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Buyers Who Purchased At The Height Of The Market Are Now Facing Inevitable Market Realities

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Home prices in many parts of the Treasure Valley have cooled down in recent months. The median sales price for June 2023 was $545,000 in Ada County, according to data from Intermountain MLS. That’s 8% lower than the median price in June 2022, when it was almost $595,000. In Canyon County, the median sales price for this June was $405,000, exactly $10,000 lower than the median for May of this year and $40,000 lower than the median for June 2022. Gem County’s June 2023 median home sales price of $433,258 represents a 7.2% decrease from June 2022.”

“The Phoenix metro’s housing market is crawling back from a ‘massive cooldown’ after mortgage rates shot up in 2022. In the Phoenix metro, the average value of a home climbed 1% from May to June, up to $448,032 — steep, but down 7.2% compared to last year.”

“Office-to-residential conversions have often been cited as one potential cure to the Bay Area’s housing woes. A recent viral video features a San Rafael office that’s been converted into a one-bedroom condo, priced at $520,000. It doesn’t look like it was much of a conversion — the owners seemingly just added a full kitchen along one wall. According to the listing, there are also HOA dues of $655 a month, which seems a little steep for very few building amenities. ‘I think living here might be just as soul-crushing, if not more soul-crushing, than working here,’ zillowtastrophes says in the video. The median home price for a condo in San Rafael was $556,000 in June 2023, according to Redfin, down 12% from 2022.”

“More than 100 people are jobless after CUSI Construction, a general contracting company in Colorado Springs, abruptly shut down and laid them off. On top of that, employees say the company still has not paid them for their final weeks of work. The abrupt layoff left employees, some hired within the past four weeks of the shutdown, now scrambling to sort out their livelihoods and get new jobs. ‘Other employees I’ve talked to had to reach out to their mortgage companies and make arrangements over the course of the next six months so that they don’t lose their homes… We had an employee that just had his first baby, and he has no job,’ said Malisa Smith, the former director of construction at CUSI.”

“When the Related Companies set out to build Hudson Yards, a roughly 28-acre mega-project on Manhattan’s far west side, its goal was lofty. Now, approximately 50% of the units were still unsold as of the last week of June, more than four years after sales launched. Ann Cutbill Lenane, a Douglas Elliman real-estate agent, signed a contract in 2017 to buy a $4.84 million condo for herself at 15 Hudson Yards. Now, with a need to downsize, she has accepted that she’s unlikely to find a buyer willing to match that price on a resale. She has the unit listed for $4.495 million and said she expects to sell for a loss, especially since Related is currently listing units at a discount, undercutting the price she paid. She said she feels embarrassed to be a real-estate agent losing money on a piece of property. Still, ‘I can’t beat myself up,’ she said. ‘You always take a risk when you step into a new product. That’s just the nature of the beast.'”

“Related’s Sherry Tobak, who heads sales for the two condominiums, said the developer had been forced to reassess its expectations at 35 Hudson Yards. ‘When we first opened the job, we thought we’d be able to get a higher price,’ she said. ‘The message [from the market] was that we were overreaching a little bit.’ Tobak said that buyers who purchased at the height of the market at 15 Hudson Yards are now facing inevitable market realities, but recommended that they try to wait out the current cycle. ‘If you hold on for a little while, you’re going to make money,’ she said.”

“Almost 3,200 Dallas-Fort Worth homes were posted for foreclosure in the first half of 2023 after borrowers defaulted on loans, according to research by Attom Data Solutions. That’s a 24% jump from the same period last year. Statewide, 13,869 home foreclosure filings occurred in the first half of this year — a 20% rise from 2022 levels. The Houston area had the largest number of houses threatened by foreclosure with 4,215 filings. There were 1,629 foreclosure notices in the San Antonio area and 628 homes in the Austin area scheduled for forced sales after borrowers defaulted on loans. ‘In June of this year, many major Texas counties have either reached or surpassed pre-pandemic levels in terms of posting counts and completed foreclosures,’ said Curtis Roddy with McKinney-based Foreclosure Listing Service. ‘Notably, Bexar, Williamson, Collin, and Denton counties have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, Dallas and Tarrant counties are within 10% of returning to pre-pandemic levels as well.'”

