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The Greatest Gift We Were Given Is Also Somewhat Of A Curse

A report from the Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. “The $253 million, 47-story tower at Broad and Spruce Streets, was meant to be a triumph for developer Dranoff Properties and Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. Arthaus began marketing units in 2020, and the tower formally opened last year. As of the summer, deeds of sale had been recorded for only 15 of 107 units, netting a combined $35 million. Its trio of sprawling penthouses, the largest of which is pitched at $15 million, all remain unsold. At this pace, it would take about a decade for the tower to be fully occupied. Developer Carl Dranoff blamed the pandemic and more recent spikes in interest rates for cooling demand. ‘We’re not anticipating any [price] adjustments. We’re in the driver’s seat right now. We have inventory, it’s fully [property tax] abated, and the project is built so we have no additional costs. We just have to wait for the market to wake up,’ he said.”

Mansion Global on Florida. “The Miami-Dade luxury market has slowed in recent months from a torrid couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are still several new condo projects launching sales this fall. ‘The market has slowed down and we have some inventory constraints,’ said Michael Martirena, of the Ivan & Mike Team at Compass. ‘Because of that, we’ve been able to get some discounts from developers for the first time in five years.’ Further, some developers are now asking for a 40% down payment for pre-construction sales instead of the traditional 50%, Martirena said.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican. “Lance Eaton, qualifying broker with EXIT Realty Advantage: ‘In Los Alamos, higher-priced homes in the $700,000 range and up are slowing down. Higher-end inventory is available, with homes coming online, but the activity level has ebbed.’ Qualifying broker Beverly Chapman, of Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties: ‘Buyers are still losing out on sales, with multiple offers on homes generally priced under $800,000. Homes priced above that, up to about $1.5 million, are not moving.'”

The Asbury Park Press in New Jersey. “The conflicting data has puzzled real estate veterans, who can’t remember a set of conditions like this. It was only two years ago that home buyers and owners took advantage of record-low mortgage rates. Now, they seem frozen in place, leaving real estate agents and mortgage brokers to wait for rates to begin to decline and for the market the thaw. ‘It just stopped everything,’ Annette Parker Morano, an agent with Keller Williams Realty in Point Pleasant, said of the rising rates. ‘There’s a lot of kids in their 20s staying with their parents. No one is going to (move) because the rates are so bad.’ ‘The greatest gift we were given, which was the very low rates during the pandemic, is also somewhat of a curse,’ said Kenneth Gunther, senior loan officer for NJ Lenders Corp., a mortgage banker in Shrewsbury.”

The Real Deal on California. “Miraflores Community Devco has filed for bankruptcy after failing to build 190 homes planned in Richmond. The San Leandro-based developer led by Scott Hanks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing between $10 million and $50 million in both assets and liabilities, the San Francisco Business Times reported. In 2018, Miraflores Community Devco bought the former flower nursery for $4.2 million. It then took out $10 million in loans tied to the property, former mayor Tom Butt said on his blog last spring. Lenders have pursued foreclosure and the City of Richmond has declared the developer to be in default of its agreement, Butt said, adding the property had become a ‘major dump.’ ‘Hints of trouble began to surface years ago, accelerating in 2022, but staff did not want to let the community know that the project they had anticipated for so many years was headed for the toilet,’ Butt said.”

WSB-TV in Georgia. “Police say a man used Airbnb to rob and tie up a Gwinnett County homeowner in his own house. The victim spoke with Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson and told him the robbery was traumatic for him and his family. On Tuesday at 11 p.m. a man identified as 26-year-old Khalil Hamilton used Airbnb to rent a basement room on Seed Way in Buford. Police said Hamilton then texted the victim, saying he needed help fixing a leaky toilet. The homeowner came down to repair the leak when the suspect pulled out a handgun, tied up the homeowner, and took his wallet and watch. Detectives said Hamilton may have left the state.”

From Fortune. “Many startups make the mistake of scaling too quickly, without getting the foundations right first – and despite its success, Airbnb is no different. It has been plagued by mounting complaints from its users—both hosts and holidaymakers alike. At the core of the issue is that guests feel like they can get a better (and cheaper) experience at a hotel than in someone’s spare room. As one X user pointed out earlier this year, on the platform formerly known as Twitter, hotels don’t make you do chores and there’s a good chance there will be a bar on site.”

Bisnow on Texas. “Securing financing for an office building in Houston is next to impossible given current market conditions, but some say an impending tsunami of loan defaults could turn into a wave of opportunities. Until 2020, it was normal for office owners to procure a 70% LTV loan with a 3% or 4% interest rate, RH Interests principal and founder Rudy Hubbard said. Now, many of those loans are coming due, and lenders aren’t willing to renew them. ‘If they do, they’re only willing to go maybe 50% loan-to-value, not 70%. And the interest rate has gone up to two and a half times greater than it was,’ Hubbard said. ‘Office building financing is virtually dried up.’ In Houston, a 588K SF Energy Corridor office building is slated to be sold at a foreclosure auction next month. ‘It’s happening to everyone,’ Hubbard said. ‘It’s not just a poor operator or an operator that should not be doing this. It’s happening to the best of the best.'”

“All parties are being more careful about leasing office space, Savills Corporate Managing Director Lesa Nickelson French said. Clients are asking landlords to escrow their tenant allowance to ensure they get it, and brokers are asking for offset rights for rent in case they don’t get paid, she said. ‘I even have a law firm wanting to look at the financials of the landlord, which has never happened in 18 years,’ she said. ‘So it’s really interesting to see how people are trying to protect themselves because of what’s happening with the keys being handed back in many cases.'”

CBC News in Canada. “Through 18 years of friendship, Eunice Chan said she’d built a bond with Po Yuk ‘Peggy’ Chan. They travelled the world together, were part of the same church community — and Eunice Chan even introduced her friend to members of her family. She is now embroiled in a series of lawsuits involving former real estate agent and mortgage broker Peggy Chan, alleging her longtime friend defrauded her of hundreds of thousands of dollars. ‘It’s a surprise, it’s a shock…. I know I was cheated by someone,’ she said. Police allege that from 2016 to 2021, the former agent defrauded people who did not speak or read English well by registering mortgages on their homes and withdrawing the proceeds. Through her lawyer, she denies the allegations.”

“Even with the criminal charges, some of the alleged victims who spoke to CBC News are still on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars from the mortgages. As the lenders seek to collect, some alleged victims are now at risk of losing their homes. Experts say this is the reality with many fraud cases: Even when criminal charges are laid — and even when there’s a conviction — the burden lies with the victims to try to recover the money through civil York Region police say the criminal charges involve five alleged victims, including Eunice Chan and Tina Li, both of Markham, who spoke to CBC News earlier this year.lawsuits. They say the process is challenging, time-consuming and can leave some financially devastated. Eunice said she can’t afford to pay the mortgages, and the lender of the $850,000 mortgage is seeking enforcement action — meaning her home could be seized.”

“Tina Li, 45, who shared her story with CBC News in February, is another alleged fraud victim. She said she continues to fight the mortgages placed on her property but worries about the possibility of losing her home — with one of the lenders seeking to enforce a $400,000 mortgage, which Li claims was taken out without her knowledge. ‘Even though [Peggy Chan] was arrested and got charged, we are still liable for the payments she deceived from us,’ Li told CBC News.”

