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Everyone Is Worried And Nobody Will Be Able To Sell, Those That Have Tried Have Gotten Absolutely Nowhere

A report from the Naples Daily News in Florida. “As anticipated, Metro Home Builders of Naples has filed for bankruptcy. Owner Alberto Hernandez plans to sell off the company’s assets to pay off its debts. Effectively, he’s already gone out of business, with the builder’s offices closed, model home sold and construction halted. The company listed operating losses for the past three years, but did not specify the amounts. Customers have been left in limbo, with unfinished homes and unfulfilled warranty work. Some have taken to social media to complain and ask for help. The filing shows nearly 60 homes, at various stages of construction, have not been completed. In a complaint filed with the Attorney General’s Office, Boris Deriy said Metro Builders took more than 75% of the money for his and his wife’s new house, then disappeared, leaving it not even half built.”

“‘At the end of May, we noticed that the work had stopped. Since then, the construction site has been abandoned and is currently deteriorating. Rains washed away the sand from under the concrete base, which threatens to ruin the base and the whole house,’ he said. He estimated he and his wife’s losses at more than $100,000. They signed a construction contract in December 2021 for nearly $551,000, including $92,000 in upgrades.”

Axios on Tennessee. “Condos remain a hot spot in Nashville’s cooling housing market, with prices increasing and sales remaining resilient while other sectors see dips. In May, the typical metro-area condo sold for $372,150, up 5.5% compared to last year. On the other hand, the cost of a typical single-family home fell nearly 9% since last year, down to $422,516. Overall sales in the Nashville area last month were down 13% year-over-year, driven by declines in single-family homes, according to Greater Nashville Realtors. Sales were down 28% compared to July 2019.”

Mansion Global on Texas. “A newly built mansion on the outskirts of Dallas with its own bowling alley is headed under the hammer at the end of August. The home in Rockwall, a roughly 30-minute drive northeast from downtown Dallas, will be auctioned online on Aug. 28 with Interluxe Auctions in cooperation with Cynthia Lopez of Ebby Halliday. The starting bid will be $1.5 million, a fraction off the almost $5 million the owners were once asking.”

The Times of San Diego. “As with so many issues, solving California’s housing affordability crisis has become polarized. The ‘build, build, build’ folks are on one side, and the housing justice movement is on the other. The build crowd believes constructing any kind of housing will solve the problem, while justice advocates believe the focus has to be on affordable housing. This is all to say that California does not have a housing problem but an affordable housing problem. In fact, at the upper end of pricing, we are building into a glut. As you drive by new high-end buildings, you’ll notice how few lights are on inside, and yet everywhere we look, people are living on the streets.”

The New York Post on California. “Tourists curious about San Francisco’s ‘urban decay’ of abandoned shops, open-air drug use and homeless encampments can now get a guided tour of the whole thing. A street-savvy guide fed up with the lack of action by the local government says they will take people on the so called ‘Doom Loop Walking Tour’ to see the worst of the city for themselves. A tongue-in-cheek ad for the tour claims: ‘You’ve read the headlines. You’ve seen the Tweets, now get close and personal to the Doom and Squalor of downtown San Francisco. How can a city with a $14.6 billion annual budget be a model of urban decay? How can it spend $776.8 million per year on police and have no rule of law to show for it? Discover the policy choices that made America’s wealthiest city the nation’s innovative leader of housing crisis, addiction crisis, mental-health crisis and unrepentant crime crisis.'”

“Community activists scoffed at the idea. ‘Why would someone pay $30 to see something they could get for free?’ questioned longtime Tenderloin resident JJ Smith, who helps the area’s drug users and homeless.”

The Real Deal on New York. “UBS Realty Properties sold two residential towers in Clinton Hill for $40 million in separate transactions that represent a substantial markdown from the $55 million it paid for them in 2020. Located at 100 Steuben and 531 Myrtle, the neighboring towers, dubbed ‘Myrtle & Steuben,’ combine for 72 residential units, one commercial unit, 13 floors and 66,000 square feet. The complex is a block from Pratt Institute.”

The Globe and Mail. “Romspen Investment Corp., one of Canada’s largest private mortgage lenders, is cutting its monthly payout for the fourth time in little more than a year, citing weak loan repayments and a real estate market that hasn’t faced this much trauma since the 1990s. On Tuesday, Romspen informed investors in its flagship Mortgage Investment Fund that their monthly distribution was cut to two cents a unit, down two-thirds from July, 2022. As a private mortgage lender, Romspen raises cash from individual investors, then lends the money out to real estate companies, often in the form of short-term construction loans. The company has $2.7-billion in assets under management and has delivered an average annual yield of 7.3 per cent in its Mortgage Investment Fund over the past 10 years.”

“With troubles mounting, Romspen froze redemptions from its fund in November, an act known as ‘gating’ in the investment industry, to conserve cash. But it wasn’t enough, and multiple distribution cuts have also been necessary. The fund now yields 2.5 per cent annually, roughly half of what investors can earn from ultrasafe guaranteed investment certificates. In a normal market, Romspen would sell the properties to recoup the cash it is owed, but commercial real estate transactions have slowed considerably. Even when buyers emerge, banks are much less likely to extend the financing to complete the purchase. ‘We have already seen two anticipated unconditional sale transactions fall through this year, each with seven figure deposits forfeited,’ Romspen explained.”

“In an interview, Romspen managing partner Derek Jenkins could not put a timeline on plans to lift the redemption freeze. Mr. Jenkins also said that Romspen appreciates the situation is frustrating for investors, but it is a better scenario than liquidating the fund to be able to pay out redemption requests, because the properties would have to be sold at cut-rate prices in the current environment. As of June 30, redemption requests totalled $352-million. Romspen isn’t the only real estate fund with elevated redemptions. Toronto-based Hazelview Investments, a private money manager, recently told investors it experienced a surge in requests to cash out of its $1.2-billion Four Quadrant fund.”

The Telegraph in the UK. “In February last year, Michael Gove committed to new laws to ‘protect leaseholders from exorbitant costs’ needed to fix the fire-risk cladding scandal. But a year and a half later, some flat owners feel far from protected. Those who live in flats cursed with dangerous cladding may have been spared the colossal repair bills, but they are now facing insurance premiums that could set them back thousands of pounds. Wayne Newall, 54, who is a flat owner in Barrier Point – a block of flats on the Thames in London, bought his property back in 2010 as an investment for retirement. Now, it’s turned into a liability he is keen to offload as soon as possible.”

