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This Has Made My Life Miserable, The Project, It’s Not Even Moving Forward, I Need Money

A report from WPTV. “The rising cost of home insurance for one Palm Beach County condo is a story that seems to playing out at condos all across Florida. ‘It’s shocking to watch in a few years to go from under $100,000 to pushing a half a million,’ Christina Auer said. That fast increase in just a couple of years trickles down to the condo residents, who pay for it in their monthly fees. ‘Everyone is selling,’ Auer said about her neighbors struggling with the insurance costs. ‘The cost is so great the condos aren’t selling as quick as they were.'”

The Real Deal. “Redzone founder Mark Sutcliffe flipped a Fisher Island condo at a loss after paying a record $21 million for it a year ago. Records show Sutcliffe and his wife sold unit 7954 at 7954 Fisher Island Drive for $19.3 million, $1.7 million less than they paid in March of last year. The Sutcliffes listed the condo for $23 million in February and dropped the price to $22 million in March, Redfin shows. Fisher Island is a popular enclave among South Florida luxury buyers.”

From WPDE. “South Carolina has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, according to Attom Their research shows Columbia, Spartanburg and Florence counties have the highest number of foreclosures state-wide. Black Sloan is a real estate expert who said in addition to an increase in insurance rates and property taxes, the economy is a huge reason why the upstate is experiencing an uptick in foreclosures. ‘I will say though some of the challenges people have had, that we have seen in other parts of the state and even here, has been a massive increase in both insurance and property taxes, which has really increased peoples’ monthly payment significantly,’ Sloan said. ‘I’m not worried at all for our area right now. Again, anything can happen with the economy. I think people who are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck, everything’s more expensive. Some people if they had a very low interest rate, that can put them in a tough situation.'”

Lamorinda Weekly. “Lafayette Council at the meeting April 8 received a staff report from City Manager Niroop Srivatsa about State Farm’s plans to stop renewing or cancel home and apartment insurance polices in California beginning July. The move is projected to impact 72,000 insurance policies statewide. In Lamorinda, the non-renewals range from the lowest at 11.6 % for Moraga, to Lafayette’s 30.4%, with the highest in Orinda, at 54.7%. Council member Susan Candell said she had experienced a State Farm cancellation. After reaching out to an independent fire insurance broker, she was told she was only eligible for the State FAIR plan – a far cry from the near dozen carriers the agent used to be able to suggest. She said not being able to obtain fire insurance ‘is frightening’ and the data used by approval registries for risk projection is dated. ‘If they don’t address this this cycle, next year we [will] have a calamity.'”

From Newsweek. “A video showing several abandoned homes in a ‘zombie’ neighborhood in Austin, Texas, has gone viral online as the former pandemic boomtown is experiencing an exodus of residents. ‘Austin developers are giving up on neighborhoods,’ Austin realtor Jeremy Knight said in the video published on Tuesday. ‘Look at this: we are in a neighborhood in south Austin, and it’s completely abandoned right now. This neighborhood was supposed to have like 200 homes in it and look, it is sitting vacant and barren. These homes are falling apart,’ he continued. ‘It’s the entire neighborhood.’ Footage shot around the neighborhood by Knight shows empty and unfinished properties with broken windows and rotting wood in their foundations. Knight said he did not yet wish to disclose any further information about where the Austin neighborhood in his video was located. ‘Realtors did not abandon that neighborhood. The developer has run into problems with funding,’ he told Newsweek.”

The Indianapolis Star. “What happened to all the money entrepreneur Rodney Grubbs borrowed from his creditors, including dozens of friends and associates he met in the fast-growing world of pickleball? That was the $47 million question at a hearing Tuesday in Grubbs’ bankruptcy case. And the answer remained a mystery at the conclusion of a virtual meeting of creditors. During the meeting conducted online via Zoom, Grubbs faced more than 100 people, many claiming he owes them thousands of dollars for unpaid personal loans and interest. The occasion was the first official meeting of creditors held in the search to track down Grubbs’ assets as part of the bankruptcy case. Motions have been filed with the court to hire realtors to sell Grubbs’ rental homes in Ohio and Kentucky. ‘I know what question is on most peoples’ minds — especially mine,’ said Joanne Friedmeyer, the bankruptcy trustee. ‘We see there’s some inventory and all, but where’s the money? Where did it go?'”

