There Are Some That Refuse To Admit Defeat But These Are A Minority

1. ‘The sellers aren’t believing that it did come down 10% from a year ago’

   That’s cuz you guys keep telling them it’s up Craig.

2. How did you lose yer shack Jim?

   I anticipated certain fluctuations in the market when I purchased the house but the downturn was more significant than expected.

   1. Those were some pretty eloquent words for an idiot who bought an airbnb in the ghetto of Long Beach and who is about to lose all of his hard earned equity.

      1. I guess I’m a dummy, but just who is renting out all these AirBnBs in residential neighborhoods? Are there really that many tourists to Long Beach? Or these all party houses?

         1. I never understood the ABNB’s in Phoenix, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Boise, etc. I understand sometimes a family wants to stay in the same house instead of renting 3 hotel rooms, but how often does that happen in these cities that are not tourist destinations? I’m in McKinney, TX. It’s an exurb of Dallas and there are ABNB’s here. Not many, but I’m surprised there are any at all other than renting a single room. There are some guesthouses in the backyard, but do you really want to go on vacation and stay in somebody’s backyard?

            1. Not always vacations. Business, weddings, Family health issues, moving to the area and a STR is a fantastic option until you find your actual desired location. Many other reasons to short term.

         2. Long Beach isn’t a tourist magnet. Too far from Disneyland and Hollywood, and the O.C. beaches aren’t like Waikiki. There are several big businesses like Boeing in Long Beach, but like I said before, companies like Boeing don’t do AirBnB.

         3. 450K for a house in Long Beach in 2021= hard core ghetto. On the bright side, if the airbnb tenants had a shootout, the neighborhood wouldn’t know the difference!!

   2. “…who runs an engineering firm – bought a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Long Beach, California, for $450,000 in April 2021. It was an investment purchase which he planned to let out as an Airbnb. He fixed a 30-year mortgage with an interest rate of 3.2 percent. But little over two years later, his property has lost around $50,000 in equity.*

      Multiply that 10%+ loss across all the investors who used low interest loans to snap up properties during the pandemic and you are talking about alot of money!

      1. I don’t get the whining here by the speculator scum. Who cares about negative equity? Unless he needs to sell or refi, it matters not at all.

         He’s locked into a stupidly low 30 year fixed, who cares? If you know, his airbnb/illegal hotel is actually making money and he doesn’t need to sell.

         1. He probably doesn’t have to sell now, but he doesn’t have much margin if something goes wrong. He probably whined only because the news reporter told him to.

            1. He was probably hoping to flip it and use AirBnB income to cover the carrying costs until he sold it. Now he can’t flip it and he has no tenants. Oopsie!

            2. He’ll STR while it’s in foreclosure. He’ll pocket the STR income and not pay the mortgage. That’s where this is headed. Anybody who’d buy an AirB&B in a bad area like that never had good intentions to begin with, and it will always end up the same, in foreclosure with the owner keeping the money for himself.

3. ‘More than 180,000 pre-owned flats in Shanghai are currently up for sale, up from about 100,000 in mid March’

   Wa happened to my shortage Dan?

4. ‘Anthony wants to get half his investment back, and says he would not settle for less than the 33 per cent offered by Built4Learning. He added: The value of the apartment won’t be worth what I paid for. I would ideally like 50 per cent, but no less than 33 per cent’

   Bargaining <- Tony you are here.

   1. Built4Learning

      Aptly named. You pay your money and take your change.

   2. pffft, he’s still in denial. “I want 50%, i might settle for 33%”
      Ummmmm, you’re going to get nothing and like it. If you get pennies you’ll be lucky. Idiot, should have cut bait years ago.

   3. I wonder if he learned anything

5. CNBC — Occupant advisor defends stimulus and inflation surge: ‘The real cause was the global pandemic’ (7/10/2023):

   “The Covid-19 pandemic, rather than the Occupant’s economic policies and stimulus packages, is the “real cause” of high inflation, according to a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

   “What the president did when he first came into office, the American Rescue Plan — we were in the middle of a pandemic, and he put in place a policy that gave us enough flexibility to deal with all the challenges that came our way,” she said.

   A $1.9 trillion relief package, the American Rescue Plan was announced in Jan. 2021 and passed by Congress in March of that year.

   In mid-2022, inflation in the U.S. topped 9% to reach a four-decade high with market commentators noting multiple factors, such as clogged supply chains, outsized demand for goods over services, and trillions of dollars in Covid-related stimulus spending.

   https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/10/citing-pandemic-biden-advisor-defends-stimulus-and-inflation-surge.html

   Your standard of living, diminished, permanently, and the greatest wealth transfer in history from the working class and middle class to billionaires, that was the primary goal of all of this.

