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We’re Left As The Homeowners Pulling The Bag

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “The Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) market trends report for June showed 10,214 active listings on the market at the end of June, a 68.27 percent increase from the same month last year. The last time there were over 10,000 active listings in Denver was September 2013. Of the homes currently for sale, over 50 percent have had a price reduction. Denver real estate expert Steve Danyliw says homes would sell within a week in 2022, often within one weekend. ‘I don’t expect the rates ever to come back down to 2.5 or 2.75 percent,’ he says. ‘That is way behind us. But it has to get somewhere realistic to where even the sellers will get back out into the marketplace.'”

“The median sales price for a single-family home in Greater Boston has shattered records as it creeps closer to that $1 million mark. The median condo price did, too. Jared Wilk, president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, cautioned sellers not to get too aggressive with pricing. ‘In today’s high interest rate environment, many buyers are unable or unwilling to overextend themselves financially. They’re choosing to be less aggressive and more conscientious, which has caused some to suspend their home search for the summer or until rates come down, and that’s made for a less competitive market than we saw this spring. We’re not only seeing more bids under asking price, but properties that are overpriced are drawing fewer offers, sitting longer, and requiring a price reduction or two in order to sell,’ he said.”

“Median home prices in the northeast San Antonio area have continued to increase over the last two years while average days on the market have more than tripled in some ZIP codes. Changes in the market have prevented some potential buyers from showing interest in properties, while sellers compromise on initial prices, realtor Brian Mylar said. ‘Back in 2021, you put a house on the market and would have an offer immediately,’ Mylar said. ‘It is a complete turnaround today, and a lot of buyers are concerned about interest rates.’ Homeowner Isaac Hernandez said for people looking to move, selling a home has become more competitive than in previous years. ‘I’ve been trying to sell my home for about two and a half months,’ Hernandez said. ‘There are three other houses for sale in this neighborhood alone. I think homeownership can be scary for people right now with the way prices are, and people are more cautious about the homes they buy.'”

“One of San Francisco’s most infamous pieces of real estate is suddenly much, much cheaper. At the beleaguered Millennium Tower, which has made headlines across the country ever since the public found out it was sinking in 2016, a condominium was recently listed for $649,000 — a precipitous 41% drop from its $1.1 million sale price a decade ago. It’s not the only condo that’s seen a significant drop in valuation, either: A two-bedroom unit that sold for $1.5 million in 2015 is now on the market for $800,000, a 47% drop, Zillow listings show. But James Testa, a real estate agent in San Francisco, is optimistic about the tower’s future, and says that the luxury condos won’t be this affordable forever. ‘Generally, Millennium Tower is a fantastic deal right now,’ he told SFGATE.”

“Florida homeowners are currently struggling with skyrocketing premiums after several private insurers either cut coverage in some of the state’s most vulnerable areas or withdrew from the state entirely in the past few years. ‘People are hurting,’ wrote Chris M. in an email to Newsweek. ‘No one wants to pay that much money for insurance. I live on a fixed income. I can’t sell my house, and I can’t refinance. If things don’t change I might have to walk away.’ ‘It’s out of control. It’s completely off the charts,’ homeowner Jennifer Fehrs told Fort Myers’ WINK News.”

“The buying and selling of homes usually involve a lot of people. So, when home sales drop by more than 24 percent, which they have in the last year in the New Orleans metro market, the impact is deep. T’he real estate industry is a big factor in the overall economy. It’s sluggish right now and it’s bringing down the entire economy,’ said Drew Remson. Remson owns and is president of America’s Mortgage Resource, a New Orleans-based lending company. He says post-pandemic interest rates have dealt the local housing market a gut punch, and the soaring cost of property insurance in Louisiana has put it in a chokehold. ‘This is a very painful time. I’m in my 28th year as an owner. We have never had a downturn that lasted this long and has been as deep. This includes the ‘08 meltdown of the entire financial industry. This includes Katrina, which basically flooded the entire city of New Orleans,’ Remson said.”

