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Enduring The Hangover Of The Excess Of The Past Decade Where Money’s Been Free

A report from CBS Bay Area in California. “Oakland is one of the last cities in the Bay Area hanging on to its eviction moratorium. Many mom-and-pop landlords claim their tenants are taking advantage of the policy, leaving them at risk of losing their livelihoods. ‘I’m back due some rent … $56,000 over the last three years from my tenant,’ said John Williams, as he read a sign he plans to bring to Oakland City Hall Tuesday. Williams currently lives in the top unit of the duplex he’s owned for nearly 20 years. It is his only home. Renting it out was supposed to secure his retirement. But at the end of this month, he’s facing foreclosure.”

Bisnow Los Angeles in California. “British billionaire siblings David and Simon Reuben, newly at the helm of a large stake in the Century City condo and hotel development Century Plaza, are working out a way to get repaid for loans they made to the project developer that have defaulted. The Reuben brothers said on their website they foreclosed on the Fairmont Century Plaza and more than 100 condos, plus retail space.”

The Record Chronicle in Texas. “Median home prices in Denton were up by $25,000 compared to the January low, but still down 5.8% from the same time last year. Average home prices in Denton slid a bit further in March, leaving them down 13% from the spring euphoria of March 2022. New construction home sales made up 44% of the total Denton sales in March and a third of the pending contracts. That’s something you certainly don’t see in a normal market.”

The Denver Gazette. “On the steps of the Capitol beside banners reading ‘A Home for Every Colorado Budget,’ Gov. Jared Polis proposed a sweeping land-use bill three weeks ago that would enact massive changes to neighborhood zoning controls. At its core, the proposal seeks to allow more density. But residents of the largely single-family neighborhoods that wrap metro Denver and other Front Range cities were quick to express their surprise at the idea, as did the real estate agents and the builders that are drivers in how new homes are sized and built.”

“Regardless of the legislation’s fate, real estate broker Deviree Vallejo is already seeing an exodus out of Denver because developers can’t make the economics work. ‘Developers are already leaving the city and the metro area. They’re not going to build in Denver because they can’t make their proformas work,’ Vallejo said.”

Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. “Real estate developers and construction unions are pushing Honolulu city officials to be allowed to build housing units without some windows, which they say will spur construction of affordable housing. Bill 21, which would allow builders to substitute artificial lighting and ventilation for fresh air and sunshine, has unanimously passed its first reading before the Honolulu City Council and is awaiting further action by the city’s zoning committee. The idea is being broached now as a means to encourage inexpensive adaptive reuse of office buildings. But the law as written would also apply to new construction.”

“Housing experts on the mainland who reviewed the proposed legislation called the concept a terrible idea, almost inhumane, and a disaster and a recipe for creating buildings that are unfit for human habitation. ‘Basically what they are saying is that you can build a windowless box,’ said real estate strategist Bill Browning, a partner in Terrapin Bright Green, a green-building research and consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City.”

Bisnow New York. “We hear from two of New York’s most prolific brokers to talk over what has been a tumultuous start to 2023 for investment sales and commercial real estate market amid ongoing rate hikes, a banking crisis that closed down a major multifamily lender in New York and growing questions about the values of buildings. Walker & Dunlop’s Aaron Appel, who heads up the New York Capital Markets team, said the ‘can kicking’ from lenders is now coming to an end, which will lead to more defaults, workouts and forced sales this year. ‘We’re starting to see some breaks in the market with assets either going back or sponsors unable to market debt service payments,’ Appel said. ‘Typically when that happens, credit providers will either look to move the position or they will look to find an alternative solution.'”

From Bloomberg. “Brookfield Corp. funds have defaulted on a $161.4 million mortgage for a dozen office buildings, mostly around Washington, DC, as rising vacancies hit property values. The loan transferred to a special servicer who is working with ‘the borrower to execute a pre-negotiation agreement and to determine the path forward,’ according to a filing on the commercial mortgage-backed security. Brookfield, a major office owner, previously defaulted on debt tied to two Los Angeles buildings, the Gas Company Tower and the 777 Tower. Landlords including Columbia Property Trust, owned by funds managed by Pacific Investment Management Co., and a venture started by WeWork Inc. and Rhone Group have also defaulted on office debt.”