“D-FW ranked 12th nationally among major metro areas with the most homes facing foreclosure this year through June. New York, with 14,037 filings, and Chicago, with 10,963 filings, had the most homes on the foreclosure list.”

“A Windsor mortgage broker said she’s received plenty of calls from clients after the Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate to five per cent on Wednesday. ‘The major thing that I’m hearing … my phone is ringing off the hook that everybody is in panic and their monthly payments have increased by a certain amount since last year,’ said Rasha Ingratta, a mortgage broker in Windsor. In a housing forecast released by Royal LePage on Thursday, the price of a single-family home in Canada was down 11 per cent, while the price of the average home was down 12 per cent compared to this time last year.”


“Some of the most reduced properties for sale in Britain have been revealed and the list includes both grand chapel conversions and modest abodes. The asking prices on these properties for sale on Zoopla have been cut by between 44.8 per cent and 48.7 per cent. In one case, it translates into a reduction of £9.5million on a five-bedroom converted chapel in London’s affluent Chelsea. This home in the Derbyshire village of Stanley Common has two bedrooms and has seen its asking price cut by 46 per cent in recent months. It was first listed on January 6, 2023, for £249,950 and has had three price reductions since. This three-bedroom house in the Devon village of Whitchurch sits on a third of an acre and is being sold with a guide price of £220,000. It was originally listed for £410,000 at the start of the year. The asking price has slashed several times since the start of this year, with total reductions so far standing at 46.3 per cent. The agent is now turning to an auction to the property, which is taking place on July 18.”

“Home buyers in the Netherlands have more to choose from, but many seem to be dithering on buying a home. They’re waiting for prices to fall further, according to analysts at housing site Funda, the Volkskrant reports. After years of sellers having all the say in the Dutch housing market, lower home prices and a bigger offer now give buyers more options. Funda currently has over 113,000 homes listed for sale, compared to less than 75,000 eighteen months ago. And 39 percent of homes are currently selling at above asking price. Last year, overbidding was the norm, and 82 percent of homes sold for more than the seller asked for. And yet, many home seekers are waiting to buy. The majority of home seekers Funda surveyed expect home prices to fall further or remain about the same in the near future. More than half of first-time buyers told Funda they’re not buying now because they hope to pay less in a few months.”

“Property experts predict a hike of either 0.25% or 0.5%, which will take the prime lending rate to 12% or 12.25% respectively. Citing a response to a parliamentary question tables in April, Yael Geffen, chief executive of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reported that 32,831 individuals changed tax residence in the period between the 2017 and 2021 tax years – in other words, emigrated. ‘Godongwana was saying indirectly that South Africa is experiencing a massive economic exodus – an exodus of people who were heavily invested in the country’s property market…For those left behind, a higher repo rate means higher bond repayments and a crushing debt load on already overburdened South Africans. It’s a grim but realistic forecast of what’s ahead.'”

“Since reaching a peak last year, prices in Seoul—home to about one-fifth of the country’s population—have dropped 9% in the year through March, the biggest decrease among Asian cities in that period, according to a Knight Frank report. Some neighborhoods saw drops as big as 30%. The upshot: Landlords are collecting smaller deposits from new tenants, which is making it harder for some to pay back renters whose leases are expiring. What started as a trickle of defaults has swelled into something bigger. The number of court cases filed by tenants against landlords for unreturned deposits topped 19,200 in the first half of 2023, a 60% increase compared with all of 2022, according to data from the Supreme Court of Korea. In a report from May, the central bank estimated that more than half of the 2 million people who have paid jeonse are at risk of losing a portion of their money.”

“A court has spared an embattled building company from going into liquidation despite mounting debts, a ‘long line of creditors,’ and the landlord repossessing the office space. On Wednesday morning, Melbourne-based Como Homes Pty Ltd was called in the Victorian Supreme Court after disgruntled creditors initiated winding up proceedings against the business in January. However, for one customer who spoke to news.com.au, Jeremy*, said for him, it was more like a nightmare. ‘I’ve been sending emails, texts, no reply,’ he said. The dad-of-two engaged Como Homes to knock down and rebuild his family home in Melbourne last year. ‘Nothing happened until February. And then the house was demolished. And then that’s it, nothing has happened,’ he said.”

