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Popping A Property Bubble Hurts

A report from the Journal Star in Illinois. “While the Peoria housing market is definitely still competitive, it’s not as bad as it was just last year, said Peoria real estate agent Nick Schauble. ‘The market has really cooled off. It’s not a buyer’s market or a seller’s market – it really is a balanced market more than anything, which is very rare,’ said Schauble. ‘The multiple offer craze, while it still happens, is moving back towards what I would consider to be normal. If you have that really shiny apple in the bowl, you know, everyone wants it. But if just a normal house gets listed, is it going to have four to five offers on it if it’s priced appropriately? Maybe, but maybe not. A year ago, I would tell you it’s a sure thing that you were going to see multiple offers,’ said Schauble. While some people are worried that rising home prices are the symptom of a housing bubble that will soon pop, Schauble believes that this is the new normal. ‘People have gotten so used to paying double for a loaf of bread, but they just need to accept the fact that real estate is not in a bubble,’ he said.”

NBC Miami in Florida. “Hundreds of Pembroke Pines condo owners showed up to a community meeting Wednesday hoping to get an explanation about a monthly fee increase, but the situation got out of control before some could even make it inside. An email from Century Village to residents announces unit owners will be paying an additional $100-$200 per month due to ‘skyrocketing insurance premiums.’ The email states they may also have a special assessment. ‘So now we are over $700 a month that we are paying just in HOA fees, and they’re going to kick it up to $1,000 a month,’ resident Joe Hutchinson said. ‘We have no choice we have to sell. As a matter of fact, I just put my house on the market 10 minutes ago.'”

Texas Public Radio. “During the height of SpaceX fever in Brownsville, city officials rephrased the city’s motto, ‘On the border, by the sea,’ by adding, ‘and beyond.’ Brownsville claimed it was on its way to becoming the new ‘Silicon Valley of Space.’ Officials publicized the arrival of space industry startups and venture capital funds. However, a recent compliance audit conducted by the city suggested that few of the companies publicized by officials remain today. A few months after the rezoning, Astreia announced that it would break ground on the 25 acres with homes move-in ready by early 2023. In May 2022, Astreia’s founder and CEO Natalie Rens rented a warehouse space from the airport, which she announced in a tweet, to develop the homes, a source told TPR. Astreia is not currently listed as a tenant in the airport. None of the planned 125 homes appear to have been developed, even after Rens sold at least one home to a UTRGV student.”

“The property, which borders the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport and curves along a resaca, sits vacant. The land is for sale now. The property’s broker, Mark Johnson, told TPR that Rens walked away from the project after she couldn’t secure investors or afford the property’s increasing interest rates.”

From Mansion Global. “Luxury home buyers in the U.S. are looking at an opportunity this fall in popular cities from Tampa, Florida, to Provo, Utah, as markets continue to slow down as a result of heightened interest rates and economic uncertainty. Looking at properties listed at over $1 million and analyzing the 95th percentile price and how that’s moved over time, ‘there were a few markets that really stood out, including Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Provo, Utah; and Cape Coral and Tampa, both in Florida,’ said Hannah Jones, economic data analyst with Realtor.com. ‘They are seeing inventory build up, time on market expand and prices start to settle a little bit, suggesting that this fall may continue those trends and there may be some opportunities for buyers,’ Jones said.”

“The greatest price drop in the luxury market this year can be seen in San Francisco, where the median sale price of luxury homes fell a record 12.7% year over year, and prices are continuing to fall faster than anywhere else in the country. However, buyers looking for a return might want to avoid it. ‘It just depends on if the market has fallen out of favor and whether it’s going to come back in vogue or it’s just completely fallen off,’ said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. ‘I don’t think Miami’s going to fall off forever, but I think it’s maybe a little bit overpriced now, same with Austin, but San Francisco I think is more on a longer-term slowdown than those other places.'”

“Across the U.S. active listings of luxury properties rose the most in Austin in the first seven months of the year, at 53.2%, followed by Nashville at 28.4% and Tampa at 21.5%—handing affluent buyers a lot more to choose from. As interest rates stabilize, ‘I do think overall there’s a bit more room to negotiate on the luxury market,’ Fairweather said. ‘The longer the home sits on the market, the more expensive it is for the current owner in terms of their mortgage or their property taxes or whatever it might be, so if you come in and say you’ll take it off the market right away you should be able to negotiate down a bit from the listed price. It usually doesn’t hurt to offer 5% less than what’s listed—maybe even a bit more if you have some justifiable reason to do it—because if there isn’t any other competing offer, then the seller is probably going to have to meet you on those terms.'”

Fox 5 in Nevada. “The owner who rented out her home as an Airbnb over the weekend says there were only supposed to be a few people there for a 20-year-old woman’s birthday party. That party turned into a wild shootout, with neighbors saying more than 50 bullets flew near Blue Diamond and Fort Apache. Home security video captured the gunfire around 2:30 Monday morning. Bullets hit Ty Rodriguez’s home. ‘It’s just crazy to think that it could happen in your own neighborhood. And you know it could have easily went through the house and injured people that were most likely sleeping, animals, kids or anything,’ said Rodriguez.”

