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During Open Houses It Was Like, Where’s All The Buyers?

A report from Moneywise. “Making an offer that’s accepted is just the middle of a real estate transaction, not the end. And homebuyers can afford to be choosier now as demand and competition softens. ‘House hunters today are taking their time and exploring their options, whereas six months ago, they had to act quickly and pull out every stop to compete because homes were selling almost immediately,’ says Tzahi Arbeli, a Redfin real estate agent in Las Vegas. ‘Homebuyers now will agree to buy a house and be doing the inspection, and then back out because they found another home they love more.'”

From News.com.au. “The hammer has finally come down on NBA player Ben Simmons’ Southern California mansion, resulting in a multimillion-dollar loss for the Aussie-born baller. Simmons bought the Hidden Hills modern farmhouse in 2021 for $26.8m ($17.75m). A year later, he put it back on the market for $34.8m (US$23m). Eventually, Simmons and his real estate reps decided to put the seven-bedroom residence that sits on nearly 1.5 acres for a no-reserve auction. The final sale price when the gavel fell was $18.3m (US$12.1m), excluding fees — resulting in a more than $8m loss.”

From ABC News. “Just a few months ago, the real estate market was favorable to people selling homes. The amount of buyers was increasing, the number of listings were down and interest rates were dropping, it seemed, across the country. Now, brokers are saying the market has shifted. ‘Today, week after week, we see more and more inventory come on the market and demand is down,’ broker Justin Itzen, who sells high-end homes in Orange County, California, told ABC News. ‘Buyers have more to choose from, they can be more selective,’ he said. ‘We did feel a very aggressive slowdown,’ said Itzen, that happened almost overnight. ‘During open houses it was like, ‘where’s all the buyers?’”

The Denver Gazette. “With summer holidays rapidly approaching, Airbnb is quelling ‘disruptive’ gatherings across the country with its ongoing anti-party system. Colorado has seen disruptive parties end in tragedy. In March, 2023, 18-year-old Rigoberto Esparza was shot and killed during a rented house party near 84th Avenue and Washington Street in Adams County. The metro Denver area has seen a bevy of other party shootings in the year since. ‘We have some experience with these types of properties being rented out and utilized for larger events, parties, for various occasions,’ said Sgt. Adam Sherman, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office’s public information officer. ‘Those messages get spread through social media, and as soon as that happens you never know who will show up,’ he said. ‘It could be gang affiliation, or other types of opportunities to where maybe the person hosting wasn’t expecting.'”

KOMO News in Washington. “An unauthorized homeless encampment scheduled to be cleared from the public sidewalk that connects South Lake Union to Seattle Center is getting bigger. The encampment along Harrison Street over the entrance to the State Route 99 tunnel nearly covered the entire block on Wednesday. The sidewalk encampment is dotted with tents, stoves, chairs and other belongings. KOMO News reached out to the City of Seattle for an update as the clock is ticking on a resolution with a little more than a week left in the month. Nine days to be exact.”

“‘Nine days for what each person is gonna probably take a day in itself, and it’s kind of sad,’ said Abre Olson. She walks Harrison Street every day to get to work at the Seattle Center, and she uses the sidewalk on the other side, away from the encampment. ‘The only reason I walk on this side of the street is I don’t want to be exposed to drugs or violence. I don’t want anybody to blow smoke or yell, it’s just traumatizing.'”

From Bloomberg. “For the first time since the financial crisis, investors in top-rated bonds backed by commercial real estate debt are getting hit with losses. Buyers of the AAA portion of a $308 million note backed by the mortgage on the 1740 Broadway building in midtown Manhattan got less than three-quarters of their original investment back earlier this month after the loan was sold at a steep discount. It’s the first such loss of the post-crisis era, according to Barclays Plc. All five groups of lower ranking creditors were wiped out.”

“Some cities are facing more stress than others, with 75% of CMBS office loans in Chicago and 65% in Denver in jeopardy, according to the firm. In north suburban Chicago, an office loan held by private equity giant Ares recently sold at just 12% of its original price. That debt was packed into a vehicle called a commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation, which are themselves facing unprecedented stress.”

From CBC News. “New home construction in Ontario has slowed to a pace not seen since 2018. Housing starts in April in urban areas of Ontario were down a whopping 37 per cent from the same month last year, according to the latest figures reported by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). It’s a problem not unique to Ontario. TD Economics predicts that housing starts nationally ‘will continue to decline through the remainder of this year, reflecting more recent weakness in pre-sale activity in key markets like Toronto, elevated construction costs and high interest rates.’ ‘Projects that certainly seemed viable before may not be as viable as they once were,’ said Scott Andison, chief executive officer of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.”

“Urbanation, a condominium market analysis firm, recently reported that 60 new projects totalling more than 21,000 units in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area have been put on hold indefinitely. New condominium sales in the region in the first three months of 2024 hit their lowest quarterly total since the depths of the global financial crisis in early 2009, according to Urbanation. ‘Outside of that brief period in early 2009, new condominium sales haven’t been this low since the late 1990s,’ said the Urbanation report.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Patrick Rocca, broker with Bosley Real Estate, has noticed a shift in the Toronto market in recent weeks. Rising inventory allows house hunters to be circumspect. ‘Buyers understand that they’re not under the gun,’ says Mr. Rocca, who works mainly in the midtown Leaside and Davisville area. Recently he has sold three properties with multiple offers – but all three sold below the asking price. With more supply between $3-million and $6-million, he says, many are sitting. ‘That’s where I’m seeing the logjam of listings.'”