“Jeremy, 56, and his family moved out of the property in December and have been renting ever since. Now they have no idea when their build will begin, with their block sitting empty. ‘We’re spending around $2000 in month in rent, we could have saved that,’ he lamented. He spoke to a company representative on June 27 where he was informed he build would be starting in a couple of weeks. But growing concerned, Jeremy decided to visit the company’s offices, where he saw a notice that the landlord had evicted Como Homes. ‘Enough’s enough. I took a day in lieu and we (he and his wife) went to the office and in the office we found a sign saying they had been evicted. That was the heart crunching thing, we knew ‘okay, something is happening.'”

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This Post Has 82 Comments

  1. ‘The abrupt layoff left employees, some hired within the past four weeks of the shutdown, now scrambling to sort out their livelihoods and get new jobs. ‘Other employees I’ve talked to had to reach out to their mortgage companies and make arrangements over the course of the next six months so that they don’t lose their homes’

    Wa happened to my worker shortage Malisa? These guys are broke in one week after years of red hotness?

    1. ‘Other employees I’ve talked to had to reach out to their mortgage companies and make arrangements over the course of the next six months so that they don’t lose their homes’

      “It’s like deja-vu, all over again.”

      -Yogi Berra

      1. That’s struck me too. You get laid off and you can just call your mortgage company to make “arrangements?” That’s new to me. Americans (and others around the globe) have been losing their jobs and homes for hundreds of years. What do you think the 6 months of emergency expenses is supposed to be for?

        1. The bank would gladly take your keys if houses were still appreciating at 20% annually, but they know that their mortgagees are now using their credit cards just to put food on the table and fill their cars.

        2. make “arrangements?”

          Back in the day, certain arrangements could be made for a time. That was when the local bank held the loan. It was far better to make that call than not to.

    3. “…These guys are broke in one week after years of red hotness?…”

      You read these stories over and over: Boom times, brand new F-250’s, expensive girl friends, expensive mortgages and then ‘poof’.

      Do these guys ever think even 1 paycheck ahead?

      1. brand new F-250’s

        The fact that pickups are piling up on dealer lots is a canary in the coalmine monenbt.

          3. You were right the first time. used were more expensive than new, and for new, you had to wait.

      2. “Do these guys ever think even 1 paycheck ahead?”

        I worked with a foreman in his mid 50s who told me he needed to buy his “forever truck” first and *THEN* start saving for retirement.

        He neglected the 401k match at 4% that this company was paying us.

      3. Why all the grief about “expensive girlfriends?” $80K sexitrux, boats, souped up cars, sports betting, thousands of dollars in booze… seems to me that the men are just as expensive, if not more.

          1. But they don’t expect their girlfriends to pay for it.
            Regardless of one’s attitude or political stance on feminism, there isn’t one heterosexual guy in the world that believes that if he doesn’t open up his wallet that he’ll get the girl. Girls troll for guys that have money. Guys who are broke never end up with the girl.
            These are just laws of nature….

      4. “Do these guys ever think even 1 paycheck ahead?”

        Easy money rots your brain in ways television and cocaine can only dream of.

    4. What happened to all their equity in those houses? Why would they lose their homes when they could sell and reap the profits of being an owner?

  2. ‘She said she feels embarrassed to be a real-estate agent losing money on a piece of property. Still, ‘I can’t beat myself up’

    That’s right Ann, take yer a$$ pounding and move on. Those other airbox loanowners you sold to in the same tower – they’re just as fooked as you are!

  3. ‘growing concerned, Jeremy decided to visit the company’s offices, where he saw a notice that the landlord had evicted Como Homes. ‘Enough’s enough. I took a day in lieu and we (he and his wife) went to the office and in the office we found a sign saying they had been evicted. That was the heart crunching thing, we knew ‘okay, something is happening’

    Yeah, they tore down yer shack and left town with yer money Jeremy.

      1. That is one heck of a life lesson. The hindsight on that is going to sting a bit and probably for quite some time.

        So how did you go broke? “I signed up for a remodel.” lol

        1. Unless you have cash the first move in a remodel is to file lien paperwork against your property as it can be a lengthy process. If the contractor gets paid upon completion of the project the lien is withdrawn.

