As many people in the US will reelect the “green New Deal” crowd because they don’t have a clue what is happening in Europe due to green policies.

      1. Still outdated. I have a better idea. Let’s call rich people the new poor and poor the new rich, and start our policies to help the poors.

        Oh wait, we already do that, the helping part. Latest example being the student loan fiasco.

    2. Memo to LA Homeless Services Authority

      So, LA Homeless Services Authority and other useless Jackass WOK organizations, are you going to take the word ‘homeless’ out of your own name?

      Further, the last time I read the constitution, I can use whatever words I choose to use to describe the situation at hand, and I will continue to do so.

      If the WOK LA Homeless Services Authority doesn’t like that then they can kiss my [insert LAHSA politically correct word here]

  10. “Statewide, the existing median was reported to be off 3.5 percent at $833,910. ‘The numbers still look really, really good to me,’ said President Anna Albiar of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors.”

    Looks pretty healthy to me, too. That’s an annualized rate of decline 1-(1-0.035)^12 = 34.8%. California home prices are reverting to normalcy at a very healthy rate.

  11. Yet another good reason for taxpayers to pay off the student loan debt racked up at a school with a $50 billion endowment.

    Jeffrey Epstein had private office at Harvard after 2008 conviction

    By Mary Kay Linge
    May 2, 2020

    Jeffrey Epstein maintained his own private office on Harvard University’s campus for a decade after his 2008 conviction for sex crimes, red-faced officials at the Ivy League school admitted.

    The disgraced financier had “unlimited access” to the university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences until 2018, according to an investigative report issued by the school Friday.

    Epstein used his own key card and campus passcode to make at least 40 visits to an office known as “Jeffrey’s Office” at the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. He had showered the program with $6.5 million before he served time for soliciting sex with a minor.

    https://nypost.com/2020/05/02/jeffrey-epstein-had-office-at-harvard-after-2008-conviction/

  12. “So is it any surprise why prices are falling? Yes, falling. California’s $833,910 median sales price for a house in July was off 7% from May’s all-time high — but still up 37% in three years.”

    So 7% of the three year gain disappeared in just two months. Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for the entire 37% gain to disappear at that rate of price decline?

      1. x = 2*log(1/1.37)/log(1-0.07) = about 8 2/3 months.

        The total percentage decline off peak at that point would 1-(1-0.07)^(8.67/2) = 27%.

        Check: 1-1/1.37 = 27%.

        This result shows that it only takes a 27% loss to erase a 37% gain.

        1. It should be interesting to see how far California prices have dropped by mid-May 2023. Do you all think they will be down by more, or less, than 27% by then?

  14. ‘It’s the markets that experienced the 50 per cent increase in home prices that have seen the biggest correction, and that’s what you’d expect because those are the most expensive homes in Canada with the largest outstanding mortgages’

    I said this was going to happen as it was shooting up. You read a few people say it ‘was’ unsustainable. Not then but now. I’m surprised these ‘experts’ don’t ask ‘when in history did shack prices go up so much in two years?’ Cuz they never have before.

    1. Our market shot up between 33% and 50% depending on the area. I still can’t believe I’m seeing so many Uhauls. Where are people getting all this money?

  15. A reader sent these in:

    The Kobeissi Letter

    We now have new home sales down 30% in one month, credit card debt up 30% in 3 months, and mortgage demand at its lowest since 2001. Meanwhile, the first mortgage lenders have begun filing bankruptcy. How can we form a bottom when the Fed is raising rates into a credit bubble?

    https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1562128026695073793

    The Kobeissi Letter

    Housing market update:
    1. Housing prices fell for first time in 3 years
    2. July price decline biggest since 2011, 2nd worst since 1991
    3. Housing affordability at 30-year low
    4. Mortgage demand at 22-year low
    5. Purchase cancelation rate highest since 2020

    The top is set.

    https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1562561135391416320

    Rick Palacios Jr.

