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The Cascading Effect Of Less Credit And More Expensive Credit

A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. “The Seattle-area housing market remained lethargic in November, as high interest rates converged with the typically slow season. A luxury Alki condo building announced in late November it would cut prices by up to 20% for the next six buyers if the buyers are under contract before the end of the year and close by Jan. 31, among other perks. ‘It’s a sign of the times for developers right now, but we need to do what it takes to meet the market,’ James Wong, CEO of the project’s developer Vibrant Cities, said in a statement.”

The Real Deal on Illinois. “Battle tactics such as name-calling typically reserved to election campaigns for public office has seeped into a Chicago condo board contest, as homeowners grapple with a contentious bulk sale of their building to the city’s biggest deconversion player. The $96 million potential sale of the 310-unit building at 200 North Dearborn Street has been stalled for more than a year, and residents are stuck in oblivion. Plus, the condo board this summer filed lawsuits against holdout unit owners who have so far allegedly refused to sign closing documents despite a vote approving the deal. The cases are moving through Cook County court.”

“Condo owner Alonya Udartseva said at this point, she doesn’t care if the sale goes through or not. But she wants the board to either back out or put pressure on the buyer to close the deal because the pending sale prohibits her from selling her condo individually. ‘Something needs to happen. I cannot be in limbo anymore,’ Udartseva said.”

KATU in Oregon. “When you pull up to Mark Dahl’s home in Southeast Portland, it’s clear he’s proud of his property. But after more than three decades in his house, Dahl has regrets. He now calls his neighborhood in Lents ‘a slum.’ Dahl is angry about what’s happening just a quarter of a mile down the road on Southeast Knapp, just below Knapp Falls and the Indian Creek Natural Area; trash, tents, RVs, and chopped-up cars stretching all the way to Southeast Flavel. ‘Frustrated. Totally disgusted is what I feel because I shouldn’t have this three blocks from my home when I pay property taxes,’ said Dahl.”

“It’s the same situation around the corner near Johnson Creek, where camps have been growing along the I-205 Multi-Use Path. KATU reporters talked with a man named ‘Q,’ who told us he’s been homeless and living in the area for four years. ‘My habit has the best of me,’ said Q. ‘It’s like a cold glass of water on a hot day. No matter who you are, you’re gonna drink that cold water and vice-versa, drugs.’ We asked Q what he would do if someone offered him housing away from Johnson Creek. He told us he wouldn’t take it. ‘I like it out here,’ said Q.”

The Des Moines Register in Iowa. “Daniel Pettit painted himself as a bold and adventurous developer, who appeared to have not only a Midas touch but a heart of gold. A one-time mayoral candidate in Waukee, Pettit announced some of that city’s most ambitious projects before the pandemic hit. But the 43-year-old also had an appetite for lavish things, buying a mansion worth at least $2.4 million with a nine-hole golf course and fishing pond in Johnston, a $1 million painting from pop artist Rob Prior in Miami, and a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, a rare sports car, from Texas. And as 2023 draws to a close, Pettit finds himself drowning in financial trouble, hounded by lenders and unhappy former investors and wanted by the law after being held in contempt of court in three civil court cases.”

Bisnow on Texas. “Dozens of real estate-related entities and properties associated with a Dallas-based developer facing fraud charges were ordered into receivership by a federal judge, according to a new report. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr placed in receivership 54 entities with ties to Timothy Lynch Barton, president of development firm JMJ and CEO of real estate investment firm Carnegie Development, CoStar reported. Barton was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of securities fraud in September 2022. He has pleaded not guilty.”

“The indictment alleges that Barton traveled to China to convince investors to spend millions of dollars on home lots in areas of Dallas-Fort Worth that Barton said were highly sought after, inflating the cost by as much as 195%. In some instances, he never actually purchased the property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. The Chinese investors were promised two years of interest payments, followed by a return of their initial investment at the end of the second year, the news release says. Barton allegedly paid interest payments to early investors with later projects’ investment funds, paid commissions out of investor funds and funneled investors’ money into unrelated projects. Investors lost more than $26M in the scheme, according to the indictment. The charges against Barton carry a combined maximum sentence of 180 years.”