“He says some sellers are still setting aggressive asking prices, but when buyers don’t jump on it, a listing can appear stale. ‘If you’re not realistic I don’t even want to talk to you,’ he says. ‘You’re going to burn your property.'”

From BBC News. “An affordable homes estate remains empty six months after it was officially opened. No-one has been able to move into the eight social housing homes in St Anne’s Chapel near Kingsbridge in Devon because of ‘issues’ with a contractor, says the local council. Kathy Hutchings, who was hoping to be in by last Christmas with her daughter, said she was ‘living in limbo, just stuck.’ She said the delay had been ‘very stressful.’ ;You feel like you’re living in limbo, just stuck. And it’s not just us. There are eight families all waiting, who were like us, packed, ready to go at Christmas. You have to just trust that it will happen eventually,’ she said. House prices in the district were above the England and Wales average at £385,000 in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics, while wages lagged behind the average.”

From ABC News. “Small business owner Mia Li breaks down in tears when she recalls losing her family home. She made the tough decision to sell her property to save her business that was on the brink of collapse because of mounting debts to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and suppliers. The debt was made worse after she took on a small business loan she didn’t understand came with a big catch. ‘We tried everything [we could] to stop [losing the family home], but we had to sell the house first to pay the lender,’ she says.”

“Ms Li imports window frames from China and sells them to local builders, many of whom went bankrupt post-COVID and stopped paying her. When the cash flow dried up, she panicked. She couldn’t pay her suppliers and debts owed to the ATO, which she said together had amounted to almost half a million dollars. She went to a broker that got her a $250,000 loan through a small lender. The cash landed in her account almost immediately. But Ms Li had no idea the interest rate and fees applied would mean she ended up with another $100,000 of debt and would be in financial turmoil. Some days, she lives out of the office. Others, with relatives. ‘You just can’t sleep,’ she says in tears.”

“Gavin Waring runs a company called Your Business Angels, which offers small businesses tax advice, and says he often meets business owners when they are in over their heads with debt and suicidal. ‘What they’re losing first is their dignity,’ he says. ‘They also face the risk of losing their house. They are angry with themselves, like, really angry with themselves that they’re letting people down. They feel that they are letting their families down.'”

“The lenders, he says, network through broker channels — especially those who front out of legal offices — and often pay high commissions. ‘It’s very easy to get a loan, they’ll lend to people who have got loans from other lenders because they know that, in the end of the day, the odd loss they have when someone goes bankrupt isn’t anything compared to the massive profit that they’re getting from all the other loans that they’ve got,’ Mr Waring says. ‘It’s the double whammy of inflation and tax debt, and really just making poor judgement,’ Mr Waring says.”

“George Papageorgiou, who fixes food trucks and other commercial trucks for a living, is another victim of this type of lending. He found the lender on the internet and soon after took on a loan for $500,000 to pay debts he owed to the ATO and suppliers. He thought he was going to see the full $500,000 but the lender took the interest up-front and gave him $380,000. By the time he’d signed the contract, the damage was done. He’d put up the family home as collateral after convincing his wife to sign up to the loan. ‘I thought we’re getting the full amount ($500,000) and you could refinance it after a year. But it didn’t work out that way. We’ll probably have to sell the house.'”

The Telegraph. “China’s housing market may be in the midst of a painful downturn – but for decades it has claimed to have trumped Britain, as well as many other western countries, on its rates of private homeownership. The country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, claims 96pc of residents own a home and 20pc own more than one. This compares to 64pc in Britain – and the 4pc who own a second home. In China, average house prices soared from 2,885 yuan (£321) per square metre in 2005, to 6,626 yuan (£737) in 2020 – leading to a housing price-to-income ratio of 29, according to national data. In England, the price-to-income ratio was 8.3 last year according to the National Office for Statistics, and 6.1 in Wales.”

“So, is it better to be a young, budding homebuyer in the UK or China? A few years ago, it might have been China. But recent market movements seem to have flipped the tables. ‘Even the most bullish developers agree that China’s housing market golden age has passed,’ said Duncan Wrigley, of research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics. ‘House prices are still falling and when the recovery comes no one expects the same kind of capital appreciation as over the last couple of decades, given slowing growth and demographic headwinds.'”

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This Post Has 91 Comments

  3. ‘The only reason I walk on this side of the street is I don’t want to be exposed to drugs or violence. I don’t want anybody to blow smoke or yell, it’s just traumatizing’

    Yer criminalizing poverty Abre.

  4. ‘He’d put up the family home as collateral after convincing his wife to sign up to the loan. ‘I thought we’re getting the full amount ($500,000) and you could refinance it after a year. But it didn’t work out that way’

    We got another rate dater.