“Another Brookfield office property in Los Angeles, 725 South Figueroa St., was transferred to a special servicer and placed on watch by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, according to a note Tuesday. Trends have weighed on values, with prices on high-quality office properties falling about 25% in the past year, according to Green Street. About 4.8% of office properties with CMBS were managed by special servicers in March, up from 3.2% a year ago, according to Trepp. In the Washington metro area, office property values have plunged 36% through March from a year earlier, on par with declines nationwide, according to the Green Street index.”

From Forbes. “The current top-ranked football team in England’s Premier League has an owner who is ready to sell his lakefront Florida mansion in Boca Raton, Florida. Billionaire John Henry purchased the lot in 1991 for $650,000 and had the custom-made house completed in 1995. Henry first listed the property for sale last fall for $25 million, but lowered the price for the first time last week. To reduce a price by nearly half the first time out for a price reduction is often the sign of a motivated seller so this is a pad that could end up being a great deal for $15 million.”

The Globe and Mail. “Canada’s banking regulator is scrutinizing the risks that spiking monthly payments could pose to some borrowers who have variable-rate mortgages and considering whether banks should hold more capital against those loans to absorb possible losses from defaults. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions cited the possibility of a housing market downturn as the top risk it is watching in the year ahead in its annual outlook, released Tuesday.”

“In particular, OSFI is focusing on variable-rate mortgages that have fixed payments over multiyear terms. Those loans were popular among borrowers in recent years, but as interest rates have jumped higher and payments stayed fixed, the amortization periods to pay off those loans have stretched longer – many of them beyond 30 years. ‘I think the banks are acutely aware that mortgages that are not getting paid down, they’re not amortizing down, is not a sustainable situation over the long term,’ said Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers. ‘But as we understand it, they’re working closely with these borrowers.'”

The Telegraph. “Australia’s major cities have seen dramatic falls in house prices over the past year, marking the country’s second-largest collapse in 43 years. Sydney property values have fallen over 11pc year-on-year, while Melbourne and Brisbane are down 9pc, according to analysts CoreLogic. Analysts in Britain now think Australia’s recent house price collapse could be a sign of things to come back home, with some experts predicting negative wage growth makes the outlook for UK homes even worse.“

“In London and the South East, house price falls are expected to be worse. This is largely because this is where mortgage costs are highest. Capital Economics anticipates house prices in these areas to fall by a greater 15pc. ‘There are big pockets of risk in the buy-to-let sector in these areas, where more investors hold interest-only mortgages. Their monthly payments are prone to go up further than others,’  says Andrew Wishart, of Capital Economics. ‘In the second half of the year, we anticipate 20-30pc of landlords to see mortgage payments rise above their mortgage income, which will mean more selling up and lead to greater price declines.'”

From CNBC. “The Swedish government is now predicting a deeper than expected GDP contraction in 2023, according to data released Monday, worsening an already gloomy outlook for the country’s economy. Swedish house prices have long been some of the strongest in Europe, but Stefan Ingves, who headed the country’s central bank from 2006 to 2022, has previously warned the country will face its ‘day of reckoning’ thanks to a ‘dysfunctional’ system. Danske Bank recently revised its previous estimate of a 20% drop in real house prices, peak to trough, to a 25% drop. Prices are currently down by 12% from the peak recorded in February 2022, according to Danske, leaving prices ‘still only half-way to the bottom.'”

Stuff New Zealand. “The housing market is in the low phase of the cycle, with prices in Wellington and Auckland down over 20% from their late 2021 peaks, the Real Estate Institute says. Nationally, the median price was down 12.9% annually to $775,000 in March, from $890,000 at the same time last year, according to the institute’s latest figures. Canterbury’s median price was down 2.9% annually to $680,000, the index had the region’s prices down 8.7% from the peak. Christchurch’s median was down 4.2% annually to $680,000.”

“Real Estate Institute chief executive Jen Baird said there was no denying the current economy was influencing market activity, with median prices easing and properties taking longer to sell. ‘While we have seen activity pick up last month, this year’s summer season has been muted. Buyers are taking their time, they are negotiating, and some are waiting to see if prices ease further.'”

The Australian Financial Review. “Business collapses hit a 3½-year high last month, to jump back above pre-pandemic trends for the first time, as rising interest rates and a cooling economy hurt corporate Australia. Insolvency lawyers say the end of the cheap money era, banks becoming less forgiving of distressed corporate borrowers and the Australian Taxation Office cracking down on company directors for unpaid tax debt are driving more businesses to the wall.”