   Re-classify a virulent flu strain into CCP Flu via phony PCR “testing” while the flu itself allegedly disappears, then implement the EXACT SAME POLICIES of lockdowns, business closures, etc as every other government that the World Economic Forum boasts of having “penetrated” to destroy your way of life, that was the goal.

   They think we’re all just going to forget about this and move on.

   NO AMNESTY

   1. our standard of living, diminished, permanently…that was the primary goal of all of this.

      There will not be talk of a roll back, a return to balanced budgets or a reduction in debt. It’s permanent.

      1. Anyone making less than $200K is screwed. The middle class will be inflated into oblivion

6. American’s aren’t in trouble.

   “This is specifically a question about private student loan debt, not federal. I’ve had a friend mention to me in the past that you can stop repaying private student loan debt and it acts like any other debt – falls off your credit after 7 years. Is there any truth to this?

   With federal student loan payments kicking back in this fall, I’m trying to weigh every option to manage my other debt appropriately (which is only my private student loans and a recent car purchase, I have no other debt).

   The interest rate on my private student loan debt sky rocketed with the federal increase on interest rates, from 3% to 9%. I did not graduate college so my refinancing options are limited, I’ve looked into it in the past.

   Any thoughts on this matter are greatly appreciated.”

   https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/14vsdy0/private_student_loan_debt_can_i_stop_making/

   1. “…private student loan debt…”

      It will go to collections, and it will affect your credit score meaning current and potential employers will see it too; not good. Many current creditors might increase your rates, the universal default clause. 🙁

      1. I mean, I don’t really feel too badly about that. The point of a loan is that it’s to be paid back. Going on and just deciding one doesn’t want to pay it back is stupid. At some point blatant irresponsibility has to have consequences.

   2. “The interest rate on my private student loan debt sky rocketed with the federal increase on interest rates, from 3% to 9%. ”

      Wait, student loans have variable interest rates, like ARM mortgages? I wonder what he majored in.

      1. My best guess is that it’s possible since it was a private loan. I never took out any private loans, so I don’t know the terms. I’m sure it varies. Either way, whatever his major was, he didn’t finish.

      2. Mine was locked in at 3.625 and I paid it off. Yeah it sucked, but I signed on the line and used it to pay for classes.

      3. From what I remember, variable rate private student loans were VERY available for a long time. SoFi and others had it as the cornerstone of their business. You could get fixed rates as well, for ~1% more (which is what I did).

         Hope everyone refinanced into a fixed rate term…

   3. Is my understanding that this debt never goes away under any circumstances. The only exception is, if you pass away.

   4. I don’t care what happens to people with student loans. In fact, I wish them pain and misery and financial hardship. They’re mostly Democrat voters, they voted for this, they deserve this. And I used to have student loans myself too, big ones, but I paid them off.

7. Don’t call us child, we’ll call you.

   https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/melbourne-builder-facing-possible-liquidation-as-court-documents-show-13-creditors-owed-1-million/news-story/ed5f247727f8b3a4d8614957f59682a7

8. Is 5.3% considered to be a low core consumer price inflation rate?

   1. CNBC
      ECONOMY
      This is ‘the end of the beginning’ of the battle against inflation, economist says
      PUBLISHED MON, JUL 10 2023 7:28 AM EDT
      Elliot Smith

      KEY POINTS
      – U.S. inflation cooled in May to an annual 4%, its lowest annual rate in more than two years, but core inflation rose by 0.4% month-on-month and 5.3% year-on-year.

      – “The central banks need to trigger a recession to force unemployment to pick up and create enough demand destruction, but we’re not there yet,” top Societe Generale economist Kokou Agbo-Bloua said.

      – Nathan Thooft, co-head of global asset allocation at Manulife Asset Management, said that a recession had been “postponed rather than canceled.”
      …

      1. I have a prescription refill that i have to pick up. (no insurance, just the club card thing). in March same thing was $28, this time its’ $41. In 4 months. Nope, no inflation here.

         1. “…in March same thing was $28, this time its’ $41.”

            You are likely paying for someone else’s prescription too.

            1. Medicaid by federal law has no co-pays. Illinois just extended Medicaid to illegal immigrants. The sponsor of the bill a year ago said it would cost $2,000,000. And it ended up costing the state One Billions. So yes, you are most definitely paying for the prescription of somebody else who gets the medication for free.