Te San Jose Spotlight in California. “A Silicon Valley developer is scaling back its plans for a massive and controversial development of offices, housing, retail, dining and park spaces on the site of the former Vallco Mall in Cupertino. Representatives with Palo Alto-based Sand Hill Property Company said high interest rates, rising costs and project delays have forced a cut back and redesign of major elements for The Rise, long planned for a vacant 50-acre site. ‘Within the industry, no one is immune to what the market is imposing on any of us right now,’ Reed Moulds, managing director for Sand Hill, told San José Spotlight. ‘The pressure is coming on both ends, both in terms of costs, and declining values and the growth prospects are down. In order to continue to move forward, you need to make, in certain cases, drastic changes.'”

The Waterloo Record in Canada. “Two Kitchener developers owed more than $100 million but had less than $300 in their bank account when they lost control of their unfinished, 15-storey condominium tower on Weber Street East, a new report says. The report provides more detail around the financial meltdown of the Elevate housing project, before lenders persuaded a court to order the project into receivership in October. Receivership assigns control to a court appointee who can sell assets to pay outstanding debt. Development partners Werner Leuschner and Kamal Patel pre-sold all 177 units in the unfinished tower plus 325 units in other proposed towers before they ran out of money, court documents indicate.”

“The developers have not responded to interview requests left with people at addresses listed as their residences. ‘I’m not the spokesperson for that project,’ a man said Tuesday, shutting the door on a reporter who asked if he is Patel. Condo buyers in the first tower agreed to pay an average of $470,000, according to a list of buyers and prices. Down payments averaged $92,000. The receiver has hired a Toronto company to protect the unfinished tower from weather damage. The stalled project owes more than $100 million, mostly to lenders but also to tradespeople who say they went unpaid, the new report says.”

The Globe and Mail. “Westbank Corp., a prominent Canadian developer known for its ambitious architecture, is facing problems at several projects in Toronto and Seattle with contractors claiming millions of dollars in unpaid bills. The number of lawsuits and liens has been piling up over the past year – a particularly difficult period for the industry as borrowing costs and construction expenses soar. More than two dozen construction and trade businesses have been fighting with Westbank over unpaid bills. The allegations have not been proven in court. Craig Macklin, president of Lumbermens Credit Group Ltd., which provides credit risk intelligence for the construction industry, said that while he can’t speak directly to Westbank’s financial position, late payments are becoming increasingly common in the development industry.”

“‘In this environment, the length of time it takes for someone to pay a vendor is being drawn out,’ he said. ‘It’s the cascading effect of less credit and more expensive credit.’ His point is simple: When sub-trades can’t pay their own bills, they can’t help finish delayed building projects. That is the case for Iris Window, the Seattle drapery supplier that is waiting to get paid by Westbank. Iris Window has struggled to make money on jobs that were contracted at a fixed price that was quickly overtaken by rising inflation and labour costs. Westbank’s King Toronto condominium project, for one, has been delayed again because its window-wall contractor, Integro Building Systems Inc., was declared bankrupt on Aug. 31.”

From Bloomberg on the UK. “Two of London’s priciest mansions, on the market for a combined £475 million ($602 million), are struggling to sell as high interest rates and a tough tax environment curb investment. Hui Ka Yan, founder of embattled real estate firm China Evergrande Group, almost sold his Rutland Gate mansion this year for about £200 million — £25 million below asking price, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Knightsbridge property, which holds the distinction of being London’s priciest home, was under offer from a Middle Eastern buyer before negotiations broke down. The Chinese tycoon had two luxury houses in Hong Kong seized by creditors last month as a debt crisis at Evergrande continues to erode his wealth.”

“A one-hour walk from Rutland Gate, through Hyde Park and the affluent Marylebone district, leads to The Holme, a 40-room mansion in Regent’s Park. The property was formerly owned by the Saudi royal family but is now in receivership following a lapse of a loan. Despite dozens of visits from prospective buyers this year, the sellers have yet to receive an offer close enough to the £250 million asking price, according to the person familiar. On a summer tour of a dozen properties across Knightsbridge and Kensington with a client searching for a home valued up to £15 million, four of the sellers were prepared to break even or accept a loss, according to Jo Eccles, managing director at buying agent Eccord. ‘This can be a bitter pill to swallow,’ she said.”