“Siobhan Pearce, 36, bought a flat in Barrier Point five years ago with her partner. Just three years into her time there, an external wall assessment was done on the building which pushed up the insurance premium by 100pc – from £590 to £1,164. This means since she moved in, Ms Pearce’s insurance premium has gone up by 550pc, from £590 to £6,592. She said: ‘We’re also hearing of other buildings where the premiums haven’t come down even after they’ve had work done. Everyone is worried this cost will carry on and nobody will be able to sell. Those that have tried have gotten absolutely nowhere.'”

“Another resident Tony Thekkekkara, a 52-year-old NHS doctor, has decided to move out of his apartment and let it to renters to cover the impending insurance costs – meanwhile, he will live somewhere cheaper. He said: ‘I’ve been forced to move out of my own home of 22 years through no fault of my own. Not a day goes by that I do not think of the consequences of this extortionate insurance cost. My stress levels have hit the roof. If nothing is done, this will turn into an unaffordable, year-on-year increasing cost for me.’ Mr Thekkekkara was looking forward to an early retirement at 55, but he no longer thinks this will be feasible.”

News.com.au in Australia. “An exclusive $16.5m Point Piper apartment is returning to market after the buyer — whose son has failed to settle on $80m worth of property in Sydney’s east — pulled out of the sale. The would-be purchaser of the 240sq m whole-floor now-complete level-five residence was Yeijin Wang, the father of the Australia-China trade specialist Christian Wang. It’s understood Yeijin Wang put down his deposit last March on the three-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment with double parking in the luxury Wolseley Rd block, but the rest of the money wasn’t forthcoming when the other buyers paid up in June. The usual deposit is 10per cent, meaning Wang could lose up to $1.65m. And should the apartment sell for less than $16.5m, he could also potentially be up for the shortfall.”

The New Zealand Herald. “The election is not firing any recovery in our depressed house sales market despite hopes the October 14 event, prices dropping and people wanting to get in quick might ramp up activity. Jen Baird, REINZ chief executive, said she considered low prices and the election might have spurred people to buy or sell. But that isn’t happening. More competitive prices and a ‘get in now’ attitude ‘could bring more buyers out ahead of this year’s election,’ she speculated. But they stayed away in droves lately. Taking a step back, prices are now well below where they were in July last year. The national median price has dropped 4.9 per cent annually from $810,000 to $770,000. For New Zealand excluding Auckland, median prices decreased 5.4 per cent from $719,000 to $680,000 annually.”

From Bloomberg. “A group of investors protested at the Beijing office of Zhongrong International Trust Co. after the Chinese shadow banking giant missed payments on dozens of products. Videos of the incident appear to show around two dozen protesters at Zhongrong, at least one representative of the company, and around 10 police and security officers. It’s the latest sign of turmoil at the trust company, whose liquidity crisis has fueled alarm within financial markets and among Chinese regulators.”

“In one of the clips seen by Bloomberg News, a woman angrily asks about a product she owned that matured on July 28. ‘Why doesn’t the company pay us back?’ she says. ‘It has already matured. Your financial statements said there is a profit.’ Another woman shouts: ‘Give us the money back, or we will die here.’ A third says: ‘Why you don’t give us a clear explanation?'”

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This Post Has 126 Comments

  1. ‘Boris Deriy said Metro Builders took more than 75% of the money for his and his wife’s new house, then disappeared, leaving it not even half built’

    ‘At the end of May, we noticed that the work had stopped. Since then, the construction site has been abandoned and is currently deteriorating. Rains washed away the sand from under the concrete base, which threatens to ruin the base and the whole house,’ he said. He estimated he and his wife’s losses at more than $100,000. They signed a construction contract in December 2021 for nearly $551,000, including $92,000 in upgrades’

    That upgrade thing has got to sting now Boris.

    1. You know Alberto, the missus and I have been thinking about upgrading our new shack.

      Today’s yer lucky day Boris, I just happen to have a flooring deal worth $150,000 I can let you have for 92k.

      Deal! Where do I sign?

  2. Follow up to a discussion on a previous thread.

    The Hill — Progressive calls for climate emergency swell after Biden says he ‘practically’ declared one (8/16/2023):

    “After the president was asked during a recent Weather Channel interview if he was prepared to declare a climate emergency, however, he at first said he already had. When pressed, he said he had done so “in practice” and practically speaking.

    Progressive lawmakers and advocates alike have seized on that comment in a renewed push for a declaration.

    “Well then just do it already,” tweeted Justice Democrats, a group that tries to elect progressives.

    In a tweet about the devastating Maui wildfires, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) also called for a declaration.

    “We must declare a climate emergency and advance the urgent policies necessary to confront the climate crisis and save lives,” she tweeted.

    In remarks to reporters Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre touted the president’s accomplishments on climate change and said he has “called” climate change an emergency “since day one.”

    “This is a president has — who has taken the climate crisis very seriously,” Jean-Pierre said, according to a transcript.

    “He has called it an emergency since day one, saying that it is climate — climate change is one of the four crisis that he — crises that we had to deal with coming in,” she said.

    “Climate is a top issue for young people and progressives. Those are the people they need to turn out … but also and perhaps more importantly, those are the people who go actually knock on doors and make phone calls and text their friends and donate money,” said Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media.

    In terms of policy, declaring an emergency on climate change would deliver in two different ways: unlocking new powers Biden could use to address the issue and offering a symbolic recognition of the threats posed by global warming.

    “Obviously, the powers it unlocks are incredibly useful … but I also wouldn’t downplay the symbolic nature of it,” Henn said. “Tackling the climate emergency is a quick and easy way for the administration to begin to develop a political and rhetorical framework that inspires the nation to take bolder action.”

    https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4154387-progressive-calls-for-climate-emergency-swell-after-biden-says-he-practically-declared-one/

    Your standard of living will drop to the level of the 19th century. Nothing will change for the rich. Nothing.

    Your freedom, your mobility, your rights as a citizen, destroyed.

    The sovereignty of the United States, erased. Total subjugation and enslavement under unelected global communism.

    2. Related article.

      CNBC — Climate chief warns world leaders over fossil fuel plans (8/16/2023):

      “The head of the world’s climate science authority says policymakers are at risk of overlooking a multitrillion-dollar time bomb by pushing ahead with fossil fuel production plans, warning that the cost of inaction is growing “every week, every month and every year.”

      Speaking shortly after being elected as the new chair of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jim Skea said that a spate of global heat records underscored the pressing need to slash greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.

      “Frankly, we are in a dire state,” Skea told CNBC via videoconference. “We’ve been making projections about the kind of impacts that will occur from climate change and it was always a kind of future-orientated approach.”