“One couple showed FOX5 a bullet that went through a wall and landed in their dining room. FOX5 saw at least five homes that were struck by bullets. At least two of them were hit multiple times. Some neighbors told FOX5 there have been several parties at the home, with some every other weekend.”

The Telegraph. “Canadians have finally fallen out of love with Trudeau. The shine has come off a career that at times seemed to defy political gravity. Instead of Trudeaumania, the nation is suffering from Trudeau fatigue. The Liberal prime minister’s approval ratings have slumped below 30pc among voters aged 18 to 34, according to national polling group the Angus Reid Institute. This is the group whose enthusiasm helped get Trudeau elected in 2015, re-elected in 2019 and again – just about – in 2021. Disillusionment has been fuelled by economic factors, including soaring interest rates and a housing crisis.”

“Mortgage costs on an average home in Canada now eat up 60pc of typical incomes, according to the National Bank. The figure is 90pc in Toronto and over 100pc in Vancouver. For first-time buyers, prices are simply unaffordable. Their rage is focused on the man they trusted with their votes, not once but thrice. Canadian voters have been slowly souring on their prime minister for a while. The cult of personality that has surrounded Trudeau, which was assiduously cultivated by him on social media, became a bad joke when historic photographs of the future PM in ‘blackface’ surfaced in 2019. Suddenly his wokery resembled hypocrisy and the idolisation of ‘Social Justice Justin’ gave way to mockery.”

“The population has just passed the symbolic 40 million mark and is due to increase by another 1.5 million by 2025. After Russia, Canada has the world’s second largest landmass and so it seems to have plenty of room for more. Canada’s immigration policy is a cynical gamble, which has been described as ‘human quantitative easing.’ Last year its headcount rose by 700,000, just 200,000 fewer than the US – which has a population eight times as large. For ordinary Canadians, it is per capita GDP that matters – and this has shown practically no growth per capita during his administration.”

“In major cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal, house prices are unaffordablly high for anyone who is not already on the property ladder. The average house price in Canada is C$754,800 (£440,000) – more than 11 times the average household income after taxes.”

The Journal. “One of the biggest stories of the week wasn’t actually news to anyone. Widely-publicised figures from Eurostat showed that Ireland is one of the worst performing countries in Europe when it comes to adults between the ages of 25 and 29 living in the family home, better only than Croatia, Slovakia, Greece and Italy. More than two-thirds of people in that age cohort still live with their parents which, as noted, will not be new information to those of us trying to convince ourselves we are real adult human beings while operating out of the same bedroom that we once decorated with – in my case at least – a framed poster of Scarface for some reason.”

“There is no shortage of indignity associated with Ireland’s housing crisis, but this week’s figures tap into some new shame, a fresh realisation of embarrassment. The housing crisis makes us look like a bunch of mama’s boys. It makes us look like we need the crust cut off our sandwiches. A bunch of Milhouses. You cannot feel like a real person if your bedroom looks like it smells like Lynx Africa and FIFA 2003. This has been established in romcom after romcom. Do you think 90s Sandra Bullock would date a man who still lived with his parents? Never. What do you think the Sex and The City women would think of us? They’d hunt us for sport, and they’d be right to do it.”

From ABC News. “Sarthak Kanwar thought his family would be one of the first to move into their new estate. They’d bought land in Melbourne’s outer-west, with dreams to build their first family home in Australia. ‘We thought, ‘let’s have a house of our own which we can decorate and which our child can cherish and have happy memories in,’ Mr Kanwar says of he and his wife’s decision to build. But while his family were one of the first to start building in their Tarneit estate, he still has no completion date in sight. The Kanwars are one of many families across Australia to be caught up in a builder collapse.”

“It was more than five months after his builder Porter Davis collapsed, that Mr Kanwar took part in his first-ever protest. On a sunny winter day in Melbourne, he was one of about 30 protesters who held signs up on Collins Street — right at the top end of town — and shouted ‘we want justice’ as office workers hurried past on their lunch breaks. They weren’t there to protest against their builders though — instead they were on the steps of the state’s home building insurer — the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA).”

“In Victoria, the VMIA covers up to 20 per cent of the contract price of an unfinished build which is designed to help affected families find a new builder to finish the job. Any faulty work from the original builder is also covered, but the total payout is capped at $300,000. At the Collins Street protest, home owners told similar stories. They’d lodged insurance claims months ago, but they still didn’t know how much money the VMIA would pay them or when they would be paid. They couldn’t afford to engage a new builder until they had that insurance payout, and while they waited the cost of delays were sending them broke.”