“From coast to coast, customers who purchased brand new homes with D.R. Horton say their homes are riddled with constant problems, creating a massive safety hazard and taking a toll on their livelihood and bank accounts. ‘I can say D.R. Horton, they have left a very bad taste in my mouth,’ Georgia homeowner PJ Skipper said. ‘Here in my neighborhood, a lot of people have sold their homes,’ Skipper said. ‘They figured it’s just best to sell and get out. I was like, man, this is turning out to be a house from hell. ‘ ‘I’ve never had the house that I paid for,’ Florida D.R. Horton homeowner Danielle Antonucci said. In Sarasota, Florida, Antonucci moved into her D.R. Horton home in 2022. Her problems began almost immediately with major structural problems inside the home, incorrect materials used and mold inside the walls from water damage. ‘You didn’t give me the brand new house that I bought,’ Antonucci said. ‘I worry in three or four years, am I going to have a house full of mold in my walls?'”

“In the Lowcountry, not only has there been no enforcement action against D.R. Horton, but inspection reports show inspectors signed off on homes with known problems months before homeowners moved in. The latter feel like with the responsibility on their shoulders, it’s added insult to injury. ‘We’re left as the homeowners pulling the bag,’ Skipper said. ‘Most of the time, it has to come out of our pocket.’ ‘These stories are heartbreaking. They ruin families, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, all of that, it’s devastating,’ Antonucci said.”

“Tides Equities has lost an apartment complex in Las Vegas to its lender, Newpoint, which foreclosed on the property for less than half of its 2022 purchase price, The Real Deal has learned. Plano, Texas-based Newpoint Real Estate foreclosed on the 176-unit Tides at Walnut Park on Tuesday morning with a credit bid of $18.8 million, according to state foreclosure records. ‘We were working with the lender on a modification there but didn’t get enough relief from them via a mod,’ Tides principal Sean Kia said in an email. ‘We were not willing to put in good money after bad as the math didn’t make sense based on the current mod.'”

“Tides, which pools money from investors to buy apartments, mostly across the Sun Belt, has lost a rash of properties over the last couple of months to foreclosure. The firm capitalized on low interest rates between 2020 and 2022, buying up thousands of apartments using floating-rate debt, with plans to renovate quickly and hike rents. But once interest rates soared, so did Tides’ monthly debt bills. Rents in some of Tides’ core markets also started dipping, making it difficult for the firm to raise rents as fast as it intended, to keep up with rising debt service. The firm was not alone as many syndicators, including Austin-based GVA Real Estate, found themselves in similar positions. By taking over the property at $18.8 million, all equity in the deal has been wiped out. Newpoint also took a loss on the deal — more than 50 percent of its original loan.”

“New condo sales in the Toronto region have plunged to their lowest level in nearly three decades, with prospective buyers refusing to pay the expensive asking prices or struggling to qualify for a mortgage because borrowing costs remain relatively high. Edenshaw Developments, which is currently developing 4,000 condo units in the Toronto region, put three project launches on hold because of the lack of demand. ‘Buyers are sitting there. They’re waiting. But they are just not confident,’ said David McComb, the company’s chief executive. ‘There needs to be something that’s going to occur that’s going to give the confidence back to the investor.’ Over the past 12 months, developers completed building just over 28,000 condo units. That is a near record high and adds more condos to the Toronto market that is already inundated with a flood of resale units.”

“Despite the Bank of Canada’s quarter-point cut to its key interest rate, the market remains slow. A lack of urgency from buyers has led to nearly all property types sitting on the market for longer and prices decreasing for some home types. The cool market has seen some sellers resorting to taking a loss. A condo listed for 10 times finally sold in Mississauga but only after taking a $125,000 loss. A Mississauga home at 11 Pierpont Place in Meadowvale is an example. It was listed for $1,150,000 on April 24. But after no takers, the property was re-listed on July 17 for $899,000 — a $251,000 price drop, according to Zoocasa. Other homes with price drops include an Oakville house that saw a list price plummet by $500,000 in a month.”