      “But it is happening on our TV screens. You can look out the window, you have to make choices about what to wear or whether to go out at all at the moment. So, we’re facing real challenges,” he said.

      https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/16/climate-chief-world-leaders-at-risk-of-ignoring-fossil-fuel-time-bomb.html

      Whether to go out at all.

      Think about that last sentence right there, because if these unelected globalists get their way, that decision will be made for you.

      Locked inside your 15 minute city, or shoved in a boxcar like cattle and hauled off to the climate re-education camp (and forcibly injected with mRNA poison). That’s where all of this is going…

      2. At this point, the majority of NPC’s are still eating the slop they’re being fed and may never stop.

      3. I think the main question to be asked is, ” what are we going to do with 4/5 pf the global population?”. Also, who is willing to go first? Maybe Jim?
        This is about mass extermination.

    3. Nothing is going to happen, at least not my time soon. They just run their mouth. He didn’t pay college loans off either of anything else he’s promised. Just like the wall is not built and paid for by mexico.

      By the way we are nearing a record of oil production, 12.8 barrels per day. The most ever….more than any country in the planet. You won’t here on the news. You have to look it up.

      Plus, I’ve got a van,SUV a sports car and 9 motorcycles and a camper….they have to keep pumping. Lol

    4. Cut off petroleum and civilization will collapse in a few days. Everyone in the blue hives will be dead within weeks. If that’s what they want, we can’t stop them.

  3. ‘she considered low prices and the election might have spurred people to buy or sell. But that isn’t happening. More competitive prices and a ‘get in now’ attitude ‘could bring more buyers out ahead of this year’s election,’ she speculated. But they stayed away in droves lately. Taking a step back, prices are now well below where they were in July last year. The national median price has dropped 4.9 per cent annually from $810,000 to $770,000. For New Zealand excluding Auckland, median prices decreased 5.4 per cent from $719,000 to $680,000 annually’

    This little sh$thole island peaked first so the YOY numbers don’t look so bad but they’re down 20% or more from 2021.

    1. This little sh$thole island

      An agricultural society that has to import just about anything that is manufactured. And now the WEF will force them to reduce their agricultural output.

      1. the WEF will force them to reduce their agricultural output.

        WEF can’t “force” anything. It will only happen if the people consent to the madness.

  4. ‘We have already seen two anticipated unconditional sale transactions fall through this year, each with seven figure deposits forfeited’

    Just like that. Yer giving it away.

  5. ‘a woman angrily asks about a product she owned that matured on July 28. ‘Why doesn’t the company pay us back?’ she says. ‘It has already matured. Your financial statements said there is a profit.’ Another woman shouts: ‘Give us the money back, or we will die here.’ A third says: ‘Why you don’t give us a clear explanation?’

    You can’t handle the truth third angry woman. Have you tried stamping yer little feet?

    1. You’re paying for “Group saftey”, also a running commentary from the guide, as to what’s what ……

    2. How can a city with a $14.6 billion annual budget be a model of urban decay?

      Let’s just say they made an artform out of grift.

      1. S.F. pays $61,000 a year for one tent in a site to shelter the homeless. Why?

        San Francisco is paying $16.1 million to shelter homeless people in 262 tents placed in empty lots around the city where they also get services and food — a steep price tag that amounts to more than $61,000 per tent per year.

        The city has created six tent sites, called “safe sleeping villages,” since the beginning of the pandemic to get vulnerable people off crowded sidewalks and into places where they have access to bathrooms, three meals and around-the-clock security. The annual cost of one spot in one site is 2½ times the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

        https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/S-F-pays-61-000-a-year-for-one-tent-to-house-16001074.php

        1. The city has created six tent sites, called “safe sleeping villages,” since the beginning of the pandemic to get vulnerable people off crowded sidewalks and into places where they have access to bathrooms, three meals and around-the-clock security.

          That’s called a FREE VACATION! Not even youth hostels provide those kinds of amenities! And they wonder why so many people keep coming to San Francisco….

      2. Have you seen the Federal Building there? WTF is it? It’s like a N. Korean art form! This is from yesterdays discussion about employees doing WFH due to drug use. What percentage of the employees of this building do you think are on something? It’s a short video, pause at 1:38 to gaze upon this gem.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TnxrmgTBa0

  7. ‘Mr. Jenkins also said that Romspen appreciates the situation is frustrating for investors, but it is a better scenario than liquidating the fund to be able to pay out redemption requests, because the properties would have to be sold at cut-rate prices in the current environment’

    Good man Derek, hold yer ground, don’t screw up the comps!

  8. Customers have been left in limbo, with unfinished homes and unfulfilled warranty work. Some have taken to social media to complain and ask for help.

    We at the HBB send our thoughts and prayers.

  9. ‘UBS Realty Properties sold two residential towers in Clinton Hill for $40 million in separate transactions that represent a substantial markdown from the $55 million it paid for them in 2020’

    It’s a good thing you’ve got a 5% cap rate!

  10. The starting bid will be $1.5 million, a fraction off the almost $5 million the owners were once asking.”

    A fraction, you say?

    1. “The starting bid will be $1.5 million, a fraction off the almost $5 million the owners were once asking.”

      Lol

      A fraction implies a “little bit” or a “small amount” — a slight shave if you will. 70% is more like a buzz cut.

  11. (Yicai) Aug. 16 — Sino-Ocean Group has become the latest Chinese developer to default on bond interest payments, after Country Garden did so last week, and is anticipating running up losses of as much as CNY20 billion (USD2.7 billion) in the first half as a lackluster real estate market hammers sales.

    Sino-Ocean was unable to pay the USD20.94 million (CNY150 million) in interest that was due on a USD700 million bond on Aug. 13, the Shanghai-based firm said on Aug. 14. Trading of the bond, which has a 6 percent coupon rate and matures in 2024, has now been suspended on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

    Sino-Ocean is requesting a waiver from holders of the bond and has received enough votes in support, it said. The company has also asked to push back the deadline on a USD2 billion bond until Sept. 1, but this was not accepted.

    https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/sino-ocean-defaults-on-bond-interest-payment-braces-for-up-to-usd27-billion-in-first-half-losses

  12. Mr. Jenkins also said that Romspen appreciates the situation is frustrating for investors, but it is a better scenario than liquidating the fund to be able to pay out redemption requests, because the properties would have to be sold at cut-rate prices in the current environment.

    News flash, Romspen: those “cut-rate prices” are as good as it gets, with Canada’s Doom Loop accelerating and a million more globalist imports arriving over the next year.

  13. Another two building companies have collapsed in WA amid a huge crisis in the Aussie construction industry, leaving at least a dozen homes unfinished.

    Perth-based boutique home builder Royal Construction and Design went into liquidation on Tuesday, August 8, according to a notice published by ASIC.