“They are the same issues that led Mr Kanwar to the protest. It will now cost $100,000 more to finish his build, and he says he’ll have to pay for faults out of his own pocket. He’s borrowing money from friends and family and taking money out of his super to cover these bills, saying he has run out of savings and can no longer afford to keep waiting. ‘It is like a situation where a ship has sunk and people are drowning but the VMIA is checking the quality of the lifeboats,’ is his summary of his experience with his insurer. Instead of looking to the future, Mr Kanwar and his wife are simply trying to find a way through the mess they have found themselves in, through no fault of their own. He is emphatic when asked if he’d build a house in Australia again. ‘No,’ is his simple reply.”

The Associated Press. “China’s government is trying to reassure jittery homebuyers after a major real estate developer missed a payment on its multibillion-dollar debt, reviving fears about the industry’s shaky finances and their impact on the struggling Chinese economy. On Thursday, a half-dozen homebuyers sat outside a Country Garden development under construction in Beijing beside a sign that said they have been ‘fighting for their rights’ for 97 days. The homebuyers, who sat under tent in 31 C (89 F) heat, declined to talk to a reporter but a security guard said their complaint stemmed from a Country Garden project in Malaysia.”

“A weak real estate industry complicates efforts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government to reverse a deepening economic slump after a rebound following the end of anti-virus controls fizzled out sooner than expected. The economy grew by a robust 2.2% over the previous quarter in the January-March period. But that fell to just 0.8% in the three months ending in June. That is equal to a 3.2% annual rate, which would be among China’s weakest in decades.”

The Globe and Mail. “Chinese authorities announced a slew of measures Friday to address growing concerns over the state of the world’s second-largest economy. Government data in the past two weeks has revealed poor growth and weak consumer sentiment, which, combined with an escalating crisis in the housing market, have shaken investor confidence and sent stocks and bonds tumbling. Most Chinese households store their wealth in property, and fears that Evergrande’s collapse would leave people out of pocket or owning half-built apartments led to small-scale protests in several cities. Beijing refused to intervene to prop up the developer but did provide support to ensure some residential projects were completed.”

“Robert Carnell, the Asia-Pacific head of research at ING, said this week that China was undergoing a painful transition to an economy more focused on consumer spending and less dependent on a highly leveraged property sector. Shehzad Qazi, the managing director of China Beige Book, agreed, saying ‘popping a property bubble hurts.’ ‘It’s killing short-term numbers,’ he said in a note, but Chinese President Xi Jinping ‘sees that as necessary for any hope of long-term debt sustainability, with some social stability mixed in.'”

“As evidence, he pointed to the lack of major stimulus measures some analysts have been predicting for months, which would likely prop up the Chinese property market but do little to address its long-term problems. One issue likely causing far more headaches in Beijing, however, is growing youth unemployment. This week the country’s statistics bureau said it would no longer publish jobless data for 16-to-24-year-olds after it hit a record 21.3 per cent in June.”

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This Post Has 101 Comments

  1. ‘During the height of SpaceX fever in Brownsville, city officials rephrased the city’s motto, ‘On the border, by the sea,’ by adding, ‘and beyond.’ Brownsville claimed it was on its way to becoming the new ‘Silicon Valley of Space.’ Officials publicized the arrival of space industry startups and venture capital funds. However, a recent compliance audit conducted by the city suggested that few of the companies publicized by officials remain today’

    Talk about spit up yer coffee, they saw these yokels coming and fleeced them.

    ‘The property, which borders the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport and curves along a resaca, sits vacant’

    Oh they got plenty of resacas!

    ‘Can you swim in a resaca? “You don’t want to go wading into the water or swimming in resacas and expect there not to be alligators. There probably are alligators in just about every one of the resacas in South Texas.”

    1. I know some people who used to live in Brownsville. Those resacas were everywhere, including next to their backyard.

      1. Of course they are, the whole area is or was and RGR floodplain. I bet I hadn’t seen that word since I moved from there in 2004. It was kind of a joke: resaca views! The mosquitos that come out of those ponds are some of the worst I’ve ever seen. A guy took me fishing on an inland pond at the end of SPI once. We lathered up with deep woods max and they still completely covered us, in the nose, ears, eyes. There was a metal detecting shop on SPI which had a book on lost towns and forts. Dozens of places you can’t even find a foundation left, mostly from hurricanes. It is a historic area and the Spanish were landing in the late 1600’s. IIRC the last battle of the war between the states occurred nearby, after the war had actually ended.

  2. ‘The greatest price drop in the luxury market this year can be seen in San Francisco, where the median sale price of luxury homes fell a record 12.7% year over year, and prices are continuing to fall faster than anywhere else in the country. However, buyers looking for a return might want to avoid it’

    Red hotcakes I tells ya!

    ‘It usually doesn’t hurt to offer 5% less than what’s listed—maybe even a bit more if you have some justifiable reason to do it—because if there isn’t any other competing offer, then the seller is probably going to have to meet you on those terms’

    That’s the spirit Daryl!