“In a recent episode of the BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer, one property owner shared his regrets about purchasing a particular house. The two-bedroom Suffolk home was inspected by BBC’s Tommy Walsh before being snapped up at auction for £101,000, with viewers getting a glimpse of the extensive mould problem within. Reflecting on the experience, the homeowner admitted: ‘Well, it has certainly been an eye-opener and I’ve acquired a lot of knowledge. But had I known all those things, I would not have brought it.’ The man also disclosed that he hadn’t set foot inside the house prior to the auction purchase. When asked by the BBC presenter if he was pleased with his find, he responded: ‘No, I personally wasn’t not at all! It was a real shock. He lamented: ‘I thought, ‘Oh my word, what have I let myself in for?'”

“Tenants hoping to find cheaper rents would have to move to Melbourne’s outer suburbs or Victoria’s regions to lease a house for less than it cost a year ago. In Sorrento, the median asking rent has dropped by 17.2 per cent to $700 a week. Quantify Strategic Insights head of data Angie Zigomanis added that holiday homes in areas like Sorrento and Safety Beach may have been put on the rental market to help generate extra income for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage. ‘It might well be that some of these properties that were completely held as holiday homes are actually finding their way onto the rental market because the owners need to generate income,’ he said.”

“Buxton Mornington Peninsula agent and auctioneer Clayton Smith told The Age he had seen more holiday homes put up for rent, causing supply in holiday destinations like Sorrento to outstrip demand for long-term rental properties. ‘Land tax is part of it. There are a few people that own a house down here, who historically wouldn’t have offered their home for rent, but are just trying to claw back some of the expense … there’s a bit of oversupply,’ he said.”

“Hong Kong developers continue to rely on attractive pricing as a strategy to clear their swollen stock as interest-rate cuts and a stronger economic recovery fail to materialise, according to analysts and the latest price lists for sales that are soon to launch. New price lists for New World Development (NWD) and Far East Consortium’s Pavilia Forest III project in Kai Tak and Early Light International Holdings’ The Uppland in Tuen Mun both have average prices per square foot well below recent launches in nearby developments – by more than a third for Pavilia Forest III and 10 per cent for The Uppland.”

“‘It’s definitely a buyers’ market now,’ said Martin Wong, senior director and head of research and consultancy for Greater China at Knight Frank. ‘Currently, price cuts are the most effective way to drive sales, as buyers have many options.'”

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This Post Has 83 Comments

  1. ‘We’re not only seeing more bids under asking price, but properties that are overpriced are drawing fewer offers, sitting longer, and requiring a price reduction or two in order to sell’

    All time high price Jared.

  2. ‘We were not willing to put in good money after bad as the math didn’t make sense based on the current mod’

    So just like that Sean, yer giving it away.

    ‘By taking over the property at $18.8 million, all equity in the deal has been wiped out. Newpoint also took a loss on the deal — more than 50 percent of its original loan’

    How do you like those non-recourse loans now?

  3. “Of the homes currently for sale, over 50 percent have had a price reduction”

    At least it was cheaper than renting.

  4. “The Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) market trends report for June showed 10,214 active listings on the market at the end of June, a 68.27 percent increase from the same month last year.

    Is that a lot?

  6. ‘Generally, Millennium Tower is a fantastic deal right now,’ he told SFGATE.”

    Always Be Closing.

  7. I can’t sell my house, and I can’t refinance. If things don’t change I might have to walk away.’

    Gosh, if millions of FBs walk away from underwater shacks, or just squat in place and stop paying their mortgages, I fear trillions in “generational wealth” will take wing and fly away to whatever afterlife awaits departed Yellen Bux “value.”

  9. T’he real estate industry is a big factor in the overall economy. It’s sluggish right now and it’s bringing down the entire economy,’ said Drew Remson.

    Maybe we need an economy that’s based on wealth-creating manufacturing and production, instead of speculation and parasitism.

    1. “…we need an economy that’s based on wealth-creating manufacturing and production…”

      Not to mention the wealth destructing effects of non-USA outsourcing.

  10. ‘You didn’t give me the brand new house that I bought,’ Antonucci said. ‘I worry in three or four years, am I going to have a house full of mold in my walls?’”

