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When The Market Swung, Some People Get Caught In The Crossfire

A report from My Northwest in Washington. “Seattle economist Matthew Gardner, the Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, told Dave Ross that looking at home prices year-over-year doesn’t tell the whole story. ‘To compare, literally this month to this month, rather than looking at it on an annual average, is a better way to look at it. If you just compare this coming April and May, the numbers are going to be horrible. There’s no doubt about it,’ Gardner explained.”

KTVZ in Oregon. “Bend and Redmond median home sales prices held fairly steady in January, though the number of sales in Bend hit a recent low of 84, a report indicated. In the first report of the new year from Redmond’s Beacon Appraisal Group, Bend’s median home sales price edged upward to $685,000 in January, a $7,000 rise from December. But the number of sales fell to 84, the lowest figure in at least the past three years, appraiser Donnie Montagner said. The median days on market for Bend’s sold properties hit a recent peak of 36 days, highest since early 2020. Redmond, meanwhile, saw its median home sale price dip by $5,000, to $420,000, the report based on Multiple Listing Service figures said.”

From WINK News in Florida. “Collier County realtor Nick Sweat told WINK News that May or June may be your best bet for a good deal. Around that time, visitors from up north tend to leave the area. And a handful chooses to offload their properties before heading out of town. Sweat told WINK News buyers looking around in Naples are in luck regarding options. ‘The increase in inventory is huge,’ Sweat said. This time last year, Sweat explained less than 850 Naples homes were on the market. But just a year later, nearly 3,000 are up for grabs in the city. And there might not be much of a fight for the house you want. Another realtor WINK News spoke with said that over the last seven days in Collier County, there have been more than 300 price drops.”

KLAS in Nevada. “Home prices leveled out in January, remaining at $425,000 for the second-straight month. The median home price of a single-family home peaked in May 2022 at $482,000. The same was true for condos and townhomes, hitting $285,000 in May. But since then, single-family homes have dropped or stayed the same for eight straight months, now down 11.9% since May. ‘What a difference a year makes,’ said 2023 Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett. ‘After seeing mortgage rates rise for several months, rates settled down recently. We’re still seeing more homes listed for sale and fewer people buying – especially when you compare what’s happening now to where we were a year ago.'”

“By the end of January 2023, LVR reported 5,450 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 199.3% from the same time last year. A total of 1,723 existing local homes, condos and townhomes were sold in January. Compared to January 2022, sales were down 48.3% for homes and down 44.0% for condos and townhomes.”

The Almanac in California. “The Bay Area real estate market took a wild run in 2022 as the mortgage interest rate saw its fastest rise since 1972 and the hype of the tech economy created during the pandemic began to unwind. The year started with record highs and ended with a big cooldown. This is a very different picture than the start of 2022 when home prices surged to record numbers in early spring before falling about 25% (based on Santa Clara County monthly data) toward the end of the year. Approximately half of the decline was seasonal, and the other reflected the drastically changing economic environment, which we find ourselves in now.”

“Demand fell more quickly than supply. The number of homes sold in Palo Alto and Los Altos declined by 33%, and Menlo Park was down by more than 40%. The annual median price, however, held well. The median price of a single-family home in Palo Alto was $3.6 million for 2022, on par with 2021. In Los Altos, it was $4.2 million, up 2% year over year, and Menlo Park was $3.14 million, up 5% year over year. On an annual basis, home prices are still at a record high for all three cities.”

The Wall Street Journal. “Ribbon Home Inc. had a fast-growing business during the housing boom. The New York City-based startup purchased homes with cash on behalf of buyers. Then it sold the homes to the buyers at the same price, plus a fee, once the buyers got a mortgage. Ribbon has been active in hot markets such as Atlanta and Charlotte. But last year as mortgage rates surged, some Ribbon customers backed out of their purchases or needed more time to get financing. That left the company owning nearly 400 homes, according to property records analyzed by Attom Data Solutions and confirmed by the company.”

“Orchard Technologies Inc., another power buyer that has been active in places such as Denver and Dallas, helps customers buy a new home and move before selling their previous home. If clients can’t sell their homes after four months, Orchard agrees to buy them. The company now owns about 200 homes its customers were unable to sell, said its Chief Executive Court Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham said Orchard has had to buy homes from customers three times as frequently over the past six months.”

“The unanticipated glut of homes these firms are carrying is an example of how housing-oriented companies that thrived when mortgage rates were super low are struggling to survive in a higher rate environment. Ribbon has let go of about 170 employees, or 85% of its staff, but it still needs to unload its surplus of houses. ‘There was sort of a power shift, from the power sitting with the seller knowing that their home is going to sell within a day, to the power sitting with the buyer,’ said Tim Heyl, founder of the Austin-based power buyer Homeward Inc.”

“‘People were doing all sorts of things to outbid or be the most competitive offer,’ said Diane Vanna, a real-estate agent at Baird & Warner in Chicago, who in 2021 represented a buyer who won a bidding war against 36 other offers. ‘Now it’s really leveled off.'”

From Bisnow. “Commercial real estate values continue to drop, but after a year of rapid interest rate hikes, investment advisory and research firm Green Street says the bottom is close — or already here. Green Street’s Commercial Property Price Index, which tracks all sectors of CRE, is down 14% from its peak reached last March, falling 0.6% from December to January. Core sectors — office, industrial, multifamily and retail — are down 17% from their peak, per Green Street’s latest report.”

“When it comes to asset types, apartment values have taken the biggest hit — down 20% in the last year, the index shows, with a 1% fall in the last month. Malls are also down 20% in the last 12 months, with a 2 month-over-month drop. Office prices are down 17% from their March peak but their price decline is accelerating with a 4% fall in the last month. Industrial prices are down 15% but haven’t fallen at all in the last month. Rising interest rates have brought sales to a screeching halt. Nationa investment sales were down 63% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to CBRE.”


“Meanwhile, there is significant loan volume maturing in the city, largely in the office market. In total, more than $16B in CMBS loans backed by New York City commercial real estate will mature through 2023, according to Trepp data. ‘I think more lenders are going to be accommodating, because at this point in time, potentially there’s a 50% devaluation in the asset class,’ Square Mile Capital Managing Director Samir Tejpaul said of office properties. ‘So [lenders are] all incentivized to try and find you more time to work through the situation.”

Storeys in Canada. “Tenants all across Ontario have been dealing with an apparent influx of unlawful rent increases — and threats of eviction — since mortgage costs began rising in March of last year. For Sam, a renter in Barrie who asked that her last name be withheld, her landlord advised her in December that he would be raising the rent on her 2011-built house from $2,200 to $3,000. ‘My soul kind of left my body for a minute,’ Sam said. ‘But I said ‘Listen, the only problem I’m having here is that legally, you’re only allowed to ask me for 2.5%,’ and his response was, ‘I know, but I could be making more money. I’m not even breaking even on the unit anymore.’”

“Increases like these are in violation of Ontario’s rent increase guideline, which caps 2023 rent hikes to 2.5% for all units occupied for residential purposes before November 2018. (Although dubbed a ‘guideline,’ landlords are required to follow it). The problem with these smaller landlords who blindly jump into the industry is two-fold, says Daniel English, paralegal. ‘Number one, a sense of entitlement — it’s my property, I should be able to do whatever I want with it,’ English said. ‘Then the second part is gross ignorance of the law. Now, when you combine a sense of entitlement with not knowing the law, you end up with a fool.'”