    1. ‘It usually doesn’t hurt to offer 5% less than what’s listed—maybe even a bit more if you have some justifiable reason to do it—

      Thanks for that “advice,” Realtor Boy, but I’d rather just sit here in my lawn chair, popcorn in hand, and bask in the pure schadenfreude of watching the carnage play out as the Fed’s Everything Bubble implodes.

    1. The last time I was in London, two ethnic groups stood out:
      -Southern Asians
      -Eastern Europeans

      There were Brits, of course, though they mostly seemed to be people attired in business suits, and seemed like the minority.

          1. Jesus, you really need a geography lesson. Those are all central European countries, long integrated in the European union. Probably haven’t been to Europe since the cold war. 🙂

            Those countries never had any intent to be part of the Soviet system even in the cold war. They were handed over, by Churchill and Roosevelt after most of them fought the Soviets with all they had, but lost, mostly because the massive US support for the Soviets. And now the Russians really know how to thank you.

            I extensively travel through Europe, and those countries are not as wealthy as France and Germany, but let’s not forget that did not benefit from the US Marshal plan as did the other countries. And yet, they are the fastest growing economies in Europe at this time. If you go to those countries you’ll not see a significant difference between Poland and Spain, Czech R, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, Portugal. Or between Romania, Bulgaria and Italy or Greece.

            Now, saying that all who were wearing the suits were Brits, and the poor were from somewhere else is the same as saying that all who drive expensive cars in US are “Americans” and all the homeless are Asians and from the S of the border.

            I spend extensive time in London and have family there, too. You’ll be surprised how wrong you are. Those wearing suits are educated guys from anywhere, including those countries you mentioned, and so are the rest. A loot of the poor people are Brits.

            On the other hand,
            I spent 1.5 weeks in Canada this summer, between Banff and Vancouver, and 3 weeks in US, between Montana, Utah, Idaho, Colorado.

            Canada: Beautiful country around Banff. Banff to Jasper, spectacular, but It really didn’t look as wealthy as I remember. Kind of dusty, and traveling on Trans Canada it was a bit of a shock. It looked more like an undeveloped rural road to me, except around Calgary of course.
            Also, I was shocked by the amount of Asians, especially from India playing wealthy aristocracy while blue eyed locals were waiting tables for them. They all seemed to be working from home and traveling with class, while the locals were cleaning after them. It was a bit of a shock. Looks like Canada and US are importing the new aristocracy, and Indians really know about class discrimination. They looked like they were preparing to take over and be the ruling Cast over the locals.

            US. Beautiful country, nice roads, I even mentioned to one Canadian that maybe they should join US so they can build a nice Trans Canada. The open space, the national parks, and the freeways were impressive. Sometime traveling through Montana on hundreds of miles of empty roads with just a few F 350 flying by well over the speed limit. Pure freedom, but I must say, I was worried at times.

            My car was dusty, and I stopped in some small town asking about a carwash. A cowboy kind of smiled and told me to go get a hose…

            Anyway, besides the parks and open road I was, once more, shocked by the homeless people everywhere, and the surreal poverty stricken aspect of the more rural communities. Las Vegas to Grand Canyon looked like from Africa to me. (I guess must be from eastern Europe). Also, the big cities are just plain economic hubs with little to nothing to offer. Kind of like, move on, nothing to see here. I was pleasantly surprised by Denver’s arts museum. A few paintings by renown artists.
            And then again, Yellowstone to Cody, what an incredible discovery. And the museum in Cody, I must say, the best about Wild West. Nothing like it that I know of.

            I invite everyone to go around and see the world. Forget about prejudices. Things change very fast, and countries you believe were 2nd rated may surprise you with their development, or the other way around. You’ll be shocked by the poverty in countries that believe they rule the world. Nothing stays the same, even if some of us were more fortunate in life than others, that fortune may turn on us very fast.

            Personally,I am grateful that I had a long life, that I could see and experience so many different countries and ways of life.
            And talking about east and west, I was still very young, curious, and adventurous to rush south through Germany and go to Berlin to see the east part for the first time in a rainy November, 34 years ago. Going through the same areas today, I can assure you that there is not much difference. And not so much between those other countries either. Just human beings and their prejudices seem to never change much.

          2. Probably haven’t been to Europe since the cold war.

            IIRC, In Colorado’s father is/was Hungarian. From what I’ve gathered here on HBB over the last few years , he’s quite worldly.

          3. @Redpilled Redhead.
            Well, then he should know better about those parts of the world. Budapest is one of my very favorite cities. Very romantic. Not many like that in Europe.

          4. Jesus, you really need a geography lesson.

            The smug is strong with you.

            Regardless, I heard a lot of slavic accents at places like Costa Coffee, Tesco Express, etc. The suits on the tube sounded very British. I also seem to recall a lamenting that many of the slavs that worked in London would have to leave after Brexit took effect.