    For years, dissatisfied customers of H.R. Horton & other homebuilders have been posting their tales of woe on social media, citing very specific construction defects and shoddy workmanship. Do ‘tards like Antonucci bother doing even a cursory due diligence before signing on Mr. Banker’s dotted line?

  11. “Tides, which pools money from investors to buy apartments, mostly across the Sun Belt, has lost a rash of properties over the last couple of months to foreclosure.

    Die, speculator scum.

  12. “New condo sales in the Toronto region have plunged to their lowest level in nearly three decades, with prospective buyers refusing to pay the expensive asking prices or struggling to qualify for a mortgage because borrowing costs remain relatively high.

    I love seeing the BoC’s house of cards come crashing down under the weight of its own fraud, debt, and greed-fueled speculation. Fake wealth created by fake money was never sustainable in the long run.

  13. Other homes with price drops include an Oakville house that saw a list price plummet by $500,000 in a month.”

    That would’ve covered years of rent – just sayin’….

        1. ‘Karl Roves hands were shaking in rage…when he got the news JD Vance was going to be the pick’

          3:00.

  15. “At the beleaguered Millennium Tower, which has made headlines across the country ever since the public found out it was sinking in 2016, a condominium was recently listed for $649,000 — a precipitous 41% drop from its $1.1 million sale price a decade ago. It’s not the only condo that’s seen a significant drop in valuation, either: A two-bedroom unit that sold for $1.5 million in 2015 is now on the market for $800,000, a 47% drop, Zillow listings show.”

    Those prices certainly are sinking! They are already approaching 50% losses, with nobody in the REIC even acknowledging there is a problem. Makes you wonder for how long the denial stage of the housing bubble stages of grief can last before panic happens.

    By the way, whatever happened to that Chris Thornberg dude who said Bayaryan home prices could never drop?

    1. A few years ago a self-described NYC real estate expert graced the HBB with his presence, proclaiming that 50% price drops were inconceivable based on underlying fundamentals. He vanished a long time ago – I suspect he now resides under an overpass, drowning his sorrows with bottles of Mad Dog 20/20, as his REIT “investments” have long since been vaporized.

  16. “…a condominium was recently listed for $649,000 — a precipitous 41% drop from its $1.1 million sale price a decade ago. It’s not the only condo that’s seen a significant drop in valuation, either: A two-bedroom unit that sold for $1.5 million in 2015 is now on the market for $800,000, a 47% drop, Zillow listings show. But James Testa, a real estate agent in San Francisco, is optimistic about the tower’s future, and says that the luxury condos won’t be this affordable forever.”

    James said it was still cheaper than renting!

    1. When is the CRE crater going to start taking down banks, private equity locusts, and pension funds?

    1. It seems fitting that a firm that tries to cover Windows’ holes would itself be flawed.

      1. I doubt he was thinking about Windows much in the ’90s either, to judge by the number of bugs in Windows 95.

  19. President Joe Biden did not wear a face mask in public a couple of times after the White House announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said the Democratic incumbent was experiencing “mild” symptoms while the president’s physician said Biden would self-isolate “in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals.”

    What does the CDC guidance say? What does the White House say?

    After the announcement on Wednesday, Biden emerged bare-faced from the motorcade after he arrived at the airport in Las Vegas, where he had made several appearances, and boarded Air Force One. He also was not wearing a mask, which medicals professionals have said can help slow the spread of disease, as he stepped off the plane hours later at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Biden was surrounded by Secret Service agents and aides on both ends of the trip.

    What the CDC says

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people recovering from COVID-19 or any other respiratory illness to wear masks as part of an overall strategy to reduce transmission, but masks are not mandated.

    The CDC recommends that people “stay home and away from others” if they’re feeling sick. They say people can resume normal activities when symptoms have started to improve and the person no longer has a fever.

    The CDC describes masks as an “additional strategy” for preventing disease spread, but it generally leaves it up to individuals to decide whether to use them. It calls masks “especially helpful” when someone is sick and suggests they be used as a precaution during recovery.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/biden-has-covid-19-and-didnt-wear-a-mask-the-cdcs-guidelines-say-he-doesnt-have-to/ar-BB1qenxn

    Fully vaccinated.