    Just a few days later fellow Perth-based residential builder Western Luxury Homes also collapsed.

    Do you have a similar story? Get in touch — chloe.whelan@news.com.au

    Western Luxury Homes went into liquidation on Friday, with Travis Kukura and Jerome Hall Mohen of RSM Australia Pty Ltd appointed as liquidators.

    The Alexander Heights builder, run by director Hetem Hajdari, was set up in April 2020 and rode the wave of the pandemic tradie boom, before becoming the latest construction company to falter amid huge pressure on the industry.

    A dozen clients have been left with their homes incomplete. It is understood the 12 clients signed up with Western Luxury Homes in mid-2020.

    The builder’s Facebook page, where it describes itself as a “leader in providing value-added construction services”, has been inactive for some time. Most of its posts have been made private and its website has been pulled down.

    Western Luxury Homes had a partnership with fellow Perth builder Flexible Homes, which also went bust in June this year.

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/two-more-australian-home-builders-collapse-in-wa/news-story/6766a249dbe4a59348073ff4198ed74d

  14. Wayne Newall, 54, who is a flat owner in Barrier Point – a block of flats on the Thames in London, bought his property back in 2010 as an investment for retirement. Now, it’s turned into a liability he is keen to offload as soon as possible.”

    Die, speculator scum.

    1. “…a block of flats on the Thames in London…”

      Anything on or near the water is going to be high maintenance.

  15. Building pressures, serving refugees and undocumented immigrants have led to disagreements and fights as a shortage of resources puts people in conflict.

    “It’s not because you’re packed at like a football game and you’re out being rowdy. It’s just people are hungry. They’re needing,” said Jose Gomez, program manager at the Village Exchange Center in Aurora.

    Recently at a food pantry event at the Mexican consulate run by the organization, trouble broke out among people who are scrambling to get resources to survive. There was fighting, and a doctor was shoved.

    The Village Exchange Center is a community-focused organization serving diverse populations. In recent months the number of refugees and other immigrants who have showed up looking for services has multiplied. Among the approximately 15,000 refugees who have arrived in Denver since late last year, about 23% have stayed or returned to the metro area after attempting to go somewhere else. Now, there is a rise in demand primarily attributed to an influx of new migrant arrivals that are moving from Denver to Aurora, particularly from Afghanistan and South America.

    On Tuesday, they were lining up at the center at 16th and Havana as workers gave people COVID-19 shots under a state program that supplies them with $100 gift cards for getting the vaccines.

    Many have no source of income at all. Some are housed in hotels and temporary housing. Some have managed to get apartments with help. Still others are unhoused.

    “So you have a lot of people coming that are here with four to six children, and you can tell they haven’t slept. Some of them haven’t showered in days. And they’re here for hours sitting in the sun, just for the hundred dollars.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/pressures-among-migrant-arrivals-leads-to-fights-at-aurora-nonprofit-more-support-sought-from-metro-area-cities/ar-AA1fkqob

    1. “workers gave people COVID-19 shots under a state program that supplies them with $100 gift cards for getting the vaccines”

      LOLZ

      1. Covid Shot.
        A friend from my youth contacted me and revealed that directly following their 5 th shot, he suffered major vaccine injury of being bedridden for months.
        The medical system is gaslighting this person ,basically saying it couldn’t be the vaccine. My friend said that some improvement has occurred, but still a lot of disfunction .
        It wouldn’t serve any purpose for me to blast this person with how dumb they were to take expierment vaccines. I did say that I thought it was vaccine injury, and medical system is lying to you.
        My friend was a extremely smart person, highly educated ,and its mindblowing to me this person complied and my friend was self employed and didnt have to take shots.
        My Niece got Covid a couple weeks ago, in spite of getting shots her employer mandated.
        And now Climate Change madness being the current Media Narrative.
        And what the hell is all this geo engineering and cloud seeding thats being done?

          2. The One World Order wants to use technology for control and replacement of humans, which isn’t exactly beneficial for the human race.
            Saying they are going to alter humans by technology, against their will , is pretty obnoxious. They decided that human evolution isn’t good enough, and they are going to play God in this transhumanism that will be forced.
            Every tool developed by humans was to benefit humans, and humans would have command and control over the tool.
            One world Order wants the tool to control and alter humans, which is all f**ked up.

        2. My friend was a extremely smart person, highly educated ,and its mindblowing to me this person complied and my friend was self employed and didnt have to take shots.

          Some people were terrified of the virus. In far too many cases the propaganda worked.

          1. They aren’t even pushing the vaccine at UCLA or the Kaiser Permanente in So Calif. My new primary care doc at UCLA didn’t even suggest or ask if I wanted a Covid booster.

    2. Among the approximately 15,000 refugees who have arrived in Denver since late last year, about 23% have stayed or returned to the metro area after attempting to go somewhere else.

      So 11.500 are gone, dumped on someone else.

      Many have no source of income at all. Some are housed in hotels and temporary housing. Some have managed to get apartments with help. Still others are unhoused.

      I’m sure many were told by activists back in their home countries that they would be taken care of in the US: free apartment, free food, free money, and they would never have to work. Maybe even have a car. But now they know they were had and that the sanctuary cities don’t want them and keep loading them on buses to dump on some other city. And I’m sure the caravans are still coming.

      1. Hopefully they got on a flight headed to their home country. We are full and don’t have resources to take care of all these people. They’re better off in Latin America or Asia

        1. I wonder if quietly flying them home on chartered flights is the next step. Mayors could offer them some cash if they agree to go home on a chartered flight.

    1. Pshaw, Ben Jones. Shack prices aren’t falling…they’re “stabilizing.” The globalist scum media & it’s REIC shills assure me of this.

    2. Biggest Monthly Price Drop since Last Year, Over $40K. 2023 Canadian Real Estate Market
      Jon Flynn Broker of Record, Flynn Real Estate Inc.
      Aug 15, 2023
      The latest national statistics for July released by CREA shows steep price declines in July adding to the almost perfect head and shoulders pattern that has formed. Can the Canadian Government really make affordable homes for buyers waiting to enter the market without decreasing current owners values?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VweQSo0RHLA

      15:23.

  19. Are you worried that Japanification (rational home pricing, where used homes sell for less than new ones) may soon hit China?

    It’s puzzling why the MSM is so against affordable housing prices.

    1. Financial Times
      FT Alphaville
      Property sector
      China’s housing market is . . . not good
      How long until it bans property data releases as well?
      Robin Wigglesworth 4 hours ago

      China’s decision to stop publishing youth unemployment statistics is pretty funny. Unfortunately, the data it still publishes has looked deeply unfunny lately.