            And it’s not just in London. My Cornish in-laws tell my that there were tons of Bulgarians in their neck of the woods.

          5. The region stretches from the Ural Mountains in the east to the borders of Poland and Romania.[1] Most definitions include the countries of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine while less restrictive definitions also include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.[2]

            I don’t know, it seems like definition may vary. At least according to Wikipedia.

          6. @In Colorado.
            You talk about Slavic people like they are some sort of pestilence and sub-humans. Any of the Slavic people that originated within EU had any right to be Great B. GB was part of the union, as well. What they did after secession, I don’t know. There are laws and they must be followed.
            Complaining about it, is the same as complaining about US citizens From Michigan living in New York, or about from Utah living in Colorado, or from New Mexico that moved to California.
            It’s just local prejudice. People move all the time for all sorts of reasons, and not always economical.
            Anyway, Slavic people are people like any others, and they were mighty worries in their time, on par with the Vikings, regardless of the Catholics bad press they had to endure. It’s just politics.
            I’d be far more worried about the Russ that bought entire neighborhoods in London and believed they are the facto rulers of 1/2 Europe. They are dangerous.

        2. “what are eastern Europeans?”

          Who? Anyway, used to hear them referred to as “Slavs” back in my military days.

          1. to my knowledge, at least two of the countries mentioned above are of very different origins. If I’m not mistaking Hungary and Romania, but there may be some others, too.

          2. to my knowledge…

            Young, dumb and full of c*m made up for lack of knowledge in my military days. I confess to ogling those big cup Euro hotties, but they all seemed to smoke cigarettes too, a major turn-off for mr wiggles.

          3. @rms
            I agree about smoking. There are many good things about US, and one of the best is than rarely I see anyone smoking> and when I do, it turns out is someone visiting from Europe. 🙂

          4. “I agree about smoking.”

            I’m talking about drop-dead gorgeous ladies lighting a fresh cigarette with the spent one. A real tragedy.

  4. But if just a normal house gets listed, is it going to have four to five offers on it if it’s priced appropriately? Maybe, but maybe not. A year ago, I would tell you it’s a sure thing that you were going to see multiple offers,’ said Schauble.

    It’s amusing watching these REIC shills still trying to drum up an artificial sense of urgency when that sheep has sailed and only the indescribably stupid are buying into a bursting housing bubble.

    1. Every transaction will be monitored and recorded. Sub-par social credit scores will lock you out of the financial system, and be grounds to confiscate your wealth and assets. Forward, Soviet!

  6. ‘So now we are over $700 a month that we are paying just in HOA fees, and they’re going to kick it up to $1,000 a month,’ resident Joe Hutchinson said. ‘We have no choice we have to sell. As a matter of fact, I just put my house on the market 10 minutes ago.’”

    Gosh, Joe. What happens if prospective buyers take a look at those HOA fees & special assessments, and decline to take your alligator off your hands? “I’m not going to give it away” could come back to haunt some of those greedhead sellers.

  7. ‘People have gotten so used to paying double for a loaf of bread, but they just need to accept the fact that real estate is not in a bubble,’ he said.”

    Says the dissembling Xanas-gobbling realtor as he breaks into a cold sweat at the prospect of “Always Be Closing” as the pool of credit-worthy buyers is rapidly evaporating and the shack cratering accelerates.

  8. “The owner who rented out her home as an Airbnb over the weekend says there were only supposed to be a few people there for a 20-year-old woman’s birthday party. That party turned into a wild shootout, with neighbors saying more than 50 bullets flew near Blue Diamond and Fort Apache.

    The fatal flaw in the AirB&B business model is that owners can’t refuse to rent to vibrants, even though that particular demographic is responsible for about 99% of the “parties” where gunplay ensues.

  10. The Canadians really are different …..with all the trees they have,their houses are shoddy built, they let the forests burn , just because they can….and with their tinker-toy leader , they voted for him 3 times , no question they love him…..think they’re addled by those harsh winters …

    1. They love him so much they scream F-trudeau every time he gets out of a limo. The thing about K-da: there’s hardly anyone up there.

      1. Trudeau LIVE in Chilliwack, Canada Day 2023
        John Julian
        Aug 19, 2023
        Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau graces the Cultis Lake Canada Day crowd with his presence and shares some opinions and stories. Many thanks to Matt Kozyniak and Pseudonymous Ian.

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

        12 minutes.

  11. Disillusionment has been fuelled by economic factors, including soaring interest rates and a housing crisis.”

    If stupid didn’t hurt, fools would never learn.

    1. Just because Trudeau retires to a well paid gig, as Ardern did, doesn’t mean he will be replaced with someone sensible.

