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What Was Common Just Months Ago Is Now Passe

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “‘I don’t believe it is rebalancing anymore,’ said Tony Fink, a licensed agent in Raleigh. ‘I think is is rebalanced, it has already occurred. It was not possible for us to sustain the growth we have seen.'”

“Homeowners wishing to maximize their profits by selling in 2022 may already have missed the boat, as peak home prices for the year seem to be in the rear-view mirror. ‘If you hear individuals proclaiming the housing-industry sky is falling, smile and move on. This is very much a sellers’-market balance,’ noted the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. ‘In some housing segments, peak sales activities occurred in early spring, as buyers closed [transactions] in time to keep mortgage rates that had been locked in earlier in the year.'”

“The Rhode Island real estate market has been in hyper-drive for the past three-plus years, but those days may now be officially over. Ben Scungio of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International said for the first time in years, home sellers are now dropping their asking price. ‘The number that’s interesting to me is 139 price reductions across the board (in just the past seven days),’ said Scungio. He said a year ago, the number might have been one or two. ‘We have a term that we like to throw around here, which is ‘aspirational pricing’ — a number that is a ‘pie in the sky’ number for sellers, and you could do that probably six months ago — just throw a number out there — and you’d probably have a buyer pool of 5 to 10 or 15 to 20 people.'”

“The Texas housing market is starting to cool off. Until recently, buyers competing for a limited supply of homes routinely had to pay more than the asking price and make offers on the spot. Now there are more homes for sale in Texas than at any time since fall 2020. After two years of a red-hot market, many sellers have cut prices to try to lure buyers who are facing higher mortgage rates, bloated home prices and inflation. That’s a sign that buyers are starting to gain an edge, real estate experts told The Texas Tribune.”

“Ashley Jackson, the Austin Board of Realtors president, said a home she has listed for sale in the suburb of Pflugerville might have immediately received multiple offers if it had been on the market earlier in the year. But now it’s surrounded by others for sale, and though it’s had a steady number of showings, she said, no one has made an offer. Jackson said buyers are ‘not competing as hard for a home as in the past few years where we saw perhaps a buyer had to go 10% or 20% over asking [price]. Maybe now they can get a house at asking price or perhaps even under asking price.'”

“Builders in Austin, San Antonio and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex filed for fewer permits in the first seven months of this year than in the same period last year. But there are ‘more new homes under construction right now than we’ve ever observed,’ said Lawrence Dean, senior vice president at real estate research firm Zonda. More than 88,000 homes were under construction across Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth at the end of June, Dean said.”

“Arizona-based mortgage lender Suburban Mortgage Inc.’s website is down and employees’ emails are disabled, indicating that the company apparently shut down its operations and laid off its employees. According to the former employee, Suburban laid off around 80 employees with no severance payment. The last paycheck was paid on Wednesday, but commissions on closing loans will happen through the end of September. ‘We had employees that had been with us for 33 years. None of the owners will talk to us,’ the former employee said on condition of anonymity.”

“The story in Kona this month is rising inventory, houses in all price points made it to 103 this month, the first time in triple digits since December 2020. Price reductions in houses and condos are becoming more common, as I understand it is on the mainland as well. Buyers are voting with their feet instead of making offers since some of them still believe you have to make at least a full price offer to be considered. That is not true. Sellers are taking offers below asking and they are just now starting to show up in our solds, but I’m sure there are many more in our pending sales with contracts not at full price.”

“The big change this month is houses coming on the market under a million that just a few months ago would have been listed over that benchmark. I have been working with multiple sellers on how to ‘right’ price them from the start, and it’s tough when the solds went into escrow months ago and bear no resemblance to today’s market pricing. What was common just months ago is now passe. No more multiple offers, no more appraisal value waivers, no more inspection contingencies waived… and much more!”

“Pretty much overnight the landscape changed when interest rates went up dramatically in May. Now the properties in escrow stayed for the most part and when they close, they aren’t really comparable to the current market since conditions have changed so dramatically. When a property comes out now, it comes out lower than originally planned when the seller started the journey a few months ago. It gets 10 or so showings and maybe no offers… drop the price, go through the multiple showings again and cross your fingers you get an offer… “

“There has been a surge in the number of buyers pulling out of their deals to purchase homes, but Ontario industry insiders say home sellers may be in for a long wait if they hope to collect on the deposits made to secure the sale. At issue is a little-understood set of rules and practices at the real estate brokerage level that can deadlock the release of a deposit if a transaction fails. Lawyers who deal with disputes over failed real estate sales say requests for advice and counsel are the highest they’ve been in years.”

“‘I’ve had clients call me: ‘I can’t sleep at night I’m going to get a divorce, I can’t do this,’ said David Feld, lawyer with Feld Kalia Professional Corp. Mr. Feld describes a hypothetical client who agreed to pay $1.7-million for a house in March, only to find out 90 days later that their lender’s appraisal of the property says it’s only worth $1.5-million, leaving them $200,000 short on the purchase price. To make matters worse, sometimes a buyer in that position also had to sell their own home for a lower price than they’d hoped, cutting perhaps another $100,000 off their purchase budget. The result is a buyer scrambling to find $300,000 in cash to close a deal they may not be able to afford anymore.’So I beg for a release.'”

“Bosley Real Estate Ltd. broker David Fleming has simple advice for anyone contemplating breaking an agreement of purchase and sale: don’t do it. ‘In a nutshell it’s going to ruin your life … and I’m not exaggerating, there’d be a massive financial penalty and they would live and breathe litigation for the next two or three years,’ said Mr. Fleming, who has had to counsel many people – some clients some not – in recent months. Nevertheless, there are those he says firmly believe it’s only fair that they walk away from a legally binding contract without penalty.”

“‘It’s amazing we have to remind people the real estate market is a market and prices do fluctuate,’ he said. ‘People should be settling in these cases … but I’ve seen the way the wheel’s turn in their mind: I think there’s very few people who are going to say ‘Yeah I did that … it’s on me.’”