         2. Nope, no inflation here.

            It’s burning like a bonfire and they have the nerve to tell us that it’s small and contained.

            1. I went to my favorite Japanese food court in a popular Japanese owned chain supermarket yesterday. Spent $14 on a meal that used to cost $9. There are several food vendors in this court and half of them closed during the lock downs. Even the new Chick-F-Lay #2 combo was over $12 when I went last week.

         3. This is greedflation. There is a lot of that going on now.

            1. The danger with greedflating is that you chase customer’s away.

            2. chase customer’s away.

               Probably the last phase of going out of business.

            3. Many restaurants going to go out of business – it’s just become too expensive to eat out. Every time I go out now, it’s limited appetizers, and a cheaper main course, and one fewer beer. Last night it was one pizza and cheese fries for a family of four, two drinks total, no salad or desert, no second drink. Still almost $75 with tip.

   2. Is 5.3% considered to be a low core consumer price inflation rate?

      Are they telling us this is as good as it’s going to get? Given the now standard multi trillion dollar budget deficits will we ever see 2% again?

   3. Bloomberg
      Economics
      Inflation & Prices
      Fed Officials Say Higher Interest Rates Are Needed to Reach 2% Inflation Goal

      – Barr says ‘bit of work’ to do to achieve restrictive rates

      – Mester, Daly say tighter policy needed to curb price pressures

      Daly Says ‘Couple More’ Fed Rate Hikes Are Likely Needed
      WATCH: “One of the surprising things about the economy is just how much momentum it continues to have,” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly says.
      Source: Bloomberg
      By Rich Miller, Sam Kim and Matthew Boesler
      July 10, 2023 at 9:11 AM PDT
      Updated on July 10, 2023 at 10:02 AM PDT

      Three Federal Reserve officials on Monday said policymakers will need to raise interest rates further this year to bring inflation back to the central bank’s goal.

      “We’ve made a lot of progress in monetary policy, the work that we need to do, over the last year,” Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr told a Bipartisan Policy Center meeting on Monday. “I would say we’re close, but we still have a bit of work to do.”
      …

   4. Price a footlong sub at Subway recently? Holy sticker shock, Batman!

      1. They weren’t worth forking over $5 back in the day. Utterly mediocre. I haven’t had one in ages. Just looked online, they start at $8.49 for the bologna footlong, others are even more.

         1. When I worked in downtown Chicago, one of my co-workers flat out refused to eat Subway, because she said it made her feel like a poor person.

9. “Oceanwide has already sold off another Hawaii project in planning. In December, the firm sold its Kapolei West development for $92.9 million, filings show, resulting in a loss of $26 million for Oceanwide. Proceeds from that sale did not cover all debt connected to the property, Oceanwide said in its annual report.”

   Is this highly leveraged loser of a firm representative of the wealthy all cash Chinese investors who were snapping up US real estate at a hefty premium during the boom years?

10. I just paid $388 for a 30 amp 3 phase Eaton breaker, which is not easy to find because of “supply chain issues” the gift that keeps on giving.

    Sounds like a “we’re all in this together” kind of thing.

    1. Imagine if the digital dashboard on your now out of warranty SUV gives up the ghost. It will be pricey to fix (replace) and that’s if you can find the part.

       A relative just bought a new SUV. He had a hard time finding the model he wanted and paid MSRP for it. The lot was chock full of pickups, but SUVs seemed to be in short supply. Are people buying SUV’s like there’s no tomorrow, or is there just next to no supply, or some combination?

       1. I just bought an SUV. Long story short is supply varies greatly by manufacturer. Jeep can’t give away their SUVs but Toyota has none to sell, with everyone else somewhere in between. But the strategy overall has been to make fewer, but more profitable vehicles. Better to make 5 car with a $10,000 profit each than 7 with a $6,000 profit. This limits the number of cars sold but also decreases the supply. Car demand is high – the average age of a car on the rode is something like 13 years now. 13 years is a long time for a car. I just drove a 15 year old Chevy SUV into the ground with 160,000 miles and it was falling apart. But that’s only slightly older than average. My neighborhood is full of new cars but the next suburb over, the roads are filled with junkers.

          1. Jeep can’t give away their SUVs

             Well, yeah, they’re utter junk.

             1. Well, yeah, they’re utter junk.

                That’s not why, it’s because they’re grossly overpriced. A loaded Jeep Wrangler is now into the $70k realm – absolutely ludicrous. So, people are buying 4Runners and Tacomas instead, for tens of thousands less.