          3. In Florida a contractor can only file lien against a property if they are a subcontractor or supplier. No lien relief is available for a direct contractor to owner relationship.

          4. Interesting. Thanks!

            Early in my window cleaning career I subcontracted to clean a high rise building that was 9-floors above an elevated mezzanine. The janitorial firm decided to ghost me when I submitted the invoice, so I filed a labor lien against the property owners. Once the janitorial firm heard from the property owners I received my check. In addition, the janitorial firm lost their high dollar contract with the building. I learned plenty early on before tossing in the towel.

  4. ‘In June of this year, many major Texas counties have either reached or surpassed pre-pandemic levels in terms of posting counts and completed foreclosures…Notably, Bexar, Williamson, Collin, and Denton counties have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, Dallas and Tarrant counties are within 10% of returning to pre-pandemic levels as well’

    Not just here and there – entire counties. The crater we’ve seen in Texas means defaults, there’s no way around it. When the Dallas Morning News is quoting Roddy, it has hit the fan.

      1. Lots of speculators in Austin and Travis County. It was the locusts from California and other places. They set up AirBNB’s and were snapping up investments homes everywhere. What they didn’t realize is there are millions of acres of empty land all around Austin. A developer can easily buy up 1000 acres and slap up 4000-5000 houses and still be very profitable while undercutting FB’s.

    2. I saw a report on Las Vegas the other night, they have a special eviction court and it is VERY busy right now. Lots of people are being escorted to the street in 110 degree heat. At least they have large air conditioned public spaces downtown that are welcoming to travelers.

      1. What, you mean they can’t call the LL and make “arrangements?” Heh, they probably smoked the LL for rent during the pandemic and LLs are mad as hell and they’re not gonna take it anymore.

  5. Florida Becomes Nation’s Inflation Hot Spot, Housing a Major Contributor

    By Patricia Tolson
    July 12, 2023Updated: July 13, 2023

    But why is Florida faring so poorly compared to the rest of the country when it comes to inflation? The answer may be related to Florida’s ongoing population surge.

    Home Prices
    According to the BLS report, the index for shelter rose by nearly 7.8 percent, accounting for 70 percent of the overall CPI increase.

    As previously reported by The Epoch Times in December of 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau labeled Florida as the fastest-growing state in the nation with a population increase of 1.9 percent. Between 2021 and 2022, Florida’s population surged by 1.9 percent to 22,244,823.

    This migration phenomenon began during the COVID-19 pandemic when people began relocating to the Sunshine State to escape what they considered overly restrictive mandates being enforced for prolonged periods of time in other states. Since then, with the ever-increasing number of people relocating to Florida, the prices of available homes have continued to escalate. Metro areas like Sarasota, Naples, and Miami are now among the most unaffordable cities in the country.

    According to Bank Rate, shelter costs are a major contributing factor when it comes to inflation measurements, and with the continued influx of new residents vying for a limited number of homes, it’s understandable that Florida’s housing market would also see a rise in prices.

    Rent.com’s May 2023 Rent Report had median rents in Orlando at $2,153. In Tampa, the average rent runs around $2,255. Miami residents are slammed with an average rent payment of $3,066, well above the national median rent of $1,967.

    Home buyers in the Sunshine State are also seeing an escalation in median home prices.

    According to Florida Realtors, the average cost of a home in Florida in April was $410,000, which is notably higher than the nationwide median of $388,800. Assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5 percent interest, monthly interest and principal payments on such a home would come to $2,073, and that doesn’t include property taxes or homeowners insurance premiums.

    According to reports, homeowner’s insurance is also rising faster in the Sunshine State than in any other state in the country.

    Insurance Costs and Mortgage Rates
    In further pressures on Florida homeowners, The Epoch Times reported that, starting July 12, Farmers Insurance will no longer offer home or car insurance policies in the Sunshine State. The decision applies only to Farmers-branded policies and will affect less than 30 percent of policies in Florida.

    In a statement, Farmers Insurance cited Florida’s seasonal hurricanes and tropical storms as the motivation behind its decision to pull out of the state.

    “We have advised the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) of our decision to discontinue offering Farmers®-branded auto, home, and umbrella policies in the state,” the statement advised, adding that “this business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure.”