The Telegraph in the UK. “House prices have been on a downward trajectory since they peaked last year, with property values now thought to have fallen more than 5pc. At first glance, the drop seems small – but when inflation is taken into account, the drop is far greater. In fact, property prices may have fallen as much as 14.5pc according to Capital Economics. The research consultancy is forecasting a peak-to-trough fall of 20.8pc in ‘real terms.’ Jonathan Hopper, of buying agents Garrington Property Finders, said: ‘Cash buyers are out and active but they know they’re a rare breed and expect to be treated accordingly. If you’re offering cash and simplicity and uncertainty for a seller, they are flexing their muscles on looking for significant discounts.'”

“Mr Hopper said developers can be reluctant to discount prices for new build properties – so they have been offering other financial incentives. It is becoming more common to see developers giving buyers money towards the deposit or mortgage repayments rather than applying such discounts directly to the sale price. When one new build drops in price in a given development it usually means a cut for all of them. This is because surveyors use the price set by one new build to determine the value of the others. Mr Hopper said: ‘There’s a growing awareness that the big issue is affordability. And the elephant in the room is the fact that the product they’re trying to sell is arguably overpriced relative to the equivalent used products in the resale market. They’re trying to preserve those prices at all costs, and offering a basket of goodies to try and subsidise the price that somebody’s paying. But ultimately, the price that they’re paying isn’t necessarily reflective of true market conditions at the moment.'”

3 AW in Australia. “A Victorian couple have been left ‘absolutely devastated’ after the company building their dream home went into liquidation. Lily told Jacqui Felgate she got wind ‘something wasn’t right’ after paying a $32,000 deposit for the home in late June. Yesterday, the builder went into liquidation and Lily and her partner learnt they had never taken out domestic builders insurance for the property, leaving the couple with little recourse to recover their money. ‘We’ve lost our money,’ she said. ‘This is our dream and I’m absolutely at a loss of what we can do. It doesn’t look like the liquidators are going to be able to help us anyway because they were in so much debt that we fall right at the bottom.'”

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This Post Has 152 Comments

  1. ‘I even have a law firm wanting to look at the financials of the landlord, which has never happened in 18 years,’ she said. ‘So it’s really interesting to see how people are trying to protect themselves because of what’s happening with the keys being handed back in many cases’

    So that’s what it’s come to Lesa, yer just giving it away.

  2. ‘We’re not anticipating any [price] adjustments. We’re in the driver’s seat right now. We have inventory, it’s fully [property tax] abated, and the project is built so we have no additional costs.

    The delusion is strong is this one.

    3. “Developer Carl Dranoff”

      I’m pretty sure we’ve met this dude on HBB before. Wasn’t he the guy in Philly converting historic buildings into luxe rentals? (He was.) And then I recall he sold it all off? (He did, in 2018). Now he’s building “wellness housing;” this Arthaus was designed to capture natural light because light is good for all that ails you. Yeah well, nobody will pay these prices for a window. I wonder how much debt they have.

      By the way, spot the pattern:

      1990s: men run off to the woods to read Iron John and find their inner child or whatever. (Mild obsession.)
      2001: Recession
      2007: women — who are getting fat from seed oils and high fõcktose corn syrup — get into yoga and organic food and feng sui and veganism, and coming out as gay was stunning and brave. (Stronger obsession.)
      2008: Bad Recession
      2023: Theft and looting are a-ok. Ped -os in smoke-filled rooms pay ditz kids to glue themselves to museum walls. Wellness is back on the radar. Nobody can figure out whether they have Tab A or Slot B when it’s time to make babies. (Nasty obsession.)
      2024: ??

  3. ‘So it’s really interesting to see how people are trying to protect themselves because of what’s happening with the keys being handed back in many cases.’”

    But…but…no more loose lending means valuations artificially inflated by the Fed’s ultra-easy monetary policies are likely to see massive losses as true price discover asserts itself on the Fed’s Everything Bubble.

    Oh, the humanity!

      1. Can Zombie Firms Survive Rising Interest Rates?

        (This is a long read and it is a year old.)

        https://hbr.org/2022/09/can-zombie-firms-survive-rising-interest-rates

        Summary.
        Companies that can’t pay their debts are supposed to turn things around or go out of business. But across the world, a rising number of “zombie firms” are limping along, unable to pay their debts but somehow hanging on. Now, with interest rates rising, the question is whether the zombies will start dying off. If they do, it could be painful in the short run. But it might present acquisition opportunities for stronger companies, too.

        2. “acquisition opportunities”

          What is there to acquire? The zombies don’t seem to have any tangible assets like buildings or typewriters or even IP-protected software. All you’re buying is an idea. And if it were a good idea, the original company would not have failed in the first place.

          1. A lot of zombie firms do have assets, but their debt far exceeds the assets. Here are a few things that can happen to them:

            1) They fold, like Yellow trucking did recently. Assets are sold off to pay creditors and the firm ceases to exist.

            2) They reorganize under a bankruptcy. From what I have seen, this usually only buys time.

            3) They get bought out, usually with a deal made with creditors, who agree to receiving pennies on the dollar for what is owed to them. In this case the firm likely has some intangible value: a brand name, a customer network, etc. and simply failed because it was poorly managed.

            I’m sure there are other options.

  5. “House prices have been on a downward trajectory since they peaked last year, with property values now thought to have fallen more than 5pc. At first glance, the drop seems small – but when inflation is taken into account, the drop is far greater.

    Spare a thought and shed a tear for the FBs that levered up on debt to get up on that housing ladder to effortless riches.

  6. ‘We’ve lost our money,’ she said. ‘This is our dream and I’m absolutely at a loss of what we can do.

    When housing losses we must eat
    Let us stamp our little feet!

      1. We only hear about the when the circumstances are prominent. Had she died in her sleep instead of during the homecoming event, it would never have made the news.

  8. Peter Schiff: Banks Have A Bigger Real Estate Problem Today Than They Did in 2007

    Banks are more vulnerable to the housing market now than they were in 2007.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/peter-schiff-banks-have-bigger-real-estate-problem-today-they-did-2007

    Most people in the mainstream will scoff at that statement. They’ll tell you that the situation is very different today. After all, we don’t have a big problem in the subprime mortgage market. We’re not seeing a big spike in defaults. That’s true. The problem is different this time. And it’s actually worse.

    Most people will acknowledge that there are problems in the real estate market. Home sales continue to decline as mortgage rates climb. Pending home sales fell more than expected in August, with the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index falling to the lowest level since September 2022.

    Meanwhile, home prices have fallen off the peak we saw in 2021, but they haven’t declined as much as you might expect because housing inventory remains tight.

    So, what’s the problem?

    As Peter Schiff explained in a recent podcast, the problem this time is the mortgages themselves.

    The banks are in worse shape and more vulnerable to the housing market now than they were in 2007 when everything collapsed and we had the financial crisis.”

    The problem in 2007 and 2008 was defaults. As interest rates rose, people couldn’t afford to pay their mortgages. That forced banks to foreclose. With the real estate bubble deflating, banks couldn’t recoup their loans by selling the houses.

    The problem was the banks had loaned out a lot of money with zero down or negative AM, and then housing prices went down, and then people started defaulting. Because of the defaults, the banks lost money. But the vast majority of mortgages didn’t default. It was just a large enough percentage that it caused insolvency at these banks.”