ABC News in Australia. “Hundreds of residents of a Gold Coast high-rise have been told to find somewhere else to live weeks before Christmas after an electrical fault caused the entire building to lose power. All 219 units in the tower have been without power for more than two weeks. The 35-floor tower, which is opposite the Star Casino on the Gold Coast Highway, was said to cost $150 million when it opened in early 2018. A 30-night stay in a two-bedroom apartment at a nearby hotel costs up to $20,000, according to booking websites. A resident who had lived in two apartments in the building said he had been forced to lease a unit in a neighbouring apartment complex. ‘It’s a joke,’ he said. ‘I am going to give them a bill for whatever accommodation I’m up for and if they don’t want to pay it I will get a lawyer.’ The man said residents were warned not to speak to the media because it would adversely effect the value of their property.”

Stuff New Zealand. “Buyers waiting for the return of their deposit from a stalled housing development have had the company put into liquidation. Marc and Christy Tan-Pipe put down a deposit of $175,000 in 2021 for a home in the Red Hills area of Massey, which was meant to be one of more than 100 affordable homes developed on the site by Reed Myers. But Marc Tan-Pipe said as the years went by and there was no progress, they changed their minds. When the sunset clause date passed on December 30 last year, they informed the developer they wanted to pull out. The contract allowed for them to receive their deposit back immediately but this did not happen.”

“‘As far as I’m aware it’s still a truck yard,’ Tan-Pipe said. ‘All the other buyers in our Facebook chat say there’s been no development. As far as I’m aware nothing is happening, it’s a mess right now.’ Tan-Pipe said he was waiting for the first liquidator’s report on the two companies. ‘We’ve got a baby on the way so that money would be really handy right now.'”

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This Post Has 86 Comments

  1. ‘it would cut prices by up to 20% for the next six buyers if the buyers are under contract before the end of the year and close by Jan. 31, among other perks. ‘It’s a sign of the times for developers right now, but we need to do what it takes to meet the market’

    That’s the spirit Jim, fook those previous buyers!

  2. ‘as 2023 draws to a close, Pettit finds himself drowning in financial trouble, hounded by lenders and unhappy former investors and wanted by the law’

    I’ll have a blue Christmas without you
    I’ll be so blue just thinking about you
    Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
    Won’t be the same dear, if you’re not here with me
    And when those blue snowflakes start falling
    That’s when those blue memories start calling
    You’ll be doing all right
    With your Christmas of white
    But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
    You’ll be doing alright
    With your christmas of white
    But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
    You’ll be doing all right
    With your Christmas of white
    But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas

  3. ‘Within the industry, no one is immune to what the market is imposing on any of us right now…The pressure is coming on both ends, both in terms of costs, and declining values and the growth prospects are down’

    Wa happened to my shortage Reed?

    2. I’ve been congested on and off for a month, no other symptoms. Was bad for a couple weeks, was improving, then got worse again. Home mold test negative. Doc says it’s likely a couple viruses hitting me one after the other. The first virus weakens you enough to be vulnerable to the second. Very common, it appears. I just have to wait it out.

        1. I had my J&J booster two years ago. I imagine my immune system has recovered from that by now. I did have the flu shot 5 weeks ago, so that may have contributed. I just found that a co-workers has the same congestion. Probably a few new respiratory viruses wandering around, could even be a coof variant. I’m okay with it, because it seems like it’s a only matter of time.

          Today I discovered real Sudafed … the good stuff behind the counter that you have to ask for. I’ve only tried one half-dose so far, but I can see that it does make a dent. Physical recovery will take a while but mentally I feel much better.

          1. I did have the flu shot 5 weeks ago

            I don’t trust those anymore. Heaven knows what’s in them now.

  6. Gateway Pundit (12/6/2023):

    “CNN and some other liberal media outlets are now floating the idea of requiring ‘carbon passports’ to limit people’s travel in order to fight climate change.

    Every time you think the left cannot possibly come up with a new idea that is worse than the last, they somehow manage to do it.