  15. A reader sent these in:

    This is the new affordable housing market …These are $100,000 tiny homes, with no garages, being built in a new neighbourhood in San Antonio, Texas 🚨🚨🚨

    https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1692310045122293873

    Climate Change will continue to strike attractive locations that the State wishes to purchase at a discount, warn Scientists.

    https://twitter.com/EcommunistForum/status/1692003889955123358

    These are all of the global scams, insolvencies and blowups that have been revealed in the past 12 months during a global RALLY. Imagine what’s coming. It’s unthinkable.

    https://twitter.com/SuburbanDrone/status/1692889241913643108

    There is a high probability that Powell will finish off China this week. And then U.S. gamblers will wish they had a map with more than one country on it.

    https://twitter.com/SuburbanDrone/status/1692883050470797779

    There are 3,329 homes for sale in Austin
    There are 12,127 Airbnbs in Austin

    https://twitter.com/texasrunnerDFW/status/1692933117294588223

    “Fraudsters found vulnerabilities and coordinated schemes to bypass controls and gain easy access to funds meant for eligible small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the economic crisis.”

    https://twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1692967664623260034

    I wonder how much Chinese investment money is trapped in U.S. property at 7% rates, unable to sell to anyone without a huge loss…

    https://twitter.com/FinanceLancelot/status/1693093494334644409

    When asked about attending Jeff Bezos’s lavish party in January 2020, only weeks before the stock market crash, Jerome Powell responded “I didn’t talk to anybody” 😉

    https://twitter.com/FinanceLancelot/status/1693053565114180090

    As economist @Peter_Atwater notes, people respond to stories, not data. The prevailing story has to change for folks to be open to changing their behavior. The “housing only goes up” story is finally being re-written in the MSM. This is how change happens

    https://twitter.com/menlobear/status/1693043840658063454

    1. “These are $100,000 tiny homes, with no garages, being built in a new neighbourhood in San Antonio, Texas”

      Gee, looks like we’re turning Japanese!

    2. Climate Change will continue to strike attractive locations that the State wishes to purchase at a discount, warn Scientists.

      I wonder if Lahaina was a trial balloon, to see how the masses would react to what is appearing to be arson and deliberate murder.

      1. “arson and deliberate murder”

        Globalists gonna globe. Must be another one of those “that’s not my concern” kind of things.

  16. Widely-publizised figures from Eurostat showed that Ireland is one of the worst performing countries in Europe when it comes to adults between the ages of 25 and 29 living in the family home, better only than Croatia, Slovakia, Greece and Italy. More than two-thirds of people in that age cohort still live with their parents which.

    My wife is from Japan where children routinely live with the parents (oldest son thing).

    One & half years ago the house my oldest daughter and husband lived in was sold (for $1,000,00; wouldn’t have paid $400k) so my kids had to move. They were thinking of buying (hadn’t started reading HHB yet) so I suggested they move back home. I purchased my current property for cash in 2012 at the bottom of the last bubble; I owe my smartness to Ben. My daughter, NICU nurse, and her husband, a Civil/Structural Engineer with a great job, had just had their first child. They agreed. I was a little tough for him because he was fiercely independent but fortunately we have a med sized house with a separation between two sides and a large guest house. Since then they have had a second child and it has been fantastic.

    Especially for my wife who is now so close with her daughter and the kids. We always try to “live on different schedules”. I am still working, a civil engineer, and my path rarely crosses my son-in-laws (I am a MAGA alpha guy so sometimes I don’t even want to be around myself).

    My other three kids and their spouses are all professionals with great jobs. On a weekly basis I shared HHB with them and talk about us all moving to a better state (now life in California) where they can all easily find great jobs, have good schools that don’t indoctrinate kids with silly crap. They are all renting now and stockpiling cash so when we move, probably late next year, depending on the crashing housing, they can all buy a home that is close to each other.

    We have many family friends that are doing the same. So my advice is that if your kids are not loafers and have great jobs, you have a house that you can create separation and you have a goal to get your kids to save 1/2 their income to buy a house; then it is a wonderful thing to have your adult kids move home with you. It will be temporary.
    It is really quite interesting that my son-in-law and daughter are saving more money (with his salary only; my daughter hasn’t had to go back to work, which is a win-win for their kids) every month than when they were both working.

    And the added benefit is that we can experience the daily adventures of our grandkids on our little ranch in the mountains just north of Los Angeles.

    God bless Ben Jones. He and this blog are providing a forum for many like minded people to gain “community” in this crazy world. I am so encouraged because we can’t to much to affect the globalists, but we can join together and laugh and make fun of them and more importantly raise our families to be strong freedom loving adults that will eventually take back this country.

    2. My family gets along best when we are all separated by at least 500 miles. But I get what your saying, and if you can do it without ending up on the 5 o’clock news all the power to ya. It’s a great way to ride this out.

