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We Were Excited, We Were Trying To Provide A Future For Our Kids, Now We’re Just Hit With This

A report from the American Statesman in Texas. “Housing supply in Central Texas reached its highest level in 13 years in May, the Austin Board of Realtors said. The median closing price last month was $608,438, up 11.6% from the year-ago May. The all-time record for the median home-sales price in Austin was $667,000, set in May 2022, the board’s figures show. Across most price points in Austin right now, ‘the current market is exceptionally challenging, and even industry experts find it difficult to predict trends,’ said Keith Trigaci, an agent with the Compass real estate brokerage. ‘High interest rates have significantly reduced buyer activity at open houses, in-person showings and calls on listings. Many properties that failed to sell last year remain on the market, with sellers hoping for better conditions.'”

“‘After several years of demand far exceeding supply, which resulted in huge increases in home prices, the Austin housing market is now in a correction phase,’ Eldon Rude, a longtime housing market expert. Mark Sprague, a housing industry expert with Independence Title in Austin, recalls how crazy the housing market was in 2022. ‘Buyers were freaking out, and sellers got multiple offers over asking price,’ Sprague wrote in a recent newsletter. Sprague’s bottom line: ‘If you’re hoping for a housing market crash, you’ll be waiting for a while. Like, probably forever. That’s because for housing prices to totally plummet, inventory would have to go way up to exceed demand, and no one foresees that happening anytime soon.'”

From KXAN. “Central Texas is no longer leading the way in housing costs well above what’s expected. A study by Florida Atlantic University compares current housing costs to what you should expect to pay based on historical price data. FAU Housing Economist Ken H. Johnson talked with KXAN about the study and the reasons behind Austin’s pricing drop. Johnson: ‘Austin two years ago was the second most overpriced city in America. You topped out somewhere around $565,000 to $570,000. Prices have been moving down significantly for the last two years. Our new data shows you’re going to be down about 17 to 18% in terms of price.'”

The Spokesman Review in Washington. “Assessments from 2024 show the average Spokane County home saw a decrease in value year over year, the first decline in the region in more than a decade and a potential indication the market is leveling after years of stark increases. ‘It’s nice that we are returning to more of a normal Spokane market,’ said Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis. ‘Because what we have gone through the last three or four years before that was not normal.’ Spokane County home values have more than doubled in the last seven years, growing from an average of $209,659 in 2018 to around $430,000 for the past two tax years. In 2022, the median income of Spokane County households was about $69,000. That’s a jump of about $9,000 from 2019.”

Gulfshore Business in Florida. “Cape Coral saw the third-largest increase in active listings at 45.1% and had the largest drop in median sale prices at 2.7%. Just 8.6% of May sales in the Cape were above list price, the third lowest mark in the country.”

From NBC 2. “The city of Cape Coral has stopped taking applications for help paying late mortgages due to an ‘overwhelming’ amount of applicants. The city is pausing applications after announcing the program two weeks ago. Shelton Weeks, a professor of real estate at FGCU, said, ‘We probably have a lot more folks who are struggling today than we did this time last year.’ While there may not be many foreclosures in Cape Coral right now, Weeks thinks first-time homeowners could be in a difficult position, especially with rising insurance costs. ‘That’s hit pretty much everybody in southwest Florida, along with that. We’ve just gone through a very significant period of inflation, and wages generally lag overall prices in the market,’ Weeks said.”

Beat of Hawaii. “A recent study is generating strong new pushback against Maui Mayor Bissen’s proposal to significantly reduce vacation rentals. Your thousands of comments have spoken to these issues. ‘I am an owner at Kamaole Sands and it is not a goldmine like some people seem to think. These changes could devastate many of us who rely on this income.’ Beat of Hawaii reader, Erika L.”

Mansion Global. “Charlie Puth has sliced the price on his Beverly Hills, California, home once again. After beginning June with two separate price cuts—each $1 million—the pop star is now asking just under $11 million for his Mid-Century Modern pad, making the home nearly $6 million cheaper than it was when it hit the market in November, according to listing records. The first quarter of the year brought a couple of price adjustments to the property, which was eventually taken off the market and re-listed in April for $13.99 million. Puth, 32, bought the home in 2017 for $8.995 million using a trust.”