    80% of resale agents we survey report flat to falling home prices nationally. Varies by market as always.

    https://twitter.com/RickPalaciosJr/status/1562955545761308672

    FORTUNE

    🏘️ 183 housing markets could soon see home prices fall by 20%.
    @MoodysAnalytics has unveiled its downgraded U.S. home price forecast.🧵

    https://twitter.com/FortuneMagazine/status/1562836359122849792

    Thomas Thornton

    Janet Yellen has said recently the consumer is in good shape. AT&T seeing phone bills delinquent, Auto repossessions are skyrocketing, and in the US 20 million households have fallen behind on energy bills. What’s next? Home Mortgages.

    https://twitter.com/TommyThornton/status/1562866438897283074

    got this from stimpyz
    Read Tadesse on QT. His models suggest that 2.2T in BS shrink equals 7% in rate increases. The Fed says 50bp. That’s a huge range and the market has never seen QT like we are about to get in Sept.

    https://twitter.com/IGHO_2022/status/1562894101976338442

    Danielle DiMartino Booth

    The sheer number of realtors who will be out of work dwarfs the aftermath of the housing bubble burst of the Aughts.

    https://twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1562939177322553355

    Danielle DiMartino Booth

    What’s that you say about deep-pocketed investors stabilizing housing?

    “Home Partners of America, the single-family landlord owned by Blackstone will stop buying homes in 38 US cities, becoming latest institutional investor to back away from overheated housing market”

    https://twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1562899407418245120

    1. “The sheer number of realtors who will be out of work dwarfs the aftermath of the housing bubble burst of the Aughts.”

      Makes one weep….with laughter.😂

  16. 350% Increase in Housing Inventory in Phoenix – How Will this Affect Homebot’s Valuation?
    Aug 25, 2022 I’m here to talk about the recent news of a 350% increase in housing inventory in Phoenix. This is fantastic news for buyers who have been struggling to find a home in this competitive market, but it’s also raising some questions about how this will affect Homebot’s valuations.

    Homebot is having a difficult time keeping up with this recent shift in the housing market and I’m finding a few valuations are off.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6vlx0k8g08

    1:19.

    1. Homebot is having a difficult time keeping up with this recent shift in the housing market and I’m finding a few valuations are off.

      Those must be some whiz bang algorithms they use.

    2. That is an unholy increase in inventory. That place is going to get crucified.

      In other news, the neighbor house of my friend has been “taken off the market” with no offers. They paid $530k two years ago, wanted $850k. “Not going to give it away.”

      What happened is mucho houses started showing up on the mls, priced much lower, rendering theirs stupidly overpriced.

  18. It’s always interesting to me that brokers and sellers badmouth offers coming in way lower than list price, yet the prior two years they gleefully enjoyed skewering buyers caught up in the illogical appreciation frenzy. The word “lowball” itself has negative connotations. I’ll be ready for my cocktail in a highball glass at happy hour.

    Cheers!

  19. Valley housing market has ‘balanced’ out, experts say
    12 News
    Aug 25, 2022 Real estate experts say the Valley’s hot housing market has “balanced” out, possibly offering some relief to homebuyers looking to move into Arizona.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXXDQ4fc2Fc

    3:41.

    Experts say slowing Phoenix housing market having a direct impact on rentals
    AZFamily 3TV and CBS 5 News
    Aug 25, 2022 One expert says since more homes are now listed for sale, renters have more options, which is leading to more apartment vacancies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U93VFoEbxW0

    2 minutes.

    1. Shots
      New book chronicles how America’s opioid industry operated like a drug cartel
      August 2, 2022 12:37 PM ET
      Heard on Fresh Air
      Terry Gross
      Fresh Air
      43-Minute Listen
      A bag of assorted pills and prescription drugs is dropped off for disposal during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 24, 2021 in Los Angeles.
      Patrick T. Falon/AFP via Getty Images

      It’s estimated that more than 107,000 people in the United States died due to opioid overdoses in 2021. Washington Post journalist Scott Higham notes it’s “the equivalent of a 737 Boeing crashing and burning and killing everybody on board every single day.”

      In the new book, American Cartel, Higham and co-author Sari Horwitz make the case that the pharmaceutical industry operated like a drug cartel, with manufacturers at the top; wholesalers in the middle; and pharmacies at the level of “street dealers.” What’s more, Higham says, the companies collaborated with each other — and with lawyers and lobbyists — to create legislation that protected their industry, even as they competed for market share.