“Interest rate hikes have well and truly had their impact on the cost of houses – with property prices dropping in almost every Australian region and in every single capital city bar Darwin. The data showed the median Australian dwelling price rose to just over $900,000 in 2021, up from just over $700,000 in 2020. That $200,000 jump in value in a single year was the same amount as the period from 2012 to 2020 combined where the median price rose from $500,000 to $700,000.”

“Sydney values fell the most over the month, down 2.3 per cent to a median value of $1.3million, with consecutive monthly drops since April knocking $114,000 off the median price, or $927 a day.”

“More than 4,800 Chinese companies listed in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing have now released their earnings for the first half of the year. It was a bloodbath. As many as 53% posted a decline in net profit, according to data from two major financial information services in the country. ‘We’ve already seen the impact,” said Alicia García Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, a French investment bank. Prices of oil and other energy commodities have retreated and semiconductor factories have started to see decelerating orders, she added.”

“‘The key reasons are mobility restrictions and a huge drop in sentiment associated with the demise of the real estate market,’ said García-Herrero.”

“With Hong Kong’s once red-hot housing market seeing signs of a slump, agents are apparently being forced to find ‘novel’ ways to promote their properties. Such as starring in advertisements while lying in a bathtub wearing just a towel. That’s what Sammi Chan, a senior account manager of Ricacorp Properties, did to get the eyeballs of aspiring homeowners and potential investors.”

“In the advertisement, which has now been taken down, Chan appears to be clad in nothing but a pink towel while sitting in the huge bathtub of a unit of the Upper Riverbank apartment building in Kai Tak. ‘Don’t worry, I saw this beautiful bathtub in the master bathroom and thought I would not be doing it justice if I didn’t take a bath here,’ she said in the ad.”

“The video has since gone viral on the internet, with many netizens questioning the marketing tactic. ‘Is she selling the property or herself?’ asked one internet user. ‘Poor thing, the homeowner became so poor after buying the unit that she has no money to buy clothes and has to sleep in the bathtub,’ another netizen joked.”

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This Post Has 114 Comments

  1. I love a good bloodbath in the mornin!

    ‘Sydney values fell the most over the month, down 2.3 per cent to a median value of $1.3million, with consecutive monthly drops since April knocking $114,000 off the median price, or $927 a day’

    No avocado sammies fer you!

    1. “Joe Biden is a tyrant.
      The 2020 election was stolen.”

      – We’ll, his prime time speech yesterday certainly didn’t do anything to change that view! 🙂
      – A balanced and unifying theme with an Adolf Hitler vibe! 🙂
      – Think “Mein Führer” and you won’t be far wrong.
      – A fascist speech from a fascist dictator. What a surprise. The globalists Manchurian candidate. The puppet speaks what his puppet masters dictate.
      – Summary of the speech: The left is terrified of DJT and roughly half the country who voted for him. Don’t forget for a moment the true purpose of the Second Amendment.

      https://twitter.com/ZubyMusic/status/1565520985431937025
      ZUBY:
      @ZubyMusic
      American friends,

      What is going on here and who thought this lighting was a good idea?
      8:04 PM · Sep 1, 2022·Twitter for Android

      https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-condemns-fascism-in-speech-while-also-debuting-attractive-new-mustache

      Biden Condemns Fascism In Speech While Also Debuting Attractive New Mustache
      Politics · Sep 1, 2022 · BabylonBee.com

      – If the similarity wasn’t clear enough before… 🙂

      https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch_PQPcu-w-/

      – Happy Friday!

      2. To all ultra-MAGAs: Please assemble at your local rail yard. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttplug has arranged special transportation to boxcar you to a Trump rally at an undisclosed location. Please pack a sack lunch, and leave all firearms at home.

      3. The white house is run by twitter millennials and younger and they were going for a real life Dark Brandon meme. Which backfired big time.

    2. Stephen Miller last night:

      “President Trump poured out his heart, his soul, his spirit every day to build a better America for everyone to build a safer and more prosperous America. While Democrats and deep state launched an illegal operation to take him out and it is now in its sixth year!

      President Biden tonight gave the speech of a dictator, in the style of a dictator, in the visual of a dictator, using the words of a dictator.

      This was his enemies of the state speech. And like every other radical, Marxist, tyrant, he accused his opponents of being fascist while he engages in oppressive authoritarian behavior.

      He’s the one who’s forcing Americans against their will to take a vaccine.

      He is the one who has violated our nation’s Constitution to open our borders.

      He’s the one who is interfering in the sacred relationship between parent and child to try to force dangerous medicine, puberty blockers, hormones, on our little kids.

      He’s the one whose government raided the home of his chief political opponent. in a fashion that violates the entire constitutional order because President Trump has the absolute right to decide what is or isn’t in the national security interest when he leaves the White House.

      All of those things, all of them, are the behavior of a tyrant.”

      1. Biden acts like he has majority support for his policies and treasonous acts as a President.
        Biden represent the Globalists One World Order Dictorship insurrection, and this is evident in all his acts and policies.
        Biden saying in speech that this Government was founded in ” equity and democracy” is false.
        This Government is a Constitutional protections representative Republic.
        Equity isn’t something the founders insured in this Government. “Equity” is a Marxism term that means Goverment doles out resourses, each according to his ability, each according to his need.
        The Founders gave Constitutional protections equality to each Citizen for the pursuit of happiness with free choice.
        But , it absurd to think that The Globalists care about equity anyway because they want to control all resources, you will own nothing, eat bugs, get hacked and injected against your will.
        Biden is just a fake puppet, as a result of a criminal rigged election. He is following the Hitler playbook of elimination of his political opposition, by calling a long standing Republicans white terrorists, simi racist , extremist , racist etc.
        Biden doesn’t want to ” Make America Great Again”, because that would be counter productive to destroy America for a One World Order Dictorship.
        Biden represents psychopaths who want to take over the World and enslave people and kill people. Unbelievable.

        1. I’m waiting for Brandon to tell us that abundance and prosperity are a thing of the past, and if you don’t agree then you’re a fascist.