From NewJersey.com. “A New Jersey real estate investor admitted Monday that he was involved in a massive, far-reaching $54.7 million mortgage fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said. Aron Puretz, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey. Between 2016 and 2022, Puretz and others not identified by officials, tricked lenders into issuing multifamily and commercial mortgage loans by providing them with phony documents. The faked papers included purchase contracts with inflated purchase prices, fake financial statements, and other fraudulent documents, the office said.”

“Puretz was an employee of Apex Equity Group, a Newark-based real estate investment and advisory firm, as well as being one of the owners of Maple Lawn in Eureka, Illinois, and Big Country Chateau in Little Rock, Arkansas, both multifamily properties, and Troy Technology Park in Troy, Michigan, a commercial property, authorities said. conspirators from Apex Equity Group utilized the identity of a unidentified conspirator to present a lender and Freddie Mac with a purchase and sale contract for $5.8 million and other fake documents, officials said.”

“On Feb. 17, 2017, a Lakewood-based title and settlement company, which was not identified by authorities, performed two closings, one for the true $4.1 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $5.8 million price presented to the lender, investigators said.”

CBC News in Canada. “As their real estate business was failing, a group of Ontario landlords spent millions of dollars of investors’ money on ‘extravagant’ expenses, ranging from renting a luxury vacation home in Hawaii, to footing a $5,000 Miami strip club bill to flying on private jets. Those are among the findings of KSV Advisory, a court-appointed monitor given special powers by Superior Court to investigate the web of corporations linked to four landlords: Former YTV actor Robbie Clark. Hamilton-area real estate agent Dylan Suitor. Burlington business owners Aruba Butt and Ryan Molony. Their 11 corporations currently have bankruptcy protection from over 30 lawsuits after they failed to pay back over $144 million borrowed from investors.”

“In a 92-page report released this week, KSV said the landlords appear to have ‘diverted, misused or misappropriated funds that were borrowed from investors. Funds were improperly used for their personal benefits or extravagant expenses … without any discernible benefit to the business,’ it says. The landlords had used first and second mortgages and unsecured promissory notes from private lenders to buy up 800 properties, mostly in small Ontario cities, to renovate and rent out at a higher cost or sell them.”

“The business was fuelled by over 1,300 loans, the vast majority of which came from Hamilton mortgage broker Claire Drage and her company, the Windrose Group, which closed down earlier this year. KSV reviewed presentations Windrose made to convince people to invest with Suitor, Butt and Molony, and found them to be ‘misleading.’ The presentations didn’t convey the amount of debt they’d taken on and how much they were paying to service that debt — which was substantial. Even when it was clear the business was operating at a ‘significant loss’ with no ‘exit strategy’ and they wouldn’t be able to pay back all investors, the landlords renewed loans. This practice continued into January 2024, shortly before they applied for bankruptcy protection.”

From Reuters. “Building permits for apartments in Germany fell 17% in April from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, underscoring a continued downturn in demand in the construction and real estate industry. Germany has been jolted by the most severe slump in the property sector in decades. ‘Since May 2022, the number of building permits for apartments in Germany has only gone in one direction: downwards,’ said Tim-Oliver Mueller, head of the German Construction Industry Federation. That boom ended when rampant inflation forced the European Central Bank to swiftly raise borrowing costs. Real-estate financing dried up, projects stalled, major developers went bust, and some banks teetered.”

The New Zealand Herald. “House sales and listings were up in May but economists say the market is flat. ‘With a continued flow of new options coming to the market adding to a large level of stock, this does provide a lot of choice for buyers and a sense that they can take their time to make decisions,’ REINZ said. Westpac said separate data from realestate.co.nz showed a fall in new listings in May, suggesting property owners were starting to get the message about the current slow patch in the market. ‘Even so, sales are still falling behind new listings, with the stock of unsold homes on the market reaching its highest level since 2015.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “A building company that straddled two different states and territories has collapsed, leading to a ‘domino effect’ impacting 130 projects and 80 staff members. On Friday, creditors voted to place Cubitt’s Granny Flats and Home Extensions into liquidation. The builder worked in both NSW and the ACT and been in business for 30 years. The collapse has left 130 projects at various stages of completion in limbo and 80 staff members have lost their jobs. News.com.au previously reported on a customer who was left absolutely floored to learn of the collapse of Cubitt’s, as just 12 days earlier they had forked out a $23,000 deposit. Vince*, who did not want to share his last name, and his wife Katherine, 49, were toying with the idea of building a granny flat in their backyard as another stream of income.”