“Company failures have now risen sharply in construction (1601 administrations), accommodation and food services (808), retail trade (373) and manufacturing (347) so far this financial year. These four industries combined made up about half the 5689 corporate collapses recorded in the first nine months to March 31, according to an analysis of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission data.”

“Alinta Kemeny, a restructuring partner at law firm Ashurst, said the momentum was definitely picking up in insolvency and restructuring activity across most industries. ‘I think we’re going to continue to see an increasing amount of distress,’ she said. ‘It’s going to be much more than a correction back to pre-COVID levels and go beyond just dealing with zombie companies. It’s businesses enduring the hangover of the excess of the past decade where money’s been free and underperformance was being cured relatively easily without fundamental changes.'”

The Australian Associated Press. “The Victorian government ignored a warning about insolvencies in the residential construction sector months before the Porter Davis collapse, the state opposition says. The briefing was revealed in documents obtained by the opposition through Freedom of Information laws. ‘As a consequence of this mismanagement, potentially hundreds of hard-working Victorians are trapped with half-built homes or have lost their deposits and won’t have the insurance they are entitled to,’ said opposition spokeswoman for home ownership Jess Wilson said.”

“Porter Davis homebuyers are asking why they weren’t insured as required by law, including Richard Williams, who lost his $40,000 deposit when the company went under. Despite legislation in place to ensure he was insured, domestic building insurance was not taken out on his behalf, meaning there is no legal recourse to recoup his money. It would have cost Porter Davis less than $1000 to insure his build. It is estimated 800 families have lost on average between $30,000 and $50,000 simply because they were not insured.”

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This Post Has 88 Comments

  1. ‘Henry first listed the property for sale last fall for $25 million, but lowered the price for the first time last week. To reduce a price by nearly half the first time out for a price reduction is often the sign of a motivated seller’

    That’s the spirit John, rip off that band-aid!

      1. Good parenting begins with training one’s children to throw rocks at encroaching realtors.

        1. Growing up I was taught to be polite when I answered the phone, but dad always said if it was a realtor calling to ask if we were interested in selling I had permission to immediately hang up.

          1. Did the realtor really ask you if your wanted to sell the house, as opposed to asking to speak with your dad?

          3. I still get mailed flyers and junk txt messages who are interested in buying my property. Once in a while they call my phone and try to talk to me and I politely decline.

          5. Hi, can I speak with the homeowner? We are interested in purchasing your house.

            Seriously, that’s what the caller said? He told a child “I want to buy your house”?

          7. I’m male. By the time I was 15 I didn’t sound like a child. I always answered the family phone with a formal, “hello, you’ve reached the [surname] residence.”

  3. ‘Richard Williams…lost his $40,000 deposit when the company went under. Despite legislation in place to ensure he was insured, domestic building insurance was not taken out on his behalf, meaning there is no legal recourse to recoup his money. It would have cost Porter Davis less than $1000 to insure his build’

    Well Dick, do you remember those shiny cars in the parking lot when you pulled up to be fleeced? Those aren’t free you know.

  5. ‘working out a way to get repaid for loans they made to the project developer that have defaulted. The Reuben brothers said on their website they foreclosed on the Fairmont Century Plaza and more than 100 condos’

    Wa? 100 airboxes in K-forna and they walked away?

    Sacré bleu!

  6. Average home prices in Denton slid a bit further in March, leaving them down 13% from the spring euphoria of March 2022.

    Is that a lot?

  7. ‘I think the banks are acutely aware that mortgages that are not getting paid down, they’re not amortizing down, is not a sustainable situation over the long term,’ said Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers. ‘But as we understand it, they’re working closely with these borrowers’

    How did you lose yer igloo?

    I was working closely with the lender.

    K-da really is a dishonest sh$thole. They brag about being so financially prudent. It blows up last year and first thing: forget about the stress tests! Make those loans 40 years!

    That’s some sound lending right there.

    1. Special kind of hell for the Canadians. They know nothing more then extend and pretend ehhh

  8. Bill 21, which would allow builders to substitute artificial lighting and ventilation for fresh air and sunshine, has unanimously passed its first reading before the Honolulu City Council and is awaiting further action by the city’s zoning committee.

    The horrible ideas just keep coming. What is the impact on mental health of living in a windowless building?