    2. I’ll bite, what is a 30 amp 3 phase Eaton breaker and what is it used for?

       1. It’s a circuit breaker.

          1. “It’s a circuit breaker”

             Although I admittedly don’t think I have ever purchased one, $388 does seem liks a lot of cabbage for a circuit breaker.

             1. 30 amp 3 phase circuit breaker—gotta pay for up-charges and service call. And don’t forget you are not only paying for knowing what is wrong, but also how to do the job.

             2. $388 does seem liks a lot of cabbage for a circuit breaker

                Probably commercial/industrial grade (It is 3 phase). Throw in some inflation and voila!

                I took a looksie at Home Despot, They had some from other brands for under $200. Don’t know if there is anything special about the Eaton brand,

       2. Eaton is a common brand, but the panel type the breaker is being installed in is obsolete, but still in use.

          Commercial kitchen / food prep facility.

    3. not easy to find because of “supply chain issues”

       How’s that “Just in time” cr@p working out? Nobody wants to carry inventory, because reasons.

       1. Inventory ties up capital and is taxed by the counties

11. Did the banking crisis that erupted a couple of months ago mysteriously disappear?

    1. CNBC
       The American banking landscape is on the cusp of a seismic shift. Expect more pain to come
       PUBLISHED MON, JUL 10 2023 5:30 AM EDT
       UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
       Hugh Son

       KEY POINTS

       – Rising interest rates, losses on commercial real estate and heightened regulatory scrutiny will pressure regional and midsized banks, leading to a wave of mergers, sources told CNBC.

       – Some of those pressures will be visible as regional banks disclose second-quarter results this month. Firms including Zions and KeyCorp already have warned of sinking revenues.

       – Half the country’s banks will likely be swallowed by competitors in the next decade, according to Fitch analyst Chris Wolfe.

       – “Some of these banks will survive by being the buyer rather than the target,” said incoming Lazard CEO Peter Orszag. “We could see over time fewer, larger regionals.”
       …

       1. They’re trying to go the Japanese route with zombie banks to prevent a full collapse

    2. Crisis never ended, at best postponed.

       Worse, depending on narratives they want to sell, they will just fudge the stats. Calamity one day, and recovery the next. Same as it ever was.

       1. Calamity one day, bailouts the next.

          1. Lbh, bailout is the recovery.

    3. It wasn’t “a banking crisis,” it was just sold as such so a bunch of rich fawks could get bailed on their deposits above the FDIC limit by the US taxpayer.

12. Ok, so the end game plan of the One World Order is that the human populations will be controlled by the Private Party Banks.
    Banks will control how much money you get, and how much consumption your allowed.
    And, you will have no choice regarding mandated vaccines in a medical tyranny that knows no bounds.
    Banks and Big Pharmacy are Private Party entities who are taking over as Dictators of life in every way for humans.
    The WEF has also mentioned that there will be no need for fashion, under the New World Order, everybody wearing the same prison like garb.

    1. And most people have no idea that it’s coming. As long as they have a game console, pizza and weed, everything is fine.

       1. Don’t forget the smart phone. The phone is supposedly smart but makes the younger folks dumb.

    2. It is important to keep in mind that control is an illusion. Most of the things they are dreaming of will not turn out the way they want them to.

       Take self driving cars for instance, all you have to do is put a traffic cone on the hood to disable it. With one construction zone you can disable an entire fleet. 🙂

       1. The cone hack was interesting. But the remember, starting in 2026 all new cars will have a gooberment controlled kill switch. They can turn your car into a brick if it suits their fancy.

          1. kill switch

             I predict mine will malfunction.

             1. It will require being able to hack whatever computer(s) control the car. It can be done, but won’t be easy. I could see it becoming a cottage industry

             2. hack whatever computer

                I’m surrounded by Watkins Glen Race mechanics, a son who is a motorhead and build it from the ground up enthusiast (also his friends). I have several carbureted V-8 engines around here in use and spares that I know how to keep running without a computer. It could be interesting as I raise my fist and yell “Stay off my lawn!”. There’s also the Kubota. That doesn’t even need a license.

                In 2035 I’ll be driving an old vehicle if I can still drive, so it doesn’t matter much. The cops all know where I live anyway.

             3. “…It can be done, but won’t be easy. I could see it becoming a cottage industry…”

                Absolutely. If nothing else, for sport. (aka. the middle finger challange)

                Remember unlocking your phone, or defeating DVD music copyright, or unscrambling early TV cable systems?