“After months of umming and ahhing and back and forth with their preferred builder, Cubitt’s, the Sydney couple finally transferred a $23,000 deposit to the business. But less than two weeks later, the business went under. Vince, a dad of three, has now been left wondering how the business was able to take his money at such a late stage if the company had known it was in financial strife. ‘It came as a shock,’ he told news.com.au. Based on his interactions with staff, he said it appeared to have been a surprise to them, too.”

“Vince said he only found out about the collapse of Cubitt’s because site surveyors were supposed to visit his backyard this Tuesday, the same day the builder went into external administration. He said the surveyors called him before they arrived asking if he’d be willing to pay them directly. When he asked why, they said it was because Cubitt’s had gone under. ‘We looked at their display homes, we were excited, we were trying to provide a future for our kids,’ he said. ‘Now we’re just hit with this.'”

From NPR. “Morning Edition got a first-hand look at China when we traveled to Beijing and Shanghai for a week this spring. Our travels produced big stories and insights — and a hundred little observations about a dynamic nation. When it was over, I talked about our experience with NPR’s John Ruwitch, who has covered China for decades. When I think about a China with fewer people, I get stuck on all sorts of questions. For example, what does it mean for real estate when they build so many apartments and there are going to be fewer and fewer people to fill them?”

“Ruwitch: The real estate issues, the government is trying to work through now. They introduced several years ago various policies that induced a sharp downturn. Sales of new houses have collapsed, home values have fallen. The government has since unveiled a sort of string of steps, a rescue package, to try to prop up the sector just because so many families’ wealth is tied up in it.”

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This Post Has 81 Comments

  1. HBB warning to readers: npr and reuters are globalist scum media that peddle conspiracy theories, election lies and mis, mal and dis-informations.

      1. Translation: Democracy dies in darkness = WaPo subscriber base dies, no more revenue for you!

  2. ‘A New Jersey real estate investor admitted Monday that he was involved in a massive, far-reaching $54.7 million mortgage fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said. Aron Puretz, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution’

    Senator running deer heap angry Aron.

    1. Here’s a second article on this fraud case:

      On Feb. 17, 2017, a title and settlement company based in Lakewood, New Jersey, performed two closings, one for the true $4.1 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $5.8 million sales price presented to the lender.

      Furthermore, part of the conspiracy was to create a nonprofit entity, JPC Charities, to receive tax-exempt status for the properties owned by Puretz and co-conspirators.

      Puretz and co-conspirators provided false statements to the city of Eureka, Illinois, to receive a property tax exception, further impacting the community.

      Court documents reveal that Puretz and his co-conspirators acquired Big Country Chateau in July 2019.

      However, Puretz knew the lender and Freddie Mac would disapprove of him as an owner, and he used the identity of an associate instead of his own.

      Furthermore, Puretz hid his ownership and involvement with the property management company from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal and state agencies.

      Troy Technology Park was acquired for $42.7 million in September 2020. However, Puretz and his co-conspirators presented the lender with a fraudulent purchase and sale contract for $70 million.

      Additionally, to support the inflated purchase price, Puretz and his co-conspirators submitted to the lender and appraiser a fraudulent letter of intent to purchase the property from another party for $68 million and other fraudulent documents.

      To conceal the fraudulent nature of the transaction, Puretz and his co-conspirators arranged for a short-term $30 million loan, which was used to make it appear that they had the funds needed to close on the loan.

      On Sept. 25, 2020, a title and settlement company based in Lakewood, New Jersey, performed two closings, one for the actual $42.7 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $70 million sales price presented to the lender.

      https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2024/06/17/real-estate-investor-pleads-guilty-to-547m-mortgage-fraud-conspiracy-in-michigan-other-states/

      1. However, Puretz knew the lender and Freddie Mac would disapprove of him as an owner, and he used the identity of an associate instead of his own.

        Heck of a guy!

  3. ‘Just 8.6% of May sales in the Cape were above list price, the third lowest mark in the country’

    So 90% of sellers took an a$$ pounding in May. Is that a lot?