Investigative Journalism Foundation on Canada. “Since Bulvant Singh Pertab Singh sold his pizza restaurant in B.C.’s Fraser Valley last year, he’s spent his retirement going for long walks, working out at the gym and generally enjoying life. But he worries he’ll soon have to find a new job to pay the bills. More than three years ago, Singh invested a significant chunk of his savings into a real estate development promoted by Evest Funds, now operating as the Cynterra Group. But ground has yet to be broken, and Singh has not seen any of the advertised returns. ‘This has made my life miserable,’ Singh said. ‘I’m at the age of 69 now, and the project, it’s not even moving forward. I need money.'”

“Based in Vancouver, Cynterra holds regular seminars to pitch its real estate projects to investors, and advertises regularly on Facebook, running ads that entice users to ‘boost your TFSA and RRSP earnings,’ with ‘15% annualized return on investment.’ According to two claims filed in Chilliwack small claims court, Singh invested $53,000 in January 2021 into a Kelowna townhome development project promoted by Cynterra. The project has not yet received final approval from the city. ‘I verily believe they have misused my investments for purposes other than that for the property trust that I have invested in,’ Singh wrote in his claims, asking for a court order awarding him more than $70,000. None of his allegations have been tested in court.”

“Since 2018, the websites for Evest and Cynterra have invited investors to help fund at least three real estate developments in the Okanagan, four in the Victoria suburb of Langford and one in Mexico. But to date, construction has begun on just one of those projects, which is now partially completed, and two are in foreclosure.”

Blog TO in Canada. “An Ontario home sold well below its previous selling price earlier this month sheds light on just how unpredictable the province’s real estate market tends to be. Located along the Lake Ontario waterfront in Hamilton’s Stoney Creek community, this four-bedroom, four-bathroom home originally sold for a staggering $2.325 million in April 2022. Less than a year after it was sold, the home was put back on the market for $2.498 million, but was terminated shortly after. In May 2023, the home was re-listed for just shy of $2 million, and was taken back off the market less than a month later.”

“In June 2023, the home slashed roughly $50,000 of its previous listing price and was put back on the market for just under $1.95 million, but failed to sell once again. The home was re-listed for just shy of $1.9 million in September, but failed to attract any buyers. The luxury property was re-listed for a final time in March 2024 at $1,899,900, and managed to finally sell just below its listing price at $1.83 million.”

This Is Money in the UK. “The number of homes for sale is at a five year high, according to Zoopla, raising questions over whether house prices could fall further. The property portal revealed there are 20 per cent more homes on the market than there were this time a year ago. Zoopla said it marked a ‘huge increase’ in supply, and was double what was available at the same time in 2022. Izabella Lubowicka, senior property researcher at Zoopla added: ‘Sellers putting their homes on the market need to keep that in mind and ensure they are pricing their property realistically in order to achieve a sale.’ Peter Stimson, head of product at the mortgage lender MPowered, believes current mortgage rates could drag house prices lower. ‘January’s jump in house prices now seems as forgotten as most people’s New Year’s Resolutions,’ said Stimson.”

The Wall Street Journal. “The cheerleaders were operating on a seemingly bulletproof assumption that China’s government would never allow the market to crash. Chinese people had invested the majority of their wealth in housing. Letting the market tumble could wipe out much of the population’s savings—and erode confidence in the Communist Party. Now China is paying the price for failing to act earlier to rein it all in. One popular tactic, which bankers and investors nicknamed ‘hole-digging,’ involved using shell subsidiaries to borrow money, guaranteed by the parent development companies. The structure enabled the parent companies to avoid disclosing on their own balance sheets the liabilities incurred by guaranteeing the subsidiary’ debt. It wasn’t illegal, lawyers and accountants said, because a balance sheet is supposed to provide only a snapshot of a company’s financial health at a specific point in time.”

“Developers sometimes pledged the same collateral multiple times when borrowing money, according to developers and bankers familiar with the activity. Chinese banks were so eager to underwrite such offerings that they sometimes agreed to invest tens of millions of dollars of their own money in the bonds, no matter the pricing, according to bankers and an executive at one development company. Such bank participation would suggest to other investors that the deal was hot, thereby holding down the interest rate and making it less expensive for developers to raise money. ‘At that time, we chose investors, not the other way around,’ the executive said.”