    These are the same people who accuse Trump of being a dictator.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/cnn-now-floating-idea-carbon-passports-limit-travel/

    1. “…floating the idea of requiring ‘carbon passports’ to limit people’s travel in order to fight climate change….”

      Unless, of course, you own your own private jet and need to fly half way around the world to yet another climate change conference.

      Junkets to Hawaii for the private jet set will no longer be called ‘Vacations’. Rather, they are now ‘Climate change studies’

        1. I sent the link from CNN article to a CNN zealot friend and his response:
          I don’t care I don’t travel much anymore and I have bigger issues to worry about.
          Similar response on free speech on campus (and he was a professor)

    2. to limit people’s travel

      Unless, of course, they are part of a caravan headed to our southern border. Tthe border patrol will remove barbed wire, help them cross the river and fist bump them after they cross into the US.

      1. “…fist bump them after they cross into the US….”

        After a round of fist bumping a welcoming gift basket and a pre-charged VISA card.

          1. Heinlein, Spot on.

            It’s going to get *really* interesting when AI becomes more mainstream.

            Prototype bots already embedded in projects I am using / working on.

            Results at the moment are a real mixed bag, but does take much imagination to see that the rate of [technical] change is going exponential.

            Who knows what the effect of societal change will be, but don’t think it would be a stretch to say more [societal] change is coming in the next few years than the previous few hundred.

          2. I have to wonder just how many illegals the Dems will let in and provide for? I can only imagine the word that is getting back to the “old country”: The Americans are letting everyone in, and they give you free money too!

            And as you point out, AI and automation is going to have a yet unknown effect on society. As I have mentioned in the past, imagine entering a McDonalds that has no human staff at all. As automation continues to advance a lot of menial jobs are going to disappear. Which then brings up the question of all the invaders being welcomed into the country. Just what are they supposed to do? I have heard some rumblings about having them serve in the military. It would explain why so many young men are being let in, though since few have more than a 6th grade education and have low IQs, will they be fit to serve in today’s high tech military?

          3. “…I have heard some rumblings about having them serve in the military…”

            Military needs for actual people who only know how to can carry a gun is going away.

            Can you (the enemy) imagine being stalked by a 8 foot high robot who can “see” across the entire radio spectrum and can pursue you 24×7?

            Or a swarm of drones the size of bees who can attack and sting lethally? (With each ‘bee’ eye clustered together to stream a super high definition video stream?)

            Much, much closer than most can imagine.

    3. limit people’s travel

      Those grannies better move in with loving daughter if they want to see the grandbabies.

      3. “Paywall”

        This is why I use the Archive website for NYT, WaPo links. Bypass the paywall and no clicks or revenue for them!

        1. Actually, it is cost free access, but it was asking me for a login or to register, which I will pass on.

  8. Kitchner Ont.is a real low key ,low profile place , didn’t know they had these kinds of condo towers going up, looks like it’s staying an empty hulk, flapping in the wind…..when it comes to real Estate , most Canadians lose their senses, they just shell out crazy money …

    1. It is close to HWY 401 – they actually thought that people would live in condos 90 minutes from Toronto to ‘get in the housing market’

  11. Shouldn’t the press be covering the Co28 CLIMATE SUMIT in Dubai, where these insurrectionists are planning implementing a China Model One World Dictorship.
    These Entities want to speed up Climate Change Doomsday response. King Charles expresses the situation is “dire”.
    While the polls in US show the Public aren’t exactly buying the Climate Change Narrative of doomsday, or their preposterous solutions, they plan to force this agenda on globe.
    You would think that a takeover that would supercede all sovereign States, all Constitutions, all freedoms , would be reported on. Sure, sound bites of fear mongering lies get coverage.
    A basic takeover of globe by private party rich Elites, Monopoly Corporations, Royalty, Banks, Big Pharmacy, UN/WHO , Trillionaires, Bill Gates, etc.
    Recent polls in US show US majority aren’t exactally buying the Climate Change Doomsday, or the nonsensical solutions.

    2. There are signs of push back around the globe.

      People get warm fuzzies from backing things that are allegedly going to make life better. No one likes smog or polluted water. But once they realize what sort of sacrifices are being required and how onerous they will be, they start getting angry.