  4. Sprague’s bottom line: ‘If you’re hoping for a housing market crash, you’ll be waiting for a while. Like, probably forever.

    “It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair

  5. Some local news.

    Denver7 — Semi driver in 285 fatal crash was in U.S. illegally, has long history of removal to Mexico (6/17/2024):

    “The driver of a semi truck who was arrested in connection to a fatal crash on US 285 last week was in the U.S. illegally and had been ordered to be removed to Mexico less than two weeks before the crash, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Denver7 Investigates.

    Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, was driving a semi involved in a fatal crash on US 285 near Conifer last Tuesday, June 11. Colorado State Patrol announced his arrest two days later on charges of vehicular assault and vehicular homicide.

    An ICE spokesperson said Monday that it had been aware of Mendoza since an arrest in Jefferson County in April of 2002. Since then, ICE says, he has faced multiple removals and returned to Mexico at least 16 times. The latest was on May 29 of this year, ICE said.”

    https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/semi-driver-in-285-fatal-crash-was-in-u-s-illegally-has-long-history-of-removal-to-mexico-ice

    16 times is that a lot?

    1. 16 times is that a lot?

      The gooberment should just install revolving doors on the border.

    3. If he was working illegally one would hope the employer can be sued into bankruptcy.

  6. “The city of Cape Coral has stopped taking applications for help paying late mortgages due to an ‘overwhelming’ amount of applicants.

    Why should taxpayers be on the hook to pay for FBs’ poor financial decisions?

    1. Why should taxpayers be on the hook to pay for FBs’ poor financial decisions?
      Because socialism is good. We are all in this together.
      /sarc

    1. Most are doing the Sgt. Schultz “I see nothing!” schtick and pretend all is well.

      I expect tens of millions will roll up their sleeves for the bird flu kill shot.

  8. ‘I am an owner at Kamaole Sands and it is not a goldmine like some people seem to think. These changes could devastate many of us who rely on this income.’ Beat of Hawaii reader, Erika L.”

    Die, speculator scum.

  9. “As their real estate business was failing, a group of Ontario landlords spent millions of dollars of investors’ money on ‘extravagant’ expenses, ranging from renting a luxury vacation home in Hawaii, to footing a $5,000 Miami strip club bill to flying on private jets.

    Every time real estate speculators get fleeced, an angel gets its wings.

  10. “A building company that straddled two different states and territories has collapsed, leading to a ‘domino effect’ impacting 130 projects and 80 staff members.

    Gosh, this domino effect seems to be laying waste to the RBA’s housing bubble while vaporizing billions in fake wealth created by fake money, as the caterwauling of FBs whose dreams of effortless wealth are dying in the arse en masse reaches a crescendo. Looks like a preview of coming attractions as the long-deferred financial reckoning day slouches closer to the Fed’s asset bubbles & Ponzi markets.

    1. FBs whose dreams of effortless wealth are dying in the arse en masse

      Haven’t you heard? Working is for the little people.

  12. Express, Bonobos bought out of bankruptcy for $174M
    A newly formed joint venture between WHP Global and mall owners Simon, Brookfield and Centennial will keep 450 stores open and 7,000 jobs intact.

    But after decades of success, the company’s core offering — business casual apparel for everyone — began falling out of favor as mall foot traffic declined and style trends tilted more casual.

    Yes back in the day express and mens warehouse still have a few suits i fit into.

    https://www.retaildive.com/news/express-bonobos-acquired-bankruptcy-simon-brookfield-centennial-whp-global/719103/

  13. “That’s because for housing prices to totally plummet, inventory would have to go way up to exceed demand, and no one foresees that happening anytime soon.’”

    Where did I just read that the housing supply in central Texas is at the highest level in 13 years?

  14. A K-dn press release:

    Ontario’s financial services regulator, FSRA, has initiated enforcement action against Mai Anh (Cindy) Tran (Tran).

    FSRA alleges that Tran contravened section 4(1) of Ontario Regulation 187/08 by receiving funds outside of the brokerage, and contravened the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 (Act), by giving false or deceptive information and documents when dealing in mortgages in Ontario contrary to subsection 43(2) of the Act, and by giving false or deceptive information to FSRA contrary to subsection 45(1) of the Act.