  3. ‘We have a term that we like to throw around here, which is ‘aspirational pricing’ — a number that is a ‘pie in the sky’ number for sellers, and you could do that probably six months ago — just throw a number out there — and you’d probably have a buyer pool of 5 to 10 or 15 to 20 people’

    Rock solid lending!

  4. ‘We had employees that had been with us for 33 years. None of the owners will talk to us’

    Why that’s savagely unhealthy.

    1. From the Suburban Mortgage piece: “Capital and liquidity are not the issue, but the lack of loan production. We built an engine to comfortably produce $35 million in monthly loan production. Our bread and butter has always been purchase business driven through our realtor relationships. However, the volume of purchase transactions is no longer fueling this engine. So, we have decided to conserve capital and cash by exiting the origination business.”

      So roughly 6% of that for commissions, fixed overhead, the employees, so what’s left for profit?

    2. My wife just spoke with her friend who’s in the mortgage business as some high level muckety muck. A few months ago she was riding high, talking about buying a second home in some fancy areas. Now She says it’s a total bloodbath and she knows she will be laid off any time now. How the mighty have fallen

        1. She went through 2006 so she should know better. I think the fact that inventory was so low a few months ago probably saved her from buying that second home. Dumb luck

  5. ‘buyers are ‘not competing as hard for a home as in the past few years where we saw perhaps a buyer had to go 10% or 20% over asking [price]’

    So where were the appraisers in all this?

    ‘there are ‘more new homes under construction right now than we’ve ever observed’… More than 88,000 homes were under construction across Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth at the end of June’

    Now that’s a shortage!

  6. Project Veritas did a nice job exposing this “educator” from my home town.

    Video shows Greenwich assistant school principal allegedly discussing progressive hiring agenda

    2 days ago

    The First Selectman Fred Camillo, of Greenwich, is reacting after a video released by the activist group Project Veritas that shows the assistant principal of Cos Cob Elementary School appearing to push a “progressive” agenda in his hiring.

    https://youtu.be/zs8WQEDPcT0

    1. 7:45 – 10:35 the Project Veritas chick with the presumably nice legs gets the dumb@ss vice principal to rip off the liberal mask about the hiring practices of the Soros sponsored Leftist Union educators that have permeated the public school system.

      1. Gender neutral is misnomer fake nomenclature of the left propaganda. There is no such thing as gender neutral.
        “They” always try to make it appear that it is a majority screaming for this insanity. And even if it were, should that make it legal?
        More erasure of females.

        Susan arice write Biden’s speech last night.

        The brown shirt B L M is Obama’s civilian army and Biden is Kenya Barry’s third term.

        1. Im OK with gender neutral…….aka: Handicap bathrooms……so men women bi trans all can go in 1 ONE person at a time and lock the door behind you……you see them all over the place.

        2. Gender neutral bathrooms mean men piss on the toilet seats for women. I do. Progressive Women voted for this, they get urine soaked bathroom seats to sit on.

      1. And what is this BS that I can’t question a Election. I’m protected under the Constitution as to questioning anything I want.
        In fact, its my duty as a US Citizen to prevent a criminally rigged election by parties that are enemies of the Union.
        Its also within my rights to question the interference of the 2020 election by the obstruction by FBI and fake news of Hunter Biden’s laptop information by the fraud that it was Russian disinformation.
        Joe Biden you are a demented crooked pervert traitor to this Country, and I’m sick of you attacking me and my father who fought in World War 11 to defend this Country against tyranny.
        You are a disgusting killer with your Vaccine Mandates and fraud that they were safe and effective.
        Everything you do is to undermine America, so the international Terrorist Cult of Mega Corporations and Mega Money people can take over and enslave people, deprive and kill people.
        You are tearing down, not building back better. In the words of Greta, ” How dare you.”

  9. A reader sent these in:

    Hmm…”the steepest downturn in US manufacturing seen since the global financial crisis in 2009″

    https://twitter.com/Halsrethink/status/1565380115374243841

    New construction spec home from a high quality builder, in one of the bubbliest suburban towns in the DFW region. Looks like reality set in Labor Day Weekend.

    https://twitter.com/OGtexasrunner/status/1565472879109705737

    Charlie Bilello

    This is the second housing bubble engineered by the Fed. They never acknowledged that the first one existed and will never acknowledge this one as well. They will maintain that their easy money policies have no impact on home prices, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1565115331793899521

    This is the longest US bond market drawdown in history (25 months and counting) and the largest (-12.3%) since 1980 (note: using monthly total return data).

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1565350335086198786

    The 15-year mortgage rate in the US rises to 4.98%, its highest level since 2009. A year ago it hit an all-time low of 2.10%.

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1565358515253805057

    Eurozone inflation has moved up to 9.1%, its highest level ever.
    Meanwhile, the ECB only recently abandoned their negative rate policy by moving back to 0%. This is the greatest disconnect between easy monetary policy and unabating rising prices that the world has ever seen.

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1565361631508529152

    Get an ARM they said

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1565074178478428161

    John Wake

    Real estate attorney says about half his phone calls these days are disputes about buyers canceling contracts.

    https://twitter.com/JohnWake/status/1565439596569059328

    Adam Taggart

    The avg 30yr mortgage rate has more than DOUBLED from 2.77% last Aug to now 6.23%. At the same time, Monthly Supply of New Houses is screaming higher. Toss in an economy entering (or already in) recession & it’s damn hard not to foresee a painful correction in home prices ahead.

    https://twitter.com/menlobear/status/1565417893214334976

    1. Wake is a Phoenix area UHS.

      Comments to the Texas post:

      Aaron Layman

      Same builder now offering those $10k BTSA’s through October. Apparently feeling the pinch of higher rates.

      Damn if this is happening in Prosper can’t imagine how bad Aubrey Melissa Anna and the like will be.

      6000 sq. foot lot, at least an hour commute to Dallas. That puppy should be 500k.

      1. ‘if this is happening in Prosper can’t imagine how bad Aubrey Melissa Anna and the like will be’

        These places were cow pastures in 2006.