    1. Imagine taking out a loan for 500,000 dollars and not reading the contract.

      I mean, WTF

      I do not feel sorry for these dummies.

    2. “He thought he was going to see the full $500,000 but the lender took the interest up-front and gave him $380,000.”

      I hate it when that happens!

    3. “Ms Li imports window frames from China and sells them to local builders, many of whom went bankrupt post-COVID and stopped paying her.”

      A small business can always sense a recession because their ‘accounts receivable’ go silent.

    1. Never mind, I found it:

      ‘In China, average house prices soared from 2,885 yuan (£321) per square metre in 2005, to 6,626 yuan (£737) in 2020 – leading to a housing price-to-income ratio of 29’

  6. Below is another story for Jen Psaki and Richard Maddow to giggle about.

    https://www.wtrf.com/west-virginia/west-virginia-mocked-on-msnbc-by-jen-psaki-and-rachel-maddow/

    Illegal Alien Crimes
    @ImmigrantCrimes

    🚨 Fond du Lac County, WI: The Sheriff has just announced an investigation into sexual assault, false imprisonment, and human trafficking involving a 12 year old.

    The suspect is a Nicaraguan man who entered illegally in 2021, was apprehended by the Border Patrol, and released.

    The child’s mother has also been arrested but her immigration status has not been verified.

    · May 20, 2024

    https://x.com/ImmigrantCrimes/status/1792746000609587471
    ·

  7. HBB warning to readers: bloomberg is globalist scum media which peddles conspiracy theories, election lies and mis, mal and dis-informations.

    1. merely “Insane”?
      get back to me when things are “Beyond Insane!”
      then I’ll be “So Excited!!”, leading to “Beyond Excited!!!”

      (using my Chris Farley quote hands . . of course)

  9. “In March, 2023, 18-year-old Rigoberto Esparza was shot and killed during a rented house party near 84th Avenue and Washington Street in Adams County. The metro Denver area has seen a bevy of other party shootings in the year since.”

    Adams County is a sh*thole.

    Adams County is what you get from low investment parenting. See also: Aurora.

      1. Good night, sweet prince. The bridges that will never be designed because of your untimely passing, or the far distant planets that will be left unexplored since a promising astronaut was struck down in his youth, only compound this tragedy.

  11. instead of breaking it off in yer arse, save it as a flotation device for when that rising tide lifts all boats.

    1. Is that the definition of ramaswammy? Break it off (rama) then use as floatation (swammy). Interesting.

  12. Epoch Times — The Incoming Commercial Real Estate Crisis No One Seems Prepared For (5/22/2024):

    “While CRE loans make up about 13 percent of the balance sheets of the biggest U.S. banks, they make up 44 percent of regional banks’ lending portfolios. CRE loans designated as nonperforming doubled as a percentage of U.S. banks’ portfolios from 0.4 percent in 2022 to 0.81 percent by the end of 2023.

    In total, there are about 130 regional banks in the United States, with a little more than $3 trillion in assets. These banks, which each have between $10 billion and $100 billion in assets, are typically more exposed to the boom and bust of local markets but also to specific sectors within those markets where they have been able to operate profitably.

    Since the introduction of lockdowns and the rise of work-at-home culture during the COVID-19 pandemic, many corporations have viewed office rents as a cost ripe for cutting.

    According to an April CRE report by Commercial Edge, the office vacancy rate across the United States was 18.2 percent as of March, an increase of 1.5 percent over the prior year.

    According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, $929 billion in commercial mortgages will come due this year, making up 20 percent of the $4.7 trillion in total outstanding CRE loans.
    TD Bank estimates that another $535 billion is set to mature in 2025.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/the-incoming-commercial-real-estate-crisis-no-one-seems-prepared-for-5652423?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge

    Masktards and Vaxxtards, how’s the walkability in your Doom Loop deep blue sh*thole?

    What’s the clearance rate on stolen vehicles?

    Does anyone even pick up the phone when you call 911?

    Keep paying those property taxes.

    1. Related image file for the Vaxxtards and Masktards:

      https://ibb.co/vHstTjF

      No insult to the developmentally disabled, but if you wear a mask while driving alone, or got a tattoo of your vaccination date, you are retarded. You are a retard, enjoy your turbo cancer.

      1. I have been steadfast in my refusal to stop using the word “retard” to describe those for whom the term is so apt.

  13. Paddle boarder chased by boat, arrested in Malibu after flouting coronavirus closures (4/3/2020):

    “A paddle boarder was arrested Thursday after ignoring lifeguards’ orders to get out of the ocean near the Malibu Pier despite beach closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said.

    County lifeguards patrolling the shore by boat tried to get the man to come ashore. Despite repeated orders to exit the water, the man continued paddle boarding for at least 30 minutes. Lifeguards eventually flagged down Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who responded by boat to help, according to the Sheriff’s Department.”

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/paddle-boarder-arrested-malibu-flouting-152453085.html

  14. Consumer sentiment, a gauge of Americans’ economic perceptions, is at a six-month low, according to a closely watched index by the University of Michigan. The measure notched its biggest drop since 2021, reflecting the persistent tug of inflation on household budgets and fueling fears that rising prices, unemployment and interest rates could all worsen in the coming months.