      “Most people think it’s the political parties that run the show or it’s the White House that runs the show, but it really is the companies that run the show,” Higham says. “People were dying by the thousands while these companies were lobbying members of Congress … to pass legislation and to lobby members of the Department of Justice and try to slow down the DEA enforcement efforts.”
      …
      https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/02/1115003825/american-cartel-scott-higham-opiod-epidemic-big-pharma

      1. The Book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic” by Sam Quinones was published in 2015 and it is excellent.

  22. I thought this was interesting:

    16 schools face closure in Jefferson County

    School district staff recommended 16 Jeffco elementary schools for closure or consolidation because of declining enrollment and a decreasing elementary school student population.

    In the state’s second-largest school district, which can accommodate 96,000 students, only 69,000 students are currently enrolled in 155 neighborhood schools.

    This is a Denver suburban school district. Metro Denver mushroomed in population during the past 10 years, and yet school attendance is collapsing. Not even a growing Hispanic demographic can stop the collapse. I expect it to be far worse in another 10 years, as the jab’s fertility issues will rear their ugly heads.

    1. funny you bring that up. My elementary school (a million years ago) is on the closure list. Heck it wasn’t a new school when I went. (longgggggggggggg time ago). But the neighborhood is probably way too expensive now. Already turned over once in the 90’s/aughts (mostly built in the 60’s, those people got old and left) bought by familes again and now those people are old with no kids. And it’s WAYYYYYYYYYYYY too expensive for most families now. (although that might change in the next year).

      But yeah it’s just like the opening of Idiocracy.

  23. The real scam by private party Mega Corporations and Globalists is to rig the economic systems to max the profits, loot the tax coffers, transfer loss to the tax coffers.

    This isn’t capitalism when its rigged that Government actions max the profits of Mega Corporations, than socialize the loss of these parasites and looters.
    Examples:
    Loans transfer to Goverment covering loss.

    Health system insuring profit for industry by forced payments based on income.

    Transfer of manufacturing to communist China creating a monopoly , destroying competition and controlling labor costs.

    Unsustainable debt creating false markets.

    After the unsusttainable loot job by private party Mega Corporations and Money Changers , the entire systems are due to crash.
    So, the parasites and looters that rigged the systems while looting taxes ,plan to have a Great Reset and take over and bring on One World Order Dictorship, where they control all resources, you will own nothing and eat bugs.
    They infiltrated global governments to collude with this Communist/fasist take over, where Stakeholder Corporate Governance dictates the fate of most the globe by a technocratic One World Order .

    False narratives of Climate Change and Pandemics are frauds to tear down current systems, for the new forced deprivation, enslavement , loss of freedom , and depopulation agendas by the Mega Rich.

    Dr Harari in summary exposes the intent of this Cult , and claims the vast majority of population isn’t needed, they are useless eaters, and free will is over, to sum it up.
    Klaus Schwab, the head of the WEF, talks openingly about the Great Reset, and Stakeholder Corporate Governance.
    Its not a Country trying to take over the world, its Rich Entities infiltration of governments in a scheme to take over by destroying all Sovereign Nations for a One World Order.
    They have been planning this take over for a Century, in a step by step sitting it up, with infiltration and corruption of UN to aid in the take over. Communist China is apparently involved in the take over.
    The fact that Trump discontinued funding of WHO, went to erase and change Obamacare, went to correct trade inbalance, beefed up oil production in US , stop invasion of the borders, was a direct assault on the New World Order plan.
    They had to rig the election and put New World Order into operational stage, starting with pre planned Panademic Covid. They had to control the news narratives, and censor dispute . They had to wrongfully shut down the Globe with lockdowns, destroy small business and loot tax coffers by Cares Act. They had to bring on medical tyranny and get a fake vaccine in every arm . They have to destroy systems by fake climate change narratives, to deprive populations of all that sustains them.

    So, nothing else explains this deliberate break down of society, in every way, other than this bizarre take over with Global governments in collusion with it.