    2. oe Biden did not wear a face mask in public a couple of times after the White House announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
      I wonder if he even has Covid or it is merely an excuse to get him off the campaign trail and back in his basement where he truly belongs.

      1. I wonder if he even has Covid

        The last 999 things they told us were bold lies, but this we should just believe?

        1. I doubt FJB was injected with anything other than saline solution, though he threatened me and others with unemployment if I refused the kill shot. Bless those judges that overturned his illegal mandates.

  21. The coming U.S. presidential election, with the growing prospect of a return of Donald Trump to the White House, promises to have profound repercussions for Europe’s security, future trans-Atlantic relations and the conflict in Ukraine—changes with which European leaders are starting to grapple.

    Trump’s pick of Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio) as his running mate on Monday reinforced a sense in Europe that the former president’s return to office could mean a dramatic drop in U.S. aid for Ukraine and a push to force Kyiv into peace talks with the Kremlin.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was warmly welcomed at the gathering, warned that European leaders had an important role to play “to convince partners around the globe that they also have to be brave.”

    Trump, like previous presidents, has criticized Europe for not pulling its weight in military spending and relying on U.S. power as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which requires the U.S. and other members to defend any NATO state from attack. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, most European nations have started to slowly increase military spending but still largely rely on U.S. protection.

    Trump has questioned the need for NATO and said he wouldn’t defend countries in the organization that didn’t meet the minimum military spending guidelines of 2% of their own annual economic output. He has also repeatedly questioned U.S. support for Ukraine and promised to end the war, without offering specifics.

    The concerns go beyond security. Trump, in an interview with Bloomberg News published Tuesday, repeated threats to hit the EU with new trade tariffs, saying European countries “treat us violently.”

    Two contrasting responses to Trump have emerged in Europe, both seeking to ensure some independence of action.

    On one side stands Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban’s pitch, laid out in a recent letter to a top EU official, is that the bloc should shift its Ukraine strategy away from war and work with Trump to end the war. That approach would place the EU at the heart of diplomatic efforts to reshape the security order in Europe and avoid costly efforts to support Ukraine alone if the U.S. pulls back, he argued.

    “We have not had a sovereign or independent European strategy,” Orban wrote to European Council President Charles Michel.

    For most European leaders, however, Orban’s approach would sell out Ukraine and leave Europe exposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military ambitions.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/prospect-of-trump-s-return-hangs-over-european-security-summit/ar-BB1qbd2B

  22. LAS VEGAS — President Joe Biden, clinging to the nomination and surrounding himself with prominent Black and Latino leaders, made a hastily shortened return to the campaign trail with a two-day swing through Nevada, a once-promising battleground state that Democrats fear could be slipping away from them.

    But in interviews with POLITICO, more than a dozen elected leaders, party activists and Democratic and independent voters in Clark County, home to nearly three-quarters of Nevada’s residents, described a pervasive sense of unease. Few voters expressed a desire to push out Biden at the top of the ticket — arguing it’s too late to make a move, or that nominating another Democrat at this juncture brings its own set of risks. But several said they wished he had read the room last year and exited gracefully.

    “I hate to say it, but I think Trump is going to win,” said Jacob Carleton, who lives and works in Las Vegas’ Arts District. Carleton said he always thought of himself as a liberal, but he’s grown disillusioned with his party elders for waiting too long to stand down. He mentioned by name — and unprompted — former Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both died in office, in their late 80s or early 90s.

    “They aren’t some patron saint, but people act like they are rusted in, like some old barnacle,” Carleton said, adding of 2024, “it feels like a bad TV rerun. It’s so prideful he didn’t get out.”

    Few officials and voters said they were enthusiastic about Biden. One compared the president to his 51-year-old Cadillac that doesn’t run like it used to, and sometimes has trouble running at all, especially in the blazing desert heat. But like his 1973 Cadillac coupe Deville, Biden is familiar and even comfortable, said Greg DeVille, a supporter who runs a large real estate firm and has been involved in a group supporting Black real estate professionals in the state.