“‘I know of some landlords who have unfortunately had to let their house go to power of sale because they cannot afford to pay the carrying costs even after receiving rent from the tenant,’ says Varun Sriskanda, Board Member at Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario . ‘There is no shortage of power of sale listings on MLS that contain stipulations where the buyer must assume the existing tenant who is permitted to remain in the house.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “64 Humber Valley Cres., King City, Ont. Asking price: $2,325,000 (August, 2022). Selling price: $2,020,000 (November, 2022). This 37-year-old bungalow on a half-acre lot in King City, about 50 kilometres north of downtown Toronto, was officially sold for $2.325-million during the spring housing boom in May. Three months later, the buyers couldn’t close the deal. The seller had little choice but to settle the matter out of court and relist the property for $2.325-million in a cooler market.”

“‘This is not uncommon,’ said agent Joel Carcone. ‘This is just what happens when the market changes. I had the same issues back in 2016/2017 when the market swung at that time, so some people get caught in the crossfire.'”

From Bloomberg. “Danny Blanchflower, a former Bank of England policy maker, said ‘collapsing’ house prices will push the UK central bank into a rapid pivot toward interest rate cuts. Blanchflower, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College, said the BOE will have to ‘respond to really bad data’ as previous rate increases continue to feed through to the economy. The economist was known as an arch dove during his time on the BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee between 2006 and 2009, pushing for lower rates more than most others.”

“The housing market has slowed sharply since the euphoric highs of the pandemic with monthly prices falling and mortgage approvals slumping. ‘We are seeing house prices tumbling,’ Blanchflower said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. You’re going to start to see really bad stuff appearing as these economies slow fast and the central bank and the markets are then going to respond to that. What people should see is a collapsing housing market, a slowing economy and the reason is that these interest rate hikes that have been going crazily haven’t actually impacted the economy yet.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “A single dad struggling with ballooning monthly repayments has likened mortgage stress to self-imposed ‘social lockdown’ as the Reserve Bank of Australia is poised for a ninth consecutive interest rate hike when it meets on Tuesday. Melbourne father Steve Whittington told Today his monthly repayments would increase from $2100 in May to $3600, if Tuesday’s forecast 25 basis point increase was implemented.”

“‘That is a massive rise for me,’ he told host, Karl Stefanovic. ‘Takeaway coffees are no longer a discretionary item that I am going near, never mind UberEats or a restaurant out. It’s almost like social lockdown, financially self-imposed.’ Mr Whittington called on the RBA to reconsider its approach as it attempts to bring down inflation, which rose to 7.8 per cent in December. A 25 basis point hike will bring the official cash rate from 3.1 per cent to 3.35 per cent; however, some economist say the RBA could impose as much as half a percentage point rise. ‘The lag is so great surely someone has to be telling the RBA that there is a new paradigm and continued increases are hurting too many people too greatly,’ he said.”

“Canstar Blue finance expert Steve Mickenbecker warns there is still a lot of financial pressure to come, forecasting at least another two more rate increases. ‘I just don’t think anyone can really say there’s not more bad news for borrowers,’ Mr Mickenbecker told NCA NewsWire. ‘Living costs are going up irrespective, the CPI covers almost everything and they’re going up across the board. You pile that with mortgage rates, the reserve bank probably has at least another two increases of 2.5 per cent before it can decide to take its foot off the accelerator.'”

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This Post Has 156 Comments

  1. ‘If you just compare this coming April and May, the numbers are going to be horrible. There’s no doubt about it’

    The YOY is gonna be a b$tch Matt.

    ‘Bend and Redmond median home sales prices held fairly steady in January, though the number of sales in Bend hit a recent low of 84, a report indicated. In the first report of the new year from Redmond’s Beacon Appraisal Group, Bend’s median home sales price edged upward to $685,000 in January, a $7,000 rise from December’

    If you look at the chart, prices are off 100k. They went up 100k from December 2021 to March 2022. Which is batsh$t crazy.

    1. When you look at median incomes in the area, the prices are so delusional there are really no words to describe it.

      1. Agreed. These prices might be to high to milk the early boomer equity locusts from California, Portland and Seattle.

        1. If you will recall last collapse, the greater Bend, OR market was annihilated. It’s 100% pure speculation, like crypto.

    2. I will get free eggs from my son, UNLESS black market prices get so high that he can’t afford to give them away any longer.

      2. free eggs from my son

        I presume he has chickens who require shelter, food and water to lay those eggs deemed free.

  3. ‘his response was, ‘I know, but I could be making more money. I’m not even breaking even on the unit anymore’

    They’ve been making these subprime loans to gamblers in K-da and Australia for many years. Now it bites them in the a$$.

  4. ‘The increase in inventory is huge,’ Sweat said. This time last year, Sweat explained less than 850 Naples homes were on the market. But just a year later, nearly 3,000 are up for grabs in the city’

    That’s some shortage Nick.

    ‘And there might not be much of a fight for the house you want. Another realtor WINK News spoke with said that over the last seven days in Collier County, there have been more than 300 price drops’

    They get quiet when the crater comes to town in Florida.

    2. “They get quiet when the crater comes to town”

      They dummy up entirely the second appraisal fraud is mentioned.

      Why is that?

      1. “They dummy up entirely the second appraisal fraud is mentioned.”

        Everytime a second appraisal fraud is mentioned a Donkey is thrown into a crater.

  5. Another realtor WINK News spoke with said that over the last seven days in Collier County, there have been more than 300 price drops.”

    That’s about what Jupiter looked like the last time I took a spin aroud Realtor.com, that and many moons on the market.

    But I like my house, I don’t need to move for work, it’s affordable and I like where I live. What to do what to do.

    1. But you don’t have a lawn for your “What We Believe” virtue-signaling sign, or a porch flagpole for your Ukrainian flag.

      1. I have a small lawn, no HOA, a CBS shack with a hip roof, city water and sewer that I purchsed out of foreclosure in 2012 after renting from 2005 with my wife and 3 kids since 2005 when we sold our much too small houe into the last bubble. I have a small front poch but no flagpole for a Ukrainian flag nor would I fly a a Ukrainian flag if I had one.

        Not bragging, just saying I had my life screwed up by an out of control housing market and landed on my feet so please look elsewhere for an as long as it takes Ukrainian flag waiver.

      2. My nabe is stuffed full of We Believe signs. And we’re starting to see some “Be Kind”s too. Funny how “Be Kind” always translates into “gimme your stuff.”

  7. If you just compare this coming April and May, the numbers are going to be horrible. There’s no doubt about it,’ Gardner explained.”

    But…but…Spring miracle revival! Strongest economic recovery ever!

  8. A total of 1,723 existing local homes, condos and townhomes were sold in January. Compared to January 2022, sales were down 48.3% for homes and down 44.0% for condos and townhomes.”

    Is that a lot?

  9. “The unanticipated glut of homes these firms are carrying is an example of how housing-oriented companies that thrived when mortgage rates were super low are struggling to survive in a higher rate environment.

    Die, speculator scum.

    1. housing-oriented companies that thrived when mortgage rates were super low are struggling to survive in a higher rate environment.
      I still see advertising for I Buyers and see “I Buyers names” listed as buyers of properties here in NC.