“One executive at a Chinese rating agency said Evergrande asked him to award the company a sovereign credit rating, which would signal Evergrande was as safe as the Chinese government. Three large Chinese domestic companies awarded it triple-A ratings, the highest possible. S&P Global gave Evergrande only a B-plus rating, junk-bond territory. Chinese state media highlighted the discrepancy, with People’s Daily writing that it was partly due to ‘a lack of understanding of [Chinese] companies.’ People’s Daily blamed Western firms for ‘exaggerating the potential risks of the Chinese economy and companies,’ and said international firms could be helping short sellers.”

“Chen Yanzhi, now 35, says she began buying homes while still in college, after making a bit of money trading stocks. She started visiting new projects around the country, snapping up units whenever she saw one she liked. Over a decade, she bought and sold more than 20 homes in places such as Nanjing, Shanghai and Hainan province. The first cost around $70,000. Years later, she paid $3.8 million for a property in Shanghai. ‘I love houses, and I love everything about houses,’ Chen said in an interview. Chen said half of her homes are now without tenants, and several are worth less than what she paid. She said she isn’t in a hurry to sell, though, and remains optimistic.”

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This Post Has 67 Comments

  2. ‘Records show Sutcliffe and his wife sold unit 7954 at 7954 Fisher Island Drive for $19.3 million, $1.7 million less than they paid in March of last year’

    That’s a mighty a$$ pounding Mark.

  3. ‘I love houses, and I love everything about houses,’ Chen said in an interview. Chen said half of her homes are now without tenants, and several are worth less than what she paid. She said she isn’t in a hurry to sell, though, and remains optimistic’

    You are a winnah! Chen. Don’t listen to those capitalist dogs, don’t screw up the comps!

  6. ‘I know what question is on most peoples’ minds — especially mine,’ said Joanne Friedmeyer, the bankruptcy trustee. ‘We see there’s some inventory and all, but where’s the money? Where did it go?’”

    Color it gone, housing speculator scum.

    1. “I verily believe they have misused my investments for purposes other than that for the property trust…”

      Wine, curvy ladies and mansions aren’t cheap, Singh.

  8. ‘I verily believe they have misused my investments for purposes other than that for the property trust that I have invested in,’ Singh wrote in his claims, asking for a court order awarding him more than $70,000.

    Die, speculator scum.

  9. “…The rising cost of home insurance for one Palm Beach County condo is a story that seems to playing out at condos all across Florida…”

    Ditto for fire insurance in many areas of California.

    The HBB and its readers have been warning about ever rising R/E holding costs of all types (Property taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA dues, and the like) for well over a decade.

    Not unthinkable, that in the near future, the combined monthly holding costs for a typical property will exceed that of a typical mortgage.

    1. Not unthinkable, that in the near future, the combined monthly holding costs for a typical property will exceed that of a typical mortgage.

      In a Chicago suburb during the GFC a property I looked at had a higher monthly property tax payment than mortgage payment.
      Crazy property taxes in lots of Chicago areas.

      1. “Not unthinkable, that in the near future, the combined monthly holding costs for a typical property will exceed that of a typical mortgage.”

        Historically, that’s when the music stops.

    1. Interest rates have been artificially suppressed for years by the Fed. When foreign investors refuse en masse to buy US debt that’s going to be printed (inflated) away by these Keynesian fraudsters, interest rates are going to break free, meaning its Game Over for the Fed’s asset bubbles & Ponzi markets. Got popcorn?

  13. Mortgages just got even more expensive. 10yr @ 4.7+ this morning. All you rate daters need to be stocking up on lube too.

    1. Glorious, isn’t it? As the easy money goes away, trillions in fake wealth created by fake Yellen Bux “money” are going to melt away like FB tears in the rain.

  15. So Singh invested 53K,and is now wanting 70K back, that’s a pipe dream indeed, he’ll be lucky to get 10K ,if anything ……

  16. “The cheerleaders were operating on a seemingly bulletproof assumption that China’s government would never allow the market to crash. Chinese people had invested the majority of their wealth in housing. Letting the market tumble could wipe out much of the population’s savings…”

    Will the same article work again a few years down the road with America in place of China?

    1. Will the same article work again a few years down the road with America in place of China?

      Very good question. I suspect it might at least in some areas/product such as CRE and condos, especially Condos in Florida.

  17. If the government tells you that GDP increased by 1.6% that means that GDP actually dropped by 3-5%.

    Any alleged government “statistics” under this unelected, illegitimate, occupation regime are all lies on par with the production figures of Soviet Russia.