    I think they will fail because they speeded up this takeover because of the popular movements like Trump, thus they revealed their Great Reset intent, that nobody voted for. Their narratives are breaking down as they only reek destruction, mayhem, deprivation, and death and injury,
    war etc.
    Crime rate increase, and transgender grooming, racism narratives are part of breakdown of law and order and the division of people , so they don’t unite against them . Constant distractions to fight about rather than the Great reset pre-planned forced take over. They would love Civil war or a revolution , as long as it isn’t against them.

    1. “Boasts in-house laundry.” What, the other homes have outdoor washtubs?? I have been to Kingman as the ex’s kids lived there. When we went to see my stepson graduate back in 2000 I wouldn’t even spend the night there, instead opting to stay at a hotel in Las Vegas. My take aways of Kingman were that every bush and tumbleweed had a plastic grocery bag snagged on it, and that a large percentage of the population were missing teeth, something you usually didn’t see back in my hometown of Seattle.

      1. ‘every bush and tumbleweed had a plastic grocery bag snagged on it, and that a large percentage of the population were missing teeth’

        That’s fairly accurate.

  26. Did Jay Powell have any words of encouragement today for Wall Street’s bull herd to ruminate on?

    1. Wall Street sell-off accelerates, Dow slides 600 points after Powell speech
      Sarah Min
      Tanaya Macheel
      UBS’s Art Cashin: Powell accomplished exactly what he wanted

      Stocks sold off sharply Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in his Jackson Hole speech the central bank won’t back off in its fight against rapid inflation.

      The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 611 points, or 1.85%, after initially seesawing during the Fed chair’s comments. The S&P 500 fell 2.18% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.71%.

      Those moves follow a hawkish speech from the Fed chair who reiterated a tough stance against inflation, spurring investors to weigh the implications of higher interest rates for longer.

      “Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time. The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” Powell said.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

      1. To the credit of Jay Powell and the current Federal Reserve Board members, they seem determined and committed to avoiding a repeat of the double digit inflation rates of the 1970s.

        1. its fight against rapid inflation

          They don’t have to “fight”. They only need to stop doing it.

        1. point yet when everyone agrees that owning stocks is a bad idea?
          BitCoin is down to 20,617. Maybe we be buying that dip?

          1. My brother works in Bitcoin. I bought a small amount and then realized it probably isn’t a great investment. I stopped buying it. My siblings keep “buying the dip.”

          2. “…brother works in Bitcoin…”

            That’s a new one. Would love to hear what this “job” is, because that’s the first I’ve ever heard it put that way.

          3. He has worked for a city government doing things with Bitcoin. I don’t understand any of it.

          4. Stocks may be overvalued, especially going into a recession, but aside from unicorns, the underlying companies produce cash flow.

            What does Bitcoin produce?

        2. It’s Powell’s fault that stocks are CR8Ring… not the reckless gamblers who overpaid for stocks heading into a recession!

          2. It is Powell’s fault.

            I have a choice on stocks or bonds in my 401K. Both are cratering now. However not 50% or anything drastic like that.

            However, I am grateful for the nearly 100% run-up in my 401K since March 2020. I couldn’t have done it without you, Powell, and your Boom-Bust policies.

            I just want sanity to be restored.

            Thanks for letting me post.

          3. Markets guru Harry Dent blames the Fed for an epic asset bubble – and sees a 40% drop in the Nasdaq plus an economic depression
            Theron Mohamed Aug 25, 2022, 6:31 AM
            – Author Harry Dent said the Federal Reserve has created the biggest asset bubble in history.
            – The market historian predicted a painful crash in stocks and an economic depression.
            …
            https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/harry-dent-stock-market-bubble-asset-prices-crash-economy-depression-2022-8

    2. The Financial Times
      Markets Briefing Equities
      US stocks tumble more than 3% after Powell stands firm on rate rises
      Federal Reserve chair says central bank ‘must keep at it until the job is done’ on inflation
      A television station broadcasts Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaking at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022
      The comments by Fed Chair Jay Powell come as the US central bank is fighting the most vigorous surge of consumer price increases in about four decades
      Nicholas Megaw in New York and Ian Johnston and Harriet Clarfelt in London 8 hours ago

      US stocks tumbled after Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell emphasised his resolve to hoist interest rates to curb inflation in a hawkish address on Friday at the annual Jackson Hole central banking summit.