    Because we have a fractional reserve system, banks don’t have nearly enough reserves to cover even a small number of their loans.

    Today we have a much different scenario. Peter says it’s worse.

    It’s not about default now. In fact, defaults would actually help. The banks would actually be better off if people defaulted on the mortgages. The problem is the mortgage itself. The banks are losing money on the mortgage.”

    Banks wrote these mortgages when interest rates were extremely low. A 3% mortgage wasn’t uncommon a few years ago. Now mortgage rates are above 7%.

    The banks are losing money on every mortgage that’s outstanding. So, even though people are still paying their mortgages, the bank is still losing.”

    In 2009, the Fed slashed interest rates. That meant all the mortgages the banks owned that didn’t default went up in value. Those mortgages appreciated because the Fed slashed interest rates.

    So, even though some mortgages that went bad, the mortgages that didn’t go bad, which were the vast majority, appreciated in value. Even with that, we still had the financial crisis.”

    Today, there aren’t a lot of defaults. People aren’t struggling to pay a 3% mortgage. And while home prices have declined, most homeowners aren’t currently underwater. Even if they are, people aren’t selling. They don’t want to give up a 3% mortgage for a 7%-plus mortgage. That’s why inventory remains tight and that is holding prices up.

    As Peter points out, a 3% mortgage is a huge asset for the borrower. But it’s a huge liability for the lender. So, defaults would benefit the banks. They could theoretically repossess the home and resell it to somebody else and write a mortgage at a much higher rate.

    So, this is a very different crisis. But it’s worse because they’re losing money on every single mortgage they have whether or not they go into default. … So, this is bigger. It is a bigger problem for the banks. They’re losing more money, and they will lose more money now than they did in 2008. That means we’ll need an even bigger bailout. All these ‘too big to fail’ banks have an even bigger problem now than they did then, and it’s going to take an even bigger round of QE to bail them out. The problem is how’s the Fed going to do that when inflation is as high as it is and going higher?”

    Banks face another problem in this high interest rate environment. They’re losing depositors. Investors want yield. They can pull their money out of the bank and put it in money markets with a 5.5% yield. Peter said this is “the ultimate in crowding out.”

    Everybody wants to take their money out of the banks, and the banks in theory could loan that money to the private sector, but they want to take that money out of the banks and put it in a money market that’s loaning the money to the government. … So, private businesses can’t get credit because all the credit is going to the government to finance these massive deficits.”

    The fact that banks continue to borrow money from the Fed’s bailout program reveals the problems bubbling below the surface.

    As Peter put it, the crisis is easy to see. But most people in the mainstream don’t see it.

    2. That doesn’t make any sense.

      1. Banks carry few if any mortgages, they sell almost all of them to MBS’s.

      2. When they funded that mortgage (at purchase) they obtained the money to fund it at 2.7% and sold the mortgage at 3% and pocketed the difference. They made money on the mortgage.

      3. Many banks get paid to service the underlying mortgages (so much % per month) as long as the money gets paid, they get paid. Even the article says most people are paying (so far).

      Banks aren’t losing money on mortgages, they could be losing money on MBS which they bought at 3% and now rates are at 8% and they function (more or less) like a bond. (so the value is less, just like a T bill but with way more risk). But if they hold to maturity AND the underlying mortgages keep paying, they’ll lose not a dime. And they are NOT forced to mark to market. (which is stupid but another topic). So unless they forced to sell at the bottom or the underlying mortgages stop paying, the bond is still worth what it says. It’s the same issue as 08. (except rates are rising). They have the same problem with other bonds too. Who thought buying a 30 year bond at 1% interest was a good idea. (best and brightest).

  9. Every year we’re promised a government shutdown, but it never happens. More proof that politicians don’t keep their promises.

    1. Political theater: create a shutdown crisis to pass a CR then omnibus. Come to learn, we’ve been doing it for 30ish years.

      1. Not the entire 30 years. We had some minibus bills in fall 2018 that kept most of the government running, while the rest ran on a CR. So when the 2018/2019 shutdown hit, it wasn’t as big a deal because only part of the government shut down. Maybe that’s a better strategy: smaller minibus bills instead of omnibus.

  10. Denver7 (10/2/2023):

    “Unhoused people in Denver will see either a cut or an extension to the number of days they can stay at a city shelter as the Johnston administration responds to an “unprecedented increase” in the number of migrants arriving from Central and South America.

    In Denver, that influx of migrants has more than doubled since mid-September, with nearly 300 people coming to the Mile High City each day on average, according to the latest figures provided by city officials Monday. Nine buses from Texas arrived in Denver on Sunday alone, the city said. That increase, according to the city, has also led to a doubling of the number of people staying at city shelters, which is now affecting shelter capacity and straining the number of staff available to respond to this crisis.”

    https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/denver-changing-time-people-can-stay-at-city-shelters-in-response-to-unprecedented-influx-of-migrants

    300 a day is that a lot?

    Good thing the City of Denver has an infinite amount of taxpayer money to pay for all of this. Keep paying those property taxes, suckers.

    1. 300 a day is that a lot?

      Almost 110,000 per year. Per a previous article it costs $5000 a month to house and feed each Nuevo Americano. That’s about $550 million per month, which is greater than Denver’s entire city budget, so no free apartments and three hots for the newcomers.

      Open borders are incompatible with the welfare state.

      The invaders are going to end up rioting. I was reading a story in the Mexican media about how the caravaners are defying Mexican police and even the Mexican national guard and are still hopping on freight trains, 2000-3000 per train, to reach the Texas border:

      Los migrantes que llegan a Ciudad Juárez se dirigen en su mayoría al borde del Río Bravo, a la llamada “Puerta 36” para entregarse a la Patrulla Fronteriza de Estados Unidos con el propósito de solicitar asilo.

      Migrants who arrive in Juarez in the majority go to the Rio Grande, to the so called “Door 36”, to surrender to US Border Patrol agents with the intent of requesting asylum.

      They know they will be let in, no questions asked. One train load per day equals 1,000,000 invaders per year. I’m gonna guess we’re talking at least 10 million per year, even though blue states and cities are now begging the Feds to close the border. The spigot will not be closed.

        1. The Camp of the Saints was meant as a warning, not a how to guide. Raspail died in 2020, so he got to see the invasion start in Europe,

          I wonder how long until the invader buses start pulling into my little burg and begin dumping hundreds of people here. My little burg is not a “sanctuary city” and local government will refuse to house and care for them, so perhaps they won’t be brought here. Then again I could see Joetato signing an unconstitutional mandate requiring all municipalities to provide housing for the invaders.

          1. The Mayor of NYC has announced a trip to Mexico and then on to the Darian Gap to see first hand what is happening. It will be interesting to see his perspective when he gets back. It is either going to be long awaited truth bombs or he is coming back with bags of money and a promise to house a million new citizens. The trip is allegedly being paid for by one of the many illegal invader sponsors so if I had to bet on it I’d say Mr. Adams is about to get paid off and become very welcoming. We’ll see…

          2. The Mayor of NYC has announced a trip to Mexico and then on to the Darian Gap to see first hand what is happening.

            Sounds like the WEF powers are telling their lapdog mayors and governors to toe the line. Adams will likely return with tales of the appalling circumstances the migrants endure and how we all have to pull together to help them. Meanwhile, his offshore bank account balance will grow,

        1. Yup. The invaders are expecting to join the free sh!t army (En los Estados Unidos no tienes que trabajar, te dan dinero gratis.) When they are handed a shovel they will be very upset. Imagine 20 million invaders going on a rampage when the free cheese stops.