    And the lies will continue until the next stolen election in November, and beyond.

  18. Yahoo
    Live
    Updated 29 min ago
    Yahoo Finance
    Stock market today: US stocks tumble after Meta’s reality check, soft GDP print
    Karen Friar·Editor
    Updated
    Thu, Apr 25, 2024, 6:52 AM PDT
    In this article:

    Stocks opened sharply lower Thursday after a sharply lower-than-expected reading on US GDP for the first quarter ratcheted up questions about the health of the US economy in the face of persistently high interest rates. Tech stocks led the way down as Meta’s (META) revenue forecast rattled investors eyeing the next high-stakes megacap earnings.

    The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell more than 2%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 1.3%, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped 1.5%, or over 500 points.

    US GDP growth came in at a 1.6% annualized pace in the first quarter, falling well short of expectations of 2.5%. The reading comes amid ongoing debate about the path of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate campaign.

    Treasury yields rose after the GDP print, with the benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) surging to its highest levels of the year. At last check, it was sitting around 4.73%.

    Meanwhile, Meta shares sank as much as 15% as the market balked at rising costs at the Facebook and Instagram owner, which plans to spend up to $10 billion on AI infrastructure investments. Concerns grew about how long it will take for that spending to feed into revenue, pulling down tech stocks more broadly. Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN) were all down more than 3%.
    …
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-today-us-stocks-tumble-after-metas-reality-check-soft-gdp-print-133116573.html

      1. Yahoo Finance
        Why the Magnificent 7’s ‘momentum is collapsing’
        Josh Schafer·Reporter
        Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 12:13 AM PDT
        3 min read

        In this article:

        The run may be over for the seven stocks that drove the lion’s share of the stock market rally over the past year.

        UBS Investment Bank’s chief US equity strategist Jonathan Golub downgraded six of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks — Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Nvidia (NVDA) — from Overweight to Neutral in a new research note on Monday.

        His call comes as the Magnificent Seven, which also includes Tesla (TSLA), just endured its largest weekly market cap loss in history. All seven of the Big Tech leaders are off their recent highs, a decline punctuated by a 10% single-day drawdown for Nvidia on Friday, its worst one-day price performance since March 2020, though the AI darling rebounded 4% on Monday.
        …
        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-the-magnificent-7s-momentum-is-collapsing-160309358.html

    1. “…just sold for $6.5 million, a nearly 90% plunge from its 2016 price of $62 million….”

      90%? That’s unpossible!

      The REIConplex for years have pontificated that plunges of even just 50%,40% or even 20% would never happen in our lifetimes!

      And the Academy Award for biggest egos in a fantasy world… goes to ….. Lawrence Yun! [insert cheering crowd noise]

  22. A reader sent these in:

    Looking back on the progression of @elonmusk comments on full self-driving🚗

    https://twitter.com/BrianSozzi/status/1783168094501777815

    $META beats: -10%
    $TSLA misses +10%

    https://twitter.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1783227480838422662

    US Subprime auto loan delinquency rates are now set to cross above 4% and stand at 2008 levels.

    The 60-day delinquency rate for subprime auto loans is now ~3.9%, doubling in just 3 years.

    Since 2021, subprime and prime auto loan delinquencies have moved in a straight-line higher.

    The increase accelerated once the Fed began raising rates in March 2022.

    Meanwhile, auto insurance rates have spiked by 22% over the last year, the biggest jump in over 50 years.

    Consumer bankruptcies are set to skyrocket.

    https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1783178683903041795

    Whirlpool is cutting over 1,000 jobs in the United States

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1783235946290303390

    The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is laying off over 1,000 employees

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1783160371689238583

    Solar giant Sunpower will cut 1,000 jobs which is about 30% of their total workforce

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1783158895885611425

    L3 Harris is reportedly eliminating 5% of their workforce, or 2,500 employees

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1778533766283379039

    We are now below 60% of homes owned by the primary residents. We have been declining since 2007, but he have taken a huge hit in 2023 with interest rates so much higher.

    https://twitter.com/InsAgencyOwner/status/1695908944202416375

    🇺🇸 Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) faces 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to violating money laundering laws – Reuters

    https://twitter.com/RadarHits/status/1783060199152013333

    A record share of renters in the U.S. are spending more than 30% of their income on housing, per MW.

    https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/1783164497080771041

    Scott Galloway did a nice job of summing up the American Dream as nothing more than a mirage for non-asset holders and individuals under 30. For most, it’s the American nightmare and problems will only worsen with QE-5 and beyond.