  10. For Sam, a renter in Barrie who asked that her last name be withheld, her landlord advised her in December that he would be raising the rent on her 2011-built house from $2,200 to $3,000. ‘My soul kind of left my body for a minute,’ Sam said.

    I’m guessing some of the special snowflakes have a dim perception that they’re being bent over by the system, but lack the intelligence to grasp the link between their votes for stooges of the banksters & oligarchs, and their financial strip-mining.

    1. Barrie

      Sam should get a grip. The landlord will have a tough time evicting when he is breaking the law. If you eventually have to move across that little town, you can get nice digs for $2200. Your landlord however, is going to go bankrupt.

  11. I posted yesterday asking where is Yoel Roth?

    He’s been in hiding for the last few months, but not for much longer.

    Former Twitter execs will testify on Hunter Biden laptop censorship this month (2/8/2023):

    “Three former Twitter executives will testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on the platform’s decision to suppress the New York Post’s reporting about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop a few weeks before the November 2020 election.

    The committee announced that it will hold a hearing titled: “Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.” The hearing will feature testimony from Twitter’s former head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth, former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and former Deputy General Counsel James Baker.

    https://reclaimthenet.org/former-twitter-execs-will-testify-on-hunter-biden-laptop-censorship

    Yoel Roth wrote a PhD dissertation for the University of Pennsylvania (now memory holed from their website) about teenage boys using the adults only gay sex app Grindr.

    His LinkedIn bio (also now memory holed) notes that he is fluent in Hebrew.

    #Noticing

    1. Vijaya Gadde

      How was a Marxist, born in India, allowed to single-handedly censor a sitting American President?

  12. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗠𝗗 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳% 𝗬𝗢𝗬 𝗔𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮

    https://www.movoto.com/college-park-md/market-trends/

    𝘈𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵.”

  14. ‘I know of some landlords who have unfortunately had to let their house go to power of sale because they cannot afford to pay the carrying costs even after receiving rent from the tenant’

    Now dammit yer giving it away.

      2. Can you say “dated” ??!? That place needs $40K just to come into the 21st century. They can probably salvage the kitchen with a refacing and countertops, but not the bathrooms. It’s a pretty good location if you want to semi-hide out.

        1. It has no eave overhangs, which is a really poor design. Eaves provide huge weather protection to the siding, windows, doors and foundation.

        2. They can probably salvage the kitchen…but not the bathrooms.

          Seriously? I’ll grant the sink says 1985, but the toilet and tub look just like what I installed less than 10 years ago. What kind of fashion statement is needed in the bathroom? I just need it to be clean and hand me a towel please.

          1. It’s not acceptable for “move-in ready.” Buyers expect a renovated house when they move in. Tile countertops were never good, not even when they were installed.

  15. Russia Today:

    “The US must stop sending billions of dollars to bolster Ukraine’s military, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said during a speech in the House of Representatives on Monday. He slammed President Joe Biden and both parties, saying the conflict in Ukraine is only benefiting military contractors.

    “Defense contractors need there to be a war going on somewhere. Whether the arms end up in the hands of ISIS, the Taliban, the Azov Battalion, or on the black market,” according to Gaetz. Washington’s support of Ukraine with endless weapons will not end the war but just “prolong the killing,” he said.

    He lamented that “foreigners” have come to Washington “to lecture us about spending our constituents’ money on a conflict thousands of miles away” – a reference to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to the US Capitol in December.

    https://www.rt.com/news/571132-us-congressman-stop-funding-ukraine/

    Foreigners? That’s an interesting word choice there, Matt.

    Did you know that Zelensky’s parents live in a $8 million house in Israel with a $12,000 a month security detail, all of which is paid for by United States taxpayers?

    The #Noticing will continue…

    1. Dubya and his evangelical crusade mentality fomented this conflict early on by encouraging NATO expansion and membership of the former Soviet satellite countries.

    2. Just checked the war news, all the outlets are still talking about tanks. Taking the 10th man role, this tank talk reminds me of Schwarzkopf talking WWII style beach landings while behind closed doors planning the largest air mobile operation in history, so my bet is lots of 1,000-lb JDAMs gliding to the Russian positions utilizing WWI techniques.

      1. I like to avoid assuming genius when stupidity is an adequate explanation.

        About those tanks. Didn’t Zelensky & Co. have 2000 of them when this started? They didn’t exist for more than a few minutes. If/when they do get them, won’t the Azov paint them with their insignia (same as the old German insignia)? How many Americans, or Germans, are going to like the look of that?

        There are those thousand pound bombs again, without a delivery system.

        Bakhmut seems now to be a large POW camp.

    1. “Allow yourself to be gently lulled to sleep by the sounds of the termites munching during the humid evenings.”

      What, no snow-capped mountains in the background?

    2. Never mind the house, the whole neighborhood is falling apart. I don’t know the area, but is $99K too pricey for a 2/3 acre parcel with utilities? Might be a nice getaway for someone who wants to clean it out and put up a pre-fab and make a homestead.

  17. Adding to yesterday’s thread:

    “Amgen is getting rid of workers today in Thousand oaks.

    All these companies gearing up for the slowdown but what if it doesn’t happen….”

    and….

    “All these companies gearing up for the slowdown can potentially make it happen. It’s a dynamic prisoner’s dillemma game.”

    I’d see “THX AMGN” embossed license plates glued to fancy cars all the time on my way to work. Thousand Oaks and all surrounding areas need a Powell real estate “reset.” One of my best friends bought a tiny old house for 1.3m during covid with rotted subfloor under the toilet and so many other problems. It’s OK though, she reassured me prices will never go down and her int rate is tiny, and she’s “investing” 250K to build her ADU in the backyard to help pay the mortgage… She’s been trying to convince me to move back to CA to do the same thing 🙄 – no thank you! Not sure how effective ADU’s will be if ALL your neighbors have ADU’s as well, especially if the big boys like Amgen are laying off. A glut of ADU’s will help the Powell “reset” though… 😁

    Professor Bear, I read aaaalll your investing articles you post every night. Thanks for schooling me in your wise ways.

    The Twitter quotes shared by a reader are amazing! – love those, but nothing compares to everything Ben posts. 😘 Thanks, Ben!

    Getting worried about the evil-genius Mr. Banker who seems to have disappeared… Wondering if he died or was reincarted as “Online Safety Expert” – they both have a smilar smart sarcastic shtick… 🤔

    Personal housing search update: we held out and never bought during covid. We’re still houseless in Utah. Trying not to breathe in the toxic arsenic cloud sitting on the valley floor. How does the toxic pollution cloud produced from the Great Salt Lake not hurt property values bigly from Ogden to Provo, even Park City area? 🤔 Utahn’s may need to wear masks 😷 forevermore… My step-dad died last month of multiple-myeloma. He worked at Holly refinery in North Salt Lake (right in the eye of the toxic cloud) next to the Great Salt Lake. Correlation? 🤔 It’s interesting that many of my mom’s neighbor’s in South Jordan have cancer (multiple-myeloma and other types). Even Dallas, my mom’s dog, developed tumors on his mouth & insides and died. Weird. I think it’s time to get out of dodge…

      2. Mr Banker has assumed the all-too-familiar position in front of Jerome Powell begging him to stop raising rates. Luckily he kept one pair of knee pads for himself.