          1. Imagine 20 million invaders going on a rampage when the free cheese stops.

            Maybe this will help with on-shoring previously outsourced factory jobs. Work or not food.

            Also, a great source of human shield for a draft in case of war.

          3. Also, a great source of human shield for a draft in case of war.

            Should they start being drafted, expect them to stampede out of the country and run home as fast as possible. They came to join the Free Sh!t Army, not the other one.

            But no, they will never be drafted. If there ever is a draft again, it will only be deplorables who are conscripted.

          1. Not that I’m keeping score, but over the past three years the “conspiracy theorists” are up about 37-0.

    2. I was just at the Home Depot in Glendale and there were a handful of criminal invaders out there trying to steal jobs from Americans.

      Sorry, illegals, but you’re probably not getting hired at 2:30pm, try again tomorrow.

        2. Please no, we’d never hear the end of it. She’d be blowing her racist rape whistle nonstop 24/7. Can you imagine the drama?? CNN would turn into a long nonstop whistle sound. Kind of like how it is now only such a high pitched whine that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between speech and rape whistle.

    1. They just need to pivot to housing “refugees” in their empty buildings. Desks out, cots in.

      2. Those buildings are not “their” buildings. Weren’t they just fancy sub-renters? Which got killed by TEAMS and Zoom.

        1. Pretty much, but as long as the feds were to foot the bill, it could pencil out. Of course, other tenants might be less than thrilled to share the building with MS-13 types.

  13. Largest EV Charging Station In World Powered By Diesel-Powered Generators

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/03/the-irony-of-green-charging-stations-the-harris-ranch-tesla-supercharger-station/

    Touted as the world’s largest charging station with a whopping 98 charging bays, one would expect this facility to be the epitome of green energy. After all, back in 2017, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk proudly declared that all Superchargers in the automaker’s network were transitioning to solar.

    “Over time, almost all will disconnect from the electricity grid,” he confidently posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    But as it turns out, the reality is quite different.

    “Superchargers charge vehicles up to the 80% sweet spot in as little as 20 minutes, but to provide that kind of power for nearly 100 bays takes something solar can’t provide — diesel generators.”

    That’s right. Diesel generators. The very antithesis of the clean, green energy that Tesla and other electric vehicle (EV) proponents have been preaching about. Investigative journalist Edward Niedermeyer made the startling discovery that these diesel generators were conveniently tucked away behind a Shell station. And when reporters from SF Gate tried to ascertain just how much of the station’s electricity came from these generators, Tesla remained conspicuously silent.

    “The station isn’t connected to any dedicated solar farms, which means that absent the diesel generators, the station is powered by California’s grid.”

    Now, let’s take a moment to ponder the implications of this. According to the U.S. Energy and Information Administration, as of June 2023, natural gas supplied nearly 5,000 megawatt hours of electricity in California, while non-hydroelectric renewables provided about 7,250 megawatt hours. So, even if we give Tesla the benefit of the doubt and assume that the Supercharger station occasionally draws power from the grid, it’s still not entirely “green.”

    But wait, there’s more. Energy analyst David Blackmon, author of “Energy Transition Absurdities,” points out that the Harris Ranch station isn’t an isolated case. He recalls a Whole Foods in Houston that had installed a charging station, which, to his amusement, took up prime parking real estate and even displaced several handicap spaces.

    “He said there were diesel generators behind the store and whenever someone was using the chargers, the generators would kick on.”

    It’s almost comical, isn’t it? The very establishments that tout their commitment to sustainability and a cleaner future are, in reality, relying on the same “dirty” energy sources they publicly condemn.

    Blackmon further highlights the lack of foresight in the current energy transition, especially as the demand for EVs grows. The retirement of a coal-fired power plant in Kansas had to be postponed to cater to the energy needs of an under-construction EV battery factory. As Blackmon aptly puts it:

    “These stories illustrate well the lack of thought going into the demands that will be placed on the grid with increasing amounts of electric vehicle adoption.”

    State Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the unreliability of wind and solar energy to meet the growing energy demands.

    “Adding the load required for electric vehicles and the transportation network to support them would exacerbate the looming shortages we already face in the near future if energy policies are not reformed,” Steinmetz warns.

    Blackmon also sheds light on the impracticality of Musk’s vision to power charging stations solely with solar energy.

    “If that’s what he wants, then he only wants the chargers to work six to eight hours a day. If they’re purely powered by solar, there’s just no way out of that,” Blackmon states.

    Musk’s ambitious claims have often been met with skepticism. From promises of powering the world with a small patch of the Sahara Desert to the assertion that Superchargers would disconnect from the grid, many of these pledges remain unfulfilled. Energy expert Alex Epstein even debunked Musk’s Sahara claim, estimating that the cost of creating a reliable grid using batteries would be a staggering $590 trillion, excluding transmission infrastructure costs. And let’s not forget that these batteries have a lifespan of a mere decade.

    In conclusion, the Harris Ranch Tesla Supercharger station serves as a stark reminder of the challenges and contradictions inherent in the current energy transition narrative. The current execution of the so-called energy transition leaves much to be desired. We need to approach the energy policy with realism, acknowledging the limitations of current technologies and the indispensable role of traditional energy sources.

    “Actions speak louder than words.” And in this case, the diesel generators behind the world’s largest charging station are speaking volumes.

    1. Total joke. And most EV owners I know, especially Tesla owners, could give a rip about the environment. They just want to be seen driving one to the latest Taylor Swift concert. Idiot lemmings.

    2. “80% sweet spot”

      Tesla ranges: (from JD Power):
      ————–
      “Although Tesla promised they’ll give their cars even more driving range, their record-breaker is a 2022 Model S with 405 miles. The company seemingly gave up on increasing mileage, as they wanted to focus on other aspects. Despite that, Tesla models still stay in the Top-10 EVs with the highest driving range and can offer anywhere from 272 to 358 miles…

      …Depending on the outside temperature, wind, and road surface, it [decrease in range from the EPA estimate] could be more than 40%.

      … In 2022, Elon Musk stated that a Tesla with 600 miles of range could’ve been built 12 months ago. However, the company doesn’t want to sacrifice handling, acceleration, and efficiency due to unneeded battery mass. ”
      ————-

      So, yeah. 20 minutes with a supercharger will get you 200-300 miles.
      Not bad but not great, especially since the range is so variable it’s hard to plan. I guess they’re making progress, but without a battery breakthrough, looks like they’ve hit a range wall.

  16. So the poor guy rents out his basement house ,AR B&B , and gets robbed , he really needs check out all his renters , and stay well away from any interaction …..wow , you can’t expect that …

    1. Yeah, but my thought on that story is do you really have to go through all that just to rob a dude at gunpoint?

  17. Fascinating read today:

    Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the 3,000-word anonymous article said, would amount to a “declaration of war against the Globalist American Empire.” The sender of the texts was offering Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, a playbook for the takeover and transformation of Twitter. As the anniversary of Musk’s purchase approaches, the identity of the sender remains unknown.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/was-elon-musks-strategy-twitter-rcna118490

    1. Musk got in a pissing contest over text messages with Twitter’s former CEO then signed a stupid acquisition agreement that his attorneys couldn’t get him out of. There was no master plan. Read the litigation documents.