  18. The chatter is as follows.
    Biden administration is setting up for new lockdowns, masks, restrictions,rationing, done in increments. It will probably be based on a combo of new Covid mutations, and the Climate Change fraud.
    IMHO, the Globalists powers that be are proceeding with this insane plan of forcing populations into complying with enslavement, deprivation, fake media, starvation, lack of energy, total disfunction.
    The Globalists end game is One World Order/ Great Reset , technology control of human populations in which Governments partner with them on this power grab.
    Unbelievable.

    1. Lahaina makes me wonder what will happen once people are restricted to their 15 minute towns. Will anyone even know if your little burg is burned to the ground along with its inhabitants?

      2. On the bright side, if half of Poway gets washed down to Mira Mesa you can score some deals! Do you have a boat??

        1. gets washed down

          The runoff from our cul-de-sac has already created a big foam ball at the top of our culvert. I’m not sure if it’s related but our street was repaved 10 days ago. Heavier rains are expected around 7PM. We’ll know how bad the storm was when we check the bottom of the culvert to see if the runoff skipped over the underground diverter pipe. If it did, our neighbors at the bottom of the hill aren’t going to be very happy.

          1. IDK, I think the wife is a bit too enthusiastic about this (not linked, takes so long.)
            https: //twitter.com/ paradox_files/status/1693301786000638165

          2. My kiddo just got out of his 10′ x 30″ white trash pool. We can hear our neighbors’ children and/or grandchildren playing in their real pools.

          3. So our 1.33 acre rental property is on a slope and in the shape of a dog leg. Our neighbors have a tree in the crook of the dog leg (and in violation of HOA rules blocking our view) that is swaying every which way like crazy!

          4. Honestly, it feels like we’re in the Caribbean. Thankfully, at a much higher elevation than most.

        2. Do you have a boat??

          Pool floaties on the raging rapids down the hill might be fun! In all seriousness, the rain is definitely coming down harder now. I went to the store down the hill and water is rushing and gushing everywhere.

      3. Can we get through Hurricane Hilary first?!
        Nothing much out here in the Antelope Valley. Steady rain but no wind. This is turning into a big bust.

        1. We’ll be fine. We have a nice view up on a hill. My popup greenhouse is sheltering plants I didn’t want to drown.

          That burned out hoarder house down the hill though will be a soggy mess!

        1. Yeah, I saw that on my seismic app. There’s no mistaking a 5.0 shaker for a Burlington Northern – Santa Fe.

          1. Just looked. For sure, this is deliberate. Although, it my yout in NYC welfare recipients used to light the building on fire to get better apts, so who knows? Always a bad sign when full living room furniture sets appear on the sidewalk.

          2. Rain is just west of us in Las Vegas. It’s been welcome since we’ve been murdered lately with much higher electric and water bills. People are freaking.

    3. 300+ million guns owned by civilians in the United States.

      Marxist globalists attempt another lockdown, they will be hunted down and killed.

      Killing communists isn’t homicide because they’re not human, they are Anti-Christ demons, pure evil.

  19. NYT: DOJ Planned to Let Hunter Biden Off the Hook Until Whistleblowers Emerged

    JOEL B. POLLAK
    20 Aug 2023

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) planned to let Hunter Biden off the hook without charges until two whistleblowers came forward to expose political interference in the investigation, despite the claims of Attorney General Merrick Garland.

    The New York Times exposed the inside dealings of Hunter Biden’s attorneys with senior officials at DOJ, who had constrained U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss even as Garland was testifying to Congress that Weiss had full authority to act in the case.

    The Times reported that not only did the whistleblowers stop the cover-up, but that Hunter Biden’s lawyers now want them to be prosecuted for speaking out against his special treatment — a violation of President Biden’s promise to protect whistleblowers:

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/08/20/nyt-doj-planned-to-let-hunter-biden-off-the-hook-until-whistleblowers-emerged/

    1. From the NYT:

      Earlier this year, The Times found, Mr. Weiss appeared willing to forgo any prosecution of Mr. Biden at all, and his office came close to agreeing to end the investigation without requiring a guilty plea on any charges. But the correspondence reveals that his position, relayed through his staff, changed in the spring, around the time a pair of I.R.S. officials on the case accused the Justice Department of hamstringing the investigation. Mr. Weiss suddenly demanded that Mr. Biden plead guilty to committing tax offenses.
      …
      As the testimony from the I.R.S. agents took hold, Mr. Biden’s legal team felt the ground shift beneath them. The U.S. attorney’s office suddenly went quiet.

      1. “the Justice Department”

        Attorney General Merrick Garland is the enemy of the American people.

  20. You would think it would be easier to stop this insanity the Globalists have unleashed.
    But, they have been planning this shit for decades and decades and decades. Than the public reacts, always in a defense position, not a offense position.
    The Globalists creepy slime have no morals , major fraudsters, arrogant and reckless, genocidal/ denocide, inhumane, greedy control freaks, and parasitic looters.
    Who, other than devil people would try to pull off what their stupid agendas are?
    Seriously, get rid of beneficial C02, fossil fuels, needed crops, freedoms, and throw people into brutal mayhem, and struggle to survive. Vaccines that are fake poison, to treat faked Covid.
    Brutal enemy acting like they are saving the world and saving lives when its the opposite.
    Just saying this insanity must stop, even if the people have to do it, whatever form that takes, against this sinister enemy, that governments are in collusion with.