    Unfortunately for many Americans – they’re unable to leave due to debt, obligations, or lack of resources – and have no representation (NONE) at any level of government. Same goes for small business owners.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1783337844364214320

    FHFA reporting collapsing appraisal values

    https://twitter.com/GRomePow/status/1783291381152350336

    We’re about to see the highest number of apartment units delivered since 1974.

    Problem? We have HALF the working aged Americans joining the labor force as we did in 1974

    https://twitter.com/GRomePow/status/1783162518992802020

    Housing defaults have now reached the highest level in a decade

    https://twitter.com/GameofTrades_/status/1783141344971812866

    2. “the American Dream as nothing more than a mirage for non-asset holders and individuals under 30”

      Sounds about right.

      These are the economic conditions that will lead to revolution. What is the purpose of working when you know you have no future under the current system as it exists now?

  23. I love manipulation and corruption – and the Chinese make it so blatant and wide open. Almost as corrupt as the US bankers that manipulated the MBS structures. Read the WSJ article in the blog post above.

    I wish i could do that for my IRS taxes

    One popular tactic, which bankers and investors nicknamed “hole-digging,” involved using shell subsidiaries to borrow money, guaranteed by the parent development companies. The guarantee was valid all year long—except, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, for June 30 and Dec. 31, the cutoff days most Chinese property companies use to base their financial results on.

  24. ‘Everyone is selling,’ Auer said about her neighbors struggling with the insurance costs. ‘The cost is so great the condos aren’t selling as quick as they were.’”

    Nonsense! I’ve been angrily assured repeatedly that nobody is going to ever going to sell and give up their 3% mortgage!

  25. The Ghetto-ization of American Life

    Behind the facade of normalization, even high-income lifestyles have been ghetto-ized.

    https://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-ghetto-ization-of-american-life.html

    Consider the defining characteristics of a ghetto:

    1. The residents can’t afford to live elsewhere.

    2. Everything is a rip-off because options are limited and retailers / service providers know residents have no other choice or must go to extraordinary effort to get better quality or a lower price.

    3. Nothing works correctly or efficiently. Things break down and aren’t fixed properly. Maintenance is poor to non-existent. Any service requires standing in line or being on hold.

    4. Local governance is corrupt and/or incompetent. Residents are viewed as a reliable “vote farm” for the incumbents, even though whatever little they accomplish for the residents doesn’t reduce the sources of immiseration.

    5. The locale is unsafe. Cars are routinely broken into, there are security bars over windows and gates to entrances, everything not chained down is stolen–and even what is chained down is stolen.

    6. There are few viable businesses and numerous empty storefronts.

    7. The built environment is ugly: strip malls, used car lots, etc. There are few safe public spaces or parks that are well maintained and inviting.

    8. Most of the commerce is corporate-owned outlets; the money doesn’t stay in the community.

    9. Public transport is minimal and constantly being degraded.

    10. They get you coming and going: whatever is available is double in cost, effort and time. Very little is convenient or easy. Services are far away.

    11. Residents pay high rates of interest on debt.

    12. There are few sources of healthy real food. The residents are unhealthy and self-medicate with a panoply of addictions to alcohol, meds, painkillers, gambling, social media, gaming, celebrity worship, etc.

    13. Nobody in authority really cares what the residents experience, as they know the residents are atomized and ground down, incapable of cooperating in an organized fashion, and therefore powerless.

    I submit that these defining characteristics of ghettos apply to wide swaths of American life. Ghettos are not limited to urban zones; suburbs and rural locales can qualify as well. The defining zeitgeist of a ghetto is the residents are effectively held hostage by limited options and high costs: public and private-sector monopolies that provide poor quality at high prices.

    Daily life is a grind of long waits / commutes, low-quality goods and services, shadow work (work we have to do that we’re not paid for that was once done as part of the service we pay for) and unhealthy addictions to distractions and whatever offers a temporary escape from the grind.

    We’ve habituated to being corralled into the immiseration of limited options and high costs; the immiseration and sordid degradation have been normalized into “everyday life.” We’ve lost track of what’s been lost to erosion and decay. We sense what’s been lost but feel powerless to reverse it. This is the essence of the ghetto-ization of daily life.

    Behind the facade of normalization, even high-income lifestyles have been ghetto-ized. But saying this is anathema: either be upbeat, optimistic and positive or remain silent.