    2. – Shot:

      Adam Taggart
      “The avg 30yr mortgage rate has more than DOUBLED from 2.77% last Aug to now 6.23%. At the same time, Monthly Supply of New Houses is screaming higher. Toss in an economy entering (or already in) recession & it’s damn hard not to foresee a painful correction in home prices ahead.”

      – Data (yesterday’s):

      https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates
      Today’s Mortgage Rates
      The Mortgage News Daily rate index is published daily (weekdays) around 4PM EST.
      30 Yr. Fixed
      6.23% +0.24

      15 Yr. Fixed
      5.38% +0.09

      – Chaser:

      Charlie Bilello
      “This is the second housing bubble engineered by the Fed. They never acknowledged that the first one existed and will never acknowledge this one as well. They will maintain that their easy money policies have no impact on home prices, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.”

      – House prices were already too darn high before rates went up. And then rates went up (doubled). And supply is at a record high, as builders are busy building due to false economic signals from the Fed. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

      https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=QPZ7
      New Privately-Owned Housing Units Under Construction: Total Units (UNDCONTSA)
      Observation:
      Jul 2022: 1,678 (+ more)
      Updated: Aug 16, 2022

    3. Appraisers and mortgage salesmen…..you’re going to jail my good friends…. you’re going to jail.

      1. “Appraisers and mortgage salesmen…..you’re going to jail my good friends…. you’re going to jail.”

        They all are! We’re witnessing the largest sting operation in the history of the world. This is a level of strategic brilliance never seen before. Checkmate was achieved in 2016. Devolution began with the Nov. 3rd insurrection. We’re enduring the last panic induced, futile moves now. The central banking cabal is done. Fiat is done and going Zimbabwe. Get your gold and silver while they still have it repressed. The Patriots are in control.

    4. I love reading the replies tweets from realtors who are whistling past the graveyard. They will be wallowing in tears shortly.

  10. ‘The key reasons are mobility restrictions and a huge drop in sentiment associated with the demise of the real estate market’

    Eat yer crowz Dan.

  11. The new build nightmares video on the previous thread is interesting. Says the work looks like someone ‘doing it for the first time’. It’s only money, sign me up!

  13. Great clip – if the prices continue to drop there will continue to be this cascading effect. My mom was just telling me a story about how this is happening in the exurbs around Toronto. They are stuck between a rock and hard place. The only consolation is that it will probably take 3-4 years in court to settle – so they can kick this down the road

    “‘I’ve had clients call me: ‘I can’t sleep at night I’m going to get a divorce, I can’t do this,’ said David Feld, lawyer with Feld Kalia Professional Corp. Mr. Feld describes a hypothetical client who agreed to pay $1.7-million for a house in March, only to find out 90 days later that their lender’s appraisal of the property says it’s only worth $1.5-million, leaving them $200,000 short on the purchase price. To make matters worse, sometimes a buyer in that position also had to sell their own home for a lower price than they’d hoped, cutting perhaps another $100,000 off their purchase budget. The result is a buyer scrambling to find $300,000 in cash to close a deal they may not be able to afford anymore.’So I beg for a release.’”

  14. The Washington Post and New York Times are globalist scum media and Deep State propaganda.

    Archive links provided to bypass subscriber paywall and to deny them clicks, page loads, revenue.

    Washington Post — Biden warns U.S. faces powerful threat from anti-democratic forces:

    https://archive.ph/vIbAt

    New York Times — Biden Warns That American Values Are Under Assault by Trump-Led Extremism:

    https://archive.ph/2Mhks

    President Donald Trump was correct when he stated “the media is the enemy of the American people”

  15. Today you will read more truth in Russian state media than you will in the Washington Post or New York Times.

    Russia Today — Trump blasts Biden’s ‘awkward and angry’ speech (9/2/2022):

    “Donald Trump has hit out at US President Joe Biden’s latest speech, calling it “angry and awkward”. In a post on his Truth Social account on Friday, the former leader questioned Biden’s health and cognitive abilities after the president suggested the Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda was an “extremism that threatens the very foundation” of the US.

    Trump responded to the accusations by suggesting the 79-year-old president was in cognitive decline. “Someone should explain to Joe Biden, slowly but passionately, that MAGA means, as powerfully as mere words can get, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! If he doesn’t want to Make America Great Again, which through words, action, and thought, he doesn’t, then he certainly should not be representing the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

    The former US leader went on to point out that in his “awkward and angry” speech, Biden practically threatened America with the possible use of military force. “He must be insane, or suffering from late stage dementia!”

    Meanwhile, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has shared a video which makes Biden’s latest speech look as if it were given by Adolf Hitler, suggesting that Biden’s handlers have decided to use “Hitler imagery” to make the “frail, weak, and dementia ridden” US leader look “tough.”

    https://www.rt.com/news/562040-trump-biden-insane-speech/

    “Accuse your enemy of what you are doing, as you are doing it to create confusion” — Karl Marx

  17. Bahahahahahahahahaha …

    Power Company Seizes Control Of Thermostats In Colorado During Heatwave

    https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/power-company-seizes-control-thermostats-colorado-during-heatwave

    (snip snip snip)

    Around 22,000 households in Colorado lost the ability to control their thermostats after the power company seized control of them during a heatwave.

    After temperatures soared past 90 degrees, residents were left confused when they tried to adjust their air conditioning and found locked controls displaying a message that said “energy emergency.”

    Xcel confirmed to local news station Denver7 that “22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday.”

    “I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told the news station. “It was hot.”

    Talarico said he is normally able to override the “energy emergency” message, but not on this occasion.

    “So, our thermostat was locked in at 78 or 79,” he said.

    Completely losing control over the temperature of your own home is presumably one of the many benefits of the green energy ‘Great Reset’ Americans will be forced to endure.

    This story is yet another example of how smart meters will pave the way for energy rationing.

    No doubt Americans who have them installed will increasingly find their thermostats remote controlled at the behest of energy companies whenever a dubious ‘crisis’ can be declared.