      1. well in came from NBC news. a “highly respected” and “professional” news organization, shouldn’t we trust their “expertise” and “integrity” of these highly paid reporters to verify the “authenticity” of the “facts”?

        just sayin

      2. I know you don’t like Musk, but I find it comforting that there was no master plan.

        I’m getting pretty tired of globalists and their master plans, and one of their master plans was to maintain a monopoly on all trad media and social media platforms. Without opposition, we’d all be chanting “Vax doubleplusgood” in under a decade. It only takes one media platform to break that monopoly, and if only the path to that is the unexpected vengeful desires of an eccentric toker with FU money to spare, well, we’ll take what I can get.

        And buying Twitter was not Musk’s dumbest decision. Challenging Zuck to an MMA cage match was next level stupid.

  18. A reader sent these in:

    A pretty good article written by WSJ regarding China RE market, local governments and banking system. My addition to the article:

    https://twitter.com/KingKong9888/status/1708475335426355217

    Association of British Insurers’ index of full rebuilding cost of a property is in freefall since end of Q2.

    https://twitter.com/jeuasommenulle/status/1708840747296846064

    Happy Soft landing q4 everyone !

    https://twitter.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1708748643920920677

    This situation is a nightmare, because the people who got 2.5-3.0% mortgages in 2020 got a cheaper price too. The person who buys in 2023 has a mortgage payment that is double the payment, or more, of the neighbor who bought basically the same house three years ago.

    https://twitter.com/JeffWeniger/status/1708967562636144677

    At some point the dam holding back inventory is going to break. But then I fear the question being asked will be, “Where are the people who can afford to buy our house?” Because that pool is likely to be an inch deep. At that point, we might have price discovery on steroids.

    https://twitter.com/petaluma_rob/status/1708975427107131442

    My cousin bought in 2015 and is paying 900/m. Her neighbor bought in 2022 and is paying 4400 for essentially the same house, but glam-flipped.

    https://twitter.com/Oof86583180/status/1708981526648561861

    Every NFP print YTD has been revised lower… longest streak since 2008.

    https://twitter.com/lord_fed/status/1708978627260338441

    This is what you get without an HOA

    https://twitter.com/EnronChairman/status/1708600162975703438

    The 10-year yield is advancing towards the 3-month yield (which has resulted in the ‘steepening’ of the 10y3m curve) – this also occurred in mid-2007. Following this by a few months – the 3-month yield fell sharply (further steepening) & 10y followed.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1709037694695694764

    $NVDA is the largest modern-day pyramid bubble and about the only thing keeping the tech index barely above 0 today. Disgusting that analysts release new high targets when insiders and funds are unloading onto the bagholders (retiree gamblers, pension funds, retail). History will not look on Jensen kindly, just as Cathie’s fund got vaporized by higher rates… good luck

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1708891188831334591

    Total trucking employment index fell sharply last month and very sharply relative to 2000/08 – expect that some of this drop has to do with the YRC bk. The freight sector is saying ‘red alert’ recession risk.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1708574928008602002

    Politicians have been saying the same things for 50 years on the national debt and haven’t changed one bit. They want you to be distracted by the ‘red/blue’ nonsense to distract from the real economic issues – cheap foreign labor, the national debt, & (what rlly matters) Fed policy.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1708532017544024127

    The Fed turned every asset class into a speculative casino where ill equipped individuals piled in with record leverage & the thought of riches. Cycles like these repeat over & over in the course of history – but the ending to this one will be particularly explosive.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1708511120728707457

    The rate cycle will take real estate & its employees to the woodshed, manufacturing will get impacted further when employment deteriorates, winter hiring is set for the weakest since 08, we’re already seeing y/y margin impacts of companies being unable/unwilling to pass on costs further to weakening consumers, consumer cyclical stocks are signaling #recession, keep hunting for your upside bounce of a few points, the risks are very much one sided against the 90% of the population on team #softlanding

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1708511924579647720

    Shopping cart on escalator is crazy

    https://twitter.com/NoCapFights/status/1708698910188007905

    1. (Related to this …)

      “Total trucking employment index fell sharply last month and very sharply relative to 2000/08 – expect that some of this drop has to do with the YRC bk. The freight sector is saying ‘red alert’ recession risk.”

      (Is this …)

      Port Of New York And New Jersey Cargo Volumes Drop 21% In August

      https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/port-new-york-and-new-jersey-cargo-volumes-drop-21-august

      Cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey fell 21% YoY to 662,740 TEUs in August as the seaport adjusts to lower retail volumes.

      “Ahead of preparation for the holiday shopping season, U.S. retailers continued to draw from their overstock of inventory that was delivered during the record cargo surge over the past two years,” the port said in a press release.

    2. “At some point the dam holding back inventory is going to break.”

      It’s already happening in areas here in the West. This has been the one life raft that the no bubble advocates have been holding onto for years now. Even though that life raft was meaningless against all the other data that pointed to a collapse. Well, your life raft is about to get yanked. Happy sinking to ya!

    3. This is what you get without an HOA

      There are a couple of houses in the nabe that go crazy like that for Halloween. The HOA allows it, provided the decorations are only up during a (brief) specified time period. Same with Christmas, you can go crazy, but the decorations and lights have to be down by mid January.

  19. “Now, they seem frozen in place, leaving real estate agents and mortgage brokers to wait for rates to begin to decline and for the market to thaw.”

    Is it safe to assume that rates will drop back down to early 2022 levels any day now?

    1. Updated Tue, Oct 3 2023 11:05 AM EDT
      Dow falls 300 points to lows of session on interest rate threat: Live updates
      Hakyung Kim
      Brian Evans
      Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
      Ted Shaffrey | AP

      Stocks fell Tuesday as traders kept an eye on rising Treasury yields, which hit a 16-year high.

      The Dow Jones Industrial Average
      lost 367 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 slid 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite
      dropped 1.6%.

      Stocks moved to their lows of the session as yields spiked further following the release of the August job openings survey, which signaled a still tight jobs market. The survey showed 9.6 million open roles in the month. Meanwhile, economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated 8.8 million jobs.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

    2. Yahoo
      Yahoo Finance
      Stocks sink as bond yields surge: Stock market news today
      Karen Friar and Alexandra Canal
      Tue, October 3, 2023 at 8:11 AM PDT·1 min read
      In this article:

      Wall Street stocks fell in early trading Tuesday, as rising Treasury yields piled on pressure and investors got a reminder not to expect a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut any time soon.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-sink-as-bond-yields-surge-stock-market-news-today-133444130.html

    3. Yahoo
      Yahoo Finance
      Interest rates staying ‘higher for longer’ means at least through 2026 for the Fed
      Myles Udland
      September 21, 2023·3 min read
      In this article:

      A common refrain around the Federal Reserve in recent months has been the notion that interest rates will remain “higher for longer.”

      Meaning that even after the central bank ends its current rate-hiking cycle and begins the process of bringing rates down, interest rates will remain higher than what the Fed thinks would be needed to sustain economic growth with inflation at 2%.