      1. Compare that to the mental health of living under the overpass.
        Don’t kid yourself.. Once it gains momentum it will become commonplace and they will sell it at the latest greatest thing in urban living.
        Look at work places. Offices to cubes, cubes to small cube, small cubes to shared cubes.

        1. In Japan the really long-tenured employees are rewarded with cubicles that have an extra 10 sq. ft., so they can have room for a visitor.

  9. ‘Williams currently lives in the top unit of the duplex he’s owned for nearly 20 years. It is his only home. Renting it out was supposed to secure his retirement. But at the end of this month, he’s facing foreclosure’

    Cash out refinancing strikes again.

    1. A large portion of California lives off of the refi cycle. Most of them can still do a HELOC for now but we should see that getting yanked soon as the lenders start to go under. Then the real fun begins. Phase two of the decline is coming soon…

      1. A large portion of California lives off of the refi cycle.

        Are these people hoping to die before that have to actually pay back those loans?

        1. Yep, it’s like a reverse mortgage. After 20 years, he should have a lot of equity if he bought during the recession in 2003. I bet the “value” has increased by 3-4x over what he paid.

  10. ‘There are big pockets of risk in the buy-to-let sector in these areas, where more investors hold interest-only mortgages. Their monthly payments are prone to go up further than others…In the second half of the year, we anticipate 20-30pc of landlords to see mortgage payments rise above their mortgage income, which will mean more selling up and lead to greater price declines’

    For almost 20 years we’ve read about ‘negative gearing’ in these sh$tholes with a queen on their pesos. Now all of a sudden, they’re walking away! What changed? They don’t see the big bonanza anymore.

    And we’re learning the US apartment biz fell into the same trap.

    ‘‘It’s going to be much more than a correction back to pre-COVID levels and go beyond just dealing with zombie companies. It’s businesses enduring the hangover of the excess of the past decade where money’s been free and underperformance was being cured relatively easily without fundamental changes’

    95% of the media and talking fools: can we go back to free money? Ima dying out here.

    1. Ugh, I keeping about how everything “is gonna” blow up and it’s “not sustainable long term,” and yet we keep hanging on. Even the zombies are still alive and kicking. So, when is the zombie apocalypse? In the long term we’re all dead.

      1. So, when is the zombie apocalypse?

        A relative works for a large German multinational in the US. He told me that global sales are down about 20% and that everyone is worried that the layoff monster is coming and that the US divisions, where it is easier to lay off employees, will be hit the hardest.

        1. OTOH, Germany is a very expensive place to hire help regardless of position on the economic totem pole.

          1. True, but it’s even harder to lay people off. It can take years to get through the German red tape, whereas in the US at most there is a 60 day WARN period. And they need those people gone now.

        2. I’ve heard that recessions start with the HOPE acronym: Housing, Orders, Profits, Employment. We’ve already seen Housing. If sales are down then Orders will be down too. Profits are pretty fragile — Tesla knocking prices again is not a good sign. And of course Employment is just starting to fail.

      2. when is the zombie apocalypse?

        Most people want to avoid the consequences of decades of debt fueled mania as long as possible. Probably includes you and especially the rentiers you are laboring for.

          1. It’s you that needs to be stable! I imagine they’re very happy with you making your payments now for a decade. It’s great for them that the events you foretell haven’t happened yet.

          2. I’m laboring for a stable employer.
            But as for my rentier mortgage company, they probably aren’t all that happy with a 10-year no cash-out mortgage. Sure I’m making payments, but not much of it is going to them, not at 2.25%.

      3. There will be a final crash followed by hyperinflation at some point. Only the Fed and their owners know when that will happen. It could be this debt cycle or the following or decades from now.

        1. There will be a final crash followed by hyperinflation

          You could be right Bob, or you could be wrong.

          It wouldn’t inconvenience me much, but the bankers would be crushed absolutely.

          Another possibility is that we ditch the fluff jobs, go back to real work, and live on what we can afford without credit for the next few generations.

          1. History says I will be right. Every boom is followed by a bust. Every fiat currency eventually collapses. Until someone can show me something to the contrary, the patterns have a 100% track record.

          2. Every boom is followed by a bust.

            I agree with you on that, but I don’t agree that there will be a “final bust”. I also don’t think that a period of hyperinflation is guaranteed. As if 99% inflation over a century isn’t bad enough. Some Fiats disappear suddenly.

      4. Ugh, I keeping about how everything “is gonna” blow up and it’s “not sustainable long term,” and yet we keep hanging on.