      Norwegians had been happily making the change to net zero, because for them it was easy at first. They had lots of cheap hydropower. They were paying 5 cents a kwhr. So electric cars and heat pumps seemed like a great idea. Fast forward to the present, where two thirds of Norwegian homes now have heat pumps. Guess what happened? There is now a power shortage and a kwhr costs 40-50 cents. They are being told to lower their thermostats to the mids 60’s.

      Their gooberment even subsidized the switch to heat pumps and the lemmings went and did it. Anyway, from what I have read, Norwegians are now very unhappy with the situation.

    4. I’m happy to see that ESG is losing its luster too. Everyone focuses on the “environmental” (climate change) part of it, but few people realize that the “social” could be even more binding. Not hiring trannies? Blackrock gives you a ding. Not hiring unqualified equities? Blackrock gives you a ding. Not hiring enough refugees? Blackrock gives you a ding…

        1. The news story was quite silent about that. I wondered if there was something more than a random event going on. Like the old guy was his boss and had just fired him.

  13. Yahoo
    Yahoo Finance
    A record share of Americans are still unhappy with the housing market
    Rebecca Chen
    Thu, December 7, 2023 at 7:44 AM PST·4 min read

    Buying a home now is a terrible idea, a record share of Americans still think, and the expected decline in mortgage rates in the next year may not help as much as needed.

    According to Fannie Mae’s latest housing sentiment survey, 85% of respondents in November said it’s a bad time to purchase — matching the survey high — due to slowing economic growth, high home prices, and elevated mortgage rates.

    The share of respondents who believe it’s a good time to buy a home dropped 1 percentage point to 14% in November compared with the previous month, marking a survey low.
    …
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/a-record-share-of-americans-are-still-unhappy-with-the-housing-market-154427941.html

      1. Terrible X2. How would you like to catch this knife? The empty lot directly to the south of this unit is in the process of becoming a “1000 micro-community with a particular focus on serving transgender and non-binary peoples experiencing homelessness, as well as women.”
        Had to laugh at the “as well as women” adage.

        https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1335-Elati-St-Unit-5_Denver_CO_80204_M21785-32959?from=srp-map-list

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMfOhxJ6SNk

        2. I think I once stayed once at that Embassy Suites on Hampden, like a zillion years ago, long before I moved to Colorado.

          Interesting that the Micro thing that was planned on Tower Rd near the airport was cancelled due to cost. Sounds like the city is already out of cash, while there are more and more homeless. Now add all the invaders to the pile. Good times.

        3. The youtube algo has been showing me some Shorts videos showcasing some of the homeless who still seem like viable people, with some education, who lost a job and were evicted economically.

          I would bin these folks as the “employable homeless” who at least seem capable of staying clean, holding down an appointed job, and not trashing the living quarters. I would not object to subsidizing them in a microapartment for a couple years to get them back on their feet. But the hopeless druggies and illegals… sorry, no can do.

  14. US household wealth falls in third quarter
    Reuters
    Thu, December 7, 2023 at 12:15 PM EST·1 min read
    Dec 7 (Reuters) – U.S. household wealth fell to roughly $151 trillion in the third quarter, pulled down by a drop in the value of stocks which more than offset a half-trillion rise in the value of property prices, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

    Household net worth fell about 1% in the period from July through September from $152.3 trillion at the end of the second quarter, the Fed said in its quarterly snapshot of the balance sheets of households and businesses.

    The value of holdings of real estate increased $500 billion, while equity values declined $1.7 trillion. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

  15. Question for whomever knows:

    Do commercial property valuations rely on the comps the same way as residential valuations do?

    1. Financial Times
      Commercial property
      Commercial property confronts the ‘comedown’ from easy money
      As René Benko’s Signa property empire implodes, the rest of the sector faces a reckoning
      Joshua Oliver in London yesterday

      Behind the glittery facades of London’s Selfridges and New York’s Chrysler Building, Austrian property billionaire René Benko assembled a financial time bomb.

      Benko’s Signa Group, which bought stakes in the two trophy assets and amassed a €27bn ($29bn) property portfolio, racked up at least €13bn in debt during the years when the cost of borrowing was next to nothing.