      What, exactly, “longer” entails is at the heart of investor debates about the Fed’s policy future. But on Wednesday, the central bank offered further outlines of its answer — at least three more years.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/interest-rates-staying-higher-for-longer-means-at-least-through-2026-for-the-fed-100035115.html

      1. “…at least three more years.”

        This is historically good news for savers’ ability to earn interest on cash investments. It sets a higher bar for capital gains on non-income producing assets like gold and crypto to be able to generate income from low-risk cash investments.

        1. Banking
          Savings account rates are higher than most people’s mortgages — what this means for you
          Don’t worry about rushing to pay off your house when that money can grow fast elsewhere.
          Published Tue, Oct 3 2023
          Elizabeth Gravier

          Housing rates have notably gone up, reaching highs that we haven’t seen since the early 2000s and pricing budding homebuyers out of the market, but homeowners’ mortgages tell a different story. A June 2023 report from real estate firm Redfin found that roughly four in five homeowners with a mortgage have an interest rate below 5% and nearly one-quarter have a rate below 3%.

          As we’ve learned, it’s these low rates homeowners have locked in that are contributing to the shortage of housing supply. For homeowners staying put, however, you can make the best of the situation by forgetting about paying off your low-rate mortgage early and instead putting any extra cash into a savings account offering a higher return than your home is costing you.
          …
          https://www.cnbc.com/select/savings-rates-higher-than-mortgages/

    4. Financial Times
      US Treasury bonds
      Bond sell-off intensifies as long-term US yields hit 16-year peak
      German and Italian borrowing costs also rise to highest levels in more than a decade
      The US Treasury
      The 30-year US Treasury yield reached 4.89% for the first time since before the financial crisis
      George Steer and Mary McDougall in London 46 minutes ago

      The yield on 30-year US Treasuries hit a 16-year peak on Tuesday and German and Italian borrowing costs hit their highest levels for more than a decade as the global bond sell-off intensified and equity markets edged downwards.

      The 30-year US yield reached 4.89 per cent for the first time since 2007, before the financial crisis, as markets adjusted to the prospect of a long period of high interest rates and governments’ vast borrowing needs.

      The recent sell-off has followed a run of robust economic data and signalling by the US Federal Reserve that it will keep rates “higher for longer” to damp down demand and finish its job of vanquishing inflation.
      …

    6. Business
      Stock market today: Wall Street buckles again under the weight of higher bond yields
      Flags adorn the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Wall Street is retreating a bit more as a five-week rally loses momentum. The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in early trading Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
      (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
      By STAN CHOE
      Updated 8:27 AM PDT, October 3, 2023

      NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is sinking sharply Tuesday as it focuses on the downside of a surprisingly strong job market.

      The S&P 500 was 1.3% lower in midday trading and nearly back to where it was in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 371 points, or 1.1%, at 33,062, as of 11:16 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower.

      Stocks fell as the pressure on them cranked even higher from rising Treasury yields in the bond market. Such weight has been the main reason the stock market has lost more than 40% of its value since the end of July, after charging higher for much of the year.
      …
      https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-bonds-hong-evergrande-oil-c7bda0ee7c1bca979a201c45e3e4f891

    7. Why is the stock market down? Dow drops as Treasury yields near highest level since 2007
      By Stan Choe
      Associated Press

      NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is sinking sharply Tuesday as it focuses on the downside of a surprisingly strong job market.

      The S&P 500 was 1.5% lower in late trading and nearly back to where it was in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 475 points, or 1.4%, at 32,957, as of 3:10 p.m. Eastern time, and wiped out the last of its gains made for the year so far. The Nasdaq composite was leading the market lower with a 2% drop as Big Tech stocks were among the market’s biggest losers.

      Stocks fell as the pressure on them cranked even higher from rising Treasury yields in the bond market. Such weight has been the main reason the stock market has lost more than 40% of its value since the end of July, after charging higher for much of the year.

      The 10-year Treasury yield climbed again Tuesday, up to 4.80% from 4.69% late Monday and from just 0.50% early in the pandemic. It touched its highest level since 2007 and rose after a report showed U.S. employers have many more job openings than expected.
      …
      https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/10/03/stock-market-falls-treasury-yields-rise-shift-to-bonds/71046838007/

    8. Yahoo
      Yahoo Finance Video
      Treasury yields rise to 16-year high
      Julie Hyman and Luke Carberry Mogan
      Tue, October 3, 2023 at 12:20 PM PDT
      In this article:

      The 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields have risen to their highest levels since 2007. Yahoo Finance Live’s Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton take a deep dive into what these bond market moves could mean amid the Fed’s “higher for longer” interest rate outlook and this morning’s JOLTs report data.

      JULIE HYMAN: We’ve got an 11-basis-point increase in that 10-year yield, 13 basis points on the longer end of the curve. It is proving to be very problematic for equity investors.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/video/treasury-yields-rise-16-high-192047993.html

  20. “No one is going to (move) because the rates are so bad.’

    Wrong. Once the job losses pick up steam they’ll have no choice. Btw, I was at a gathering this weekend and it seemed like every other person was starting a YouTube channel or social media gig. Really?!

    1. was at a gathering this weekend and it seemed like every other person was starting a YouTube channel or social media gig.

      I must live in a really boring place.

      2. You need a lot of views to get decent money. IIRC 1 million views can net you $10,000. 100 views will get you $1

        But I can understand why many $40,000/yr cubicle drones would consider this as a side gig.

        1. But I can understand why many $40,000/yr cubicle drones would consider this as a side gig.

          It can also be fun to share a hobby with others. It’s not a path to riches, but if you like to tinker in your garage it’s not a stretch to create educational videos about it. I know I’ve learned a lot about things like cooking and plumbing from YouTube, channels small and large.

  21. 10yr pushing 4.8 this morning. Across the nation loan officers are reading their rate lock sheets this morning and dropping to their knees. Hope you locked your peeps in last week or it’s gonna be a tough phone call to your borrowers (been there, done that….and it sucks!) 9% 30 year rates here we come!

      1. And he also did the non-qe qes. Once an arsonist, always an arsonist. Don’t expect him the fight the fire.

        1. Fed-engineered boom/bust cycles are the most efficacious means of transferring the wealth and property of the 99% to the Fed’s oligarch accomplices.

    2. Hope you locked your peeps in last week

      Even if they did, the next batch of borrowers will be facing the higher rates. The easy income days are over. I heard King Soopers is paying $16/hr to stock shelves.

  22. A local small time builder/developer just put all the lots on their 30+ lot development up for sale. Total panic move. They got started at the beginning of the year and built 3 900K houses on the newly developed site and no one has even sniffed at them since they’ve been built. Now all the lots are up for sale. If you know what to look for you see signs everywhere that the fear meter is starting to spike.

    1. Haven’t seen many price cuts out here (middle of nowhere small town/valley) but today I saw a rather spendy house get cut 20% (100k) and it’s only been on the market since August.

      and in the last week i’ve seen 3 foreclosures hit the MLS. And another previous foreclosure finally closed. “bank’s expected price was 88k (tiny little house with a kitchen fire”. Closed at (after two months of “auction”). $12,000. (yeah, 12k, not a typo). Even the investors are pulling back. Saw a couple ‘renovation almost finished, you save big bucks” style listings too.