                Lots of very smart people in this world, and they don’t all work for the Industrial complex.

13. Is the asset bubble continuing to drop with used car prices, following commercial REIT.

    Wholesale used vehicle prices last month experienced their largest decline since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
    Cox Automotive reported Monday a 4.2% decline from May to June in its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 215.1. The fall is the third consecutive monthly decline and one of the index’s largest monthly drops on record, according to Cox.

    1. And Hotels.

       
       Hotel REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: $AHT) Says It Will ‘Likely’ Return 19 Properties to Lenders

       Keeping the hotels would have required a paydown of about $255 million to extend the financing and $80 million in capital expenditures through 2025 and the equity in the properties is already negative. All of the hotels sat in three pools of CMBS securities loans that matured in June.

       CEO Hays said the REIT had been unsuccessful in trading hotels under current market conditions with few buyers and no access to debt markets.

       “The challenging debt financing markets for hotels have been around for months now and they are not getting any better…. At this time, it appears that the most likely outcome will be a consensual transfer of these hotels to the respective lenders” Hays told investors at the time.

       “The spreads are historically wide and I’m hopeful we are getting to the end of the Fed raising rates. It’s a weird dynamic.

    2. Going to need many, many months of these kinds of drops to see some improvement. A used truck increased in price by 50%. That’s absurd.

       1. Many, many months or longer. Deflation basically, and until then, we all have lower standards of living.

    3. Used cars have a long, long way to fall. pre-pandemic the index at 150, and spiked into the 200’s. The index was boucning along at 125 when Trump was president before spiking during ‘rona. 1997 the index was at 100.

14. Want to steal 15 acres of FL wetlands for only $375,000? Feel free to walk the property, just be sure to wear hip waders and carry a shotgun. There be gators. Some of these listings make me laugh harder than watching Carol Burnett re-runs.

    Link to listing:
    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/0-San-Antonio-Dr-Milton-FL-32570/2105625355_zpid/

    Link to county property appraiser:
    https://srcpa.gov/Parcel/Index2?parcel=04-1S-29-0000-00700-0000

    1. 0 San Antonio Dr, Milton, FL 32570

       I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 0 address.

       1. Ben – unless it’s already a platted subdivision, a lot of FL land, at least locally, doesn’t have an address until a shack is built. The platted subdivision in the listing is the adjacent property that has homes built on several man-made canals. It’s misleading, because the listing is just for the raw swamp land next to the subdivision. I live about two miles from that listing and driven down that road. You can’t actually get to the bay from the property, unless you’re willing to wade through 3 or 4 hundred yards of swamp, saw grass, and muck. The “lake” is just a drainage ditch.

          1. Exactly. Vacant land doesn’t have a mailing address.

15. July 10, 2023

    TOO MANY REAL ESTATE AGENTS FOR TOO FEW HOME SALES: NEW CFA REPORT DOCUMENTS THE COSTS TO INDUSTRY AND TO CONSUMERS

    Washington, D.C. – Today the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is releasing a new report – “A Surfeit of Real Estate Agents: Industry and Consumer Impacts” – that uses industry sources to document the costs to industry and to consumers of too many residential real estate agents. More than 1.5 million residential agents (including brokers) compete for home sales usually totaling 5 to 6 million annually.

    Those costs include: economic inefficiencies including an inordinate time spent by agents finding clients, relatively low incomes of many full-time agents, frustration by these agents and by many consumers who must deal with inexperienced agents, reinforcement of relatively high and uniform commission rates, anddamage to the reputation of the industry.

    “A large majority of practicing real estate agents have recently received their license or work part-time,” said Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at CFA. “These agents usually charge the same commission rates as experienced, full-time agents yet in general offer worse service and deprive experienced agents of needed clients.”

    In examining home sales in three cities – Jacksonville (FL), Minneapolis (MN), and Albuquerque (NM) – the study found that marginal agents (with five or fewer sales a year) received an estimated 25-30 percent of commission income. According to data collected by the industry from Realtors in 2021:

    -the median net income of all sales agents was $25,000,
    -the median net income of sales agents with less than two years experience was $7,800, and,
    -the median net income of all brokers and associate brokers was $57,100.

    The report documents complaints by many experienced, full-time agents of the incompetence and/or inattention of other agents that also harm consumers. And it emphasizes that because of the “surfeit of agents,” real estate agents and brokers feel financial and/or peer pressure to keep commission rates relatively high.