    “Affected customers will receive notifications detailing when their coverage will end and will be advised of options for replacement coverage,” the statement said.

    Exactly one year ago, Southern Fidelity canceled its policies in Florida.

    Then, there’s the soaring cost of mortgage rates.

    As reported on July 8 by The Epoch Times, U.S. home mortgage rates soared towards 7 percent, pushing the cost of home ownership even further from the reach of many. Data published by Mortgage News Daily showed that the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 7.22 percent on July 6, the highest point since November of 2022.

    With the surge in demand for housing and a chronic lack of inventory, real estate experts predict that housing prices will continue to rise.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/florida-becomes-nations-inflation-hot-spot-housing-a-major-contributor_5393071.html

  6. The price of GAS has quietly gone up 20-30% in just the past month.

    The economy of the present Occupant regime is nothing but misery and deprivation, and it’s all being done intentionally.

      1. It’s about $3.70 a gallon in my little burg, was $3.20 not too long ago. IIRC, they are giving the Suncorp refinery in Dumver some cr@p about polluting, so production might be curtailed. Colorado gas tax is 22 cents a gallon, and TABOR keeps it there. The scumbags are using regulation to jack up prices.

        That said, gas taxes have always shot up here in the summer. They go up fast, but are sticky coming down in the fall.

  7. Is your FOMO telling you that it’s time to dive into stocks now?

    People with unaffordable mortgage payments don’t have this option.

    1. Barron’s
      $1 Every Week
      Unstoppable. Here’s When the Naysayers Will Give In.
      By Jacob Sonenshine
      July 13, 2023 5:16 pm ET

      The stock market’s rally seems to have defied gravity, leaving bears waiting for something to cause a drop. At some point, they’ll have to give in and buy stocks.
      …

        1. Cramer and Kudlow were singing the same song about housing in 2005 within a few weeks of the top (as measured by the DJUSHB).

          2. I remember CNBS spewing about the “goldilocks” economy in 2007-2008 as stocks ignored the housing and banking crash until the market fell off a cliff in late summer 2008.

    2. Business Insider
      ‘I don’t see why people are going to sell their stocks.’ ‘Big Short’ investor Steve Eisman says stocks will keep rallying as long as the economy stays healthy
      Zahra Tayeb
      July 14, 2023, 10:46 am
      Steve Eisman
      “Big Short” investor Steve Eisman.
      CNBC
      He said the 2023 stock rally will continue as long as the US economy stays as strong as it is.

      “The Fed keeps raising rates; it hasn’t had an impact. Until it has an impact, we’ll keep chugging along,” he said.

      “Big Short” investor Steve Eisman said the sizzling stock market rally of 2023 can run on as long as the US economy stays strong.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-stock-rally-economy-strong-steve-eisman-fed-inflation-2023-7

    3. Premium Home
      Markets
      A top Wall Street strategist says the stock-market rally is due for a reversal as a bubble forms — and warns investors not to equate surging prices with a healthy underlying economy
      William Edwards
      Jul 15, 2023, 2:00 AM PDT
      Multiple expansion has caused a bubble to form, despite what investors might think.
      Reuters / Brendan McDermid
      Investors continue to celebrate signs of a soft landing for the US economy.

      Job gains remain strong, with the US adding more than 200,000 jobs in June. Inflation has come down substantially, hitting 3% year-over-year in June, in the ballpark of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. And the S&P 500 has risen 2.7% this week…

      https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-bubble-sp500-recession-outlook-inflation-valuations-kantrowitz-2023-7

  8. “Office-to-residential conversions have often been cited as one potential cure to the Bay Area’s housing woes. A recent viral video features a San Rafael office that’s been converted into a one-bedroom condo, priced at $520,000. It doesn’t look like it was much of a conversion — the owners seemingly just added a full kitchen along one wall. According to the listing, there are also HOA dues of $655 a month, which seems a little steep for very few building amenities. ‘I think living here might be just as soul-crushing, if not more soul-crushing, than working here,’ zillowtastrophes says in the video.”

    – office to resi. conversions. The last gasp of a desperate and cratering CRE market that no one’s acknowledging yet.