    “He’s right for the job,” DeVille said, citing a line from Biden moments before about looking out for low- and middle-income Nevadans. “I think like Joe said, ‘You know, school teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, should pay less taxes than the well-off.’”

    And others said they’ve come to view Biden as almost an afterthought, focusing instead on the threat a second Trump term poses.

    The specter of Trump loomed outside a desert parking lot, where Aaron White was retreating for the shade of a parking structure.

    “This is a guy who said people should drink bleach,” said White, an independent from North Las Vegas, before sizing up Biden, whom he plans to vote for in November.

    “He’s ‘Sleepy Biden.’ He falls asleep all the time, but he’s agreeable,” White said. “He’s like your grandfather.”

    Some Black Nevadans are peeling off, however. Robert Harrison, who works in security, was a lifelong Democrat and voted for Biden in 2020. Harrison now says he’ll vote for Trump.

    “Democrats in my opinion have done basically nothing,” he said. “It’s like beating a dead dog, or a dead horse.”

    Trump, Harrison said, “squashed a lot of the B.S. I’m not saying he was perfect. I guess he would be the lesser of two,” he added, pausing for a few seconds, “evils.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/biden-struggles-to-calm-fears-in-nevada/ar-BB1qe5HY

  23. Europe experienced a slump in heat pump sales in 2023, according to new figures released today (18 July) by industry association EHPA – putting pressure on the next European Commission to reinvigorate a sector critical to decarbonisation efforts.

    The EU’s building sector accounts for one-third of energy-related CO2 emissions, mostly due to the use of coal and gas to heat homes. Heat pumps, which use ambient heat and renewable power to warm houses, are considered key for reducing emissions.

    One problem is that heat pump sales are on a downward trajectory. In 2023, sales amounted to just three million new units—a 6.5% drop from 2022 sales, according to data released by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).

    The EU market’s saving grace was Germany, where 360,000 units were sold in 2023. This was a 58% increase on the previous year’s sales, but it may have been a blip.

    The German heating association expects sales to drop back down to 200,000 units in 2024, projections released on 9 July show.

    As sales slow, supply chains are contracting. German manufacturer Stiebel Eltron sent 2000 workers on furlough in May, Viessmann did so for 100 workers in July.

    Germany’s goal of installing 500,000 heat pumps this year – a political target based on which Berlin urged manufacturers to build out production capacity – is out of reach according to the German heating association.

    EHPA notes that European Commission modelling requires 60 million heat pumps to be installed in Europe to hit 2040 climate targets and warns that this will be missed by 30 million units on the current trajectory.

    In Brussels, that means the incoming European Commission is faced with a major task: rejuvenating the EU’s slumped heat pump markets.

    “The first priority for a new Energy Commissioner must be to finally release the Heat Pump Action Plan,” says EHPA’s Mélanie Auvray.

    “Political support” in the form of the heat pump action plan should be the priority for the next Commission, said Richard Lowes, of clean-energy think-tank RAP and a research fellow at Exeter University, in comments to Euractiv.

    Beyond the plan, which according to EHPA will be a grab-bag of policy fixes from upskilling installers to highlighting the need for new financing models, the EU’s future top energy bureaucrat faces a daunting task: fixing the gas-to-power price ratio.

    European gas prices have dropped to pre-2020 levels, which means that an electricity-powered heat pump, while climate-friendly, is more expensive to run than a standard-issue gas boiler.

    “Most important of all is getting the price ratio right: electricity must be no more than 2.5-times more expensive than natural gas, otherwise heat pumps will remain unattractive,” says Lowes.

    “This is really the most importing thing, but it is also really difficult because it is primarily within the remit of EU countries,” explains Auvray.

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/heat-pump-sales-collapse-leaves-new-eu-commission-with-tough-task/

    1. I saved this earlier and just read it a couple of times. These people are nuts. I’m glad I have nothing to do with europistan.

      1. They are nuts. Even if Germany could go zero carbon, it would have no impact on global CO2 levels. Anyway, unless they change their ways a steady slide into poverty awaits them.

        1. “…Even if Germany could go zero carbon, it would have no impact on global CO2 levels….”