    “Without 5-6 percent rates, even fewer agents would survive financially in today’s marketplace,” said CFA’s Brobeck. “Ironically, relatively high rates attract new entrants into the industry, increasing competition for clients and reducing individual income for all.”

    The report raises the question of whether the industry should make greater efforts to ensure the competence and commitment of new agents. Such efforts could include more stringent entry requirements and required mentoring of new agents. A future CFA report will address in depth these two issues.

    To help ensure selection of a competent, conscientious agent, CFA recommends not only consulting friends and family but also reviewing information about agents on Zillow and Realtor.com. CFA’s Brobeck said: “Look especially for information on recent sales experience and customer comments that are detailed and positive.”

    1. Would you like some cheese with your whine?

    2. A Surfeit of Real Estate Agents:

       Hardly a surprise. When times are fat a realtor can earn six figures, so everyone wants in. Why do something hard for a living when all you have to do is drive clients around and show them houses?

       Of course the good times inevitably end, and then it’s time to scramble and find another job.

16. From Crains’ New York:

    Bankrupt in Margaritaville: Resort files for Chapter 11 to prevent foreclosure

17. The building, located right by East Houston Street, was a BP gas station before The Related Cos. and LargaVista co-developed it into a 7-story office building spanning about 80,000 square feet. Construction began in 2016 and wrapped up in 2019, according to CoStar.

    https://www.crainsnewyork.com/commercial-real-estate/nightingale-properties-boutique-soho-office-building-facing-foreclosure

18. ‘Many have sunk life savings, retirement, inheritance, or savings earned abroad to then find it is potentially lost…The Sky Building was sold to us as a way of gaining an income without any hassle’

    Ennio Morricone – L’estasi dell’Oro (In Concerto – Venezia 10.11.07)

    Dec 20, 2011
    Song taken from “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly”, performed in the magical setting of San Marco’s square in Venice and directed by Ennio Morricone himself.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3IlqY1CbI0

    4 minutes.

19. The Real Estate Lies Needs to Stop: Market Update
    OwlMortgage
    Jul 10, 2023 #realestate #torontorealestate #mortgage
    🛑STOP believing all the B.S. that’s out there… the market is getting worse and there is a lot of misinformation otherwise out there right now.

    🏡 In episode 138 of the Wise Old Owl Show, we dissect the TREBB’s June Market Watch report to uncover the realities that are often overlooked. Prepare to challenge the status quo and gain a fresh perspective on Canada’s economic landscap!e.

    🔍 Our expert analysis sheds light on crucial aspects that mainstream media often fails to address. We delve into the alarming truth behind the apparent improvement, revealing the underlying challenges that persist in our housing market.

    💥 But that’s not all! We also unravel the complex relationship between immigration and Canada’s GDP. Discover how immigration statistics might paint a rosy picture while obscuring the ugly reality: Canada’s per capita GDP ranks among the lowest in the G20, and is worsening.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgAMbVRC3eI

    23 minutes.

20. ‘It is not unusual [now] for owners to have to offer a 10 per cent discount to woo buyers…In reality, buyers want at least a 15 per cent price cut, and they will not make purchase decisions until sellers accept their offers’

    ‘would-be buyers remain cautious, with most of them looking to bargain down prices even further amid the weak environment’

    That’s the spirit would-be buyers, kick em while they’re down!

    1. Kick ’em in the ‘nads.

21. Thank you sir may i have another

    US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Bows To Chinese Counterpart Multiple Times

    https://youtu.be/kgii9DRKhqA

    1. And in return, the ChiCom hardliners accused anyone who spoke with Yellen of spying.

       1. After Lunching With Janet Yellen, Chinese Women Economists Are Called Traitors Online
          U.S. Treasury Sec. Yellen arrives for a lunch meeting with women economists in Beijing on July 8.
          Mark Schiefelbein—Pool/AFP/Getty Images
          By Bloomberg News
          July 10, 2023 4:55 AM EDT

          A group of Chinese female economists and entrepreneurs who dined with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have been blasted by online nationalists for betraying their country by interacting with the U.S. official.

          While the Treasury department skipped identifying attendees from the meeting on Saturday, a group photograph of the gathering posted to China’s Twitter-like Weibo was used to identify some participants. It was not clear who first shared the image online.
          …
          https://time.com/6293259/chinese-women-economists-yellen-traitors/

22. ‘Oceanwide has struck a deal to sell its 44-acre Ko Olina project on the island of Oahu for $134 million, according to a financial filing…As of the end of last year, Oceanwide had spent $527 million on the development, though construction had not started’

    That’s a notable a$$pounding on a piece of dirt.