      Wall Street’s S&P 500 index fell 3.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite, which is dominated by technology shares that are more sensitive to interest rate expectations, slid 3.9 per cent. It was the biggest one-day decline for both indices since mid-June.

      Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 share index lost 1.7 per cent.

      Friday’s fall in US equities was broad, with 99 per cent of the companies on the S&P 500 down on the day. Every big sector was in the red, with tech and cyclical consumer stocks such as Amazon leading the way lower.

      Speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said the Fed “must keep at it until the job is done”, underscoring the US central bank’s determination to tame rapid price growth.

      The Fed is fighting the most vigorous surge of consumer price increases in about four decades, with annual inflation clocking in at 8.5 per cent in July. But policymakers are also trying to avoid tipping the world’s largest economy into a recession with their programme of aggressive rate rises.

      “[Powell] is pushing against the idea of raising rates and cutting them soon,” said Stewart Robertson, chief economist at Aviva Investors. “I think this is the first sign of Powell saying ‘we will have a nasty period and we need to have it’.”
      …

    1. Moderna to file lawsuit against Pfizer for patent infringement on one of the Covid vaccines.
      I remember A Doctor saying A long time ago that it was odd that the 3 big Covid vaccine companies all had the same spike element in vaccines.
      Disgusting that Big Pharmacy killed and injured people in the millions , and that’s not what they are concerned with.

      1. Lucky for Pfizer, the patent is invalid because the subject matter has to be useful in order to be patentable.

          1. I was half joking but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have no good prior art arguments that they go that route.

  30. A beautiful example of “chasing the market down”.
    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3871-W-Jasper-Dr-Chandler-AZ-85226/8263942_zpid/

    I usually post the ARMLS market stats for Maricopa County when the publish them about the 15th of the month.
    Surprisingly (for the source), they reported: “When August’s numbers are reported, we will see a drop in both sales volume
    and prices. If our models are correct, year-over-year sales volume will decline approximately 25% year-over-year,
    while the median sales price is projected to decline 1.9% month-over-month.”
    https://armls.com/docs/2022-July-STAT.pdf

    1. heh, they bought that house (in March) for 720k, they are already at loss given carrying costs and fees for selling and closing.

      and yeah, cutting 10k every month instead of getting ahead of the market isn’t working.

    2. From page 8:

      In February, we highlighted the absorption rate, the rate at which available homes are sold in a specific
      market during a given time. It is calculated by dividing the number of homes sold in the allotted time by the number
      of available homes. Historically, an absorption rate of 20 would be considered a balanced market. At that time,
      our absorption rate stood at 191.71. On March 1, we reported an absorption rate of 212.71. In the words of Tina
      Tamboer, our market had moved from frenzied to insane. We knew a market correction was inevitable, but still, we
      had no empirical evidence. The first reported empirical evidence of a market shift came in our February issue of
      STAT (published March 15). It was based on a study done by Tina Tamboer, who studied the rental market. She
      found a discernible change in rental inventories and pricing. Our conclusion, the strong buying activity from the
      institutional investors over the past year was beginning to saturate our rental market. Tina’s findings were articulated
      by Michael Orr in his daily observations, which we republished in STAT. Just as we were publishing their findings,
      the federal government stepped in and raised interest rates

      1. ‘the strong buying activity from the institutional investors over the past year was beginning to saturate our rental market’

        Wa happened to my shortage?

  31. The feature where you used to be able to highlight a comment then hit “reply” and it would copy and paste does not work anymore. Also, it’s still taking me to the bottom of the page when I want to reply to somebody, and then all of the unread comments on Joshua Tree change to already read. Is this a Joshua Tree issue, my own browser issue, or something else?

    2. The feature where you used to be able to highlight a comment then hit “reply” and it would copy and paste does not work anymore.

      If you do it a second time it works. Weird.

      1. No, I am aware of the problem but don’t know how to fix it. It’s not the JT extension cuz I’ve seen the glitch too and I never loaded JTE. WordPress is very complicated now. I upgraded some plug-ins due to performance issues immediately before this started. I used to go years without having to touch wordpress. Anyhoo I am aware of the problem.