      “He gorged himself on cheap financing left, right and centre,” said one European property executive.

      The decision to go all-out during the era of cheap money left Signa dangerously exposed to the sharp rise in interest rates this year. JPMorgan estimates at least €4bn of the debt owed by two pivotal Signa subsidiaries is at floating rates. And rising interest rates have hammered commercial property values across the market, reducing the value of the assets used to secure Signa’s loans.

      Signa Holding, the central company, filed for administration last week.

      The group faces tough questions about its business practices and valuations but its unravelling is the most prominent symptom yet of a painful adjustment to higher interest rates across the multitrillion-dollar global commercial real estate sector.

      Property owners prospered in the world of cheap debt that made real estate investment relatively attractive. But that high has led to a predictable reckoning.

      “The scale of the cyclical reset in terms of real estate valuations is as big as the early 1990s or the global financial crisis,” said Alex Knapp, chief investment officer for Europe at $100bn global private real estate investor Hines. “This is a big one, if that wasn’t obvious.”

      Unrealised losses

      With the era of ultra-low interest rates over, property owners — from small private businesses to large public companies — face higher interest bills, falling valuations and in many cases a need for cash to pay down debts.

      European property groups have emerged as a focus of trouble. Swedish landlord SBB cut a deal with Brookfield to raise funds and is facing angry bondholders demanding their money back. Germany’s Adler survived a UK court challenge by bondholders this year over its restructuring plan, as it tried to avoid insolvency.

      Many property owners are sitting on unrealised losses. Tom Leahy, executive director at MSCI Research, estimated in September that about 50 per cent of London’s commercial real estate assets are now worth less than what they were acquired for. New York fared relatively better, with just a fifth under water, but many office owners there face steep losses.

      Owners will do what they can to avoid crystallising those losses. Official valuations tend to lag behind market reality because they rely on evidence of other transactions, and dealmaking has stalled. The value of completed deals is down more than 50 per cent in Europe and the US in the third quarter against a year earlier, according to MSCI.
      …

    3. Ben probably knows the answer to this. But if I were to guess, I would say that value could be calculated based on comp rent/sq ft and occupancy, at least for office space.

  17. ‘The cases are moving through Cook County court. Condo owner Alonya Udartseva said at this point, she doesn’t care if the sale goes through or not. But she wants the board to either back out or put pressure on the buyer to close the deal because the pending sale prohibits her from selling her condo individually. ‘Something needs to happen. I cannot be in limbo anymore’

    From what I gather this is a Chicago thing.

  18. Vaughan, Richmond Hill & Markham Real Estate Update – Blind Bidding Finally Gone? – (Nov 29, 2023)
    Team Sessa Real Estate

    26 minutes ago

    In this episode we take a look at the current Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices and market trends for week ending Nov 29, 2023. We also discuss the new regulations put in place which will allow the process of open bidding to be introduced. With all the rules surrounding open bidding, will it even be used?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pgzY6dSqEI

    14 minutes.

    1. “Golden Brown” – Mariachi Mexteca (now known as The Mariachis) feat. Hugh Cornwell
      The Mariachis
      Jul 18, 2012
      A great honour and great fun to meet and play with one of our favourite legends of music and being able to perform a “Golden Brown” remake with legend Hugh Cornwell.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy8Y3R4dXyc

      3:28.

  20. My friend that got heart damage after taking the 5th Covid jab, believes the Climate Change Doomsday Narrative also.
    I think people just can’t get their head around the fact that they were lied to, and will continue to be lied to.

    1. It’s easier to blame nonsense like climate change than to accept agency and admit that you made a huge mistake.

  21. ‘Two Kitchener developers owed more than $100 million but had less than $300 in their bank account when they lost control of their unfinished, 15-storey condominium tower on Weber Street East, a new report says…‘I’m not the spokesperson for that project’

    When the phones go down it’s over.

  22. ‘It’s the cascading effect of less credit and more expensive credit.’ His point is simple: When sub-trades can’t pay their own bills, they can’t help finish delayed building projects. That is the case for Iris Window, the Seattle drapery supplier that is waiting to get paid by Westbank. Iris Window has struggled to make money on jobs that were contracted at a fixed price that was quickly overtaken by rising inflation and labour costs. Westbank’s King Toronto condominium project, for one, has been delayed again because its window-wall contractor, Integro Building Systems Inc., was declared bankrupt on Aug. 31′

    And all these overstretched FB’s go sideways and the avalanche proceeds.