    And if that sounds bad, just imagine what will happen if net zero green energy ‘climate lockdowns’ become normalized.

    People in major European countries are already having their thermostats regulated in response to the energy crisis.

    In Spain, at the height of summer, authorities have controversially banned air conditioning from dropping below 27°C (80.6°F) in all non-residential buildings, including shops, cinemas and cafes.

    Onerous fines for those who flout the rules run all the way up to €600,000 euros for “serious violations.”

    Similar rules have also been announced in Germany, Italy and France.

    1. These articles blame the energy company when it’s the residents that signed up for allowing the company to have control. They get like $25/year credit if they sign up for it. What did they think was going to happen? just free money? Take the ticket, enjoy the ride. I doubt they can back out either. You just know all these people took the deathshot too. “but they said…………………”

      1. Here in CA its default signup you have to sign out and hope it takes.

        And then get annoying phone calls trying to gaslight you back in

        See CPA clean power alliance

  18. Breitbart Business Digest: How to Build an Antiracist Housing Bubble

    JOHN CARNEY
    1 Sep 2022

    The dark lord of no-money-down mortgages emerged this week in the form of a new home loan program from Bank of America that will not only offer buyers in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods in selected cities mortgages with no money down, it will actually offer them a grant of $10,000 to $15,000 of equity in their homes. There will be no closing costs, no mortgage insurance required, and no minimum credit scores.

    https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/09/01/breitbart-business-digest-how-to-build-an-antiracist-housing-bubble/

  19. If there’s a downside to Gen-Z special snowflakes taking themselves out of the gene pool, I’m not seeing it.

    EXCLUSIVE – The rise of childfree Gen-Z: As demand for female STERILIZATION for under-30s soars, ‘childless-by-choice’ women speak out about their decision and the bitter struggles they’ve faced – from doctors REFUSING surgeries to shock $28K bill

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11051355/Gen-Z-women-sterilized-speak-decision.html

  21. It’s September now?

    Happy *THIRTY MONTH ANNIVERSARY* of “two weeks to flatten the curve”

    NPR — Reading and math scores fell sharply during pandemic, data show (9/1/2022):

    “Reading scores saw their largest decrease in 30 years, while math scores had their first decrease in the history of the testing regimen behind the study, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Education Department.

    “These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of NCES. “Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago.”

    https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120510251/reading-math-test-scores-pandemic

    Did you get a property tax holiday during CCP Flu to not pay for these students not being educated?

    No, you didn’t. This is what your property taxes that you are paying are not paying for.

    “They’re not sending their best”

    1. Can’t read, can’t do math, and now with a lifetime affliction of Mass Formation Psychosis.

      NPR — With kids back in school, educators brace to help with ongoing mental health troubles (9/2/2022):

      “As the new school year begins, teachers at many schools across the country are adding a new component to their routines: a mental health check-in with their students. The idea is to open up conversations around how kids are feeling emotionally, and to connect them to help before issues escalate to a crisis.

      The new approach comes after two and a half rocky years of pandemic, with kids’ lives disrupted by bouts of remote schooling and many families in economic stress, which worsened the already shaky state of children’s mental health in the U.S.

      In 2020, the CDC reported a greater proportion of kids showing up at emergency rooms in a mental health crises: serious suicide attempts, eating disorders, aggressive behaviors.

      In the fall of 2020, three professional organizations including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared the state of children’s mental health a national emergency.”

      https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/09/02/1120077364/with-kids-back-in-school-educators-brace-to-help-with-ongoing-mental-health-trou

  23. “More than 4,800 Chinese companies listed in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing have now released their earnings for the first half of the year. It was a bloodbath. As many as 53% posted a decline in net profit, according to data from two major financial information services in the country.”

    Let me guess: Despite all the gloom, the Chinese economy is still growing at eight percent?

  24. Markets
    Bonds enter first bear market in at least 30 years
    Last Updated: Sept. 2, 2022 at 9:12 a.m. ET
    First Published: Sept. 2, 2022 at 5:32 a.m. ET
    By Steve Goldstein
    Bears are rare in the fixed income world. Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

    The bond market has entered its first bear market in more than 30 years — and possibly much longer.

    The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Total Return Index has now dropped more than 20% below its peak, the biggest drawdown since its inception in 1990. It’s an index of both government and investment-grade corporate bonds.

    A bear market is usually defined as a loss of at least 20% from its previous peak.
    …
    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bonds-enter-first-bear-market-in-at-least-30-years-11662111162

    1. From the article:

      “Data from NYU, which tracks the return of U.S. Treasury bonds and Baa-rated corporate bonds, show this is likely the worst year for U.S. fixed income since at least 1928.

      The downturn has spelled devastation for the traditional 60/40 portfolio that is meant to shield investors from the volatility of the stock market. Data from Bespoke Investment Group shows the 60/40 portfolio has lost 14% this year, its worst performance since at least 1976.

      The yield on the 10-year Treasury was 3.24% shortly after the jobs report was released, up about 1.5 percentage points on the year. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.”

      1928 was quite a while ago. The Great Crash on Wall Street happened in 1929, ushering in the Great Depression. Better buckle up!

  25. Chinese economy
    Point of no return: crunch time as China tries to fend off property crash
    With the global economy also at a crossroads, Beijing’s leadership faces a perilous test of nerve on its lending crackdown and zero-Covid strategy
    Martin Farrer
    Sun 28 Aug 2022 20.31 EDT
    First published on Sun 28 Aug 2022 08.41 EDT
    A vehicle travels passes unfinished tower blocks in Danzhou, Hainan province. The development by the Evergrande Group is subject to a demolition order.

    China has reached a point of no return in its battle to contain what could be the biggest property crash the world has ever seen, experts believe, creating a perilous moment for the country’s Communist leadership and the global economy.

    As western countries stand on the edge of a potentially ruinous recession in the coming year, China is also facing a slump thanks to “total collapse” of confidence among ordinary people in the once-buoyant housing market, the continued ravages of Beijing’s draconian zero-Covid strategy and an extreme heatwave that is affecting the supply of power and food.