    What’s worse, the ghetto-ization or our inability to recognize it and discuss it openly?

    2. I agree with the yardsticks for ghettoization, and find it sobering to read and reflect on it.

      I feel fortunate that not too much of it describes our community, though I agree that ghettoization is spreading.

  26. ‘She said not being able to obtain fire insurance ‘is frightening’ and the data used by approval registries for risk projection is dated. ‘If they don’t address this this cycle, next year we [will] have a calamity’

    The good news Susan is that you can always sell.

  27. ‘I know what question is on most peoples’ minds — especially mine…We see there’s some inventory and all, but where’s the money? Where did it go?’

    It’s called money heaven Joanne. I’ve posted this story before in the same paper I believe, a month or so ago. Back then everybody was making accusations of ponzi schemes, etc. It’s died down cuz lawyers I’m sure. But ‘allegedly’ the guy was using his pickle ball connections to raise money to buy rental shacks, in some cases without the marks knowing – ‘allegedly’.

  28. ‘Since Bulvant Singh Pertab Singh sold his pizza restaurant in B.C.’s Fraser Valley last year, he’s spent his retirement going for long walks, working out at the gym and generally enjoying life. But he worries he’ll soon have to find a new job to pay the bills. More than three years ago, Singh invested a significant chunk of his savings into a real estate development promoted by Evest Funds, now operating as the Cynterra Group. But ground has yet to be broken, and Singh has not seen any of the advertised returns. ‘This has made my life miserable,’ Singh said. ‘I’m at the age of 69 now, and the project, it’s not even moving forward. I need money’

    It’s hard to pin down what went wrong here Bulvant. You got shacks, you got K-da, should = instant jackpot! BTW, do you guys have walmart up there? I hear they are hiring.

  29. ‘The luxury property was re-listed for a final time in March 2024 at $1,899,900, and managed to finally sell just below its listing price at $1.83 million’

    That’s the spirit, even though they are taking a yuuge a$$ pounding, sting em for that last 70k at the end!

  30. ‘January’s jump in house prices now seems as forgotten as most people’s New Year’s Resolutions’

    It was a dead cat bounce Peter.

  31. ‘Such bank participation would suggest to other investors that the deal was hot, thereby holding down the interest rate and making it less expensive for developers to raise money. ‘At that time, we chose investors, not the other way around’

    A couple or three years ago silly con valley guys were saying the same thing about the VC unicorns executive.

  32. ‘One executive at a Chinese rating agency said Evergrande asked him to award the company a sovereign credit rating, which would signal Evergrande was as safe as the Chinese government. Three large Chinese domestic companies awarded it triple-A ratings, the highest possible. S&P Global gave Evergrande only a B-plus rating, junk-bond territory. Chinese state media highlighted the discrepancy, with People’s Daily writing that it was partly due to ‘a lack of understanding of [Chinese] companies’

    I think we know where A-dan was posting from.

  33. ‘I will say though some of the challenges people have had, that we have seen in other parts of the state and even here, has been a massive increase in both insurance and property taxes, which has really increased peoples’ monthly payment significantly,’

    South Carolina has an incredibly low property tax rate and if that’s putting pressure on people then there’s probably something else going on. Maybe it’s the problem of people stretching beyond their means to afford their dream home? Nah, that’s never the issue.

  34. ‘This has made my life miserable,’ Singh said. ‘I’m at the age of 69 now, and the project, it’s not even moving forward. I need money.’”

    Stupid should hurt Mr. Singh but at 69 it’s a little late for that lesson.

    1. Stupid should hurt Mr. Singh but at 69 it’s a little late for that lesson.

      Maybe it’s a little late to learn this lesson, but rest assured he will never forget this lesson.

  35. HOMEPAGE
    Economy
    The US economy may be barrelling towards stagflation, an outcome worse than recession
    Filip De Mott
    Apr 25, 2024, 2:46 PM ET
    US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the headquarters of the Federal Reserve on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC.
    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    – The first-quarter GDP report surprised investors with disappointing growth, while consumer prices kept rising.

    – This provides the backdrop for stagflation, which can’t be combatted with rate cuts.

    – The 1970s offer a warning of what could happen if inflation spirals out of control.

    The latest GDP and inflation readings were what investors were least eager to see, and could hint at serious trouble ahead.

    “This was a worst of both worlds report – slower than expected growth, higher than expected inflation,” wrote David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Private Wealth US.