  23. ‘Despite dozens of visits from prospective buyers this year, the sellers have yet to receive an offer close enough to the £250 million asking price, according to the person familiar. On a summer tour of a dozen properties across Knightsbridge and Kensington with a client searching for a home valued up to £15 million, four of the sellers were prepared to break even or accept a loss…‘This can be a bitter pill to swallow’

    The Ecstasy of Gold ~ Susanna Rigacci ~ Ennio Morricone
    AnotherSoulUponThisRealm
    7 years ago

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME2jrxXnucY

    5:12.

  24. ‘A 30-night stay in a two-bedroom apartment at a nearby hotel costs up to $20,000, according to booking websites. A resident who had lived in two apartments in the building said he had been forced to lease a unit in a neighbouring apartment complex. ‘It’s a joke,’ he said. ‘I am going to give them a bill for whatever accommodation I’m up for and if they don’t want to pay it I will get a lawyer’

    Yer suing yerself. But it was cheaper than renting.

    ‘The man said residents were warned not to speak to the media because it would adversely effect the value of their property’

    Down she goes resident.

  25. BATRA’S BURNING QUESTIONS: Where Trudeau failed, Poilievre now owns the housing issue
    Toronto Sun
    42 minutes ago

    Toronto Sun Editor-in-Chief Adrienne Batra and Sun political columnist Warren Kinsella discuss the impact of a lengthy video released by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on the topic of Canada’s housing crisis. The video was well made and impactful as it resonates with the people.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zBh4X_WYoM

    10:23.

    2. I had a similar experience in Florence when the restaurant owner’s wife came out singing opera.

  27. Would you rather:

    (1) Pay $4000 a month in rent,

    (2) Pay slightly less than $4000 a month on a mortgage, plus other home ownership costs (repair, maintenance, yard care, HOA, real estate taxes, Mello-Roos fees, etc.), plus lose $5000 a month in home equity, due to CR8Ring home prices, or

    (3) Move away from San Diego?

    Many folks we knew for years chose option (3) during the pandemic.

    1. Business
      ‘Buyers are super picky right now’: San Diego home sales pick up slightly
      Homes in the Crown Point area of Pacific Beach.
      San Diego County’s median home price dipped slightly in October. Pictured: Homes in the Crown Point area of Pacific Beach.
      (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
      Home sales, which have been at historic lows, ticked up slightly in October. The median home price is up 6.5% in a year
      By Phillip Molnar
      Dec. 7, 2023 5:30 AM PT

      San Diego County’s median home price dropped slightly for the second month in a row as sales increased.

      The region’s median home price was $825,000, down $5,000 from the previous month, said CoreLogic data released Wednesday. Prices are still up 6.5 percent in a year and, compared to much of the nation, San Diego’s price growth is weathering rising mortgage rates better.

      Sales were still in the dumps, but showing signs of rising. There were 2,161 homes sold in October, up 2.9 percent in a month. Yet it still marks the slowest October ever in records going back to 1988. The second lowest was during the Great Recession, in October 2007, when there were 2,327 home sales.

      Jan Ryan, a real estate agent based in Ramona, said higher interest rates mean buyers aren’t jumping at every house they see.
      …
      https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-12-07/san-diego-home-price-dips-slightly-as-sales-pick-up

      1. “San Diego County’s median home price dipped slightly in October.”

        $5000 is more than slightly, as you could rent a comparable home for less per month than this ‘slight’ home equity loss of $5,000. And that is before even considering the other components of PITI.

      2. “There were 2,161 homes sold in October, up 2.9 percent in a month. Yet it still marks the slowest October ever in records going back to 1988. The second lowest was during the Great Recession, in October 2007, when there were 2,327 home sales.”

        I realize that this time is different, but if memory serves, October 2007 was just before the onset of recession (December 2007) and the start of a multiyear ongoing slide in San Diego home prices that continued through 2012 or so.

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