    – ‘I think living here might be just as soul-crushing, if not more soul-crushing, than working here,’…

    – A lot going on here, but who wants to go back to any Democratic Socialist sh*t-hole city? To work, let alone live there? Needles and feces and crime, oh my!

    – “Socialism is Western Civilization in retrograde.” – I said that.

    1. “…HOA dues of $655 a month, which seems a little steep..”

      $655?, ‘a little steep’?. [insert your favorite joke here]

      For that kind of money, what exactly does the HOA do besides (maybe) occasionally clear poop off the sidewalks and pick up used needles?

  9. Do you willingly hand over more than $2,000 a year in credit card interest to Megabank, Inc?

    1. TheHill.com
      State Watch
      Americans are hiding their credit card debt
      by Daniel de Visé – 06/27/23 9:00 AM ET

      One-third of Americans with credit card debt say no one else knows how much they owe, according to a new report.

      The nation’s credit card balance hovers around $1 trillion, and interest rates routinely top 20 percent. A typical American household now carries around $10,000 in card debt, by one recent WalletHub estimate. A rising share of cardholders carry a balance from one month to the next.

      And many consumers, it seems, would rather not share those facts.

      Two in 5 Americans think credit card debt is embarrassing, according to a new consumer credit card report from NerdWallet, the personal finance site.

      Credit card debt carries a growing stigma, polls suggest. An earlier NerdWallet survey found that one-third of married Americans with card debt haven’t told their spouse what they owe. In the new report, two-fifths of respondents said it would be all right to have a credit card a partner doesn’t know about.

      As interest rates fell to historic lows in recent years, homeowners refinanced mortgages with interest rates of 3 percent or 4 percent, a transaction that conferred bragging rights.

      By contrast, a consumer who takes on a new credit card in 2023 faces an average interest rate of 24 percent, according to LendingTree: nothing to brag about.

      “There can be shame tied to that,” said Melissa Lambarena, a credit card expert at NerdWallet.
      …
      https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4068846-americans-are-hiding-their-credit-card-debt/

      1. “And many consumers, it seems, would rather not share those facts.”

        The average guy might discuss this with his buddies, but not if their wives are within earshot.

      2. I brag about credit card churning with people. Big Banks sponsor me when I do things like renew auto insurance.

    2. “Do you willingly hand over more than $2,000 a year in credit card interest to Megabank, Inc?”

      – The rich rule over the poor,
      and the borrower is slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7

      – Debt is slavery.

      “Money is the new form of slavery, and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is impersonal – that there is no human relation between master and slave.” – Leo Tolstoy

      “…debt is the money of slaves.” – Norm Franz

  10. Denver Mayor-elect Johnston won’t be sworn into office until Monday, but he’s already a failed mayor.

    There’s no escaping the Doom Loop. In the 2020 election 79.55% of Denver voters voted for the Occupant, and those are actual votes, not harvested ballots.

    The homeless population in Denver will double, if not triple by the end of his first term. Number one in the country for auto theft. Zero consequences for public consumption of fentanyl and meth.

    Denver voted for all of this.

    1. I see lots of Colorado plates in North Texas. They’re #2 behind California. Illinois and Florida are fighting for #3

  12. Police called on property owners after HOA increases monthly fees to $350
    CBS Miami
    Jul 13, 2023
    A homeowners association meeting at the Mandarin Lakes neighborhood in Naranja Lakes went off the rails. The Tuesday night meeting was cut short after residents say the cops were called by the HOA.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2Mj-Jh2ho

    2:26.

    1. My sister lives in N. Myrtle Beach. Bought her condo about 2.5 years ago. HOA at the time was $640. Since then it has been raised to $750, then to $860, and now they say they are raising it to $1800. Absurd. They are blaming it on insurance. So many condos in that complex for sale now before the increase goes into effect. Gonna’ be a tough resell when housing bottoms out because HOA fees never seem to go backwards, regardless of property values.

      1. It is insurance, and in Florida new laws about to kick in on condo maintenance/reserves. My understanding is all these coastal sh$thole condos are seeing yuuge insurance jumps. But they won’t be shoveling snow!

        1. Everyone wants a piece of the inflation pie. Insurance companies may have some justification to raise premiums, but it seems like none of the other business segments want to be left behind, just wanting a piece of all the fed bucks floating around.
          I have no idea whether paying for daycare, tuition, car service, utilities went up, but it these went up it will be sticky coming down.