    Alarm is spreading in China that tough times are on the horizon, with the chief executive of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, causing a sensation this week when he warned that the chill from economic downturn would be “felt by everyone” for the next decade.

    But just as it has become impossible for President Xi Jinping to U-turn on the mass lockdowns that have stunted economic activity, it also appears increasingly unlikely that he and his politburo will reverse the crackdown on reckless lending in the property market that has led to a 40% fall in the sale of homes this year.

    The Chinese housing market has driven growth for the past two decades and now represents the biggest asset class in the world, with a notional value of between $55tn (£47tn) and $60tn, which is bigger than the total capitalisation of the US stock market. Now developers are going bust after being deprived of easy credit, prices are falling, homeowners are refusing to pay mortgages on unfinished homes and the slump in properties being sold and construction is crippling local governments that rely on land sales for income.
    …
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/crunch-time-china-tries-to-fend-off-property-crash-global-economy

  26. WHITE HOUSE Published September 1, 2022 7:19pm EDT

    White House blames Trump for COVID school closures despite teachers unions, Dems fighting to keep them shut

    The White House on Thursday appeared to blame former President Donald Trump and Republicans for a decline in children’s reading and math scores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Jean-Pierre suggested that the Trump administration and Republicans were to blame for how they “mismanaged” the pandemic, arguing that “nearly all schools” were open six months into Biden’s presidency.

    “That was the work of this president and that was the work of Democrats in spite of Republicans not voting for the American Rescue Plan (of) which $130 billion went to schools to have the ventilation to be able to have the tutoring and the teachers and being able to hire more teachers,” she said, again crediting the Biden administration.

    Jean-Pierre argued that the economy being shut down, as well as schools and business showed “how mismanaged the pandemic was and how the impact of that mismanagement had on the kids’ progress and academic well-being.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-blames-trump-covid-school-closures-despite-teachers-unions-dems-fighting-keep-them-shut

    This Is Not A Test

    Jul 27, 2020 Donald Trump hasn’t handled the COVID-19 pandemic, instead he’s lied, spread misinformation, and broken promises. Now he’s pushing to open schools against e…

    https://youtu.be/I8FuY1RbfD4?t=25

    2. “You don’t need Permission to be Free”

      Best Ever!!!

      Give that man the rebuttal to Brandon’s next State of the Union Address.

  28. Meanwhile back at the ranch

    University mandates vaccine for students but not staff

    Grant Hernandez ’24 | Alabama Campus Correspondent
    Thursday, September 1, 2022 11:00 AM

    Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania released its Fall 2022 COVID-19 vaccination protocol, stating that returning students must be fully vaccinated prior to arriving on campus.

    In contrast to the student vaccination requirement, employees are only “strongly encouraged” to be vaccinated prior to returning to campus, suggesting that unvaccinated employees should “talk to [their] doctor about the benefits.”

    https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=20077

  29. Millions Of Americans Face Eviction In Coming Months | ZeroHedge
    https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/millions-americans-face-eviction-coming-months

    (snip snip snip snip snip)

    The economy is fine, so we’re told. There is no recession, so we’re told. The Federal Reserve has everything under control, so we’re told. Meanwhile, 3.8 million Americans say they could face eviction in the next two months.

    It doesn’t sound like everything is fine.

    The median rent in the US eclipsed $2,000 per month in June for the first time ever. It’s another symptom of rampant inflation burning through the US economy.

    While the CPI cooled slightly in July, shelter costs rose another 0.5% month-on-month. On a yearly basis, shelter costs have spiked by 5.7%, according to government numbers. And the CPI drastically understates the cost of housing. Actual rents have increased more than 15% in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Zillow.

    With rents skyrocketing, households representing 8.5 million people are behind on their rent, according to the Census Bureau. Of those, 3.8 million say they are somewhat or very likely to be evicted within the next two months.

    According to Yahoo Finance, “The combination of soaring inflation, the end of most eviction moratoriums and rental assistance payments and an extremely low vacancy rate has pushed rents up — and many renters out.”

    Nearly half of all renters experienced rent hikes in the past 12 months, according to Census Bureau data. Eleven percent have seen rent increases of over $250 per month.

    To make ends meet, people are turning to credit cards and loans, raiding savings, selling assets, and dipping into retirement funds. According to the Census Bureau, 57% of renters said they were forced to resort to one of these desperate measures to keep up with their rent.

    This dovetails with the skyrocketing levels of household debt. Americans added another $40.1 billion to their debt load in June alone. That represented a 10.5% year-on-year increase. Credit card balances increased by $46 billion in the second quarter of this year. Over the last year, credit card debt has exploded by 13%, the biggest increase in over 20 years.

    According to Yahoo Finance, the Fed’s efforts to stem inflation are adding to the pain. With mortgage rates rising, renters who were hoping to buy homes have been priced out of the market.

    Eviction levels are already rising. According to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, evictions were 52% above average in Tampa, 90% above average in Houston, and 94% above average in Minneapolis-St. Paul this month.

    This is yet another sign that the economy isn’t as strong as the powers that be would like you to believe.

    Despite the fact that private sector economic activity has dropped to the lowest levels since early in the COVID lockdowns, the housing market is tanking, and the economy has charted two straight months of negative GDP growth, the mainstream keeps pointing to the strong labor market. But if the labor market is so strong, why are so many people facing eviction?

    Peter Schiff has said the labor market isn’t nearly as robust as people think. There may be plenty of jobs, but real wages are falling. “I don’t care about how many jobs are being created. What I’m looking at is: are the workers getting pay raises or are they suffering pay cuts? Because in a strong labor market, you get a raise,” Schiff said.