    In San Antonio, gas prices are a big deal to Anthony Serna. He spends about 40 hours a week driving for Uber and Door Dash, and says one tank of gas in his Nissan Pathfinder can wipe out nearly a day’s earnings.

    “There’s a point where this job just isn’t worth it anymore, and I think I’m getting there,” said Serna, 25. “I’m having to cherry-pick rides because otherwise gas and maintenance will wipe out everything I make.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/americans-are-down-on-the-economy-again-with-inflation-topping-election-concerns/ar-BB1mEFV1

    1. Does Serna, 25, have a disability? If not, he could join the Army and they will take care of him.

      Also from the article:

      “Shimkus, a 40-year-old single mom, took a lower-paying job at a family-owned gyro shop after her lucrative bartending job disappeared during the pandemic.”

      Pandemic was over two years ago. Couldn’t she find another bartender job?

      “My 15-year-old is going to be moving out in a few years,” she said. “Is he going to be able to afford things? Will he be able to get a job?”

      15-year-old could join the Army. They will take care of him.

      “She’ll vote for Biden no matter what, because he supports abortion rights legislation and LGBTQ+ rights.”

      Well ok then.

      1. “She’ll vote for Biden no matter what, because he supports abortion rights legislation and LGBTQ+ rights.”

        Looks like starving isn’t a sufficient incentive to vote differently for her. What is it about bartenders?

    2. “reflecting the persistent tug of inflation on household budgets and fueling fears that rising prices, unemployment and interest rates could all worsen in the coming months”

      Unpossible. If they can’t afford food, they can eat shares of NVDA.

  15. NYT reporter slammed for calling Obama’s 60th birthday party low-risk due to ‘sophisticated, vaccinated crowd’ (8/9/2021):

    “A member of the media is facing backlash for her comments on Obama’s guests and their risk for COVID

    A New York Times reporter is being slammed by critics after opining that former President Barack Obama’s birthday party was a low COVID-19 risk due to the “sophisticated, vaccinated” guest list.

    This weekend a clip of Annie Karni, a White House correspondent for the Times speaking on CNN went viral on social media because some believe she was making excuses to justify Obama throwing a party amidst concerns about the delta variant.”

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/nyt-reporter-slammed-calling-obama-220842756.html

  16. I found this intersection on Google Maps, including past street views:

    https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6220331,-122.3446246,3a,75y,3.32h,88.86t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smkL8gjnwzQK1kMtz1YG9UQ!2e0!5s20211201T000000!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu

    Looks like they dug that tunnel and gentrified the area between 2011 and 2019 — must have been a massive construction zone for a while. In December 2021, the first tent shows up but the rest of the area was clean. Now it’s all full up.

    I’m googled for information about how so many people got so homeless so quickly. Evidently, it’s a lot of disabilities and evictions and not being eligible for programs. I’m not so sure. None of these folks look remotely employable or presentable.

  17. When it comes to cars, bad design can lead to some particularly bad consequences. Poorly designed cars are bad for your body parts, bad for your life span, and bad for your wallet. There’s a single car that has already won that bad design trifecta, and you can probably guess which one we’re talking about. The Tesla Cybertruck has doors that can sever your fingers, a gas pedal that can accelerate uncontrollably into a fatal crash, and now (likely a result of the former points) an aftermarket price in free fall.

    To be fair, the value of all automobiles falls sharply as soon as they roll off the lot, but once upon a time Tesla founder Elon Musk thought he could defy those odds. Musk once speculated that all Tesla cars would actually increase in value, something that market data demonstrated to be complete Martian dung. Tesla’s car prices fell like those of any other car, even more so than most cars after the manufacturer was forced to sharply devalue its overpriced automobiles as the EV competition heated up.

    But the Cybertruck is not your regular Tesla. Its faulty design is so hard to build that the truck’s availability has been limited since it began rolling out of the factory in summer 2023. And, despite the car being plagued with problems from the very beginning, the hype made fans so eager to get one that its resell price doubled and even tripled its original $102,235 price tag (the actual cost of the car after Tesla adds an obligatory $20,000 Foundation extras package, which includes lifetime Full Self-Driving and lifetime internet connectivity).

    While the Rivian R1, the GMC Hummer EV, or the Ford F-150 Lightning also had a gold rush moment when they launched, it wasn’t as crazy as the Cybertruck. The Hummer scalper auctions added as much as $50,000 to the MSRP, but that was rare. The F-150 auctions, which Ford forbid, reached an $8,000 markup back when it launched in 2022. Only the Rivian began to approach the Cybertruck craze, with some trying to sell the R1T Launch Edition for around $150,000 (the MRSP was $85,000). A far cry from the top Cybertruck mark of $244,000.