          1. It did in this case, but there are issues even without the extension as Ben mentions.

            Something has significantly changed about how replying/adding a comment works. It isn’t yet clear to me how to reconcile it with the extension features

        2. By the way, Ben, I’m happy to help if I can – you have my email 🙂

          I know very little about WordPress, but happy to dig in and help figure out (and fix) whatever’s gone wrong.

    2. It was Brandon the Comatose who signed the executive orders mandating the jab, not DJT, after he snarled at the American People that he was losing his patience with us. It was DJT’s Supreme Court appointees who ruled some of the mandates as unconstitutional.

      And, on a related note, I officially fired my jab loving doctor and have a new GP, who is not affiliated with any corporate healthcare system. I realize that I can’t avoid them should I require hospitalization, as all the local hospitals are corporate owned; but I will do my best to avoid them.

      1. Its was on the Pharmaceutical Companies to produce a safe and effective vaccine to address a alledged Covid Pandemic. Rigging the trials is fraud .
        Its was on the FDA to protect the public and not pass some new technology , highly expiermental , toxic fake vaccine.
        That technology had not been passed before because the animals died.
        The evidence shows the Pandemic was pre planned as well as the expiermental jabs.
        But, the obstruction of informed consent, and censorship of any dispute to the narrative of safe and effective vaccines , and other safer med solutions stonewalled is not on Trump.
        Whoever medical authority, probably Dr Fauci, who recommended the vaccine , lockdowns and masks was giving outrageous mal practices advise to a President.
        Remember they were also able to rig the 2020 election by mail in ballots because of Covid and the lockdowns.
        Of course they will try to blame Trump.

        1. As Orwell once said: during times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

          We are living in times of universal deceit. Had Boeing been able to memory hole the 737 Max crashes, they would have. I had the pleasure of flying a few weeks ago. I actually wondered if it was safe. Yeah, I know, airplanes aren’t falling out of the sky … yet.

    3. Oh yeah, I remember Operation Warp Speed. Thanks for the reminder.

      President and First Lady Trump also got the jab and publicized it in the MSM.

        1. It’s almost as if my background, experience and skills enabled me to foresee what we’re seeing now but people chose to ignore my warnings at their own peril.

      5. Your TDS blinds you from seeing how OWS exposed the pharmaceutical industrial complex that has captured our public health and regulatory agencies as well as the media and medical profession.

    1. “Former President Donald Trump portrayed CNN as an enemy, and a Pew Research Center study illustrated the impact that had with his followers. In 2014, Pew found that one-third of people who identify or lean Republican said they distrusted CNN as a source for political news. By 2019, that number had shot up to 58 percent — higher distrust than The New York Times, The Washington Post or MSNBC.”

      CNN doesn’t report the news…they create it.

  37. I’m pretty sure Realtor and Zillow lie outright. Explain this:

    Time on realtor.com 10 Days

    with

    Date Event Price Price/Sq Ft Source
    08/22/2022 Price Changed $449,000 $172 Tallahassee
    08/22/2022 Price Changed $449,000 $172 Tallahassee
    08/16/2022 Listed $459,000 $176 Tallahassee
    08/14/2022 Price Changed $459,000 $176 Tallahassee
    07/22/2022 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
    07/22/2022 Listed $469,000 $180 Tallahassee
    06/30/2022 Listed $479,000 $184 Tallahassee

    1. Or…

      Time on realtor.com 6 Hours

      with

      Date Event Price Price/Sq Ft Source
      08/26/2022 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
      08/26/2022 Listed $595,000 $200 Tallahassee
      08/26/2022 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
      08/26/2022 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
      07/10/2022 Listed $600,000 $165 Tallahassee

    2. Explanation:
      1) They set the initial asking price above current market value.
      2) They are using a Dutch auction to attempt to discover the current market price.
      3) If they discover the current market price is below what they are willing to accept, they may delist at some point and hope to sell later when prices are higher.