    2. $250K for an ADU? She’ll be lucky if the ADU pays its own mortgage. Even at $2500/mo rent it would take ten years to pay for itself. And AirBnb, pah. She’d have to rent it $200/night 3-4 days/week to get the same payoff.

      Mr. Banker and Online Safety Expert are not the same poster. OSE is the old Left Ohio electrician in South Denver who changes his name a lot. Now he’s transitioning to Get Boosted.

      1. Oxide – thanks for clarifying who’s who around here. 😁

        My friend’s home improvements and ADU in Thousand Oaks are going to be a money pit…

    3. she’s “investing” 250K to build her ADU in the backyard to help pay the mortgage

      I don’t know about anyone else, but I like privacy. Why would I want a stranger living in my backyard?

      1. ADU, is that the the trendy slang for having the rest of the illegal family members live on the same property?

        1. Accessory Dwelling unit. You need to extend electrical and sewer lines, with permits. Too expensive and too visible to hack from Home Despot. At least in areas where basements are common, it’s much easier to toss a toilet in the basement and pretend it’s a legal apartment.

          1. You need to extend electrical and sewer lines, with permits. Too expensive and too visible to hack from Home Despot. At least in areas where basements are common, it’s much easier to toss a toilet in the basement and pretend it’s a legal apartment.

            Uhh, false. You obviously don’t do this kind of work. It’s easier to provide plumbing and electrical to an ADU than it is to retrofit a basement with plumbing and electrical. Remember, a basement is below grade.

            In order to get waste from the basement out of the dwelling, you have to have a pump it out. You will also need to tear into the walls and floor for the electrical and plumbing. It’s much easier to start from scratch than it is to retrofit an old building which was never designed for those systems.

          2. In order to get waste from the basement out of the dwelling, you have to have a pump it out.

            It depends. Here in the centennial state pumping, at least on newer construction is not necessary , provided your basement already had a rough in when it was built. The top of the basement is above street level, and the bottom is higher than the sewer.

    4. I’m fascinated by the Salt Lake dilemma, thanks for sharing your personal anecdotes. How is this season’s rain/snow pack shaping up? Will it make any noticeable difference there?

      1. From what I have read Utah’s snowpack is about 60% above average. Good, but don’t expect Lakes Powell or Mead to refill anytime soon.

      2. You’re riiight, it’s fascinating… I grew up in Salt Lake when it snowed a ton every winter. Since moving back to SLC 5 years ago, this is the only “real winter” and snowfall we’ve had. Researchers have said the snow pack may increase the lake by 1 foot which won’t be enough to make a difference. I’ve been wondering if now that the arsenic and metals are exposed and sitting on the dry surface of the lake bed, and when the snow melts, will the water take the toxins up into the atmosphere through “lake effect” storms, only to deposit the toxins directly on homes – on everything, really… Researchers have also said that if Utah’s government doesn’t come up with a solution this year then the problem will be too far gone.

        “We have 2.5 million residents along the edges of the lake,” said Kevin Perry, a University of Utah atmospheric scientist researching the Great Salt Lake dust. “These dust plumes come off and make the air unhealthy regardless of what’s in it.”

        “But even those in wealthy enclaves away from the most visible sources of pollution won’t be spared from the dust. New research suggests arsenic-rich concentrations of dust from any source are the highest in wealthy Salt Lake area communities and that fast-growing suburbs could face the brunt of the dust storms’ impact.”
        Link to article
        https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna44508

        Surrounding areas (most of Northern Utah) will be uninhabitable.

        There’s a documentary comparing the dried up Salton Sea (deserted now with a high % of remaining residents having breathing disorders) to the Great Salt Lake, showing what’s in store for Utahn’s if the GSL follows the Salton Sea’s same path. Doom…

        How are real estate buyers not spooked by this issue? How does this issue not kill the housing market in Northern Utah? I’ve noticed all zip codes north of SL city are falling much faster than the Salt Lake Valley. I think buyers are starting to avoid the areas near the lake…

        Utahn’s & Mormons have herd mentality… when you hear about a mass migration out of Utah… dun, dun, dun… the end is near.

        Check out this Salt Lake Tribune headline from 2 days ago:
        ‘Mormon Land’: It’s the last days of the Great Salt Lake. How the LDS Church can help save it.
        I can’t read the article bc I don’t subscribe to SL Trib but here’s the link
        https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/02/08/mormon-land-what-latter-day/

        Isaiah 3:17:
        The LORD says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the LORD will make their scalps bald.”

        Baldness due to arsenic causing cancer?

        We’re planning to travel to a different state over Spring break to do our home shopping there…

        1. Thanks for the update, it’s such a great spot with all the natural beauty as a backdrop to the city but it could easily become an infamous toxic dystopia soon. Real estate isn’t the only industry that is at risk. The Great Salt Lake is home to a number of important industries like brine shrimp. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

        2. “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.”

          Christians better fetch that doubled extension cord. 🙂

          1. Have you bowed and worshipped the goat headed, golden succubus on top of the New York courthouse?

          4. This one?

            Madonna’s inspiration for the Grammy Awards. Be sure to check out Sam Smith’s performance too.

      1. She took me on a tour of her under construction ADU and she’s converting an old barn structure into the ADU. I think it’s 600 sq ft. 250K is much more than she expected. 250,000÷ 600=$416/sq ft – no bueno. Permits were expensive! Recouping the cost will take forever and funnelling the rent income to help pay down her main mortgage won’t start for yeeeaaaars!

    6. Wondering if he died or was reincarted as “Online Safety Expert”

      No. Apt 401 reincarnated somewhere along the line to Online Safety Expert and AFAICT Get Boosted.

  18. “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy”

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders Goes Heavy On Far-Right Grievances In State Of The Union Response:

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sarah-huckabee-sanders-biden-gop-state-of-the-union-response_n_63e2f45ce4b01e928874b467

    “Far-Right” = any rejection of Marxist globalism.

    If 2% of the population was disproportionately represented in all areas of society / culture pushing for child trannies, “Latinx”, critical race theory, and essentially the extermination of Christianity and white people, one would think more people would #Notice.

    Jonathan Greenblatt could not be reached for comment…

    1. “Far-Right” = any rejection of Marxist globalism.

      Speaking of Marxism, I’ve been invited to attend next month an Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference for California Special Education Local Plan Areas. The breakout sessions are replete with equity/CRT.

      1. Alternative Dispute Resolution

        Meaning the victim gets no restitution and the culprit faces no consequences for the crime? This seems to be all the rage with DA’s.

        Meanwhile, car thefts have become such a problem in Dumver, mostly due to the lack of consequences for the thieves that the Dems are proposing new legislation with mandatory and stiffer sentencing.