    FSRA is proposing to impose administrative penalties in the total amount of $14,000 on Tran. Tran requested a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal about this proposal.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fsra-issues-notice-proposal-against-141700469.html

    14 thousand K-dn pesos. That will teach her!

  15. A member of the Secret Service was robbed at gunpoint during President Joe Biden’s trip to California over the weekend.

    Biden was in Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser after returning from the G7 meeting in Italy. It was not immediately clear whether the Secret Service agent’s work assignment was connected to the president’s visit.

    The agent was returning from work at the time of the robbery Saturday night and fired a service weapon during the confrontation, but it wasn’t known if the assailants were struck, according to a statement by the Secret Service. The agent wasn’t injured, the statement said.

    The altercation occurred around 9:36 p.m. local time at the Tustin Fields residential community in Orange County. The suspect or suspects weren’t located, but a 2004-2006 silver Infiniti FX35 or similar vehicle was seen leaving the scene, Tustin police said.

    Police found some of the agent’s belongings in the area, police said.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/secret-service-agent-robbed-at-gunpoint-during-president-bidens-trip-to-california-over-the-weekend/ar-BB1op1mF

    1. The altercation occurred around 9:36 p.m. local time at the Tustin Fields residential community in Orange County

      I’m old enough to remember when Tustin was a sleepy exurban community. in Orange county. I haven’t been there in decades. I expect that it’s now pretty much like the rest of Orange county.

      So he tried to mug a secret service agent. Talk about bad luck.

      1. Talk about bad luck.

        Or stupid. I would think Secret Service officers have a “don’t f with me” demeanor.

      2. Some of my fondest childhood memories are found at my grandparents house on B Street and my Aunt’s house on San Juan. That’s some old timey Tustin right there. Tustin was one of those places in So Cal that still had a soul. I doubt if that’s still the case, though.

  16. “…the pop star is now asking just under $11 million for his Mid-Century Modern pad, making the home nearly $6 million cheaper than it was when it hit the market in November, according to listing records. The first quarter of the year brought a couple of price adjustments to the property, which was eventually taken off the market and re-listed in April for $13.99 million. Puth, 32, bought the home in 2017 for $8.995 million using a trust.”

    After transaction costs, holding costs, and inflation, I wonder if he made anything on his investment.

    2. Over $600,000 in just the property tax. Plus insurance ($200k?), maintenance and now realtor’s fees he’ll be lucky if he breaks even.

      I’ve never heard of the dude, I had to look him up. Then again I don’t listen to what the kids like these days.

  17. “The government has since unveiled a sort of string of steps, a rescue package, to try to prop up the sector just because so many families’ wealth is tied up in it.”

    Sounds a lot like the US situation circa 2012.

    2. red hot cakes?

      Question: Is this an HBB made up term? I even googled it and the only thing that came up were pancakes with red food coloring.

      I’ve heard of something “selling like hot cakes”, but never “selling like red hot cakes”

      1. It’s a combination of “selling like hotcakes” and “red hot,” as in hot enough to be glowing. Ben uses it as a pejorative.

        2. Yes, it’s a mix of the hotcakes and the red hot market. Or my favorite – it’s white hot! But that doesn’t go with hotcakes as well.

      2. It’s all just Realtorbabble.

        Hot cakes. Red hot. White hot. Et cetera. Realtorbabble and the lying Real Estate Media fellators, who publish articles like on a few years ago that stated “the easiest way to make $100K+ is to buy a house in Denver and wait two years.”

      1. Florida Homes Empty as Housing Market Tumbles in Some Cities
        Published Jun 18, 2024 at 8:20 AM EDT
        Updated Jun 18, 2024 at 8:56 AM EDT
        By Giulia Carbonaro
        US News Reporter

        Florida’s Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area has the highest share of rental homes sitting vacant in the entire country, according to recent research from Construction Coverage.

        The report, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, found that an average 15.3 percent of rental homes in Cape Coral-Fort Myers were vacant in 2023, up from 8 percent the year before. The median monthly rent in the metro area had also risen from $1,708 in 2022 to $1,967 in 2023, as the percentage of renters that are cost-burdened rose from 56 percent to 59.3 percent.

