thehousingbubble@gmail.com
Blog

They’re Trying To Not Only Save Themselves But Hit The Jackpot, Sometimes That Doesn’t Work

A weekend topic starting with Twin Falls KMVT in Idaho. “Desirae Williams owns Revista Realty. She is discussing a big new change in how realtors help people buy or sell a home after the National Association of Realtors settled a federal class action lawsuit. Sellers no longer must pay for both agents, meaning buyers may have to pay for their realtor’s services. ‘We have been talking with some lenders, and basically it sounds like they’ll be able to wrap that into the buyer’s loan so that they can still pay for our services without having to come up with the cash out of pocket,’ Williams said. ‘So that’s kind of great.'”

From Lew Sichelman. “Attention, buyers: How are you going to pay your share of the sales commission on the house you want to buy? There’s a lot more to the financing equation than just money. For one very important thing, the two quasi-government secondary market outfits that keep the mortgage money flowing by purchasing loans from primary lenders and rolling them into securities for sale to investors worldwide have yet to say whether they would buy loans that include commissions.”

“If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac decide against making an exception for commission amounts, more than half of all mortgages including the charge would be ineligible for purchase. And since most lenders follow Fannie and Freddie’s guidelines, a lot more loans than that will fall by the wayside. Then there’s the question of your loan-to-value ratio. If the loan amount includes the commission, your LTV will be higher, which could kick you into another mortgage program with a higher interest rate and would require an even larger down payment. You might even be required to pay a higher mortgage insurance premium.”

The Tampa Bay Times in Florida. “It was the serenity of The Enclave at Twin Rivers that pushed Kelly Phillips to buy the house in Manatee County last year. But soon after Phillips moved in, residents discovered the builder had sold around 100 houses in the neighborhood to Invitation Homes — an investment company with thousands of rental properties across the state. The corporation gained a controlling share of the 126-home community. When it came time to vote for the three-person board for the homeowners association, Invitation installed two employees on the board. Both live in Texas. Homeowners feel like their slice of paradise was sold from under them, Phillips said.”

“The same corporations have sprawled around fast-growing metro areas like Jacksonville and Orlando. Most of those homes were eventually sold to individuals and families. But the nation’s largest rental companies were also frequent buyers — sometimes scooping up dozens of homes at once, bought directly from the builders. The Times found hundreds of Polk County homes purchased by investment firms, from construction companies, since 2019. Though bylaws allow for investor purchases and rentals, Phillips said residents were surprised the community would become primarily renters. Lennar did not respond to requests for comment before publication. ‘We feel taken advantage of,’ Phillips said. Some have explored selling. With a corporation in control, it doesn’t feel like residents have a say anymore. ‘People are upset,’ said Phillips. ‘They feel like there’s just nothing anyone can do.'”

From Bisnow. “South Florida’s thousands of aging condos are at a crossroads. For unit owners it’s a crisis that will likely force hundreds of people out of their homes. For developers, it’s an opportunity to snap up some of the region’s most desirable development sites to build new luxury towers. This month Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo sent a letter to her colleagues rejecting a request to convene a special session to amend the law. In the six-page letter, Passidomo said she was ‘increasingly concerned by what I see as a growing narrative, ripe with misconceptions and inaccuracies’ regarding the post-Surfside law. ‘The problem is, as with all lifestyles, condominium living comes at a price,’ she wrote, adding later that ‘too many of our condo buildings are in need of critical life and safety upgrades’ because condo associations opted to waive fees for decades.”

“The gap between where condo owners value their units and what developers are willing to pay to knock their building down remains wide, often because a broker has promised the seller an unachievable price point before bringing their property to market. ‘They’re trying to not only save themselves but hit the jackpot,’ said Edgardo Defortuna, CEO of the prolific South Florida real estate firm Fortune International Group . ‘Sometimes that doesn’t work.'”

“Some owners know they’re facing a steep repair bill that will not add much value to their property, but they’re still holding out for a better offer. Peter Zalewski, the founder of Condo Vultures cautioned that those bigger payouts are unlikely to materialize. ‘Developers will offer a lowball price versus what a seller thinks their gorgeous dream home is worth, but they’re simply bleeding out the illness,’ Zalewski said. ‘Developers will sit back until the seller feels very lucky to unload at a price they never would have accepted before.'”

From StrongTowns.org. “The U.S. is in a massive housing bubble. Prices are artificially high due primarily to the downstream effects of financialization. Localized supply and demand dynamics — which today are also downstream of financialization — are a mess. Decades of housing subsidies, down payment assistance, artificially low interest rates, money printing and endless bank support have turned the American home into a financial product first and a place of shelter second. I wrote earlier in this piece that, in a market dominated by fraud, bad actors crowd out those foolish enough to follow the rules. The only reason these concerns are starting to be raised now is because, as they say in the business, the music is slowing and people are starting to look for chairs.”