    1. Sum Ting Wong

    2. “That’s a notable a$$pounding on a piece of dirt.”

       Worse yet, a notable a$$pounding on a slab of lava.

       The Hawaiian Islands were formed by a volcanic hot spot, an upwelling plume of magma, that creates new islands as the Pacific Plate moves over it.

       This upwelling of molten rock, known as a “hot spot,” creates volcanoes that spew out lava (magma that reaches Earth’s surface). The lava then cools and hardens to create new land. The Hawaiian Islands were literally created from lots of volcanoes—they’re a trail of volcanic eruptions.

       Scientists believe this hot spot has been expelling lava for roughly 70 million years. (must be man made global warming)

       https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/chain-islands-hawaiian-hot-spot/#:~:text=This%20upwelling%20of%20molten%20rock,a%20trail%20of%20volcanic%20eruptions.

       1. Relitters can’t honestly say HI is running out of land.

    3. 44-acre Ko Olina project on the island of Oahu for $134 million

       Larry Ellison bought 140 square miles of Hawaii (Lanai) for about $400 million.

       1. “…140 square miles…”

          That’s one way to keep the neighbors away.

          1. There are two resorts on the island, which he owns and the small town of Lanai city. The rest of the island is his. He allegedly lives there full time, and I don’t know if he ever leaves the island. Whenever I see him in an all hands broadcast he’s at home in his island mansion and not at HQ in Austin.

    4. $527 million for 44 acres of land? LMFAO!!!!

23. ‘This is a very good example of what’s going on in the market…While this loan hadn’t met underwritten expectations, the borrower had kept it current and had backfilled some of the vacant space heading up to maturity. But the in-place cash flow and higher interest rates make it simply unable to be refinanced in this environment’

    No loan available.

    1. unable to be refinanced

       That’s how we get a renewal. The buyer at auction will pay what makes sense after the defaults.

24. DOJ Charges Biden Whistleblower After Exposing Biden Family Corruption

    by Jamie White
    July 10th 2023, 5:49 pm

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged Biden whistleblower Dr. Gal Luft for operating as an unregistered foreign agent and other crimes related to the Biden family’s influence peddling with China and other nations.

    Dr. Luft had “gone missing” in May shortly after coming forward to the House Oversight Committee alleging Joe and Hunter Biden accepted payments from China-linked firms.

    https://www.infowars.com/

    1. No one fu*cks with a Biden!

25. It seems like introducing outright deflation is one possible approach to convincing markets that inflation is dead.

    1. Financial Times
       Chinese economy
       China on brink of consumer deflation
       Latest signs of economic weakness likely to spur calls for government stimulus measures
       Shoppers at a supermarket in Beijing
       The consumer price index was flat year on year and declined 0.2% compared with the previous month, while factory gate prices fell at the fastest pace since 2016
       Joe Leahy in Beijing and Greg McMillan in Hong Kong 19 hours ago

       China’s economy teetered on the brink of deflation in June, adding to calls for Beijing to launch a stronger stimulus package to sustain the country’s sputtering post-Covid recovery.

       The consumer price index was flat year on year and declined 0.2 per cent compared with the previous month, while factory gate prices fell at the fastest pace since 2016 as demand for consumer and manufactured products softened.

       Analysts expected the figures to lead China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to reduce interest rates again, adding to a round of cuts last month that many believe Beijing will have to supplement with fiscal stimulus policies.
       …

       1. Maybe it’s different in China, but once deflation took hold circa 1990 in Japan’s post-bubble collapse economy, it continued for over a decade, and no amount of stimulus could turn it around.

       2. So that’s why the cr@p sold at temu is so cheap.

          1. Or is it just that cr@p sells for cheap?

26. Does not yet having a recession rule one out in favor of a soft landing?

    1. Yahoo
       Yahoo News 360
       Whatever happened to that big recession we were supposed to have?
       Andrew Romano
       Mon, July 10, 2023 at 1:57 PM PDT·8 min read
       “The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.

       What’s happening

       More like what isn’t happening. Ever since the pandemic started to subside early last year, experts have warned that the American economy is destined for a recession. And Americans have believed them.

       According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll from mid-June, just 17% percent of U.S. adults now say no when asked if the country is “heading for a recession.” In contrast, a combined 6 in 10 think the economy is trending in that direction (18%) or that a recession has already begun (43%).