  22. ‘So now we are over $700 a month that we are paying just in HOA fees, and they’re going to kick it up to $1,000 a month… As a matter of fact, I just put my house on the market 10 minutes ago’

    Wait a minute Joe. Don’t go thinking about giving it away.

  23. ‘None of the planned 125 homes appear to have been developed, even after Rens sold at least one home to a UTRGV student’

    Right out of the gate, body slammed. That kid will go Pharr.

  24. ‘There is no shortage of indignity associated with Ireland’s housing crisis, but this week’s figures tap into some new shame, a fresh realisation of embarrassment. The housing crisis makes us look like a bunch of mama’s boys. It makes us look like we need the crust cut off our sandwiches. A bunch of Milhouses. You cannot feel like a real person if your bedroom looks like it smells like Lynx Africa and FIFA 2003. This has been established in romcom after romcom. Do you think 90s Sandra Bullock would date a man who still lived with his parents? Never. What do you think the Sex and The City women would think of us? They’d hunt us for sport, and they’d be right to do it’

    You need to get the queen off yer pesos.

    1. You need to get the queen off yer pesos.

      IIRC, the Irish use Euros. And the British Monarch is not the head of state in Ireland, so neither he nor his mum are on Irish money.

      1. Via Ireland.com:

        In Ireland, there are two currencies you’ll need depending on where you travel. The euro is used in the Republic of Ireland. One euro consists of 100 cent. Notes are €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500. Coins are 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1 and €2.

        In Northern Ireland, pound sterling is the official currency. One pound sterling consists of 100 pence. Notes are £5, £10, £20, and £50. Coins are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2.

  25. U.K. Subs — I Live In A Car:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FxwEORDeng

    Do YOU live in a car? Is it possible you might be evicted / foreclosed on and living in your car soon?

    Lots of people do it. It’s more dignity than sleeping in a tent on the sidewalk. And if you don’t like where you are, you can always drive somewhere else…

    1. I don’t know about anybody else, but I have this thing where I need indoor plumbing, a kitchen, a bed, etc. Living in a car? I’d rather live in a tent.

  26. ‘They are the same issues that led Mr Kanwar to the protest. It will now cost $100,000 more to finish his build, and he says he’ll have to pay for faults out of his own pocket. He’s borrowing money from friends and family and taking money out of his super to cover these bills, saying he has run out of savings and can no longer afford to keep waiting. ‘It is like a situation where a ship has sunk and people are drowning but the VMIA is checking the quality of the lifeboats’

    Same guys run the DMV Sarthak.

  27. ‘A weak real estate industry complicates efforts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government to reverse a deepening economic slump after a rebound following the end of anti-virus controls fizzled out sooner than expected’

    The AP is globalist scum media.

  28. ‘popping a property bubble hurts.’ ‘It’s killing short-term numbers,’ he said in a note, but Chinese President Xi Jinping ‘sees that as necessary for any hope of long-term debt sustainability, with some social stability mixed in…As evidence, he pointed to the lack of major stimulus measures some analysts have been predicting for months, which would likely prop up the Chinese property market but do little to address its long-term problems. One issue likely causing far more headaches in Beijing, however, is growing youth unemployment. This week the country’s statistics bureau said it would no longer publish jobless data for 16-to-24-year-olds after it hit a record 21.3 per cent in June’

    Good luck with that Shehzad, yer trying to soft land an experiment (modern China) that’s never happened in history. Oh, and they’re communists.

    1. Amazing drainage infrastructure given the shear number of square miles of concrete and pavement in the Los Angeles basin. You just know the utility crews were out there, aššholes-n-elbows, clearing debris the previous couple of days ahead of the storm.

  31. Video: Deep State Operative Attempts To Block The Press From Investigating Maui Fires

    Aug 20, 2023

    Investigative journalist Nick Sortor joins The Alex Jones Show to discuss his recent run-ins with strange people stalking and harassing him as he reports on the Maui fire disaster. You can find Nick and his work on his twitter, @nicksortor.

    https://madmaxworld.tv/watch?id=64e2c1052ed5c40da95966e8

  32. Nearly two weeks have passed since the fire destroyed Lahaina and there are still over 1,050 missing persons including children:
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/hawaii-governor-josh-green-announces-1050-lahaina-maui/

    Either the government and disaster responders are completely incompetent and inept, or somebody is hiding the actual figures of human remains that have been recovered. Which is it? They’ve had enough time to do a census of the entire island of Maui.

    1. Each additional day prior to the dreadful announcement means less emotional reaction from the public.

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