        Within the same period, the percentage of households renting in Cape Coral-Fort Myers dropped from 26.5 percent to 21.5 percent, a decrease which can partially explain the rise in rental home vacancy in the metro area.
        …
        https://www.newsweek.com/florida-homes-empty-housing-market-tumbles-some-cities-1914147

      2. Florida Housing Market ‘Getting Crazy’ as Inventory Triples
        Published Jun 18, 2024 at 5:28 PM EDT
        Updated Jun 18, 2024 at 5:52 PM EDT
        By Omar Mohammed
        Reporter, Economy & Finance

        The jump in listings of homes for sale in Florida points to a market that is about to experience price declines and sellers entering the market, a real estate analyst pointed out on Tuesday.

        Nick Gerli, CEO and Founder of real estate analytics firm Reventure Consulting, pointed out in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that housing prices in the Sunshine State could be on the way down.

        “This housing market downturn in Florida is getting crazy,” Gerli said in a post. “There’s ZIP codes where inventory has nearly tripled from its level last year.”
        …
        https://www.newsweek.com/florida-housing-market-inventory-triples-1914520

  19. Poll: Only 28 percent of the public has high confidence in higher education.

    https://jonathanturley.org/2024/06/18/poll-only-28-percent-of-the-public-has-high-confidence-in-higher-education/

    A new poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago (commissioned by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) shows that only 28% of Americans have a lot of trust in higher education. Academia has continued to alienate much of the country as an orthodox echo chamber. As with media outlets, the result has been falling interest and trust in these institutions. The poll asked “How much confidence, if any, do you have in U.S. colleges and universities?”

    Only 28% said they had a “great deal of confidence in colleges and universities.” Not surprisingly, given the ideological balance at most schools, the highest levels of trust came from Democrats and liberals. However, even this group only showed a 40% high confidence rate. Among Republicans, it drops to 12% and among independents it drops to 28%.

    For most businesses, such negative reactions would be viewed as catastrophic. For academia, it will not matter a whit.

    It is still personally beneficial for professors and administrators to push ideological agendas and maintain the lack of intellectual diversity on campuses. These professors are not challenged in their writings or their statements. They dominate publications, awards, and associations. In the meantime, these schools still receive sufficient support from alumni and, in the case of public universities, public funding.

    This could not come at a worse time as many decide that college is simply not worth the money. At the same time, falling birthrates are impacting dropping applications. Others have little interest in going to institutions where they must hide their political viewpoints or values.

    We have seen the same phenomenon in the media where media outlets are collapsing in viewership or readership but reporters are resisting every effort to return to a more neutral and objective basis for coverage. Recently, the Washington Post’s new publisher and CEO William Lewis dropped a truth bomb on his writers by telling them “Let’s not sugarcoat it…We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”

    The response from the media has been a campaign against Lewis and another editor tasked with saving the newspaper from itself. The New York Times, National Public Radio, and other outlets have piled on Lewis with a series of attack pieces. This is being actively and openly supported by reporters at the Post and could well work in pressuring owner Jeff Bezos. The result will be to stay the course of plunging trust and readership at a paper that is hemorrhaging money and readers.

    We need great universities and great newspapers as a nation. We need Princeton and the Post. That is why this trend is so alarming. These are hardened silos that seem impenetrable to efforts to restore trust in their product.

    1. Academia has continued to alienate much of the country as an orthodox echo chamber.

      Orthodox? Those nitwits couldn’t be more heterodox if they tried.

    2. 28% of Americans have a lot of trust in higher education.

      I have trust in 28% or higher education, i.e. the 28% that’s STEM. I’m not sure where I would fall on this survey.

      1. People who are better with their brains than with their hands.

        And people who aren’t strong enough to haul things around all day — that is, women.

        1. People who are better with their brains….

          What makes you think that people who go to college are better with their brains than tradesmen? Fairly broad generalization and I suspect may involve a bit of elitism.

          1. What makes you think that people who go to college are better with their brains than tradesmen?

            Back in the Day, (late1980’s) I remember reading something to the effect that there was no difference in IQ between those that graduated H.S and those that did not.
            I believe College grads IQ were higher than HS dropouts and HS degrees only.