       Fact check: It hasn’t. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Business Cycle Dating Committee — the U.S. official recession scorekeeper — defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months.” The committee has been clear: The United States hasn’t experienced a recession since the COVID-induced downturn of March-April 2020 — and it isn’t experiencing one today.

       What about next quarter, though? Or the quarter after that? Or next year?

       Citing the Federal Reserve’s decision to curb post-pandemic inflation by aggressively hiking interest rates — which has tended, in the past, to slow spending and trigger job losses — forecasters spent much of 2022 and early 2023 predicting an imminent economic plunge.

       But then a funny thing happened on the way to the recession: Spending has continued to go up, and unemployment has continued to go down. Meanwhile, gas prices have dropped, and grocery prices have leveled off. Inflation appears to have peaked.
       …
       https://news.yahoo.com/whatever-happened-to-that-big-recession-we-were-supposed-to-have-205712430.html

       1. Fact check: It hasn’t

          Fact Checking with government statistics may be dangerous to your health.

          Maintaining economic activity with a ton of extra debt should have a name.

    2. There is no landing.

       1. Are you suggesting the CR8R is bottomless?

          1. No, I’m suggesting that the eCONomy is still flying in the stratosphere, jacked up on stimmies.

27. This stinks to high heaven, and reeks of illegal price fixing.

    But so long as Megabank, Inc is behind the deal, I guess it’s A-OK.

    1. Fortune
       FINANCE CARL ICAHN
       Corporate raider Carl Icahn recovers $1 billion in his fortune as loan deal with big banks alleviates short-seller assault
       The billionaire investor Carl Icahn has been under assault from the short-seller Hindenburg Research, forcing him to renegotiate a key loan deal.
       BY WILL DANIEL
       July 10, 2023 5:32 PM EDT
       Chairman of Icahn Enterprises Carl Icahn participates in a panel discussion at the New York Times 2015 DealBook Conference at the Whitney Museum of American Art on November 3, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for New York Times

       Carl Icahn has been under pressure since May, when the short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that his publicly traded conglomerate, Icahn Enterprises (IEP), used a high but unsustainable dividend yield to lure retail investors into a “Ponzi-like” operation where assets were held at inflated prices. Hindenburg’s founder, Nathan Anderson, further alleged that Icahn had personally borrowed billions using his IEP shares as collateral and then invested the money in his own funds amid consistent losses.

       Shares of IEP plummeted 60% after Hindenburg’s May 1 report, falling to a low of $20 per share by May 25. Icahn, who made his name as a corporate raider in the 1980s, saw his net worth plunge $10 billion in a single day after the report went public. But now, the billionaire has disclosed in an SEC filing that he’s struck a deal with multiple banks to help right his embattled ship, leading IEP stock to soar 20% Monday.

       The surge also pushed Icahn’s net worth more than $1 billion higher, Bloomberg reported, although he has still lost over $12 billion so far this year. IEP shares are now up over 70% from May’s low.

       Carl Icahn owns roughly 85% of IEP, which has holdings in energy, food packaging, real estate, and numerous other industries and was quick to call Hindenburg’s allegations “self-serving” in a statement in May, adding that he believed they were “intended solely to generate profits on Hindenburg’s short position.”

       But now, Icahn has been forced to lean on big banks including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and more to consolidate existing loans that Hindenburg had questioned. The new deal “amends certain covenants” to IEP’s loans, and will condense them to one three-year term option while changing the interest charges to a variable rate, according to an 8-K form filed Monday with the SEC. It also ensures that any collateral Icahn uses for personal loans are based on the net asset value rather than the market price of his IEP shares, the Wall Street Journal first reported. In May, Hindenburg alleged that IEP’s market value was inflated by 200% compared to its net asset value.
       …

       1. “…while changing the interest charges to a variable rate,”

          That seems pretty sketchy, given that rates just came off all-time lows and seem to be headed higher and higher against a backdrop of uncontained inflation.

28. ‘The sellers aren’t believing that it did come down 10% from a year ago and the buyers aren’t believing it’s stabilized, and you’re ending up with maybe a 20% gap between buyer and seller expectations,’ Cerreta said.”

    Stop with dissembling, lying realtor. Prices haven’t “stabilized” and have a lot further to fall. I’ve got all the time in the world to sit back & let true price discovery lay waste to the Fed’s asset bubbles & Ponzi markets.

29. “Homeowners are sitting on a negative equity timebomb after losing $108.4 billion on their property values this year, experts say – with households in Washington, California and Utah worst affected.

    Gosh, what happens if all those underwater FBs stop paying their mortgages & squat in place until lenders get around to evicting them?

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