    It’s clear; a strong labor market or not, a lot of Americans are struggling. And it appears a large number may soon find themselves on the streets

    1. Average rent for a small 3/2 house in my area is between $2,000 and $3,000 per month. We cannot afford that, and I know people who are getting their leases non-renewed because landlords are selling their properties and the new owners want more money than the current tenants can afford to pay. The problem is that there is nowhere for many of these newly homeless people to go. I foresee rent controls being instituted, and while I’ve always been opposed to rent control, it’s hard for me to feel bad when it’s obvious that people are just being greedy at this point.

        1. That’s their plan. They want both parents out of the house and working to survive so that the state can raise their children.

          No private property for the plebs either. Although, there is really no such thing as private property if one has to pay property taxes anyway.

          1. Millions and millions of people are streaming across the borders to compete with you for your next home. At just a 5% population growth rate it only takes 14 years (magic number) to double the population of an area. With Florida having the double whammy of massive domestic migration fleeing blue state tyranny and millions of illegal invaders, you need to seriously try to visualize the wave of people headed your way. Can you compete? Do you even want to?

            Each city has growth rings, try to spot them. You can see it in the architecture. You should see that they get progressively larger. Now extrapolate. Can your city keep up with trend? Does it have the will? (If not, price marches higher.) These are important questions for someone who is not properly landed. There will be a buyable low in 4-5 years and if you miss it you might be out for another whole cycle. I recommend seeking the low on a path less travelled but I’m contrarian. Spend this time researching and preparing and you can line up the deal of a lifetime a few years from now. Will you be ready?

    2. Another 20 million can’t pay the utility bill. And our juice is way cheaper than in Europe. Imagine if we had Euro prices! it would be 3/4 of all households that couldn’t pay the bill.

    3. Sure people are getting a pay raise. Maybe 4 or even 5%. Which is totally awesome EXCEPT inflation is over 9% (officially, of course way more than that). So that’s really a pay cut. So wait, i busted my butt all year and I got a pay cut?????? Yeah, gosh, I just can’t understand why people are working to rule. (errr quiet quitting). (/sarc)

      1. Officially, it’s for repairs. But we will see about that, as they didn’t even provide an estimated fix date.

        1. Much equipment (including some very large compressors) for scheduled repairs is from EU or USA suppliers. However, currently there is an embargo on such items in place.

          Is that a problem?

          1. From what I read, earlier today the EU said they were imposing a price cap on oil prices paid to Russia, because they don’t want to fund Russia’s “war machine”. A few hours later the natgas pipeline shutdown was announced.

  31. Did Brandon’s globalist handlers realize he dropped the mask too soon?

    ‘I don’t consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country’: Now Biden walks BACK his attacks on MAGA Republicans – and insists he was talking about people who call for ‘use of violence’ and reject election results

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11174063/Biden-walks-says-does-not-consider-Trump-supporter-threat.html

    President Joe Biden walked back his attacks on Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters, saying on Friday he doesn’t consider ‘any Trump supporter a threat to the country.’

    ‘I don’t consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country,’ the president said at the White House.

    It was a contrast to his remarks on Thursday night when, in a primetime address on the threat to democracy, he said Trump and his supporters were a threat to the republic.

    1. ‘I don’t consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country,’ the president said at the White House.

      Does he consider Antifa or BLM to be threats?

        1. What are the Dems going to do if they lose big in November? Set off nukes in all the major metro areas? “If we can’t have it, no one else can!”

    2. I’ve disliked Biden since the 80’s and nothing he did or said really shook me until last night’s diatribe. Last night the left unveiled its plan for all to see. Remember, the nazis didn’t come for the Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and political prisoners all at once but when they did, it was a massacre.

      I don’t want to sound hyperbolic but it appears that Biden’s handlers have been pushed to the wall and are willing to resort to anything to assume total control of the United States. He may have walked some of that back today but they’re just trying to see how far they can push each time. Those two Marines behind him were also a message and as a retired US Navy sailor I understood its meaning completely. The left’s gloves have come off and if we don’t get up in their faces they’ll know that they can get away with it.

      Once they can label their opponents “terrorists” they’ll more than likely use the Patriot Act or new legislation to deprive you of your property, wealth or vote all under the guise of protecting the “Homeland.” The second civil war will start with lawfare and deprivation of rights for half of the country but the end of the second civil war will be a highly bloody affair.

      I enjoy the sense of humor of the posters here and all of Ben’s hard work and I try to keep my posts from going overboard but last night’s “speech” was the Fort Sumter moment of the second civil war. There’s no coming back from this and I don’t think that a Republican held congress is going to save us. Too many of them are willing to go along to get along.

        1. I do not think Biden should be so secure thinking the F-15 pilot or all fighter pilots would be willing to play on his team.

      2. I don’t want to sound hyperbolic but it appears that Biden’s handlers have been pushed to the wall and are willing to resort to anything to assume total control of the United States.

        They know that if they lose big in November, Brandon will be impeached and removed, along with Heels and you know who could be prez again. Other than the Deep State they would have nothing left. The next question is: would the Deep State attempt a coup?

      3. They’re merely trying to protect the United State’s Democracy as they see it – Trans, lgbtq, BIPOC. They see themselves as the legitimate democracy and us as the usurpers. They’re going to destroy us.

    1. Russia has moved another 100,000 soldiers into the region, and they probably have another million if they resort to the draft. Drones and satellites have made logistical and military movements very difficult to conceal in the 21st century compared to previous conflicts. Reported desertions within Russian and Ukrainian ranks in the region are rife as the body count and/or wounded have been numerous. Most of the Ukrainian forces look more like militia than organized soldiers. Winter is just 60-days away, and that will bog-down both sides, and Europe’s resolve will be strained as the energy crisis takes hold.

    1. Awesome photos!

      I don’t know which one I like better, the top one where they are looking right at you or the lower where they’re heading downhill with the mountains in the background.

      Thanks for posting and have a great weekend.