  20. A reader sent these in:

    Lance Lambert

    Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the following today:
    “we have said that we could actively consider sale of MBS [Mortgage Backed Securities]. But I will tell you that not is on the list of active things actively being considered.”

    https://mobile.twitter.com/NewsLambert/status/1623043145771454464

    Danielle DiMartino Booth

    98 years Powell? Shame on MBS QE. Credit easing violates @federalreserve Act.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1623015019741954048

    Sorry Chad and Jessica, the gig is up. We’re tired of doing your chores and providing you passive income just because you took out a fat loan and bought some TJ Maxx bath towels. #Airbnb

    https://mobile.twitter.com/texasrunnerDFW/status/1622964150212198400

    Millennials can’t afford rent, so AirBNB is partnering with your landlord so you can earn some money when you’re sleeping at work. We need interest rates cut stat so this makes sense economically.

    https://twitter.com/StephenPunwasi/status/1623086465046519809

    Aaron Layman

    Friendly reminder that if your house was worth what you think it is the Federal Reserve wouldn’t feel the need to hold $2.62 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. 😉

    https://twitter.com/dfwaaronlayman/status/1622976332970987523

    Lucky Lopez

    67% of Americans Can’t afford the Cars they drive 💰🚗 We have a new Debt Crisis coming soon 2023-2024

    https://twitter.com/AutomotiveLife1/status/1623062036908236805

    The Kobeissi Letter

    SUMMARY OF POWELL REMARKS (2/7/23):
    1. Disinflation started, has a “long way to go”
    2. Further rate increases are needed
    3. Will take a “couple years” for 2% inflation
    4. Couple years to lower balance sheet
    5. Fed does not want to surprise markets
    Is this hawkish or dovish?

    https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1623024155179290631

    Don’t stop Believing

    https://twitter.com/NipseyHoussle/status/1622958475977584643

    If you’re a boomer nearing retirement, why the actual f*ck are you crying about losing investments in the market. You shouldn’t be in the stock market at all. Buy some treasuries and STFU

    https://twitter.com/GRomePow/status/1623048640121143296

    “Of those surveyed, 73% said they prefer hotels, 16% said it depends on the trip they have planned, and 11% said Airbnb”

    https://twitter.com/texasrunnerDFW/status/1622964542111203328

    Powell said housing services inflation (rent, ownership) will come down in the second half of this year.

    https://twitter.com/traderpete/status/1623020377248243713

    serious question: why not? *POWELL: SALE OF MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES NOT ACTIVELY MULLED

    https://twitter.com/BChappatta/status/1623019480778518528

    Bulls have gone from “historic shortage, prices up 20%/yr forever” to “price will go up gradually like 3-6%” to “prices will stay flat but not go down” to “prices will not go down more than the pandemic gains”
    Makes you wonder where they’ll capitulate to next

    https://twitter.com/NipseyHoussle/status/1623018654064381957

    John Wake

    ” In 2018, the city of Irvine, CA, enacted a complete ban on short-term rentals in residential zones to encourage affordable housing.” … and rents fell $100 per month.

    https://twitter.com/JohnWake/status/1622968640613261313

    FED’S KASHKARI: THE HOUSING MARKET IS STARTING TO SHOW SIGNS OF LIFE AGAIN, MAKING OUR JOB HARDER.

    https://twitter.com/financialjuice/status/1622923606387748867

    One of the major issues with Aussie monetary policy is it assumes settings are similar to past inflationary events. They’re not. Between a declining savings rate, home equity withdrawals & consumer credit growth, inflation could remain elevated for years even with higher rates

    https://twitter.com/AvidCommentator/status/1622862039860510721

    Y’all can stare at the Fed till you are blue in the face. I see markets that are 2x over historical fair value by 25 metrics. Regression to the mean is gonna be a bitch.

    https://twitter.com/DavidBCollum/status/1622626487236018178

    Realtors keep saying it’s a great time to buy

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1622784416509485057

    The casino needs a return to 75bp hikes

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1622703297181220875

    REALTOR®: “Open houses are packed to this brim this January!!!!!!!”
    Open houses:

    https://twitter.com/NipseyHoussle/status/1622699207915077633

    Takes a tool to know one

    https://twitter.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1623079056198467588

    If this guy had a bigger IQ than a turtle with a brain tumor, he probably won’t be a central banker

    https://twitter.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1623036621292507149

    AUS: RBA hikes by 25bps to 3.35%, hawkish language and with “further increases…needed over the months ahead” Remember when RBA was trying a balancing act between a soft and a hard landing. They landed nowhere. They now have one option left: land it at all costs.

    https://twitter.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1622889085466443776

    The 1-Year US Treasury yield has moved up to 4.85%, its highest level since August 2007. A year ago it was at 0.88% and in mid-2021 it hit an all-time low of 0.04%.

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1622793737192587269

    FOMC members put their shoes on just like everyone else, one clown shoe at a time.

    https://twitter.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1623070606202920960

    Lael Brainard’s bathroom.

    https://twitter.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1433820983568179203

    Eccles Building Break Room

    https://twitter.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1519130454179205120

    Ajit and his fancy car. Do y’all feel sorry that he will struggle to close on his two homes he bought for 2.46 million each? Guy says it’s hard to even put food on the table now. Maybe he should sell the car? He says “you need affluent friends to enjoy life” #ToRE

    https://twitter.com/RE_MarketWatch/status/1622936383219277824

    Ajit Singh Saroha with his protest sign. He bought two homes worth 2.46 million each now that prices fell he is upset. Says Mattamy, the Feds & BOC are all killing the buyers financially. #ToRE

    https://twitter.com/RE_MarketWatch/status/1622829663981633538

    Here is a clip from the Mattamy protest. Imagine being a lawyer, buying two homes for 2.46 million each now angry the market changed & whining about not being able to put food on the table. 5.8 million Canadians are food insecure. This privileged group isn’t amongst them.

    https://twitter.com/RE_MarketWatch/status/1622836342039142400

    Steve Saretsky

    Buys $5M of Real Estate, gets caught on the wrong side of interest rates. Now wants a bailout from the BoC and the property developer. Don’t be like this guy.

    https://twitter.com/SteveSaretsky/status/1623004993560408064

    Steve Saretsky

    Hawkish rate hike from the RBA!! Went from a possible pause last month to more hikes needed. Says “path to achieving a soft landing remains a narrow one.” Over to you, Tiff.

    https://twitter.com/SteveSaretsky/status/1622823352804179968

    Realtor telling me 50-60% of the realtors at his brokerage of about 60 own 2-3 pre-cons. Confirms my thesis since last year further that they all bag holding. They selling you their bags. They gotta be bullish. They have no choice. Next 90 days are critical for them.

    https://twitter.com/ManyBeenRinsed/status/1622961800969953283

    KABOOM!! 💣💣💣💣💣💣
    $1.325 million loss (+ expenses)
    Sold for $3,900,000
    Bought 2015 $5,225,000
    Assessed: $3,706,000
    50 x 130 corner lot, rebuilt in 2011

    https://twitter.com/mortimer_1/status/1622994123618942987

    John Pasalis

    Investors are not the cause of our housing crisis. They are just a symptom of a country that has prioritized using homes as a financial asset to build wealth vs prioritizing the construction of long term permanent affordable rentals.

    https://twitter.com/JohnPasalis/status/1623013672929964076

    I would like the RE speculators who are being featured in the media to stop saying they can’t put food on the table while they sit in homes worth well over 1m and have purchased new homes for 1.5m++++ there are ppl going hungry in 🇨🇦 and you ain’t amongst them.

    https://twitter.com/RE_MarketWatch/status/1622839124938858502

    Real estate corrections usually take two to three years. We are in year one, sellers are still in the denial phase of bubble burst.

    https://twitter.com/MichaelAArouet/status/1622213606275170304

    Aaron Layman

    Imagine the audacity of @business to play this nonsense with the knowledge that Powell is easily worth $50 million. They’re just laughing at you.

    https://twitter.com/dfwaaronlayman/status/1623074158610378752

    Aaron Layman

    Builders & Wall St started the year more optimistic about housing (lower rates & loose financial conditions). Home buyers still want/need better prices. The latest Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment…
    82% = Bad time to Buy
    17% = Good time to Buy

    https://twitter.com/dfwaaronlayman/status/1623077549755584513

    They’re not blameless of course but couldn’t resist.

    https://twitter.com/BrendonMiszka/status/1623099157719429120

    Powell says that they will keep shrinking their balance sheet for “a couple of years” and this is being seen as bullish. That is definitely interesting.

    https://twitter.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/1623017181041594374

    2. “67% of Americans Can’t afford the Cars they drive”

      They can’t afford unlocked smartphones either, so they settle for the long term contract models by AT&T or Verizon branded loaded with bloatware.