    The news here is that the initial Cybertruck rush has collapsed, as multiple car enthusiast publications and Tesla fans have reported. The price crash actually started in April, but the resale value is now getting closer and closer to the original price tag. As Autoevolution reports, “not long ago, people were willing to pay more than twice the original price [all the way up to $240,000] to get one from the gray market. However, the Cybertruck lost its shine, with hundreds of units listed on CarGurus at prices as low as $130,000.” Looking at the hundreds of Cybertrucks available on resale sites, it’s logical to think that prices will continue to drop until they drop under their original price, like every other used car on the planet.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/91129195/the-cybertrucks-aftermarket-price-is-cratering-as-its-flaws-become-too-big-to-ignore

    1. I’ve seen a few Rivians, but I have yet to see a Cybertruck.

      Is the Cybertruck the official pickup of Dr. Who’s Cybermen?

  18. Sunny days in Germany mean gray clouds for solar profitability as the nation’s dive into renewables has left it with too much energy.

    According to a note from SEB Research, in the past 10 days, solar producers have had to take an 87% price cut during production hours. In fact, when production peaks, prices have slid well below zero.

    On average, the price received was 9.1 euros per megawatt-hour, significantly under the 70.6 euros paid during non-solar-power hours.

    “This is what happens to power prices when the volume of unregulated power becomes equally big or bigger than demand: Prices collapse when unregulated power produces the most,” the Swedish bank wrote on Tuesday.

    https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/germany-too-many-solar-panels-030148505.html

    2. It was only 18 months ago that Germany (and much of Europe) was scrambling for LNG and lignite coal to make up for losing Russian natural gas. The Germans feared they wouldn’t have enough electrical power to run the German factories. And now they have “too much” electricity… from solar panels? I’m confused.

  19. COVID lockdown-defying N.J. gym owners still owe state $84K in fines, AG says (5/23/2024):

    “Ian Smith, co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, opened his facility in May 2020 in defiance of a state-ordered closing of nonessential businesses as people became ill with COVID. Smith’s opposition to lockdown rules led to national media attention and he later ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

    Smith and co-owner Frank Trumbetti faced more than 80 summonses charging them with violating a governor’s orders, operating without a mercantile license, creating a public nuisance and disturbing the peace.

    Those summonses, written by police in Bellmawr, were dismissed in April over evidentiary issues.

    But Smith and Trumbetti still owe $83,987 to the New Jersey Department of Health for violating the public health emergency rules issued by Murphy and then-state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, according to a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/covid-lockdown-defying-n-j-gym-owners-still-owe-state-84k-in-fines-ag-says/ar-BB1mUWtc

  20. They want you to forget all of this ever happened.

    Biden calls Texas decision to reopen ‘Neanderthal thinking’ (3/3/2021):

    “President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end his state’s mask mandate “Neanderthal thinking,” echoing frustration from top COVID-19 response officials in his administration that case numbers are not low enough to relax restrictions before more Americans are vaccinated.

    Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday the state would “100% reopen,” ending the mask mandate and allowing businesses to operate without restrictions, a move that contradicts Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and public health experts from around the country.”

    https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-calls-texas-decision-reopen-neanderthal-thinking/story?id=76229294

  21. Krispy Kreme will give you a free doughnut every day this year — if you’ve been vaccinated (3/24/2021):

    “In case you needed another reason to get your COVID-19 vaccination, Krispy Kreme is sweetening the deal — it’s giving free doughnuts to anyone with proof of vaccination, all year long.

    Starting Monday, any customer with a valid COVID-19 vaccination card will receive a free Original Glazed doughnut at participating locations nationwide. The iconic doughnut shop specifies that any guests who have received at least one of the two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine qualify for the promotion.

    All you need to show is your vaccination card to redeem your doughnut — a vaccine sticker is not valid.”

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/krispy-kreme-free-doughnut-covid-19-vaccination-card/

    Papers, please.

    Now eat your free goyslop, Vaxxtards.

  22. Florida Man Killed in Crash Listed as COVID-19 Death, Raising Doubts Over Health Data (7/20/2020):

    “As novel coronavirus cases in Florida surpass 350,000, doubts over the accuracy of the official figures reported have been raised after a death was wrongly reported by the state health department to have been due to COVID-19.

    A person in their 20s, who was killed in a motorcycle accident, was initially reported to have died from COVID-19, according to Dr. Raul Pino, Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, Miami’s WSVN reported.

    “We were discussing or trying to argue with the state. Not because of the numbers. I mean, it’s 100. It does not make any difference if it’s 99, but the validity that the fact that the individual didn’t die from COVID-19, died in a crash,” Pino argued.

    “But you could actually argue that it could have been the COVID-19 that caused him to crash, so I don’t know the conclusion of that one,” he added.”

    https://www.newsweek.com/florida-man-killed-crash-listed-covid-19-death-raising-doubts-over-health-data-1518994

    CCP Flu caused the crash?

    Trust The Science™

    It’s really super sciencey, and you should trust it, because reasons.

  23. ‘House hunters today are taking their time and exploring their options, whereas six months ago, they had to act quickly and pull out every stop to compete because homes were selling almost immediately,’ says Tzahi Arbeli, a Redfin real estate agent in Las Vegas.

    Indescribably stupid buyers caught up in FOMO didn’t “have” to act quickly. They chose to play the REIC’s “Always Be Closing” con game, and as shack prices crater, they’re going to be screwed, blued, and tattooed.