    1. The Financial Times
      Russian politics
      Putin dismantles ‘naive’ Gorbachev’s legacy of freedom
      Russian president has taken country in opposite direction to late Soviet leader who died this week
      © Russian pool/AP
      Polina Ivanova in Berlin and Max Seddon in Riga 4 hours ago

      … the freedoms that Gorbachev brought turned many Russians against him, according to Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

      “Leaders who give people freedom are unpopular” in Russia, he said. “People don’t like freedom. They don’t like to use it because it’s difficult [and has] too many risks.” Whereas in an authoritarian system, “you’re told what to do, you’re told what to think and who to vote for . . . It’s very convenient.”
      …

        1. Yes they are.

          And that is why the Fed and our other government overloads go to such lengths to intervene in markets, in order to ensure favorable economic outcomes for favored people.

      2. ” Whereas in an authoritarian system, “you’re told what to do, you’re told what to think and who to vote for . . . It’s very convenient.”

        That describes almost all 49 million people who voted for Joe Biden in the last presidential election.

    2. “Any thoughts on why so many people hate freedom?”

      Personally, I love freedom and I love presenting my customers with my Freedom Loans.

      Janis Joplin said it Best: “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose” and what my Freedom Loans do for (and to) my customers is to allow them complete and total freedom.

  36. Dumb question of the day: At what point will the Fed turn tail and renew Quantitative Easing targeted on housing to prop up the market?

    2. Deflation comes from a contraction of the money supply (quantitative tightening?) in the economy, and is probably the scariest word in Keynesian economics.

    1. Those wafer fabs won’t be online for years. Boise has been very dependent on Micron and Hewlett Packard for decades, and HP’s presence is a ghost of its former glory

  40. How is California gonna get enough electricity for all of its electric cars if they don’t even have enough to run their household air conditioners?

    Stupid is as stupid does.

    2. California Backlash over Order Not to Charge Electric Vehicles During Heatwave

      Electric car at charging station with the power cable supply plugged in. (Photo: Smile Fight/Shutterstock)
      California Backlash over Order Not to Charge Electric Vehicles During Heatwave

      Electric car and zero emissions supporters say car buyers looking elsewhere

      By Evan Symon, September 2, 2022 2:29 am

      The announcement by the California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) on Wednesday asking Californian residents to not charge their electric vehicles during peak hours to help conserve electricity continued to face backlash on Thursday due to the state approving a ban on the sale of new gas powered vehicles by 2035 only a week ago.

      Since September of 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom has pushed for the state to adopt a new policy eliminating the sale of new gas powered vehicles by 2035 to help meet 2045 zero carbon climate goals. At the same time, the power supply in California has been in a state of constant flux due to the same 2045 policy removing oil, gas, and coal plants at a rate faster than wind, solar, hydro, and other renewable sources of energy can replace them. On Thursday, a huge 9% loss of energy in 2025 was averted by the legislature passing a bill saving Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station for several more years as a bridge to help meet power needs in the state.

      However, the mix of strained power supplies and a major heat wave occurring throughout the West this week and into the next week caused Cal ISO to ask Californians to not use electricity in large amounts between 4 P.M. and 9 P.M. In particular, they asked residents to voluntarily reduce their power consumption by avoiding using large appliances and charging electric vehicles during peak usage hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. While many agree with using less power during these times, the inclusion of ‘charging electric vehicles’ has brought considerable criticism due to California just passing through the 2035 new gas powered car sale ban.

      Within California, many who opposed the 2035 ban quickly pointed out all the flaws leading to electric cars being praised one day then the state asking people not to charge them the next.

      “This is a glimpse into America’s future. It certainly is a glimpse into one path,” said former California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore on Thursday. ” I would argue it’s the wrong path, but look at this issue with the electric vehicles. I think it’s very interesting that California only has 600,000 electric vehicles on the road today out of about 20 million or so operational. If they ban internal combustion engines, you’re looking at about 2 million new electric vehicles a year and they can’t even handle 600,000. You’re looking at about 14% of California’s grid dedicated to electric vehicles when people come home from working. And if all those cars charge at the same time, that’s about one-seventh of what the grid is requiring to operate in those evening hours where things are real tight. I think we’re getting a glimpse into the future if we go all-electric and people are just constantly underestimating the enormous amount of electricity needed to make this happen.”

      Nationally, California was also ridiculed by many prominent lawmakers, including House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) who tweeted out that “California is now telling people to ‘avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles’ from 4-9pm. This from the same state that’s going to force everyone to buy electric cars by 2035. This is what Democrat control looks like—and they want it nationwide. What a joke.”

      Many concerned with Cal ISO announcement

      While electric car and zero emissions supporters have pointed out that these are just temporary measures during the heat wave and that California’s power supply will be in much better shape in the coming years, the Cal ISO announcement have left more in doubt of the plan. In a Globe interview, Stephen Ruiz, a car seller and buyer who focuses on hybrid and electric vehicles, noted the change in buyers questions in the last several days.

      “You know, the last few days have brought up questions I never thought I’d hear before,” explained Ruiz. “Before the pandemic until a few days ago, people were really gung ho about these cars. The gas price rise brought even more people out and, just like dealerships and other buyers, I had a long list of people waiting for any electric or hybrid to come on the market. A used RAV 4 I got literally had a bidding war going over it, including bids coming from Toyota dealerships. That’s how crazy it was.

      “Now, when I e-mail and call people of electric cars I have in, they aren’t snapping at them, and the reason they have given was this flex alert thing. Many think it’s permanent, but even after I tell them it’s temporary and voluntary, they still got pretty wary. Because gas, you can get that anytime. But if they keep having these charging fluxes, it could really cause a long-term wrinkle.

      “Hybrids are still very popular because they still require gas to run, but it switches over to electric. You know, best of both worlds. But the state is insistent on straight electric, and, well, you can see the problems. If we don’t get more power coming in, you know, this could be disastrous for California. It’s great thinking ahead, but not when you are actively destroying peoples lives.”
      …
      https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-backlash-over-telling-californians-not-to-charge-electric-vehicles-during-heatwave/

      1. “But the state is insistent on straight electric, and, well, you can see the problems. If we don’t get more power coming in, you know, this could be disastrous for California. It’s great thinking ahead, but not when you are actively destroying peoples lives.”

        California = state of disaster

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