      1. I paid cash for an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S21+ and it is also loaded with bloatware. There is no way around the bloatware.

        1. I’ve been using an unlocked Pixel 7 Pro, and it has the leanest stock configuration yet, but I still use the Nova Prime Launcher so I can hide unused apps leaving a lean first swipe. Google bought HTC’s design team to create their Pixel phones, but Samsung still has better hardware with the exception of the CPU, where Qualcomm creates a better SoC than Exynos.

    3. Ajit Singh Saroha with his protest sign.

      In a world where people stuck up for each other and what’s fair and just, this clown would have been beaten down and run off by angry families who can’t afford shelter. Get rid of scvm like him for good.

  23. ‘We are seeing house prices tumbling,’ Blanchflower said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. You’re going to start to see really bad stuff appearing as these economies slow fast and the central bank and the markets are then going to respond to that. What people should see is a collapsing housing market, a slowing economy and the reason is that these interest rate hikes that have been going crazily haven’t actually impacted the economy yet.’”

    Did Blanchflower miss the memo that the hair-of-the-dog hangover cure looks unattractive when inflation risks becoming a raging conflagration?

    1. DOW 30 -0.54%
      S&P 500 -1.07%
      NASDAQ 100 -1.80%

      ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry compares the stock market’s rally to the dot-com bubble – and hints he’s bracing for an epic crash
      Theron Mohamed
      Feb 8, 2023, 3:38 AM

      – Michael Burry signaled the stock-market rebound this year reminds him of the dot-com bubble.
      – The “Big Short” investor highlighted how stocks and interest rates both plunged in 2001 and 2002.
      – Burry has warned the S&P 500 could plunge by over 50%, and recently tweeted one word: “Sell.”
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/big-short-michael-burry-stock-rally-dot-com-bubble-crash-2023-2

    2. The Financial Times
      Credit Suisse Group AG
      Credit Suisse slumps to biggest annual loss since financial crisis
      Revenues at investment bank and wealth management fall in bruising fourth quarter
      Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich
      Credit Suisse also announced on Thursday it had completed the acquisition of M Klein & Company, the advisory boutique owned by Michael Klein
      Owen Walker 25 minutes ago

      Credit Suisse has reported its biggest annual loss since the 2008 financial crisis, capping a period of turmoil and laying bare the scale of the Swiss bank’s challenge in restoring its fortunes.

      The lender on Thursday reported a SFr1.4bn ($1.5bn) loss for the fourth quarter, after previously signalling it could be up to SFr1.5bn following a turbulent October when clients pulled 10 per cent of the bank’s wealth management assets. The bruising quarter took the bank’s annual loss to SFr7.3bn.

      Customers withdrew SFr107bn from the group over the quarter, with two-thirds of outflows in October, the bank added on Thursday.

      Credit Suisse is embarking on a radical restructuring in an attempt to draw a line under a series of crises and return to profit.

      Under the plan, the group is axing 9,000 of its 52,000-strong workforce, spinning off its investment bank in a move that will also revive the First Boston name as well as beefing up its wealth management business.

      The bank warned on Thursday that it expected to make another “substantial loss” in 2023 as it absorbs restructuring costs.
      …

    3. The Financial Times
      Markets Briefing Equities
      US equities slide as investors turn cautious on outlook for interest rates
      Traders wary after comments from Federal Reserve officials
      US Fed chair Jay Powell: ‘[The jobs data] shows you why we think this will be a process that takes a significant period of time . . . the labour market is extraordinarily strong’
      Martha Muir in London and Jaren Kerr in New York 10 hours ago

      US equities fell on Wednesday as investors turned cautious on comments from Federal Reserve officials that US interest rates would have to rise to combat inflation.

      The blue-chip S&P 500 ended 1.1 per cent lower as traders’ concerns lingered that rates may rise more than they expected since last week’s blockbuster US jobs report.

      The headline number of the payrolls report released last Friday was far higher than economists expected and led to a sell-off in US stocks and bonds.

      Fed chair Jay Powell on Tuesday stressed the need for further rate rises to cool the economy. US markets initially responded positively to Powell’s comments. On the same day, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari said that ballooning jobs growth was proof that the Fed needed to “raise rates aggressively”.

      The dollar index, a measure of the US currency’s strength against a basket of six peers, pared early gains to add 0.1 per cent, while the yield on the 10-year Treasuries was down 0.05 percentage points at 3.63 per cent. The yield on two-year Treasuries ticked down 0.03 percentage points to 4.44 per cent.

      Traders said there may be more clarity on the Fed’s next move with the publication of consumer price index, retail and inflation data next week.

      “It’s evident now that the Fed is really data-dependent. All eyes will be on the CPI print next Tuesday. It’s evident that disinflation has begun but services have yet to follow,” said Sam Gunter, head of foreign exchange trading at Britannia Global Markets.
      …

    4. The Financial Times
      Walt Disney Co
      Walt Disney to axe 7,000 jobs in $5.5bn cost-cutting plan
      Bob Iger announces ‘significant transformation’ in his first quarter back as chief executive
      Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Disney Plus logo
      Disney Plus, the company’s flagship streaming service, shed about 2.4mn subscribers in the quarter
      Christopher Grimes in Los Angeles
      7 hours ago

      Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs, about 3 per cent of the company’s workforce, as part of a broad restructuring that he said would save $5.5bn over the next few years, revive its creative output and make its streaming business profitable.

      Investors have been waiting to hear Iger’s strategic plan to reinvigorate the company since his surprise reappointment in November. In a statement, he said Disney was “embarking on a significant transformation” that would lead to “sustained growth and profitability” in streaming.

      Disney shares jumped as much as 9 per cent in after-hours trading following the announcement.
      …

    5. The Financial Times
      Baupost Group LLC
      Baupost chief Seth Klarman blames Federal Reserve for ‘financial fantasyland’
      Easy money response to 2008 credit crisis contained ‘the seeds of its own destruction’
      Seth Klarman, chief executive of Baupost Group
      Baupost chief Seth Klarman warned last year’s sell-off ‘probably has further to go’ and that a sovereign debt crisis could lie ahead
      Ortenca Aliaj and Eric Platt in New York 15 hours ago

      Seth Klarman has told investors in his hedge fund that the Federal Reserve’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing decade-plus of low interest rates had helped “erect a financial fantasyland”.