        If you think about it, it’s been about 25 years since the repeal of Glass Steagall and the time when the FED really started to distort markets. It takes a while to completely destroy a country and its currency. They may be able to kick the can another 5 or 10 years with things like “not QE, QE,” etc., where they try to print and paper over losses for zombie corps, banks, etc., while trying desperately to keep a lid on inflation to where it doesn’t go Weimar. But at a certain point, the entire thing collapses. A true black swan event may be the wrecking ball.

  11. From the AFR:

    ‘Ms Kemeny said banks, other creditors, shareholders and financial sponsors were less willing to extend debt and equity funding to businesses, now that economic conditions were tougher and liquidity tighter. Technology start-ups were particularly hard hit, she said.’

    “We’re seeing a change in the attitude of the large banks, whereas previously since the royal commission they had not taken active steps in relation to borrowers that are underperforming,” she said.

    “Now we’re seeing formal [administrator] appointments occur in a way which we really hadn’t before.

    “We’ve also seen the ATO has started issuing director penalty notices, which will often precipitate directors putting businesses into insolvency, because they are personally liable for the debt.”

    Oh dear…

    1. I fear there is a real possibility that this could snowball. Is debauched currency heaven big enough for all the Yellen Bux “value” that’s gonna be flying off to the afterlife?

  12. ‘I think the banks are acutely aware that mortgages that are not getting paid down, they’re not amortizing down, is not a sustainable situation over the long term,’ said Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers. ‘But as we understand it, they’re working closely with these borrowers.’”

    (Raises hand) Carolyn?
    Yes, Francis?
    Psycho. Call me Psycho.
    Lighten up, Francis. Now ask yer damn question.
    Um, how is “working closely” with FBs who are manifestly incapable of keeping up with their mortgage payments and are seeing thousands of K-bux “value” melt away from “their” shacks at an accelerating rate each month going to fix this?

    1. well you see, hopefully i still get my year end bonus while we extend and pretend the buyers so it won’t blow up until after my bonus is paid. See, its good for the economy.

    1. At least here in SoCal (Orange County) too many people are living large in a debt fueled fantasy world.

      I see entitled teen-age/young 20’s kids in their Ferraris racing at 2am up and down Alton Ave here in Irvine. Don’t think they bought those cars working at McDonalds.

      Its all about status and image.

      1. I see entitled teen-age/young 20’s kids in their Ferraris…..Don’t think they bought those cars working at McDonalds.

        They didn’t buy them period. The bank of mommy and daddy did.

        1. A side bar to the expensive autos [purchased by status starved parents] are very young kids (age 12 -> 16) who are recklessly riding [quite expensive] E-bikes.

          Just a story today in one of the local blogs is a kid who [in Newport Beach] evaded police in a chase [upto 25mph] through a residential/commercial area breaking traffic law and nearly causing a major auto accident. [the reason for the blog post]

          General blogger comments are that this area is becoming like the wild west with gangs [literally] of E-bikers causing traffic havoc.

          At least in this area, no licenses, nor training, or any kind of age limit is required to ride an E-bike.

          2. Disneyland

            We were there last week. Other than a lot of gender dysphoria on display, it was fine.

          4. By Disney or the patrons?

            Both. Knowing how strict Walt was with cast members’ appearances, he’d be rolling over in his grave assuming he wasn’t on board with the NWO.

          5. So are we talking about drag queen princesses? Cinderfella? Bearded Snow White?

            Kidding aside, I am curious at to what you saw. I haven’t been there in over 15 years, so I wonder what they have done to it.

          6. Even 15 years ago I could see that the bar had been lowered for cast members, which is what Disney calls any customer facing employees. Back then it was because the wages Disney paid did not keep pace with inflation. Now that all younger people are tatted up I would expect cast members to have tats as well.

          7. So are we talking about drag queen princesses? Cinderfella? Bearded Snow White?

            Nothing that drastic. Mostly nonbinary or gender fluid attempts.

      1. They have videos of those. It’s like a small nuclear reactor going off in a parking garage

  16. Housing units with no windows? Must be needed for the glut of office space, though Hawaii is an interesting place to float that balloon.

    1. Perfect for the 15 minute cities since you’re practically in a prison anyway. In Australia they were telling people to not even look out their windows during the scamdemic. You will live in a prison cell and you will be happy.