          Even if the entire EU could magically go zero carbon, all that [saved] CO2 could be offset by a couple of good volcanic eruptions.

          1. all that [saved] CO2 could be offset by a couple of good volcanic eruptions.
            And, with any luck, like back in 1883 with Krakatoa, the earth would cool. The earth cooled the earth a minimum 1.2 degrees F after Krakatoa exploded.

          3. Ash. CO2 doesn’t warm or cool the earth
            I thought that was understood but I guess I should be a little more specific.

    2. European gas prices have dropped to pre-2020 levels, which means that an electricity-powered heat pump, while climate-friendly, is more expensive to run than a standard-issue gas boiler.

      I mentioned a while ago that a European colleague who lives in Ireland spends 500 Euros a month to heat his tiny home in the winter. While not balmy, Irish winters are warmer than those in my neck of the woods. Unlike where I live, the average winter low in Dublin is above freezing. Imagine if the average low there was 20F.

  24. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair.

    https://nitter.poast.org/DiMartinoBooth/status/1813290902942552548#m:

    REQUIRED READING: WHY 1933 SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT DICTATES POWELL CANNOT BE FIRED BY ANY PRESIDENT

    (For full explanation, see link)

    Members of @federalreserve Board can vote to keep Powell as chair until court turns over or upholds Humphrey’s Executor.

    Rep. Massie Introduces Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act to “End the Fed”

    2. Thomas Massie is literally the only member of the uniparty that doesn’t have an AIPAC minder.

  28. How does the Pentagon intend to get the cannon fodder needed to fight the next AIPAC-neocon “regime change” fiasco? The Left hates America, and the Soy Bois are too fragile, physically and emotionally, to make it through even our kinder, gentler basic training – even the ones joining for “gender affirming” surgery paid out of DoD’s budget. Heritage American white males are already refusing en masse to put their lives on the line for a government that hates them.

    https://english.alarabiya.net/News/united-states/2024/07/19/us-will-respond-to-this-week-s-iran-backed-attack-on-troops-in-iraq-general

  30. ‘The last time there were over 10,000 active listings in Denver was September 2013. Of the homes currently for sale, over 50 percent have had a price reduction. Denver real estate expert Steve Danyliw says homes would sell within a week in 2022, often within one weekend. ‘I don’t expect the rates ever to come back down to 2.5 or 2.75 percent,’ he says. ‘That is way behind us’

    Yer saying it is different this time Steve?

    ‘But it has to get somewhere realistic to where even the sellers will get back out into the marketplace’

    You’ve got plenty of sellers and it’s happening in most cities around the world right now.

  31. ‘Changes in the market have prevented some potential buyers from showing interest in properties, while sellers compromise on initial prices, realtor Brian Mylar said. ‘Back in 2021, you put a house on the market and would have an offer immediately’

    Those were my winnahs! Brian, still are.

    ‘It is a complete turnaround today, and a lot of buyers are concerned about interest rates’…for people looking to move, selling a home has become more competitive than in previous years. ‘I’ve been trying to sell my home for about two and a half months,’ Hernandez said. ‘There are three other houses for sale in this neighborhood alone. I think homeownership can be scary for people right now with the way prices are, and people are more cautious about the homes they buy’

    We need an intervention here Isaac, cuz it sounds like you are dangerously close to giving it away.

  32. ‘At the beleaguered Millennium Tower, which has made headlines across the country ever since the public found out it was sinking in 2016, a condominium was recently listed for $649,000 — a precipitous 41% drop from its $1.1 million sale price a decade ago. It’s not the only condo that’s seen a significant drop in valuation, either: A two-bedroom unit that sold for $1.5 million in 2015 is now on the market for $800,000, a 47% drop’

    All the airboxes in this sh$thole have been sinking like a turd in a well since.

    1. “…Millennium Tower…”

      This failed project will end up being entirely funded by the state.

    1. They could have used Linux. From what I remember of Win 3.1, it was just a Windowing shell that ran on top of MS-DOS. I also remember that it crashed. a lot.