  24. The final sale price when the gavel fell was $18.3m (US$12.1m), excluding fees — resulting in a more than $8m loss.”

    It was only Yellen Bux.

  25. Grand County Coroner: Colorado Should Improve Classification Of COVID Deaths (12/17/2020):

    “Grand County isn’t the first to report a data discrepancy with COVID-19 deaths, but following a murder-suicide in the region the coroner is talking about the impact it may have.

    “These two people had tested positive for COVID, but that’s not what killed them. The gunshot wound killed them and it’s very misleading for you to put numbers out there saying these people died from COVID when that’s not what they died from,” said Coroner Brenda Bock.”

    Brenda, you are guilty of misinformations, and you need to be locked up in COVID jail.

    “Bock said her investigation wasn’t finalized when the State of Colorado listed the two victims as dying with COVID-19.

    “I realize yes, you’re trying to keep count of the numbers, but you need to do it right, and these people did not die of COVID, they died of gunshot wounds and that’s how it needs to be listed,” she said.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/grand-county-coronavirus-deaths-covid/

  26. Colorado has seen disruptive parties end in tragedy. In March, 2023, 18-year-old Rigoberto Esparza was shot and killed during a rented house party near 84th Avenue and Washington Street in Adams County.

    IIRC, this shooting was related to the ongoing sectarian strife between rival Amish & Mennonite factions.

    1. I recently rewatched “Rear Window” with Jimmy Stewart. I wonder how all those ordinary people could afford the rent?

    1. Buckle up for more inflation. A lot more inflation, as the FedRes will finance the deficits, mostly by lending money to big banks who will buy the bonds.

        1. Even after the Orange Man wins, he is going to have a devil of a time slaying the deficits. Enough GOP congresscritters will vote with the left to not cut a penny from the budget to keep the status quo.

          1. The endless gravy train of money stolen from taxpayers and sent to Israel won’t stop under Orange or GOP Congress, because nothing Rallies The Base more than dead, mutilated, orphaned Palestinean children.

            Harry Truman took his thirty pieces of silver in 1948, to buy his re-election campaign, and the United States has been a hostage to Israel ever since.

            AIPAC couldn’t defeat Rep. Thomas Massie in a primary this week, so they’ll probably have the Mossad murder him instead.

          2. Once a government spending program is started it is very difficult to kill.

            It won’t be until we have fallen into full hyperinflation that something will be done. A lot of pain and misery awaits our country, yet many will continue to vote blue.

  29. Biden’s daughter Ashley has finally admitted her diary about ‘showers with dad’ as well as fears she was ‘molested’ is real (5/23/2024):

    “In 2019, Ashley Biden, the then 37-year-old daughter of President Biden and his wife Jill, wrote in her journal about showering with her father at an inappropriate age as well as her fears that, as a child, she was sexually abused.

    The diary, which also contained details of her drug use, was then found in 2020 by a Florida woman who stole it, leaked its contents online, and sold it for $40,000.

    All that time, the Biden campaign let the left-wing media, of its own volition, cast aspersions on the diary’s authenticity, or dismiss it as a right-wing plant of dubious veracity, another Russia hoax. Just as with Hunter Biden’s laptop.

    Turns out both are all too real.

    For the first time, Ashley herself has now confirmed – in a court document made public last month – that the diary is indeed authentic.

    Its contents demand attention, concern and hard questions for this White House.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13448411/joe-biden-daughter-ashley-showers-dad-molested-truth.html

  30. If the globalists & Deep State seriously intend to pull their “selected, not elected” f*ckery to install Joe Biden for a 2nd term, they’re going to have to resort to electoral fraud on a magnitude so vast that even the dullest of the sheeple will see right through it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZR7u_6o_JY

  31. ‘House hunters today are taking their time and exploring their options, whereas six months ago, they had to act quickly and pull out every stop to compete because homes were selling almost immediately…Homebuyers now will agree to buy a house and be doing the inspection, and then back out because they found another home they love more’

    I hope no one overpaid six months ago Tzahi!

  32. ‘Today, week after week, we see more and more inventory come on the market and demand is down…Buyers have more to choose from, they can be more selective,’ he said. ‘We did feel a very aggressive slowdown,’ said Itzen, that happened almost overnight’

    Was it like somebody flipped a light switch Justin? That’s my favorite.

  33. ‘Those messages get spread through social media, and as soon as that happens you never know who will show up,’ he said. ‘It could be gang affiliation, or other types of opportunities to where maybe the person hosting wasn’t expecting’

    That partially explains all the airbnb gunfights Adam. But you have to admit it’s a solid bizness model!

  34. ‘recently sold at just 12% of its original price. That debt was packed into a vehicle called a commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation, which are themselves facing unprecedented stress’

    Senator running deer heap angry!

  35. ‘It’s a problem not unique to Ontario. TD Economics predicts that housing starts nationally ‘will continue to decline through the remainder of this year, reflecting more recent weakness in pre-sale activity in key markets like Toronto, elevated construction costs and high interest rates.’ ‘Projects that certainly seemed viable before may not be as viable as they once were’

    Viable? This is a gotdam crisis Scott! People are going to freeze without yer igloos. I’m afraid yer gonna have to take one for the team here, eh.