      1. In Australia they were telling people to not even look out their windows during the scamdemic.

        The didn’t want any witnesses when a neighbor got hauled away to a Covid gulag,

  17. It’s official, people are leaving Dumver. From the Dumver Post (link to follow):

    Denver, Boulder, Jefferson and Arapahoe counties lost nearly 34,000 residents combined in domestic out-migration in the past two years, according to counts from the U.S. Census Bureau. Over the same period, Weld, Douglas and Larimer counties saw net migration of 35,656 people.

    “Despite the state’s many assets, Denver and Colorado have lost their appeal. There are many reasons for this decline, ranging from policy and social issues to housing issues,” he said.

    The article expresses concern that the hip young kids don’t want to live in Dumver anymore. I guess having their property vandalized or stolen, and being assaulted by homeless junkies on the 16th St Mall isn’t appealing after all.

  18. Here is another nugget:

    “The monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States” the FDA statement said.

    And of course, we will never be told the full truth about its test results. Instead, it is being sent to the memory hole. But don’t worry, the bivalent jab is even safer and more effective. We pinky swear.

      1. Will all vaccines going forward be under EUA? I mean, why bother with pesky trials? If they turn out wrong the labs could lose a bundle. So what if they kill a few million people around the globe? It’s not like there is a shortage of people.

        2. EUA or full approval doesn’t matter anymore since the data is all fudged. Never take an injection of anything ever again unless it’s a 100% life or death situation.

          1. Never take an injection of anything ever again unless it’s a 100% life or death situation.

            That’s pretty much my plan. The last vaccine I received was years ago, for the shingles. Now I don’t even trust a flu shot, who knows what’s in it? And why bother? Unless they guess the correct flu strain, the flu vax is mostly useless anyway, so why bother?

  19. Bill 21…would allow builders to substitute artificial lighting and ventilation for fresh air and sunshine…

    Hey, wanna come over to my big box and hang out, drink some Bud Light watch the walls compress around us?

    1. So what happens if the power goes out?

      Sounds like a great place to house people who are in a lockdown.

    2. if I want walls compressing around me I’d visit Luke, Han, Leia & Chewy down into their “messy apt.”

  20. ‘ ‘We’re starting to see some breaks in the market with assets either going back or sponsors unable to market debt service payments,’ Appel said. ‘Typically when that happens, credit providers will either look to move the position or they will look to find an alternative solution’

    via GIPHY

  22. I guess some folks in Tallahassee are having to give it away!

    Date Event Price Price/Sq Ft Source
    04/19/2023 Listed $400,000 $159 Tallahassee
    04/11/2023 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
    04/04/2023 Price Changed $435,000 $173 Tallahassee
    03/23/2023 Price Changed $445,000 $177 Tallahassee
    03/15/2023 Listing removed – – Tallahassee
    03/09/2023 Listed $455,000 $181 Tallahassee
    02/24/2023 Listed $470,000 $187 Tallahassee
    05/15/2015 Sold $275,000 $110 Public Record

  23. Living In LA County Is A Downer, UCLA Study Finds
    Residents are facing historic dissatisfaction — plagued by anxiety over housing costs and negatively impacted by area homeless encampments.
    City News Service,
    News Partner
    Posted Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 3:01 pm PT
    In this photo, tents housing people experiencing homelessness line a street in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

    LOS ANGELES, CA — Inflation, the homelessness crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts and rising housing costs are contributing to the woes of Los Angeles County residents who recently expressed nearly historic levels of dissatisfaction with their quality of life, according to a new UCLA survey released Wednesday.

    The latest edition of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs’ quality of life index reveals that despite the sunshine, beaches and excellent tacos, living in Los Angeles is essentially a downer for respondents, although they admit to some slight improvements over last year.

    Inflation remains a primary concern as people worry about losing their homes or feeding their families. Many residents said their quality of life had been affected by a particular homeless encampment. And they believe the pandemic’s impacts on the region will be long-lasting.

    The survey measures county residents’ satisfaction levels in nine categories. The overall rating rose two points to 55, but it was still the second-lowest rating in the eight years of the project. The highest rating of 59 was recorded in 2016 and 2017.

    “Last year’s record negativity appears to have bottomed out and made a slight upward turn,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative, who oversees the index. “But inflation has taken a toll, especially among lower- and middle-income residents.”
    …
    https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/living-la-county-downer-ucla-study-finds

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