      Last week China fell into d*******n, and yesterday the People’s Bank of China attempted to get ahead of data showing slowing retail sales and industrial output with a pre-emptive rate cut. But that’s done little-to-nothing to calm things down.

      China’s much-touted reopening boom seems to have fizzled out incredibly quickly. As Matt Klein points out, it is now probably growing more slowly than the US — which is pretty wild when you remember that China has comfortably been the single biggest contributor to global GDP growth since the financial crisis, adding the equivalent to almost three Germanys.

      We got even more dour data today. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics’ new home price data for July averaged an annualised seasonally adjusted month-on-month decline of 2.5 per cent for the 70 cities measured, according to Goldman Sachs calculations.

      Lower-tier cities saw the biggest declines, but the housing downturn is looking increasingly broad-based, with even tier-1 cities like Shenzhen suffering a slight dip in prices. Kelvin Lam from Pantheon Macro notes that 49 out of the 70 cities surveyed saw new-home price declines in July, compared to just five in March.

      Existing home prices are also still falling, with a 0.5 per cent month-on-month decline in July, and analysts are sceptical the PBoC’s rate cut will do much to dent the trajectory. Easier monetary policy “may only lead to an “L-shaped” recovery in the sector in coming years”, Goldman noted.

      JPMorgan’s China economists are also alarmed at recent developments. In a note this morning they wrote (with JPM’s emphasis below):

      Secondary home prices continued to underperform, with a consistent drop in both month-on-month and year-on-year terms, across all city tiers. This has further narrowed the price gap with new home prices. As we have flagged, if the secondary home prices fall below new home prices, this could be a game-changer in that a mutually reinforcing decline in new home prices and secondary home prices may be formed, leaning the way for the Japanification risk to materialize.
      …

    1. Homeowners are tapping into their home equity to get cash
      By Anna Bahney, CNN
      Published 6:58 AM EDT, Wed August 16, 2023

      Washington, DC CNN —

      With home values remaining strong across the country, Americans are tapping into their home equity to pay for renovations and debts.

      Average mortgage rates are close to 7% and with low inventory in most housing markets across the country, home prices have held firm after surging during the pandemic.

      That means homeowners are now collectively sitting on nearly $30 trillion in home equity, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

      As a result, originations of Home Equity Lines of Credit (known as HELOCs) and home equity loans increased 50% in 2022 compared to two years earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

      “Home renovations and remodeling drove demand for home equity products in 2022, with roughly two-thirds of borrowers citing it as a reason for applying for a home equity loan,” said Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis.
      …
      https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/homes/home-equity-loan-demand/index.html

      1. I bet homemoaners are climbing over one another to snap up some 7%+ HELOC debt! Sure beats credit card rates.

        1. HELOC’s are 7.80% – 9.71% right now. They adjust monthly and are callable. If the bank gets in a cash crunch, they can demand full payment immediately. That can result in foreclosure if the borrower doesn’t have the funds. A real minefield. I’d rather cashout refi.

          1. I’d rather cashout refi.

            The problem with that is that you are trading in your 3% mortgage for a 7% one. Rather than a HELOC they could take out a second, though I have no idea if those are being approved.

      2. Homeowners are tapping into their home equity to get cash

        Indeed, sell that sinking turd to the bank!

    1. Warren Buffett and Michael Burry are ready and waiting for a stock-market crash, ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ author says
      Theron Mohamed
      Aug 16, 2023, 3:29 AM PDT
      Robert Kiyosaki.
      The Rich Dad Channel/YouTube

      – Warren Buffett and Michael Burry are waiting for stocks to crash, Robert Kiyosaki says.

      – The author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” pointed to Buffett stockpiling cash and Burry shorting the market.

      – Buffett and Burry are both value investors who excel at finding bargains during market downturns.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/buffett-burry-big-short-kiyosaki-stock-market-outlook-crash-bargains-2023-8

    2. Buffett Indicator Hits Whopping 170%: Stocks in Danger of Further Correction?
      Investing.com | Aug 14, 2023 05:45AM ET

      – According to Warren Buffett’s preferred indicator, stocks are currently overvalued

      – Above 100% indicates overvaluation, and it is at now 170%

      – What does that imply for the market in the long-run?

      Warren Buffett is issuing a cautionary note: stocks appear to be entering a phase of overvaluation, as indicated by his preferred measure.

      Back in 2001, in an article featured in Fortune magazine, Buffett firmly asserted that this particular metric holds the potential to be the most precise barometer of market valuations at any given juncture.

      Buffett introduced this indicator nearly two decades ago, underscoring the significance of the ratio between the stock market’s overall capitalization and the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) as the ultimate litmus test for gauging whether the market leans towards the costly or economical, overvalued or undervalued.
      …
      https://m.investing.com/analysis/buffet-indicator-hits-whopping-170-stocks-in-danger-of-further-correction-200640919

    3. Here’s the trade that pushed long-term Treasury yields to 2023 highs
      Provided by Dow Jones
      Aug 7, 2023 1:02 PM PDT
      By Vivien Lou Chen

      ‘Bullish trends are in place to be broken and this is happening to long-term rates,’ said senior portfolio manager Ben Emons of NewEdge Wealth.

      It was the trade that pushed yields on the longest-maturing Treasurys to year-to-date highs last week, while knocking the momentum out of equities and un-inverting the yield curve for all the wrong reasons. That trade is known as a bear steepener, which continued to play out in the government fixed-income market during Monday’s session. Bear refers to the sentiment toward the underlying government security, which is to sell it, and steepener represents the pattern in which long-term yields rise at a faster pace than their shorter-term counterparts.

      Ordinarily, the bear steepener is associated with an outlook for a strong U.S. economy that can support higher rates years into the future. There’s more than one way to read the trade, however, and this time around it’s being seen as a reflection of rising worry about the U.S. fiscal outlook, fueled by the Treasury Department’s increased borrowing needs and a downgrade by Fitch Ratings.
      …
      https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20230807323/heres-the-trade-that-pushed-long-term-treasury-yields-to-2023-highs

      1. The Fed might be dragged by the nose hairs to raise the FFR to 7% by early next year. That means mortgage rates at 10%.

        The Fed and speculators will soon be reminded again that the market leads the Fed, not the other way around.

        1. Maybe not. Interest rate hikes have a notorious lag effect. It can take 12-18 months for the full effects to show. By early next year inflation will be low enough that we likely won’t need more rate hikes. Then the finance media will get down to what they’re good at — bullying the Fed chair into lowering rates again.