“Those of you looking to Wall Street and Washington to help you finance a revolution in housing construction seem likely to be disappointed yet again. As I wrote earlier this year, Fannie Mae — and all the other purveyors of centralized capital — are not interested in pursuing strategies that make housing broadly affordable. In fact, they will oppose any policy that actually makes prices go down.”

NBC Bay Area. “The many Bay Area homeowners who say an ADU builder scammed them out of tens of thousands of dollars each are now learning the hard way that a state safety net will basically be useless to them. At issue is the contractor’s bond. The state requires all contractors to have a bond to pay back customers if a contractor fails. But, it turns out California’s bond offers far less protection than you might expect. All around the Bay Area, homeowners tell us they hired Anchored Tiny Homes to build a backyard accessory dwelling unit, or ADU. Many families prepaid for some or all of the work. But now, these families have unfinished projects.”

“‘I feel scammed,’ said San Leandro homeowner Katie Lucas, while standing in her shell of an ADU. ‘They got me,’ said Rohnert Park ADU buyer Steve Sonza. The people who’ve contacted NBC Bay Area Responds say they’re out more than $1.2 million, collectively. Others, in a Facebook group, say they’ve lost at least another $4 million. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a solo builder doing one small project at a time or you’re Anchored Tiny Homes, reportedly building hundreds of ADUs, the state of California only requires $25,000. One size fits all. Customers said if their claim is approved, the insurance company will divide that $25,000.”

“‘It’s split up against the 400 — or however many — people have applied for that bond,’ Sonza said. ‘So, it’s not per person. It’s split.’ If the $25,000 is divided equally by 400, that works out to a mere $62.50 payout per customer. ‘That’s insane,’ Sonza said. ‘Why are we allowing that? [The bond] should be much higher. If we’re dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars, $25,000 is not going to cover it.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “The Toronto real estate market has been a quagmire in recent months as sellers hold out for high prices while buyers keep their decisions on hold. Agents are expecting another jump in listings after Labour Day, but whether buyers will feel reinvigorated is the bigger question. Dino Capocci, real estate agent with Royal LePage Real Estate Services said the sporadic sales this summer have made setting an asking price extremely challenging. The risk if it’s too high is that the house sits and buyers begin thinking there must be a reason why others have passed it by. In Deer Park, Mr. Capocci has decided to bring a house to market at the end of August in order to get out ahead of the stream of listings he expects after Labour Day. ‘Why compete with five or six neighbours?’ is the advice he gave the homeowners.”

“Meanwhile, many homeowners who purchased when interest rates were ultralow are facing mortgage renewals in the coming year or two. Some may have to sell if they see a big jump in their payments. ‘We might see a flood of listings,’ said Mr. Capocci.”

From News.com.au. “Experts have revealed some worrying signs that Australia’s property boom might end. Home values across regional Australia have plummeted 1.3 per cent over three months to July, down from a recent high of 2.2 per cent in April, property researcher CoreLogic found. Lower level of demand from buyers due to fewer people moving to live out in the country compared to during the Covid-19 lockdown has allowed the number of unsold homes to accumulate. Some property owners are also under pressure from higher mortgage repayments and would take advantage of longer-term rises in value and sell to clear their debts, CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy explained, adding to the amount of homes for sale. This has meant that most regional areas across New South Wales and Victoria have an above-average amount of homes for sale now, compared to during Covid.”

“Values in Coffs Harbour fell most, down 3.8 per cent in three months, while elsewhere in NSW, Orange (-3.1 per cent) and Wagga Wagga (-2.6 per cent) also eased. The second-largest fall was in Ballarat, down 3.4 per cent in three months, and other Victorian towns to drop included Wangaratta (-2.7 per cent), Colac (-2.4 per cent) and Castlemaine (-2.2 per cent). A build-up of listings have contributed to plummeting value, Ezzy explained. Sales in Ballarat are also about 5 per cent below average, but listing volumes are almost double what they were usual for this time of year. ‘Those buyers don’t have to negotiate as much, they have more choice, more options and that’s taking steam out of the market,’ she explained.”

Related Posts
This Post Has 111 Comments

  1. ‘Decades of housing subsidies, down payment assistance, artificially low interest rates, money printing and endless bank support have turned the American home into a financial product first and a place of shelter second. I wrote earlier in this piece that, in a market dominated by fraud, bad actors crowd out those foolish enough to follow the rules. The only reason these concerns are starting to be raised now is because, as they say in the business, the music is slowing and people are starting to look for chairs’

    This article is worth reading in full. The Bisnow article is a clearer view of the condo mess than most. Sometimes CRE media is superior to the local cry baby stuff.