      1. DOS never had a native TCP/IP network stack, and the NIC cards of the day had buggy drivers. It’s difficult to imagine anyone running a business on top of this old technology.

        1. I suspect that they were running a newer version of Windows like XP. Still buggy and requires daily reboots.

  34. ‘People are hurting…No one wants to pay that much money for insurance. I live on a fixed income. I can’t sell my house, and I can’t refinance. If things don’t change I might have to walk away’

    Bargaining <- Chris, you are here. ‘It’s out of control. It’s completely off the charts’ It's moments like this that define the winnahs! and the losers (boo, hiss) Jennifer.

    1. “…I might have to walk away”

      Hunker down, Chris. Let “them” come up with a solution.

      1. Recall that the fed acted as a reinsurance backstop for AIG when the schitt hit the fan. Climate change and property reinsurance will likely be included in the fed’s mandate, written or not.

        1. It will be interesting for sure to see which highly leveraged risk asset speculators qualify for bailouts in the next bust which nobody could have seen coming.

  35. ‘He says post-pandemic interest rates have dealt the local housing market a gut punch, and the soaring cost of property insurance in Louisiana has put it in a chokehold. ‘This is a very painful time. I’m in my 28th year as an owner. We have never had a downturn that lasted this long and has been as deep. This includes the ‘08 meltdown of the entire financial industry. This includes Katrina, which basically flooded the entire city of New Orleans’

    This is why it’s a good thing to put money aside when times were good Drew. I’m sure you did that.

  36. ‘I can say D.R. Horton, they have left a very bad taste in my mouth…Here in my neighborhood, a lot of people have sold their homes,’ Skipper said. ‘They figured it’s just best to sell and get out. I was like, man, this is turning out to be a house from hell’

    The experts all agree PJ, it’s a strong sellers market.

    1. The ‘greatest bubble in human history’ is close to bursting, black-swan investor Mark Spitznagel says
      Kelly Cloonan
      Jul 19, 2024, 11:07 PM GMT+8
      Mark Spitznagel

      – Mark Spitznagel, a bearish investor, predicts stocks may soon lose over half their value in a sell-off.

      – He says a recession could happen by the of the year, fueled by the government’s $34 trillion debt.

      – His fund, Universa Investments, has made billions from past stock-market crises.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-bubble-close-to-bursting-mark-spitznagel-black-swan-2024-7

    2. Stock market today: Dow falls 533 points as tech rout spreads to the broader market
      Filip De Mott
      Jul 19, 2024, 4:11 AM GMT+8
      Traders work the floors at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on October 11, 2023.
      Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Image

      – Major stock indexes were down sharply for a second day on Thursday.

      – A mega-cap retreat expanded into a broader rout, and the S&P 500 fell over 1%.

      – Meanwhile, higher-than-expected jobless claims boosted confidence in a rate cut this year.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-today-broad-rout-sell-off-tech-small-caps-2024-7

    3. Grant Cardone warns of ‘biggest real estate correction’ of his life — but sees ‘tremendous opportunity’ for some
      Jing Pan
      Thu, Jul 18, 2024, 8:15 PM GMT+8
      3 min read
      Grant Cardone warns of ‘biggest real estate correction’ of his life — but sees ‘tremendous opportunity’ for some
      Grant Cardone warns of ‘biggest real estate correction’ of his life — but sees ‘tremendous opportunity’ for some

      Prolific real estate investor Grant Cardone is sounding the alarm on significant changes within his industry.

      During a recent conversation on Fox Business with host Charles Payne, Cardone shared a grim forecast for the real estate market.

      “We’re going to have the biggest real estate correction we’ve ever had here in the next 12 months,” he said. “It’ll be monster, and it will hit Gen Zs in a way that they’ll never touch that asset class again.”
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grant-cardone-warns-biggest-real-121500995.html

  39. The Dumver Broncos’ new rookie quarterback Bo Nix just paid $4 million for a shack in Dumver. Someone is going to get an a$$ pounding when he sells it after he is cut from the team in a year or two.

    1. “…paid $4 million for a shack in Dumver.”

      Would that be in Boulder? Where else do the star bellies settle down?

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