  36. ‘Urbanation, a condominium market analysis firm, recently reported that 60 new projects totalling more than 21,000 units in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area have been put on hold indefinitely. New condominium sales in the region in the first three months of 2024 hit their lowest quarterly total since the depths of the global financial crisis in early 2009, according to Urbanation. ‘Outside of that brief period in early 2009, new condominium sales haven’t been this low since the late 1990s’

    Shaun’s name has disappeared from these attributions, like Tina at cromford report. And don’t forget the population is yuuge compared to the 1990’s.

  37. ‘He says some sellers are still setting aggressive asking prices, but when buyers don’t jump on it, a listing can appear stale. ‘If you’re not realistic I don’t even want to talk to you,’ he says. ‘You’re going to burn your property’

    That’s the spirit Pat, speak truth to the bag-holders!

  38. ‘We tried everything [we could] to stop [losing the family home], but we had to sell the house first to pay the lender…You just can’t sleep,’ she says in tears’

    I’d bet five pesos you were stuffing expensive food in yer pie hole every day Mia, probably still are.

  39. Who Do You Know That’s Leaving The Country? (York Region Real Estate Market Update)
    Team Sessa Real Estate

    20 minutes ago VAUGHAN

    In this episode we take a look at the current Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices and real estate market trends for week ending May 15, 2024. We discuss how an increasing number people we speak to are looking to sell for the purposes of leaving the country. It is an unfortunate reality we are seeing more and more in our business.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaJM6qRpuU

    8:18.

    1. Canada is such a resource rich country that it should be one of the most desirable places to live, yet the commies have been able to bring it to its knees.

  40. How do individual households have a chance at buying affordable housing with investors gambling on houses like drunken sailors?

    1. Finance ·Real estate
      Investors are scooping up roughly 1 in 5 homes sold in the housing market and making more money than before
      BY Alena Botros
      May 15, 2024 at 11:53 AM PDT
      Investors are back.
      Photo illustration by C.J. Burton—Getty Images

      At the start of last year, investors pulled back; their home purchases plummeted almost 50%, according to Redfin, not too far off from existing home sales, which as we know fell to their lowest point in almost 30 years.

      It was a change from their activity throughout the pandemic-fueled housing boom though. At that time, investor home purchases more than doubled. Everyone was buying homes because mortgage rates were historically low and remote work became a thing. It all changed when mortgage rates soared, and in some areas, home values declined and rents cooled—putting a dent in investors’ profits. And let’s not forget borrowing costs were much higher too.

      Now, they’re back. “Investor home purchases are rising—albeit slightly—for the first time in almost two years,” according to Redfin. In a newly published analysis, Redfin found investors bought 44,000 homes in the first quarter, up half a percent from a year earlier. (Redfin defines an investor as “any institution or business that purchases residential real estate.”)

      Investors bought almost 19% of homes sold in the first quarter this year, so roughly one in five homes, per Redfin. That’s fewer homes than before and throughout the pandemic, but it is the highest share in close to two years, the analysis read.

      The rationale behind the return being, “with home prices and rents back on the rise and the initial shock of elevated mortgage rates in the rearview mirror, investors are easing their foot off the brake pedal,” according to Redfin. That being said, they’re making more money than they were a year ago, too. In March of this year, the typical home sold by an investor drove a slightly more than 55% return, or close to $175,000 profit. Last year, in the typical situation, an investor sold a home for more than $146,000 than they bought it for, or above 46%. Fewer investors sold at a loss too.

      Redfin’s analysis found investors are buying both more expensive homes than before—and a record share of the most affordable homes in the country. “The typical home bought by investors in the first quarter cost $464,560, up 9.2% from a year earlier,” it said. “Investors purchased $31.3 billion worth of homes in the first quarter, up 6.6% year over year.”

      Here’s the thing, while their purchases of more expensive homes increased the most in the first quarter, low-priced homes still represent a larger share. So low-priced homes amounted to 47.5% of investor purchases in the first quarter, but high-priced homes amounted to 28.5%, according to Redfin. And a lot of the increase in their more expensive home purchases were driven by investors’ growing presence in California. In San Francisco and San Diego, investors bought more than 23% of homes sold in the first quarter, some of the highest shares apart from cities in Florida, such as Miami and Jacksonville.

      But their profit in San Francisco doesn’t compare to let’s say Philadelphia; In the former, the typical home sold by an investor sold for close to 29% more than the investor bought it for—in the latter, the typical home sold by an investor sold for slightly over 136% more than the investor bought it for.
      …
      https://fortune.com/2024/05/15/housing-market-outlook-investors-scooping-up-homes-redfin/

  41. Does everyone pretty much agree at this point that the stock market is a no lose proposition?

    1. Stocks
      Published May 22, 2024 12:13pm EDT
      JPMorgan warns S&P 500 could tumble 20% by the end of the year
      JPMorgan issues gloomy forecast for US stock market
      By Megan Henney FOXBusiness

      The U.S. stock market soared to a new record high over the past week, but there may still be trouble on the horizon, according to JPMorgan analysts.