      1. ‘And another previous foreclosure finally closed. ‘bank’s expected price was 88k (tiny little house with a kitchen fire”. Closed at (after two months of “auction”). $12,000’

        At that point you are dealing with an asset manager. Hired gun liquidators. I have experience of having worked for asset managers on foreclosures, but never ever directly. I got an idea of what they were up to on both sides because I helped purchase foreclosures on the MLS around the same time. It’s about the squeeze with these guys. They will throw out a bone like you described rather than waste 5 more minutes on the shack. You have to be patient and most of all ready to pounce.

  23. The next time a realtor suggests you “date the rate” ask yourself what kind of person would ask you to date a rapist? Yep, realtors are worse than just liars.

    1. I have long found that expression to be asinine. Forget dating, it’s easier to walk away from a marriage than a mortgage. If you get divorced you keep half the house. Stop “dating” the mortgage and you lose the whole thing.

      I tell frustrated potential young buyers to be patient, that if they buy now they will regret it for years, if not decades.

      1. and not a one of them listens. No no, i have to buy now, i’ll be locked out forever”

        I’m just waiting to tap the sign (I told you so)

  25. https://globalnews.ca/news/10000476/mortgage-rates-rising-bc-selling-versus-renting/

    After crunching the numbers, James Sloan-Minshull and his husband decided to sell their Langley townhouse and dive back into the rental market.

    They purchased their home in 2018 with the dream of owning property, having more space and access to trails and the outdoors.

    “At that point, the interest rates were low enough where your mortgage payments were actually lower than your rental payments,” Sloan-Minshull explained.

    However, with growing interest rates, owning the home came at a steeper price than they ever imagined, meaning they had to give up a certain quality of life.

    2. “At that point, the interest rates were low enough where your mortgage payments were actually lower than your rental payments,”

      Funny how all these people with variable rate mortgages (or their pseudo fixed rate ones) never thought that rates could go up, and with them their payments.

      At what point does all of Canada get foreclosed?

      1. “At what point does all of Canada get foreclosed?”

        They’ll just create another credit product to supersede the current default mess, but it will come with added expenses.

    3. Poor dog is eating store brand cardboard chunk dry food because the upside down shack owner fuqed up big time.

      “However, with growing interest rates, owning the home came at a steeper price than they ever imagined, meaning they had to give up a certain quality of life.”

      “Everything has changed,” Sloan-Minshull said. “The grocery habits, the food my dog eats, the length of distance of which vehicle drives and for how long.”

  26. Anybody have any theories on the emergency test on cellphones, etc., tomorrow on Oct 4, 2023 at around 2:20 Eastern time?

    1. Business
      San Diego’s resale home price hits an all-time high
      A duplex for sale in North Park in late September for $1.4 million.
      (Phillip Molnar/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
      Experts say a lack of homes for sale has made competition on the resale market even stronger — despite rising mortgage rates.
      By Phillip Molnar
      Oct. 3, 2023 5:30 AM PT

      The price of a resale single-family home in San Diego County hit a record high in August of $958,000.

      August’s new peak, said CoreLogic data released Tuesday, beat the previous record by $8,000 reached in April 2022. Experts say the lack of homes for sale has made competition on the resale market even stronger — despite rising mortgage rates.
      Advertisement

      This story is for subscribers

      We offer subscribers exclusive access to our best journalism.
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      Resale condos also hit a new high of $680,000. Current homeowners, with lower mortgage rates locked in, are less likely to put homes up for sale at the moment, pushing inventory to historic lows.

      Sales have remained at significant lows for several months. There were 2,617 home sales in August, the lowest for that month in records going back to 1988. The closest was 2,741 sales in August 1992.
      …
      https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-10-03/san-diegos-resale-home-price-hits-an-all-time-high

        1. You didn’t give a down payment %, so I assumed FHA at 3.5% down. According to Bankrate’s mortgage calculator, monthly PITI is $6847. That doesn’t include PMI or FHA fees.

          1. FHA is still handing out 3.5% loans!?

            What color or sexual preference do you need to have in order to qualify? (Regardless, I don’t…)

          2. The down payment assumption seems like a relitter marketing gimmick to understate homeownership costs for howmuchamonth buyers. But for the record, the hypothetical 3.5% downpayment in this case is $33,530. I am not sure how many first time buyers have that kind of dough lying around. Maybe it requires a loan from the Bank of Mom and Dad?

          3. “$6847”

            For comparison, comps are renting for around $4000, according to recent rental listings. That’s still crazy high, but not nearly enough to cover holding costs for investers.

            Somefing’s gonna give…

  28. Update on 12923 Corte Juana, Poway, CA 92064:

    9/22/2023 Sold $1,550,000 +24%
    8/29/2023 Pending sale $1,250,000
    8/24/2023 Listed for sale $1,250,000

    09/21/2023 Loan Amount $1,240,000 via United Wholesale

    Buyer, David van Leenen, appears to be a realtor as well.

  29. Every Month 100,000 Families Will See Higher Mortgage Payments, 2023 Canadian Housing Market
    Jon Flynn Broker of Record, Flynn Real Estate Inc.
    Oct 3, 2023

    Inventory goes through the roof as most of Ontario enters a buyers market. Over $300,000 losses for multiple areas in Canada and new data shows vacant and tenanted homes for sale have increased significantly.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lib5gAFBv4E

    9:22.

    1. Every Month

      2% of mortgages, every month. Prices falling and payments doubling. The Canadian dream seems to be broken. Homeless encampments in even small towns is what I see. People are struggling to buy food and the government thinks taxing grocery stores is a good solution.

      1. the government thinks taxing grocery stores is a good solution

        They are going to need extra money to house and feed those 1 million Nuevos Canadienses.

        The future is so bright I need shades.

  30. Giy I worked with for the first time today wants out of Denver. Him and his wife are moving to South Dakota in a few years.

    Homeless, tweakers, junkies, road rage, unaffordable housing, he’s done with all of that.

    And so am I, not soon enough…

    1. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an exodus to Cheyenne. Maybe it’s too close to Dumver and those fleeing fear the rot will be there in a few more years.

      1. He is likely renting somewhere in the Denver metro for access to employment, and when he has had enough of city life he will retire at his owned property.

    1. I seem to recall that last time the Canadian banks dropped interest rates and the Canuck housing market quickly bounced back. This time inflation won’t let that happen

  32. ‘It’s happening to everyone,’ Hubbard said. ‘It’s not just a poor operator or an operator that should not be doing this. It’s happening to the best of the best’

    That’s the spirit Rudy, keep up the good work!

  33. ‘property values now thought to have fallen more than 5pc. At first glance, the drop seems small – but when inflation is taken into account, the drop is far greater. In fact, property prices may have fallen as much as 14.5pc’

    I don’t know what’s happened since but inflation hit 18% at one point recently on this little sh!thole island.

  34. “Through 18 years of friendship, Eunice Chan said she’d built a bond with Po Yuk ‘Peggy’ Chan. They travelled the world together, were part of the same church community — and Eunice Chan even introduced her friend to members of her family. She is now embroiled in a series of lawsuits involving former real estate agent and mortgage broker Peggy Chan, alleging her longtime friend defrauded her of hundreds of thousands of dollars. ‘It’s a surprise, it’s a shock

    The biggests crooks are often the ones closest to you. The ones sitting in the same pews, the ones of the same ethnicity, even people you have known for years.

    And now that processes are “streamlined” with “e-signing” at closing, fraud is easier than ever.