    4. GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stocks slip as concerns about China mount, US futures flat
      Harry Robertson
      Wed, August 16, 2023 at 5:11 AM PDT·3 min read
      In this article:
      (Updates prices at 1145 GMT, adds China context and analyst comment)
      By Harry Robertson

      LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Global stocks slipped on Wednesday for the third time in four sessions as weak Chinese economic data and concerns about the country’s financial sector weighed on investor sentiment.

      European stocks traded at around one-month lows after a sharp fall on Tuesday, while U.S. futures flatlined. Investors were waiting for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, due out later on Wednesday.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-markets-global-stocks-slip-121156340.html

    5. China Stocks Slump as Economic Gloom Spreads
      A string of worrying data has taken the fizz out of markets.
      By The New York Times
      By Vivek Shankar
      Reporting from Seoul
      Aug. 16, 2023, 5:07 a.m. ET

      About three weeks ago, at a meeting chaired by Xi Jinping, China’s leader, officials acknowledged that China’s economy was facing “new difficulties and challenges.”

      According to the official Xinhua News Agency’s summary of the Politburo meeting, officials promised to juice the economy, which had started to rebound at the start of the year after Covid restrictions were lifted but had been struggling. The economic troubles, they said, arose from flagging domestic demand and a “grim and complex” global economy, among other factors.

      Chinese stocks jumped at the time, even though officials laid out only vague plans, like using “countercyclical” regulations, adjusting policies for the troubled real estate sector, and prodding people to buy cars, electronics and household goods.

      Since then, China has released a string of worrying economic data. Prices consumers and business pay are falling, raising the threat of deflation. Retail sales and industrial production in July missed economists’ expectations, and investment in real estate is plunging.
      …
      https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/business/china-hong-kong-stocks.html

    6. Financial Times
      Markets Briefing Markets
      US tech stocks head lower as traders await Fed minutes
      Asian markets slip after signs of further weakness in China’s economy
      A montage of a globe and a chart
      The declines came a day after blue-chip stocks in the US and Europe hit a five-week low
      Daria Mosolova 6 minutes ago

      Wall Street stocks fluctuated at the open on Wednesday, as investors digested hotter than expected US retail sales data and prepared for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, hoping for cues on the future path for US interest rates.

      The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent in a small rebound from the previous session, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.4 per cent at the New York opening bell.

      European markets also declined as global sentiment was soured by further evidence of a slowdown in China’s economy as it struggles to recover from its longstanding Covid-19 restrictions.

      Europe’s region-wide Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3 per cent, while Germany’s Dax was off 0.1 per cent and France’s Cac 40 shed 0.2 per cent.

      The declines came a day after blue-chip stocks in the US and Europe hit a five-week low, as stronger than expected data on US retail purchases raised concerns over sticky price pressures, boosting bets that the Fed would keep interest rates higher for longer.
      …

    7. Macro Matters
      Dutch economy enters recession as inflation bites
      Reuters
      August 16, 202312:58 AM PDTUpdated 8 hours ago
      People walk past restaurants and bars in Amsterdam, Netherlands October 14 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

      AMSTERDAM, Aug 16 (Reuters) – The Dutch economy has entered a recession as it shrank 0.3% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter, a first estimate published by Statistics Netherlands on Wednesday showed.

      The euro zone’s fifth largest economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter, after a 0.4% contraction in the first three months of the year.

      Economic growth in the Netherlands had been almost 5% per year in 2021 and 2022 in a quick recovery from a COVID-19 slump.
      …
      https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/dutch-economy-enters-recession-inflation-bites-2023-08-16/

  22. Currently listed for 285K. Purchased by investors in 2022 for 166K. It looks very nice for a 74 year old wood house. For that neighborhood though, 166K was way too much. Most of the houses in that area are 65+ years old, many in disrepair. Also, many are likely rentals. The 2015 sold price is more realistic. Like a previous property I posted, this one is conveniently located within walking distance to a blood plasma donation center for a little extra income and some interesting conversations with the locals. The bubble has already popped, sellers are simply in the denial phase.

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/105-Rue-Max-St-Pensacola-FL-32507/2058414399_zpid/

    Sales Data MLS Listing #623205
    Sale Date Book Page Value Type
    03/15/2022 8749 1822 $165,500 WD
    06/30/2015 7372 776 $60,000 WD

    1. All of these remodels in dumpy areas make me think of an old SNL skit with Phil Hartman, the one with the luxury car that looks like a beater on the outside, to discourage theft.

    2. There still might be some upper class Yankees who would pay that price just to spend the equity on selling the house up north. To them it looks like a bargain.

  23. Does it seem like fund managers could often do better by just buying a market index fund, rather than dabbling in losers like real estate?

    1. The world’s biggest single investor in the stock market returned $143 billion in the first half of the year thanks to A.I. and tech
      BY Chloe Taylor
      August 16, 2023 at 3:46 AM PDT
      Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management—which manages Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund—pictured in Oslo, Norway, on Jan. 31, 2023.
      Fredrik Solstad/Bloomberg via Getty Images

      Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund saw a huge boost from the A.I.-driven tech surge in the first six months of this year, putting the investment titan back on track after one of its worst years ever.

      The fund—the world’s biggest single investor in the stock market—announced on Wednesday that it had achieved a 10% return for the first half of the year, amounting to 1.5 billion Norwegian Kroner ($143 billion).

      In comparison, the S&P 500 logged a return of around 16% in the first half of 2023.

      The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, which manages the wealth derived from Norway’s oil and gas resources, gained almost 14% from its stock holdings in the six months to June 30, with its fixed income assets returning just over 2%.

      The fund’s return was stunted, however, by a 4.6% loss on unlisted real estate investments and a 6.5% loss on unlisted renewable energy investments.
      …
      https://fortune.com/2023/08/16/norway-sovereign-wealth-fund-1-trillion-h1-return-ai-tech-stocks-apple-microsoft-amazon-alphabet-nvidia/

      1. They have. There’s a great YT channel named Company Man which tells the history and dire straights of a lot of retail stores, 10-15 minutes each. He did a video on Boston Market two years ago.

  25. How is a One World Order any different than a Monopoly. It’s eliminate all competition until your the sole power, able to dictate everything.
    These Huge Corporations have become such a big Monopoly of power that have inflitrated all systems, including Governments, Media, United Nations, food systems, Educational systems, bought off Science, law enforcement, Banking and money systems, Medical system , proxy wars, you name it.
    And these forces are so powerful at this point , but they are fraudsters, that are not trying to save the world, or create health, and replacement of humans is high on their agenda.
    Its insulting that they want to change the food supply to bugs and fake food with this food power grab, as well as energy deprivation, and forced medical poison by their destructive vaccines.
    “Stakeholder Governance “is just saying that
    Private Party Money Powers want to have a partnership with global governments in their One World Order/ Great Reset, that is Facism, Communism and 1984 all rolled into one.