          2. I certainly did not intend to say that tradeworkers had a lower IQ. I’m just saying that there are people — like me — who are absolutely no good with construction or infrastructure trades.

  20. The other wall of lies is crumbling. From CNN dot com:
    …
    Evidence is mounting that the American shopper is cutting back
    …
    Inflation is down from the 40-year highs of two years ago, but it remains elevated.
    …
    Shoppers are fatigued
    …
    What it means for the Fed

    Looks like they are trying to make a bad case to cut rates. Of course rate cuts mean more inflation, but if that will help keep house prices up, so be it.

  22. 400,000 More Canadians Live in Poverty Now Compared to 2020: Gov’t Report

    by Anthony Murdoch | Lifesite
    June 18th 2024, 7:09 am

    OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) –– Decades of progress in lowering the poverty rate in Canada has been wiped out in the last few years under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, one of his own federal departments has reported.

    According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a recently released report dated December 11, 2023 by the Department of Social Development “estimates” that “9.9 percent of Canadians, some four million people, live in poverty compared to 6.4 percent in 2020, the equivalent of ‘approximately 400,000 more Canadians,’” and that “[f]uture increases in the rate of poverty could stall progress towards reaching the 2030 poverty reduction target of a 50 percent reduction in poverty versus 2015 levels.”

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/400000-more-canadians-live-in-poverty-now-compared-to-2020-govt-report/

    1. Isn’t that the goal? Poor people consume less and less consumption allegedly hits the brakes on “climate change”.

  23. Global Real Estate CRASH Coming & Our Government is to BLAME!
    Jon Flynn Real Estate Stats
    2 hours ago

    The Next Real Estate Crash is Inevitable as our globalist governments from Canada, UK, France, USA, Australia and many other countries continue to destroy our currency and standard of living for the middle class. Most countries now have a housing crisis made worse by increased immigration and globalist government policies. In this video I share data and news stories to show how coordinated this attempt is to manipulate our markets and keep this Ponzi scheme going.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ScYwLU7E1w

    13:12.

    1. “…this attempt is to manipulate our markets and keep this Ponzi scheme going.”

      The coordinated currency devaluation has served to make real estate only affordable to the wealthiest households. Besides the super rich and those who locked into housing before the pandemic blowout, the rest of us can look forward to forevermore paying sky high rents for substandard housing.

  24. ‘Buyers were freaking out, and sellers got multiple offers over asking price,’ Sprague wrote in a recent newsletter. Sprague’s bottom line: ‘If you’re hoping for a housing market crash, you’ll be waiting for a while. Like, probably forever. That’s because for housing prices to totally plummet, inventory would have to go way up to exceed demand, and no one foresees that happening anytime soon’

    Even the useless media has been saying Austin is sinking like a turd in a well for more than 2 years now Mark.

  25. ‘The median closing price last month was $608,438, up 11.6% from the year-ago May. The all-time record for the median home-sales price in Austin was $667,000, set in May 2022, the board’s figures show…‘Austin two years ago was the second most overpriced city in America. You topped out somewhere around $565,000 to $570,000’

    Why are the numbers all over the place and confusing? The UHS set it up that way. They call 5 entire counties ‘Austin’. Some times. Or is that the city of Austin? Or the older university area Austin shacks? Oh, shacks? Did we mention were are suddenly using SF stats only on old Austin shacks? Those are on fire. In May.

  26. ‘the average Spokane County home saw a decrease in value year over year, the first decline in the region in more than a decade and a potential indication the market is leveling after years of stark increases. ‘It’s nice that we are returning to more of a normal Spokane market,’ said Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis. ‘Because what we have gone through the last three or four years before that was not normal’

    I’m optimistic like you Tom, I just hope no one overpaid in such an environment!

  27. ‘We probably have a lot more folks who are struggling today than we did this time last year.’ While there may not be many foreclosures in Cape Coral right now, Weeks thinks first-time homeowners could be in a difficult position, especially with rising insurance costs. ‘That’s hit pretty much everybody in southwest Florida, along with that. We’ve just gone through a very significant period of inflation, and wages generally lag overall prices in the market’

    The income to shack prices lag has been going on for 40 years now Shelton. Insurance is the least of yer worries.