  39. What will happen to US home prices if corporate gorillas step back from making a third of purchases in response to falling knife prices?
    🔪🦍 🗡️

    1. Finance ·Housing
      The housing correction intensifies—Blackstone to stop buying homes in these 38 regional housing markets
      BY Lance Lambert
      August 26, 2022 at 3:06 AM MDT

      The Pandemic Housing Boom brought a flood of investors into the U.S. housing market. Mom-and-pop landlords rushed in. Airbnb hosts added to their portfolios. Amateur home flippers returned with a vengeance. Record home price appreciation also brought out the big dogs: Wall Street.

      But that party is over now. Or at least on pause.

      Look no further than Blackstone-owned Home Partners of America. The firm, which is one of the nation’s largest private landlords, announced on Thursday it will halt single-family home purchases in 38 U.S. regional housing markets by the end of September.

      “We assessed several factors such as home price appreciation, state and local regulations, and market demand to guide our investment plans to best serve consumers. We hope to resume purchasing homes in these markets in the future,” wrote Home Partners of America in a press release.

      The pullback by Home Partners of America, which was purchased by Blackstone for $6 billion in 2021, comes as average joes and investors alike put their homebuying plans on hold. The result isn’t pretty: On a year-over-year basis, existing home sales and new home sales are down 20.2% and 29.6%, respectively.

      The announcement by Blackstone-owned Home Partners of America also comes just as more Wall Street firms are realizing that the intensifying housing correction could translate into falling home prices. Last week, Fitch Ratings released a report finding that U.S. house prices are at risk of falling up to 15%. This week, Moody’s Analytics downgraded its outlook for U.S. house prices—projecting that a 5% to 10% price cut could manifest.

      That raises the question: Are deep-pocketed Wall Street firms simply pausing their buying plans because they think better discounts (i.e., falling prices) await? After all, firms like Blackstone have made it clear that long term they want to own more—not fewer—single-family homes.

      If a recession hits, Moody’s Analytics thinks significantly “overvalued” markets like Boise, Reno, and Spokane could see home prices fall between 15% to 20%. Those at-risk markets are also among the places where Home Partners of America plans to halt purchases. Some other “paused” markets—including Deltona, Fla., and Columbus—are also at risk. Some others aren’t. In fact, Moody’s Analytics thinks home prices will go higher in Cincinnati.
      …
      https://fortune.com/2022/08/26/housing-marketcorrection-intensifies-blackstone-to-stop-buying-homes-in-these-housing-markets/

      1. “We assessed several factors such as home price appreciation, state and local regulations, and market demand to guide our investment plans to best serve consumers.”

        LMFAO!

      2. “If a recession hits, Moody’s Analytics thinks significantly “overvalued” markets like Boise, Reno, and Spokane could see home prices fall between 15% to 20%.”

        These three markets sales have already “stalled” using aeronautical language while the number of listings continue to increase.

    1. They bought at the height of the housing frenzy. Now they’re ‘house rich, cash poor’
      By Katie McKellar
      Aug 26, 2022, 2:34pm MDT

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      Homes in Salt Lake County are pictured on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

      Homes in Salt Lake County are pictured on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. A majority of new American homeowners say they’re “house rich and cash poor,” according to a new U.S. News & World Report survey.

      Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret NewsPurchase Photo

      A majority of new American homeowners say they’re “house rich and cash poor,” according to a new U.S. News & World Report survey.

      The survey, conducted by the third-party survey platform Pollfish, asked 2,000 new homeowners in the U.S., who purchased their first home between 2021 and 2022, how they currently feel about their financial situation.

      More than half of them — 59% — answered that “house rich and cash poor describes my situation.” It’s a sentiment that “reflects both the rising sales prices of homes across the country as well as some of the unexpected costs of homeownership that first-time homebuyers encounter,” according to the U.S. News and World report.
      …
      https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/8/26/23323488/housing-market-home-prices-house-rich-cash-poor-bubble-recession-crash

      1. The URL says alot:

        “housing-market-home-prices-house-rich-cash-poor-bubble-recession-crash”

      2. “They bought at the height of the housing frenzy.”

        Big shots with borrowed money, they bid well over asking and won! It was exciting. Phew! Then the payments started…

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