      The forecast from JPMorgan’s chief market strategist Marko Kolanovic is one of the most pessimistic on Wall Street. He and his peers see the S&P 500 ending the year at 4,200 — the lowest year-end target among major Wall Street banks. From current levels, that implies a more than 21% drop.

      “With very high equity valuations, we do not see equities as attractive investments at the moment, and we don’t see a reason to change our stance,” Kolanovic wrote in an analyst note this week.

      Stocks have notched record highs over the past week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average topping 40,000 for the first time ever, while the S&P 500 climbed past 5,300.

      The indexes were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited earnings from Nvidia and meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve that could shed light on the timing of interest rate cuts.
      …
      https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/jpmorgan-warns-sp-could-tumble-20-end-year

      1. Nvidia is valued at $2.5 trillion.

        See also: the NASDAQ in late 1999.

        “This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush

    2. Benzinga
      VIX Spikes, Dow Sinks As Inflation Jitters Slaughter Fed Easing Hopes: Traders Now Price In Only One Rate Cut In 2024
      Piero Cingari
      Thu, May 23, 2024, 2:26 PM PDT
      3 min read

      Markets experienced a sharp downturn Thursday afternoon following an initial surge to historic highs in technology-heavy stock indices, driven by Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) spectacular AI-driven earnings report.

      The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the market fear index, surged over 7% after hitting its lowest level since November 2019 earlier in the session.

      Blue-chip stocks were particularly affected in a broad sector selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA), was down 1.5% at 3:00 p.m. in New York, on track for its worst performance since March 2023.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vix-spikes-dow-sinks-inflation-212624584.html

      1. “Traders Now Price In Only One Rate Cut In 2024”

        How many were they pricing in just a few months ago? Six or something?

        1. I want rate hikes, not rate cuts.

          Paying interest on borrowed money = Donkey Math.

          1. The Fed may have to face the need to hike rates if housing price inflation doesn’t slow down soon. The rate of inflation is accelerating near us. Some areas near by have sold at 50% up from the Pandemic.

  42. Real Estate
    From more inventory to lower prices, here are 3 signs the housing market may be getting better for buyers
    Jennifer Sor
    May 23, 2024, 12:35 PM ET

    – The housing market might be looking a bit brighter for prospective home buyers.

    – Inventory is rising and mortgage rates are far from the highs hit in 2023.

    – Real estate vets pointed to three signs the market is looking friendlier for buyers.
    …
    https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-outlook-home-prices-inventory-mortgage-rates-prediction-buy-2024-5

  47. Are you struggling with the burden of living paycheck-to-paycheck off your $200+ thousand annual income?

    1. ‘Loosening up the reins’: Over a third of Americans earning $200,000 a year or more say they’re living paycheck to paycheck — here’s why they splurge instead of save
      A young woman with cash and shopping bags.
      Masson-Simon / Envato
      Serah Louis
      Updated May 22, 2024

      While you might expect wealthy Americans to weather the cost of living crisis better than most, data shows a staggering 36% of American consumers earning $200,000 or more say they’re living paycheck to paycheck.

      Nearly half (48%) of those making over $100,000 a year are in the same boat, according to a report from PYMNTS, which provides data and insights on innovation in payments and the economy.

      But it’s not just high prices of everyday items that are impacting higher earners.

      “The fact that fewer high-income consumers report that their incomes lost ground to inflation in 2023 may be why they are loosening up the reins on their discretionary spending, even if wages are not keeping up for many,” the report states.

      Furthermore, the report suggests high-income earners may actually struggle more than other income brackets when it comes to managing their spending and living within their means.
      …
      https://moneywise.com/managing-money/budgeting/over-a-third-of-americans-earning-200k-live-paycheck-to-paycheck

  48. Adventures in Housing
    Marketplace
    Home prices have risen 423% in 40 years, fueling economic discontent
    Mitchell Hartman
    Apr 9, 2024
    Heard on:
    This is not the first time America has dealt with rapid, destabilizing price increases, says Thomas Stapleford, economic historian at the University of Notre Dame.
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    We’ve been dealing with high inflation in this economy over the last several years, with everything from groceries to new vehicles to construction supplies soaring in price.

    But for one item in particular — houses — we’ve seen such sharp inflation over decades that it’s starting to change the landscape of American economic life. What happens in society, and in history, when costs for basic necessities, like shelter and food, shoot up in price?

    Let’s start by going back four decades, to 1984. The movie “Ghostbusters” was a blockbuster that year. And the median price of a new home wasn’t so scary: $79,900 in the fourth quarter of 1984, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

    Since then, consumer prices overall have risen 203%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics information and analysis section. Meanwhile, the median price of a new home was $417,700 in the fourth quarter of 2023. That works out to an inflation rate of 423%.

    “There’s no question that the cost of a house has gone up relative to cost of living overall,” said Christopher Mayer, co-director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School. “More and more, a single-family home has become a luxury good, which has not been the case in the United States until now. It’s a trend that, if it continues, I think will change society substantially.”
    …
    https://www.marketplace.org/2024/04/09/home-prices-inflation-fueling-economic-discontent/

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