    1. Sometimes CRE media is superior to the local cry baby stuff.

      For sheer entertainment value, the caterwauling from the local FB tales of woe is unsurpassed, IMO.

    2. This: “because condo associations opted to waive fees for decades. ” is the clearest line in the whole thing. Kicking the can is now not allowed. TFB. All condo associations did this (everywhere) and only the new buyer gets hosed, (cuz the old buyers skated for a long time).

      “oh we don’t wanna pay for infrastructure” Kinda the story of america/boomers in a nutshell.

      The new condo’s they put up are gonna be spendy in HOA fees too cuz they aren’t going to be allowed to kick the can.

        1. I didn’t say it was the boomer’s fault. I said it was very much like the boomer mantra. Spend it all now like there’s no tomorrow and kick the can to the next generation. “we’re spending our kid’s inheritance”

  2. I’ve bought two homes in my lifetime. My buying agents were no more than taxi drivers. I’ll Uber next time and save some cash.

  4. ‘We have been talking with some lenders, and basically it sounds like they’ll be able to wrap that into the buyer’s loan so that they can still pay for our services without having to come up with the cash out of pocket,’ Williams said. ‘So that’s kind of great.’”

    It’s great for the REIC cartel, but not for buyers who have to pay 3% of a house’s price to realtors who provide a “service” that could easily be provided at a fraction of the cost by a title attorney, an intern with basic marketing skills, etc. If any racket ever needed an “industry disruptor” to offer cost-conscious consumers a better deal, this is it.

    1. yep, soon as people realize THEY have to pay they simply aren’t gonna pay. They’ll either deal directly with the listing agent for paperwork, or pay some direct fee ($500/$1000) to do specific things. 3% of 400k house is 12,000, ain’t no way what they do is worth that.

      buyer’s agent is going to zero/disappear.

  5. But soon after Phillips moved in, residents discovered the builder had sold around 100 houses in the neighborhood to Invitation Homes — an investment company with thousands of rental properties across the state.

    When will neighborhoods, communities, and would-be homebuyers rise up against the private equity locusts with access to unlimited Yellen Bux who are competing with them in the residential housing market?

  6. “The U.S. is in a massive housing bubble. Prices are artificially high due primarily to the downstream effects of financialization.

    It’s telling that neither candidate, nor a single member of Wall Street’s Republicrat duopoly puppet show, are addressing one of the most crucial issues of our time: the Fed turning housing – a basic human need – into a speculative asset bubble.

      1. WHAT IS THE FED?

        The Federal Reserve, “the Fed”, is the central bank of the United States of America that was created in 1913 by Congress. It is a banking cartel that has a government-granted monopoly on the creation of money and credit. The Fed literally loans “money” (Federal Reserve Notes) into existence. Federal Reserve Notes are paper promises backed by nothing of intrinsic value and they are only functioning as money because the government forces them on the public through legal tender laws. Federal Reserve Notes are referred to as dollars but are not. The definition of a dollar is a weight of silver (371 grains). To put it simply, the Fed is a group of banks running a national criminal counterfeiting racket with the protection of the government.

        http://endthefed.org

  8. “Meanwhile, many homeowners who purchased when interest rates were ultralow are facing mortgage renewals in the coming year or two.

    Gosh, I sure hope no one overpaid in such a loose-lending environment.

    1. Related article.

      Gallup — American Public Opinion and Vaccination Requirements (9/3/2021):

      “The variation across these party/vaccination status groups is extreme. For example, 96% of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for proof of vaccination before flying on an airplane, compared with 12% of unvaccinated Republicans. Ninety-four percent of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for attendance at events …

      At this point, the actual implementations of proof of vaccination requirements across the five situations tested in this research are widely varied. Most U.S. airlines are not yet requiring proof of vaccination, nor are most hotels or dining establishments. But a number of indoor events are requiring proof of vaccination or a recent COVID test for attendance, and increasing numbers of businesses are requiring vaccinations for their workers.”

      https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-opinion-vaccination-requirements.aspx

      Future United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will successfully prosecute Fauci and the CEO’s of Pfizer and Moderna, and they, and many others, will be sentenced to death ☠️

      1. RFK Jr will lead a Presidential Commission on Assassinations and a panel of experts to investigate and address the chronic disease epidemic in children.

        1. DJT and RFKj declared war on the Deep State and Big Pharma yesterday. Many of you may recall that I was hoping for DJT/RFKj ticket last year but Vance is definitely better life and MAGA insurance.