      “A consequence-free era of virtually unlimited low-cost capital had come to an end,” Klarman, the head of Baupost Group and a prominent figure in investing, declared in a year-end letter to clients seen by the Financial Times. “A boom based on easy-money policies will inevitably contain the seeds of its own destruction.”

      The downbeat outlook cuts against a rally that has sent major global stock benchmarks soaring this year, as sliding inflation figures give investors confidence that the Fed could soon stop lifting interest rates.

      Klarman likened the sharp rise in interest rates last year to kryptonite, saying it had finally helped deflate the “everything bubble”, including the unravelling of investments in unprofitable so-called growth companies that had soared during the pandemic boom but had little inherent value.

      “These included scores of profitless early-stage companies that could have come public only in a bubble, a staggering volume of bonds that sported cartoonishly low yields, most of the absurd ‘meme stocks’, and stocks such as Tesla — intensely hyped, egregiously overvalued, and priced only for the smoothest of rides — whose shares dropped by nearly two-thirds,” he wrote.

      Shares of companies that had risen to record highs in 2020 and 2021 deflated sharply last year, dealing a blow to investors across the venture capital, crypto and technology industries who had ploughed money into businesses with high revenue growth but little or no profits.

      “Time spent on due diligence came to seem to them a hindrance to maximal capital deployment, and the usual warning signs of excess — financial profligacy, a proliferation of dubious business models, and obvious red flags — were mocked or ignored,” he wrote
      …

    6. Yahoo Finance
      Bed Bath & Beyond bears may be exposed to one more stock price surge: Analyst
      Brian Sozzi
      Wed, February 8, 2023 at 12:03 PM PST·2 min read
      In this article:

      Bed Bath & Beyond’s (BBBY) new Hail Mary pass to stay in business may not yet be appreciated by the bears waiting to pounce on a long-rumored bankruptcy filing.

      “Headline risk related to a potential bankruptcy feels priced in at this juncture,” Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewski wrote in a client note on Wednesday. “Given Bed Bath & Beyond’s <$350 million market cap and high short interest, we believe the potential to capture an incremental ~$800 million in gross proceeds from the equity deal (essentially buying more time to enact change) could lead to a spike in shares that bears may not be fully anticipated."

      The analyst maintained a Neutral rating on the stock and cut his price target on the stock to $3 from $3.50.

      Earlier this week, the ailing home goods retailer secured $1.025 billion in funding from an equity offering. Bed Bath & Beyond will receive about $225 million upfront and as much as $800 million over time.

      The company also secured another $100 million loan from lender Sixth Street Partners.

      These funds will be used to pay down pre-existing debt and meet general corporate purposes, namely to stock empty shelves with merchandise.

      To Matuszewski's point, Bed Bath & Beyond's stock has seen wild swings as the high-stakes drama has unfolded.

      Shares exploded by more than 120% on Monday to nearly $7 amid speculation of a cash raise. But the stock has since crashed 61% from those highs as the equity offering stands to dilute existing shareholders.

      The chain's survival is far from guaranteed. By the end of 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond stacked up more than $1 billion in debt and losses. Rumors of bankruptcy began circling the company, particularly after warning in a recent regulatory filing that it may seek those protections.

      To preserve cash, Bed Bath & Beyond continues to close hundreds of stores.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bed-bath–beyond-bears-may-be-exposed-to-one-more-stock-price-surge-analyst-200322614.html

  26. Joe Biden’s America.

    “The vehicle owner told authorities he was tracking the vehicle using an app, and found it in the area of West 12th Avenue and North Decatur Street.

    When the owner approached the car, he was “involved in an exchange of gunfire” with those inside the vehicle, according to Denver police.

    A juvenile male drove the car to the 2900 block of West 10th Avenue, where officers found him suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

    The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the juvenile Tuesday as Elias Armstrong, 12.”

    https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/denver/man-tracking-his-stolen-vehicle-allegedly-shot-killed-12-year-old-driver

    “They’re not sending their best”

      1. This will be an interesting case. “Exchange of gunfire” meaning both parties had guns. Who drew first, who shot first, what was the role of the friends in the car…

        1. “Who drew first, who shot first, what was the role of the friends in the car…”

          You think those kinds of facts matter to a Soros-aligned DA? HA

          1. He should have just taken off after the gun fire and not spoken with the cops. Instead, he should have waited for the phone call.

            “You recovered my car? Awesome! What? The kid who stole it was shot and died? What is it with kids shooting each other these days?”

    2. “They’re not sending their best”

      Libraries in three Denver suburbs, and the city of Boulder, have undergone extended closures in the last six weeks after meth users lit up in public bathrooms, leaving in their wake a toxic drug residue that’s costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up.

      Boulder’s main branch reopened in January after a three-week shutdown necessitated by test results that revealed methamphetamine residue in bathroom exhaust vents above state health limits. The six impacted bathrooms remain sealed off in the building while remediation continues.

      Following the closure in Boulder, libraries in Englewood, Littleton and Arvada also locked their doors due to methamphetamine contamination found in restrooms. The three suburban libraries have yet to re-open, John Aguilar reports.

      Were the tweakers cooking meth in the library restrooms?

      Just the thought of entering Dumver makes my skin crawl.

  27. Joe Biden’s America.

    “Jane said she and her roommate were driving home from dinner Thursday evening near the Central Park area. As they approached the stop sign at the corner of East 22nd Avenue and Uinta Street, she said two vehicles rolled up.

    As they turned, Jane said someone threw something at their car.

    “I got out to make sure it was OK, because it’s a brand new vehicle, and that’s when they turned around and started charging at us,” Jane said.

    “They [911 operator] told us to get to a main road, get somewhere you can, get to the freeway. We attempted to do that, but that’s when they started ramming the back of the car,” Jane said.

    Jane said they made it to Quebec Street but didn’t get very far before the attackers pulled her from the driver’s seat and started beating her.

    “About 5 to 6 people started beating me, and I couldn’t really recall what was happening just due to being kicked in the head,” Jane said. “I was just so distraught. I didn’t know what was going on. I think in my head I was trying to get away but didn’t know what was happening.”

    https://kdvr.com/news/local/roommates-claim-they-were-chased-beaten-in-denver/

    “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon”

  28. Joe Biden’s America.

    “The “danger” many are talking about is directly related to the homeless population, which has become more visible since the pandemic. I’ve had plenty of interactions with people on the streets while out and about; I’m happy to hand an extra cigarette to anyone who asks, or spare some change or even a couple of bucks if I have the cash on hand.

    The noise startled me, and I turned around to see a man walking by the windows holding some sort of large stick in his hand. “I’m so used to that now,” the bartender commented nonchalantly — Everyday Pizza is just around the corner from the Denver Rescue Mission. No one seemed particularly concerned, so we wrapped up the leftovers and I crossed 22nd Street as I headed to my car, box in hand.

    Two men were standing on the sidewalk in front of the spot where I’d parked. They looked my way; I made eye contact and smiled. Then one of the men lunged toward me suddenly, getting within a foot of my face as he said, “You’re going to give me your food.”

    https://www.westword.com/restaurants/downtown-denver-homeless-leftovers-16109889

    Denver getting exactly what it voted for.

    1. Vegan pizza and mostly roasted goat, I hope I’m never hungry enough to rob that guy. I’m going to the Barbecue place and begging for leftover ribs.