    1. WTF? It looks like the front of the house goes right out into the drainage pond and there’s no backyard.

    3. That Stainless refrigerator is a major Scratch & Dent special. The whole place is probably a basket of quality issues.

    1. There are two ways to lie. One is just to say something that’s not true. The other is to tell only half of what is true. Just as much a lie.

      1. to tell only half of what is true

        E.g., David Weiss, now Special Counsel to cover for the Biden Crime Family, was nominated by DJT for US Attorney for Delaware while ignoring that Delaware’s two Democrat Senators recommended him.

      1. Yes, except in extreme slow motion for real estate. It’s like watching paint dry, although much slower…

  29. ‘Effectively, he’s already gone out of business, with the builder’s offices closed, model home sold and construction halted. The company listed operating losses for the past three years, but did not specify the amounts’

    That’s some red hotcakes right there. When the wheels come off you find out things haven’t been so rosy for a while.

  31. New York Post — Why the San Francisco Doom Loop tour is already sold out (and may be coming to NYC) 8/16/2023:

    “A local guide now offers a “Downtown Doom Loop Walking Tour,” to “start at City Hall, and continue through Mid-Market, the Tenderloin, and Union Square. We will view the open-air drug markets, the abandoned tech offices, the outposts of the nonprofit industrial complex, and the deserted department stores.”

    It’s no joke: Thanks to the woke policies adopted by the bulk of the city’s electeds, the “doom loop” — i.e., a vicious circle where bad conditions breed taxpayer and business exodus that clears the way for even worse conditions — is all too real.

    Take crime. Under woke former DA Chesa Boudin, convictions for serious crimes and quality of life offenses dropped.

    One jaw-dropping figure: Just 6% of those charged with dealing drugs from 2018 to 2022 have been convicted.

    Now, Whole Foods has shuttered its flagship location, retail goods are regularly locked or chained up, and small business owners are assaulted for daring to stand up to street thugs.

    Homelessness? Another massive problem. It’s up 35% since 2019, with about 38,000 individuals homeless on any given night.”

    https://nypost.com/2023/08/16/the-san-francisco-doom-loop-tour-sold-out-may-come-to-nyc/

    38,000 is that a lot?

    1. SF Gate — ‘We just got really spoiled’: Bay Area real estate agents complain of fierce competition (8/16/2023):

      “When Redfin real estate agent Alex Sobieski meets with a potential client about selling their home, he knows there is competition to represent the listing. Typically, Sobieski said, he’s up against one or two other agents, and the client ultimately chooses who they think will fetch them the highest price. Lately, however, Sobieski isn’t just jockeying against another agent — he’s in a race with four or five of them.

      “Realtors competing for listings feels like it’s at a record high, as they are more limited,” Sobieski said. “Realtors are cutting commissions, paying for staging and promising the world in terms of sales price and service.”

      Sobieski has seen Bay Area agents reduce their typical commission from 2.5% of the transaction down to 2% or even 1.75%, depending on the home price. Agents should be ready to pay for staging, photos and even more “gimmicky stuff,” he said. One agent he knows will hire a taco truck for his open houses to attract buyers to homes over $2 million. “They’re doing whatever it takes. … The sellers expect that kind of stuff now too,” he said. “… They’re very anxious.”

      Lower commissions and more money spent on marketing mean agents are working harder than ever while earnings shrink. “Pretty much every agent out there is making 25%-40% less income than they used to,” Sobieski said. “Sellers more than ever are looking for value, and that means less commission. They know their homes are worth 8%-10% less because of the [interest] rate increase.”

      https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/bay-area-real-estate-agents-face-competition-18297215.php

    2. San Francisco has a 2023 population of 715,717. It is also the county seat of San Francisco County. San Francisco is currently declining at a rate of -6.3% annually and its population has decreased by -17.74% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 870,014 in 2020.

      1%=7157 which means over 5% of the city is homeless. To me that seems like a lot.

  33. Is it safe to assume long-term Treasury yields have peaked, and will only go down from here on out?

    2. assume long-term Treasury yields have peaked

      Is it safe to assume that defaults and bankruptcies have peaked?

    3. Mortgage rates just spiked up to 7.3%. How homebuyers can shop around for the lowest rate
      BY Alena Botros
      August 16, 2023 at 6:35 PM PDT

      On Tuesday, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped back up to 7.34%. That coupled with home prices that rose dramatically during the pandemic, and in some markets, are still rising, has deteriorated affordability. It’s pricing buyers out of the market, at a time when supply is already constrained as would-be sellers hold on to their low rates. Something’s got to give, but until then, shopping around for your mortgage rate can help.
      …
      https://fortune.com/2023/08/16/mortgage-rates-interest-rates-homebuyers-housing-market/

      1. A couple of decades ago, I calculated the correlation of 30-year mortgage rates with the 30-year Treasury yield. It was around 99%.

        Not sure if it has changed much since then…

    4. Yahoo
      Reuters
      TREASURIES-10-yr yields highest since October after Fed meeting minutes
      Karen Brettell
      Wed, August 16, 2023 at 12:45 PM PDT·4 min read
      In this article:

      (Updated at 1530 EDT (1930 GMT) By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a 10-month high on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed that Fed officials were divided over the need for more interest rate hikes, though “most” policymakers continued to prioritize the battle against inflation. “Some participants” cited the risks to the economy of pushing rates too far, however, and cautionary voices about the effects of continued monetary tightening appeared to play a more prominent role in the debate at last month’s policy meeting. The U.S. central bank hiked rates by 25 basis points at the meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy still needed to slow and the labor market to weaken for inflation to “credibly” return to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target. “They’re not quite sure how much of their policy has already affected the economy, and to what extent it still is going to,” said Lou Brien, market strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. “They commented before that’s one of the reasons that they paused a couple of meetings ago… to try to assess the effect of the cumulative moves and the effect of how much more is to come – and it doesn’t seem to me that they have really answered that question yet.”

      Benchmark 10-year yields reached 4.280%, the highest since Oct. 24. A break above the 4.338% level reached in October would bring yields to their highest since 2007. Interest rate-sensitive two-year yields were at 4.984%. They are holding below yields of 5.120% reached on July 6, which were the highest since June 2007. The inversion in the yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes narrowed to minus 71 basis points.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/treasuries-10-yr-yields-highest-194515088.html

    1. Financial Times
      Chinese business & finance
      Global investors dump Chinese securities as state support hopes fade
      Reversal of flows reflects crumbling confidence in promises made by party leaders
      A screen showing stock exchange data in Shanghai, China. Pessimism about Chinese equities is becoming entrenched
      Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong
      5 hours ago

      Foreign investors have dumped Chinese stocks and bonds after losing confidence in Beijing’s promises of more help to shore up the country’s wobbling economy.