  28. ‘I am an owner at Kamaole Sands and it is not a goldmine like some people seem to think. These changes could devastate many of us who rely on this income’

    The weak hands fold first Erika. But thanks for playing at Jerry’s Casino!

  29. ‘On Feb. 17, 2017, a Lakewood-based title and settlement company, which was not identified by authorities, performed two closings, one for the true $4.1 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $5.8 million price presented to the lender’

    There’s probably a reasonable explanation here. A title company isn’t making much on two transactions. Not enough to induce them to commit blatant fraud on the same property on the same day. These things sell for way more often on the same day. I don’t know what FHA and Freddie are so worked up about.

  30. ‘The landlords had used first and second mortgages and unsecured promissory notes from private lenders to buy up 800 properties, mostly in small Ontario cities, to renovate and rent out at a higher cost or sell them’

    ‘The business was fuelled by over 1,300 loans, the vast majority of which came from Hamilton mortgage broker Claire Drage and her company, the Windrose Group, which closed down earlier this year. KSV reviewed presentations Windrose made to convince people to invest with Suitor, Butt and Molony, and found them to be ‘misleading.’ The presentations didn’t convey the amount of debt they’d taken on and how much they were paying to service that debt — which was substantial. Even when it was clear the business was operating at a ‘significant loss’ with no ‘exit strategy’ and they wouldn’t be able to pay back all investors, the landlords renewed loans. This practice continued into January 2024, shortly before they applied for bankruptcy protection’

    That’s a whole lot of sound lending right there.

  31. Real-estate financing dried up, projects stalled, major developers went bust, and some banks teetered

    That would have made a good title.

  32. ‘suggesting property owners were starting to get the message about the current slow patch in the market. ‘Even so, sales are still falling behind new listings, with the stock of unsold homes on the market reaching its highest level since 2015’

    New Zealand is just the latest example of a classic dead cat bounce. And they were the very first to crater on the rate cycle cuz they tightened first.

  33. ‘Vince, a dad of three, has now been left wondering how the business was able to take his money at such a late stage if the company had known it was in financial strife. ‘It came as a shock’…Based on his interactions with staff, he said it appeared to have been a surprise to them, too’

    I was an accountant in the construction biz for a thankfully short time Vince. These guys are largely crooks. The bigger they get during booms, the worse they are. Leverage out the wazoo. Sux to be yer kids, destitute for life cuz yer back yard shed money got stolen.

  34. ‘When I think about a China with fewer people, I get stuck on all sorts of questions. For example, what does it mean for real estate when they build so many apartments and there are going to be fewer and fewer people to fill them?’

    ‘Ruwitch: The real estate issues, the government is trying to work through now. They introduced several years ago various policies that induced a sharp downturn. Sales of new houses have collapsed, home values have fallen. The government has since unveiled a sort of string of steps, a rescue package, to try to prop up the sector just because so many families’ wealth is tied up in it’

    Thank baby jeebus that npr dug deep and cleared up this enigma that is the Chinese housing market. Central planning will see us through.

  35. Seller’s Rushing To The Exits But Can’t Get Out (Toronto Real Estate Market Update)
    Team Sessa Real Estate

    44 minutes ago

    In this episode we take a look at the current Toronto Real Estate Market specifically the detached home prices and market trends for week ending June 12, 2024. We also discuss the recent influx of listings that have come on the market recently and why it’s making it even more difficult for your house to get sold.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=238Jz3lFrIA

    19:31.

  36. China Cracks Down on Wealthy Who Don’t Buy Homes, Next Target: Those Refusing to Have 3 Kids

    China Observer

    7 hours ago

    China’s economy is sluggish, and the real estate market continues to slump. Qingdao, Shandong’s largest city and an important coastal center, has seen house prices fall back to 2016 levels. Local authorities are trying various measures to boost the market. Recently, a street office in Qingdao called for interviews with residents who have large bank deposits but are not buying houses. This move was mocked online.

    A Chinese WeChat public account, “Three Young Men,” published an article on June 10 titled “From Malicious Non-Buyers to Deliberate Non-Parents.”

    The article mentions that a Qingdao street office issued a task notice to promote home-buying policies. If residents with large bank deposits were found not buying houses, it was deemed a lack of awareness, warranting a reminder talk. This task was included in employee performance evaluations.

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

    17 minutes.

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