  13. In the Pensacola, FL area, I’m seeing many properties purchased in 2020 or later now coming back on the market at much inflated prices. Many were purchased by flippers. Many others were purchased by FOMO buyers with a 3% interest rate. Local sellers are now scrambling to lure a shrinking pool of greater fools to pay 425K at 7% for a shack they purchased just 3 years ago for 300K at 3%. Also, there are hundreds, probably thousands, of new builds in the works. Everything from new neighborhoods with just the streets and sewer all the way to completed spec homes that have been sitting on the market for 6+ months, despite multiple “price improvements”. Like many of you, I closely watched all this play out leading up to 2008 and the aftermath. This time is different though. I think it will be worse. Seller capitulation hasn’t happened yet, but the clock is running out for selling in the summer. All these expensive homes for sale in area where the median household income is about 60K.

    1. The insurance meltdown isn’t going to help move all those houses. The thought of paying $1000 per month, or more, for insurance sends shivers up my spine.

      1. Property taxes of $12K/yr is getting to be the norm for DFW, Houston, and Austin. When I bought my house in 2008, property taxes were $3200/yr. When I sold in 2022, it was close to $8000/yr.

        1. The only no income tax state without onerous property taxes that I know of is Wyoming

  14. Biden forgives $39 billion in US student debt using program tweak

    Reuters
    July 14, 2023
    2:01 PM

    WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will cancel $39 billion in student debt for more than 804,000 borrowers, the Education Department said on Friday, describing the relief as the result of a “fix” to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.

    Borrowers will be eligible for forgiveness if they have made either 20 or 25 years of monthly IDR payments, the department said. The IDR program caps payment requirements for lower-income borrowers and forgives their remaining balance after a set number of years.

    The Education Department has launched a regulatory “rulemaking” process to pursue his $430 billion loan relief plan. That process is expected to take months.

    Friday’s relatively smaller relief falls under a separate, payment count adjustment program that the Biden administration announced in April last year, the department said.

    In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration “will continue to fight to make sure Americans can access high-quality postsecondary education without taking on the burden of unmanageable student loan debt.”

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-forgives-39-bln-student-debt-cnbc-2023-07-14/

    1. Right Kameltoes. That’s why “your people” are where they are today. Fighting for their “rights” has worked out great, hasn’t it.

    2. The Education Department has launched a regulatory “rulemaking” process to pursue his $430 billion loan relief plan.

      The Supreme Court is going to toss this one even quicker than they did the last one. Constitution is clear as a bell: money bills have to go through Congress. In the last forgiveness, Biden tried to argue that they had already gone through Congress via the Heroes Act. SCOTUS said, no dice. This time, they aren’t bothering with Congress at all. Not gonna work.

      1. if they have made either 20 or 25 years of monthly IDR payments

        Not going to mean anything to the 20 or 30 somethings they were targeting for vote buying.

    3. There are many public service sector jobs where the increase in pay has not kept up with the cost of living not to mention the education expenses.

  15. Canada’s Real Estate Market SLOWS in June: CREA ‘Slashes’ Outlook
    Mark Mitchell – Mortgage Broker London Ontario
    Jul 14, 2023 CANADA

    Canada’s real estate market showed signs of slowing in June, with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) slashing its outlook for the remainder of 2023. With the Bank of Canada raising interest rates, and Prime sitting at 7.2%, the CREA said that we’re likely to see a major slowdown for the remainder of 2023.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQYAK3kNdy8

    7:22. He roasts the CREA.

  16. ECONOMY
    Many Gen-Xers facing retirement ‘nightmare’ due to lack of savings: report
    BY NICK ROBERTSON – 07/14/23 9:07 PM ET
    Gen X retirement savings
    (Stock Image via Getty)

    Members of Generation X don’t have much stored in savings, according to a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS).

    The report found that the “forgotten generation” faces a “dismal” retirement future. The typical Gen X household — with those born between 1965 and 1980 — has around $40,000 saved for retirement, while the bottom half of savers only have a few thousands banked.
    …
    https://thehill.com/business/economy/4098757-many-gen-xers-facing-retirement-nightmare-due-to-lack-of-savings-report/

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