  29. Hubby and I are still sitting here saving for a house. We decided the long game is worth playing instead of getting involved in all this stupidity.

    I guess we’re going to play the “How Many Kids Can We Fit In One Bedroom” game.

    And before some weirdo comments and says “If you can’t afford a house you can’t have kids” you’re obviously on the WRONG BLOG. Hubby makes good money, but we aren’t interesting in being saddled with ridiculous amounts of debt.

    1. How Many Kids Can We Fit In One Bedroom

      We had a little three bedroom house when my kids were little. Their ranks swelled to four. Eventually I put up a wall in the family room to add two more bedrooms. We had all our meals in the kitchen. Nobody told me I couldn’t do it.

        1. Only the four. One more and I’d have been sleeping in the barn loft.

          They’ve long since left the nest.

          2. much joy

            Indeed. It wasn’t always easy for them though. When they were all in trouble I’d sit them down and begin with “I always wanted two kids, haven’t decided which two yet.”

            They think this is pretty funny now. I like to get the frequent calls from them just to tell me thanks and that they love me. Two of them have their own little terrorists now.

          3. “I always wanted two kids, haven’t decided which two yet.”

            Seriously bending over with laughter!!

    2. I owned a two bedroom house and had two kids by 2004. We thought about moving but prices were already crazy. Had kid #3 in 2006 and #4 in 2009. We did have a formal dining room that we converted into a makeshift bedroom, and we lived that way for over a year until we moved into the new house. Yes people laughed and thought our children were being abused by that living situation. Whatever.

      This bubble is bigger than that one. Hang in there as long as you can.

      1. I think taking out a half million dollar loan on a house that one can’t afford is closer to putting one’s children in an abusive situation than living like most of the rest of the world and being housed a bit more closely than one might prefer.

        Financial distress destroys marriages. I don’t want that for our kid(s) if I can help it. I know I can’t control everything, but I’ll do what I can. 🙂

          2. Failure to protect and provide cancels partnership contracts. As does embezzlement. Survival instinct rules.

  30. ‘By the end of January 2023, LVR reported 5,450 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 199.3% from the same time last year’

    It wasn’t that long ago that 5,000 shacks was about the total on market in Las Vegas.

  31. ‘The median price of a single-family home in Palo Alto was $3.6 million for 2022, on par with 2021′

    Another sh$thole rolls over YOY.

    ‘There is no shortage of power of sale listings on MLS that contain stipulations where the buyer must assume the existing tenant who is permitted to remain in the house’

    Strike TWO!

    1. Strike TWO!

      Being Clownifornia, I would say that’s strike 3.Imagine paying 3 million for a shack and you can’t even force the tenant out, not even for non payment of rent!

      1. It’s K-da. Not being able to terminate a lease is standard. This report shows these are speculators walking away at the first chance.

  34. White House officials on Feb. 8 dismissed a report from an investigative journalist that claims the United States was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.

    “This is utterly false and complete fiction,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement to news outlets on Feb. 8. A State Department spokesperson issued a similar comment to Reuters.

    Longtime investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, a former reporter with The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine who first gained prominence in 1969 for his reporting on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, published a report on his Substack page on Feb. 8, titled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline,” that cited unnamed sources for his claims.

    “Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning,” Hersch wrote.

    Tammy Thorp, a spokesperson for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), similarly said in a statement that “this claim is completely and utterly false.”

    The Epoch Times hasn’t been able to corroborate the report. The White House didn’t respond by press time to a request for comment.

    Ultimately, Hersch’s report, which is based on anonymous sources, concluded that President Joe Biden’s administration conducted a covert operation through the CIA to blow up the pipeline.

    Several European countries carried out investigations into the cause of the explosions, which occurred in September 2022 but came up with few answers. The Russian government has categorically denied that was behind the blasts at the pipelines, which it jointly operated with Germany.

    Hersch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, went on to say that the White House’s “decision to sabotage the pipelines came after more than nine months of highly secret back and forth debate inside Washington’s national security community about how to best achieve that goal. For much of that time, the issue was not whether to do the mission, but how to get it done with no overt clue as to who was responsible.”

    “This is not kiddie stuff,” the aforementioned unnamed source told him. Hersch didn’t provide any more details about the person, including whether they worked for the U.S. government. But that person noted that such an attack would be “an act of war.”

    During “all of this scheming,” the alleged source told the 85-year-old Hersch, “some working guys in the CIA and the State Department were saying, ‘Don’t do this. It’s stupid and will be a political nightmare if it comes out.’”

    According to his Substack post, divers operating from a Norwegian Alta mine-hunting vessel used a “mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium streaming from their tanks, and plant shaped C4 charges on the four pipelines with concrete protective covers” before detonating the explosives. Again, he cited unnamed sources, a practice that has long been the subject of criticism against Hersch’s previous reporting.

    When Hersch claimed years ago that the Obama White House told lies about the killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, a critic with The Washington Post in 2015 noted that “Hersh relied at least 55 times on an anonymous retired senior intelligence official.”
    Nord Stream Investigation

    Russia’s foreign ministry said on Feb. 8 that the United States has to answer questions following Hersch’s reporting. In response to that report, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the White House to issue a statement on the “facts.”

    Moscow has repeatedly said the West was behind last September’s explosions affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

    Investigators from Sweden and Denmark, in whose exclusive economic zones the explosions occurred, have said the ruptures were a result of sabotage but haven’t said who they believe was responsible.

    Construction of Nord Stream 2, designed to double the amount of gas Russia could send directly to Germany under the sea, was completed in September 2021 but was never put into operation after Berlin shelved certification just days before Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/white-house-responds-to-report-claiming-us-blew-up-nord-stream-pipeline-last-year_5043261.html

    1. some working guys in the CIA and the State Department were saying

      If any of them talk, that talking would be the crime.

    2. White House officials on Feb. 8 dismissed a report from an investigative journalist that claims the United States was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.

      I think this has been common knowledge for months. Not sure how solid that journo’s proof is, but it must be solid for him to come forward and put his name behind the story.

      What will they tell us next? The the Jab is neither safe nor effective?

      1. They are also fugly. I have the displeasure of living near a large collection of his work.

      1. It was unlike anything else in history up to that point. It was very early modernity. It’s a like a classic movie that doesn’t make sense today but is a pioneer for it’s time.

        1. I’m by no means religious, but all the rabbit holes I’ve gone down the last 7+ years using my professional skills lead to this common denominator/conclusion. Please feel free to prove me wrong!

    1. Tech
      Lawyers and advisors in FTX bankruptcy have billed nearly $20 million for 51 days of work
      Published Wed, Feb 8 2023 11:59 AM EST
      Updated Wed, Feb 8 2023 3:02 PM EST
      Rohan Goswami
      MacKenzie Sigalos

      Key Points
      – FTX’s top bankruptcy, legal and financial advisors have billed the company more than $19.6 million in fees for work done in 2022, according to Tuesday bankruptcy court filings.
      – More than $10 million of that was for work done in November 2022, as Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire entered bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
      – Those firms will only be paid a little over $15.5 million, or 80% of the value of their work, under a court-ordered interim compensation plan.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/ftx-bankruptcy-fees-near-20-million-for-51-days-of-work.html

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