  35. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has been removed as House speaker by a vote of the House of Representatives on a motion to vacate the chair brought by a member of his own party.

    The unprecedented action plunges the House into what is certain to be a contentious speaker’s battle as it simultaneously battles the calendar to complete the appropriations process and continues its impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.

    The 216–210 vote was a significant—and ironic—victory for firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who rallied just seven Republicans to join him as he relied on Democrats to oust Mr. McCarthy.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/kevin-mccarthy-ousted-from-house-speakership-5503049

    2. Dow Jones Dives As Treasury Yields Surge Toward 5%; House Speaker McCarthy Ousted
      ED CARSON 09:05 PM ET 10/03/2023

      Dow Jones futures fell slightly overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. After the close, the House voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, raising the prospect of more political chaos.

      The stock market sold off Tuesday as Treasury yields continued to surge, fueled by a jump in job openings. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said the 10-year Treasury yield could soon rise to 5%. That followed similar comments in recent days from activist investor Bill Ackman and Blackrock CEO Larry Fink.

      Meanwhile, political dysfunction in Congress may also be unnerving investors.

      The Dow Jones fell 431 points, now negative for the year. The S&P 500 undercut its Sept. 27 low, ending its market rally attempt. The Nasdaq rally attempt is hanging on by a thread. Market breadth was abysmal once again.
      …
      https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-dives-as-treasury-yields-soar-as-house-speaker-mccarthy-ousted/

    3. “The 216–210 vote was a significant—and ironic—victory for firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who rallied just seven Republicans to join him as he relied on Democrats to oust Mr. McCarthy.”

      “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.” —Harry S Truman

  38. Does it seem like every day, the stock market slides a little deeper into the maw of a ginormous CR9R?

    2. Markets
      Something is breaking in financial markets — Here’s what’s behind the sell-off
      Published Tue, Oct 3 2023 4:02 PM EDT
      Updated Tue, Oct 3 2023 5:41 PM EDT
      Jeff Cox

      Key Points

      – Rates are expected to stay higher for longer, an idea Fed officials have tried to get the market to accept and which investors are only now beginning to absorb.

      – Getting used to a more typical rate structure doesn’t sound like such a terrible thing. But after 15 years of living in an unnaturally low rate regime, normal sounds, well, abnormal.

      – “All of this has to be assimilated and digested by the market,” said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial. “You can see that it’s troubling and it’s difficult.”
      …

      2. it’s troubling and it’s difficult.

        Actually Quincey, the decades of financial debauchery were “troubling and difficult”.

    3. DOW FUTURES -0.38%
      S&P 500 FUTURES -0.50%
      NASDAQ 100 FUTURES -0.60%

      The stock market today has ‘echoes’ of the 1987 crash, and even a hint of a recession would be a massive blow to equities, Societe Generale says
      Jennifer Sor
      Oct 3, 2023, 12:17 PM PDT
      Stock trades 1987 Black Monday
      AP/Peter Morgan

      – Stocks are following the same path they did ahead of the 1987 stock crash, Societe Generale said.

      – Investors are bullish in the face of rising bond yields, in an “echo” of late 80s sell-off.

      – Any sign of recession now could spark big losses for investors, the bank’s Albert Edwards said.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-crash-1987-recession-risk-us-economic-outlook-rates-2023-10

    6. MarketWatch
      What McCarthy ouster means for markets as investors fret over congressional ‘dysfunction’
      Provided by Dow Jones
      Oct 3, 2023 3:02 PM PDT
      By William Watts

      ‘Investors are sick and tired of being jerked around’, says Jamie Cox at Harris Financial.

      Another round of political infighting that ended up spelling the end of Kevin McCarthy’s short tenure as House speaker on Tuesday wasn’t the primary driver of a selloff in stocks and bonds — but it didn’t help, analysts said.

      Continued dysfunction in Congress goes a long way toward explaining why the bond market has been “out of sorts,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, in emailed comments.

      As the House began to vote on a motion by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to remove McCarthy from the speakership, stocks closed sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell more than 430 points, or 1.3%, to wipe out its 2023 gain, while the S&P 500 SPX posted its lowest close since June 1.

      The drop came in response to a continued surge in Treasury yields that saw the rate on the 10-year note end above 4.80% at its highest since August 2007. Yields and debt prices move opposite each other.
      …
      https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20231003841/what-mccarthy-ouster-means-for-markets-as-investors-fret-over-congressional-dysfunction

    7. Real Estate
      Mortgage rate races toward 8% after hitting a high not seen since late 2000
      Published Tue, Oct 3 2023 12:52 PM EDT
      Updated Tue, Oct 3 2023 1:51 PM EDT
      Diana Olick

      Key Points

      – The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.72%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

      – Mortgage rates follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which has been climbing this week.

      The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.72% on Tuesday, according to Mortgage News Daily.

      Mortgage rates follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which has been climbing this week following strong economic data. Rates have not been this high since the end of 2000.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/03/mortgage-rate-heads-toward-8percent.html

    8. Financial Times
      Updated 4 minutes ago
      Live news: US and German bond yields at multi-year highs in continued global selloff

      Today’s top headlines:

      US and German bond yields at multi-year highs in continued global selloff

      US benchmark Treasury bond yield reaches new 16-year high

      Bank of Japan adds to bond purchases as yields hit decade high

      Edited by
      Maxine Kelly, Donato Paolo Mancini, Oliver Ralph, Jonathan Wheatley, William Langley and George Russell yesterday
      3 hours ago

      US and German bond yields at multi-year highs in continued global selloff
      George Steer in London

      Global bond markets continued to sell off early on Wednesday, with Treasury yields at a 16-year high and the 10-year German yield rising to its highest level in 12 years.

      The yield on Germany’s benchmark 10-year government bonds rose 0.06 percentage points in early morning trade to 3.01 per cent, its highest point since 2011, LSEG data showed. Yields move inversely to prices.
      Line chart of showing German yields rise again

      In the US, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 0.08 percentage points to 4.88 per cent, its highest since mid-2007.

      The bond sell-off has followed a run of stronger than expected US economic data and warnings from the Federal Reserve that it will keep rates “higher for longer” to contain inflation.
      …

    1. Financial Times
      Japanese government bonds
      Bank of Japan buys $12.7bn of bonds as yields hit highest in a decade
      Purchases come as global market sell-off drives US Treasury rates
      A man walks past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo
      Japan’s central bank is under pressure to maintain its policy of controlling yields on the 10-year JGB while also limiting a slide in the yen
      Leo Lewis in Tokyo and Hudson Lockett and William Langley in Hong Kong 4 hours ago

      Japan’s central bank made unscheduled purchases of government debt on Wednesday as yields on benchmark bonds hit their highest mark in a decade, while a global market sell-off also continued to drive US Treasury yields to 16-year highs.

      The Bank of Japan offered to buy ¥675bn worth of Japanese government bonds at maturities between five and 10 years. The BoJ’s offer was part of a total ¥1.9tn ($12.7bn) of JGB purchases across various maturities on Wednesday. The unscheduled part of the offer greatly exceeded market expectations, traders said.

      The BoJ is under increasing pressure to maintain its policy of controlling yields on the 10-year JGB while also limiting a slide in the yen, which briefly weakened below ¥150 to the dollar on Tuesday for the first time in almost a year.
      …

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