      Financial Times calculations based on data from Hong Kong’s Stock Connect trading scheme show that investors have almost completely reversed Rmb54bn ($7.4bn) in net purchases of Chinese equities that followed a July 24 pledge from the politburo of top Communist party leaders to increase policy support.

      Meanwhile, bondholdings of foreign institutional investors fell by Rmb37bn in July to Rmb3.24tn, according to figures released by China’s foreign exchange regulator on Wednesday.

      Portfolio managers and analysts said selling, which appeared to slow following the politburo meeting, had gained pace in August and was likely to accelerate in the wake of a surprise cut to a benchmark interest rate this week.

      The reversal of flows into Chinese securities reflects crumbling confidence in promises made late last month by party leaders, who pledged to boost weak consumer spending, tackle high youth unemployment and provide more support to the country’s troubled property sector.

      “The measures taken so far appear to have disappointed the market,” said Mohammed Apabhai, head of Asia trading strategy at Citigroup. “There is increasing frustration and concern from investors about the lack of any solid policy action.”
      …

    2. Financial Times
      Markets Briefing Markets
      Asian stocks fall after US Treasury yields close at 15-year high
      Declines follow sell-off on Wall Street after minutes suggest Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer
      A montage of a globe and a chart
      Asia-Pacific equities were lower on the prospect of extended monetary tightening
      Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong
      16 minutes ago

      Stocks across Asia followed Wall Street lower on Thursday after 10-year US Treasury yields closed at their highest level since 2008 as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting suggested policymakers might continue to keep interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation.

      The minutes from July’s meeting, in which the US central bank lifted rates to their highest level in 22 years, cited “significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy”.

      The prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer helped push 10-year Treasury yields to their highest close in 15 years in New York. They rose another 0.03 percentage points on Thursday in Asia to 4.278 per cent, the highest level since October, when the yield hit its highest point since 2007.

      Asia-Pacific equities were lower on the prospect of extended monetary tightening, with Japan’s Topix index down 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 0.1 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.6 per cent.

      In China, where a benchmark interest rate was cut this week in the face of slowing economic growth, the CSI 300 index was down 0.1 per cent.

      The falls for Asian stocks followed a sell-off on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 closed down 0.8 per cent and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite shed 1.2 per cent.

      Bloomberg data showed traders placed the probability of the central bank holding its federal funds rate steady at its next meeting in September at 88 per cent.

      However, there is less certainty about how long it will take for interest rates to come down from historic highs.

      “It doesn’t matter whether you think the Fed will or will not carry through with the lean in the Fed minutes,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

      “The fact is that 10-year yields are soaring, and in the modern-day playbook for stock market operators, that is bad news on multiple levels.”
      …

    3. 2 Scary Words That Could Crush The Tech: Bear Steepening
      Aug. 14, 2023 11:55 AM ET
      Damir Tokic

      Summary

      – The Invesco QQQ Trust ETF is already in a 5% correction and is likely to experience a deeper correction.

      – Rising long-term rates are likely to cause a significant QQQ PE contraction, while the inverted yield curve suggests an imminent recession and an earnings downgrade.

      – The bear steepening of the yield curve makes the soft-landing scenario very unlikely.
      …
      https://seekingalpha.com/article/4628184-two-scary-words-that-could-crush-the-tech-bear-steepening

    4. Financial Times
      Chinese business & finance
      Turmoil at Zhongzhi sparks alarm over China’s $3tn shadow financing industry
      Finance giant’s missed payments to investors fuel concerns of spillover effect from property sector slowdown
      The offices of Zhongrong International Trust in Beijing. Two companies said last week Zhongrong had failed to repay trust products, which offer higher returns than traditional banks
      Thomas Hale and Wang Xueqiao in Shanghai and Cheng Leng in Hong Kong 2 hours ago

      On a messaging platform hosted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange where investors can put queries directly to companies, the focus this week has been on missed payments from a sprawling financial conglomerate.

      “Dear investor,” wrote chemical business Shanghai Chemspec in one of a dozen similarly worded reassurances from listed groups, “the company has not bought any wealth management products from Zhongrong or Zhongzhi.”

      Zhongrong, partly owned by investment group Zhongzhi, is one of the biggest players in a $2.9tn shadow financing market, referred to as the trust industry. Doubts over its health have added to mounting concerns about the state of China’s economy, which is struggling to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.

      Two listed companies said last week Zhongrong had failed to repay trust products, which offer savers and companies higher returns than traditional banks. This followed weeks of speculation over separate missed payments to retail investors from Zhongzhi’s wealth management businesses, which also direct billions of renminbi into savings products.

      “When the crisis was only concentrated around Zhongzhi wealth management companies, the market was not so panicked,” said Karen Wu, an analyst at CreditSights. With Zhongrong, “the crisis has actually accelerated”.

      Given that shadow financing often flows into the property sector in China, the Zhongzhi group’s woes have fuelled deeper fears of spillover effects from a slowdown in the country’s once-booming real estate industry, which has already driven dozens of developer into default.
      …

  37. Do you remember what happens in those old Roadrunner cartoons after Wiley Coyote stands still in mid air?

    1. Real Estate
      Published August 16, 2023 9:14am EDT
      Real estate brokerage giant predicts a ‘tough’ market for remainder of 2023
      Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said the real estate market is at a ‘standstill’
      By Kristen Altus FOXBusiness
      Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman: Housing industry is in for a tough 2023
      Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman joins ‘The Claman Countdown’ to discuss the impact of rising mortgage rates on the housing market.

      While U.S. home buyers and renters don’t have much optimism about the market right now, one real estate brokerage giant added another woe to this year’s landscape.

      “The market is at a standstill,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said on “The Claman Countdown” Tuesday. “Sales volume is absolutely rock bottom. The people who need to sell won’t do it because they don’t want to give up their mortgage. The people who normally would buy can’t afford it.”

      “So buyers and sellers are at a standoff,” he continued, “and it means that the industry is just going to have a tough 2023.”

      A new Redfin report released this month found the share of million-dollar homes is on the rise, as nearly 1 in 10 U.S. homes are worth at least $1 million, close to June’s all-time record high of 8.6%.
      …
      https://www.foxbusiness.com/real-estate/real-estate-brokerage-giant-predicts-tough-real-estate-market-remainder-2023

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