    First-quarter growth fell well behind estimates, rising at an annualized rate of 1.6%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Not only is that far under forecasts of 2.5%, but it also fails to live up to the 3.4% increase achieved in the fourth quarter.

    While such a cooldown would usually bolster calls for interest rates to start easing, the report noted a hotter-than-expected rise in consumer prices as well. That puts serious limits on the Federal Reserve’s ability to take action, as the central bank has made clear it needs inflation to climb lower before any rate cuts can happen. Stocks — which have long priced in those cuts — sold off sharply.

    It’s also bad news for the economy, as sputtering growth and higher prices are the key ingredients for stagflation, which is characterized by economic listlessness and stubbornly elevated inflation over a prolonged period. Such a scenario that can be even harder to combat than a recession, because of the dynamic outlined above: the Fed’s hands are largely tied.

    America’s last dalliance with stagflation came in the 1970s. The precedent can offer a glimpse into how the US economic picture could unfold, and makes it clear why economists are desperate to avoid a re-run.

    Early that decade, geopolitical disagreement prompted the OPEC coalition to restrict crude exports to the US, and energy prices rocketed in response. With additional help from high government spending and the dollar’s de-coupling from gold, inflation surged into double digits, while the economy tumbled.

    The period was so tumultuous that it undid long-standing macroeconomic theories, and required the Fed to step up its role in the economy. In order to finally reign things in, then-Fed Chairman Paul Volcker was forced to raise interest rates a staggering 20%, calming price highs but throwing the US into a deep recession.

    It’s for this reason current analysts shudder at comparisons to the period 50 years ago, and why stagflationary forecasts bear weight.

    JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon is among those who have recently made allusions to the stagflationary 1970s, warning that markets have become too cheerful about the state of the economy.

    “I worry it looks more like the ’70s than we’ve seen before,” the prominent bank chief said at the Economic Club of New York last week.

    His point — one he’s asserted on multiple occasions — comes from the fact that fiscal spending has once again exploded, while the economy is poised to bear a number of inflation-drivers: from green industrialization to global remilitarization.
    …
    https://www.businessinsider.com/stagflation-recession-us-economy-outlook-gdp-dimon-inflation-rate-cuts-2024-4

  37. The real estate pros keep predicting higher-for-longer housing price increases, despite persistently high mortgage rates that cannot even support 2022 prices.

    Somefing’s gotta give…

    1. Axios Homepage
      Apr 24, 2024 –
      Economy
      Mortgage rates reach new high for 2024
      Brianna Crane
      Data: Mortgage News Daily; Chart: Axios Visuals

      Mortgage rates touched 7.5% in April, the highest they’ve been since last fall, per Mortgage News Daily data.

      Why it matters: Our frozen housing market may not unthaw this spring.

      The big picture: High mortgage rates are keeping homeowners locked in, and prospective homebuyers shut out.

      Experts were optimistic late last year that mortgage rates would drop in early 2024 and lure sellers and buyers off of the sidelines in time for spring.

      Reality check: Mortgage applications have fallen since last week, and home sales have remained relatively stagnant.

      The bottomline: Relief isn’t coming any time soon.

      Go deeper: Higher interest rates are rippling through the market again
      …
      https://www.axios.com/2024/04/24/mortgage-rates-high-april-2024

    2. Los Angeles Housing Prices Up by 10% compared to Last Year: Report Shows
      Los Angeles Housing Prices Up by 10% compared to Last Year: Report Shows
      April 26, 2024 by Jessica Carman

      Los Angeles, CA: The housing prices in Los Angeles has increased by nearly 10% as ompared (SIC) to the previous year as per a report.

      The price hike is not limited to just Los Angeles, but the effects are evident in San Jose, San Diego and other cities across Southern California.

      According to Zillow, the price of a residence increased by 9.3% in March 2024 compared to the same month the previous year.

      Approximately $959,400 is the mean cost of a single-family detached residence in the Greater Los Angeles region.

      According to a report compiled by the real estate website, four of the five metropolitan areas in the United States with the greatest month-to-month price increases are located in California.
      …
      https://honknews.com/los-angeles-housing-prices-up-by-10-compared-to-last-year-report-shows/157056/#google_vignette

      1. “Approximately $959,400 is the mean cost of a single-family detached residence in the Greater Los Angeles region.”

        Anyone who buys a house now deserves a good shagging!

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