          1. Bill Gates admittedly thwarted DJT’s efforts to bring on RFK in 2017 for a commission on vaccines. Notice how Gates pivots from the admission to ridiculing DJT for something that doubtfully happened.

          2. It surprised me yesterday to learn that Calley Means, the advocate against ultra-processed food, had already been advising Trump on food issues even before he talked to RFK Jr. That’s a very good sign.

            Calley is also in close contact with the keto and carnivore movements, so I can only assume that somebody in the Trump admin will at least look into it seriously.

            But it’s going to be a tough road. Remember Michelle Obama tried to do this back in 2009, and was obliterated by the lobbyists.

            FYI, hear is a transcript of the RFK speech:
            https://im1776.com/2024/08/24/rfk-address-to-the-nation/

      2. 9/3/2021

        At this date, we were just coming off the peak of the Delta variant. I do not fault the public for still being a bit afraid. But I do fault the US gov for not doing the most basic of research to determine whether the vaccines at the time stopped the spread of the Delta variant. We know now that the vaccine stopped spread only for the Alpha wave. After that the vaccine was a symptom reducer and never really stopped spread. If they had known that (and there are some indications they did), the justification for any kind of government mandate is gone.

    3. So, Dr Fauci announced recently that he had Covid again. Now Dr Fauci got WEST NILE VIRUS, and was hospitalized for 6 days.

      How many diseases and pathogens are now circulating that you need to be concerned about?
      Are they just going to throw the whole kitchen sink of possible pathogens . We got Mpox, Covid coming back, West Nile Virus, Bird Flu, Ebola, RVS, regular flu, etc.

      Dr McCullough said the compliance rate to Covid boosters are down to only 1.6%. Big Pharmacy needs profits and Panademics with EUA vaccines are needed. We need to be locked down, masked and injected.

      I don’t think Dr Fauci had West Nile Virus, or Covid for that matter at 83 years old.
      Just throw the whole kitchen sink of disease out there for max fear mongering, close to election.

      Panademics and Climate Change doomsday are warfare for this power grab based on medical fraud, and carbon emission fraud causing global emergencies.
      Just saying.

      1. I don’t think Dr Fauci had West Nile Virus, or Covid for that matter at 83 years old.

        When you are that old the grim reaper can just show up out of nowhere and take you.

        1. Unfortunately I fear this for Trump too. No matter hwo you slice it, 78 is 78. You can’t stop Father Time. Trump did the right thing to tap Vance. Vance doesn’t have Trump’s charisma (who does?), but policy-wise he’s aligned enough to easily continue the legacy.

          1. He does look visibly older than 4 years ago. Still in far better shape than Brandon was in 2020.

          2. High Intensity Health on youtube — a health influencer who also has ties to the keto/carnivore community — analyzed DJT’s reaction time in Butler. When that Secret Service agent shouted “get down get down get down,” DJT was already halfway down.

            This is a good sign. His body might be older, but it’s still functioning well. And I’m sure that as President, and as a wealthy guy, he’s not missing any screenings.

  11. For one very important thing, the two quasi-government secondary market outfits that keep the mortgage money flowing by purchasing loans from primary lenders and rolling them into securities for sale to investors worldwide have yet to say whether they would buy loans that include commissions.”

    Don’t they already?

    1. I see what you’re saying — that the buyer’s commish is already included in the price — but I would say no. The banks who buy the mortgages want to believe that a house is worth 3% more than it really is, because then they can list that extra 3% on their balance sheets, and recoup it in full they sell the house, again for 3% more than it’s worth. Nobody wants to buy a loan when the collateral is instantly worth 3% less.

      1. the buyer’s commish is already included in the price

        As is the seller’s agent’s commission. The buyer is paying for the whole pie that is then divided amongst the participants. Why is this so hard to understand? Can people not think one step beyond a real estate closing statement?

        1. Investors like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac understand it full well. This is precisely why they are hesitant to back these loans.

          For example, let’s say Freddie Mac buys a mortgage-backed security for a $300K house. Freddie Mac lists $300K as an asset on its balance sheet. But what if the realtor fees are a separate line item? Now Freddie is backing a $282K house, a $9K cruise vacation for the seller’s agent, and a depreciating used car for the buyer’s agent. Freddie loses 6% off the balance sheet on Day 1, with sub-standard collateral in case the buyer forecloses. So I don’t know how they’re going to solve this. My guess would be a quick “seller pays closing costs” deal, or an outright gov subsidy.

  12. The globalist scum media Victim Chronicles are about to be swelled by tales of woe from idiots who co-signed loans for family members whose ability or willingness to honor their financial obligations was dubious at best. The uniparty will make sure their bankster patrons are made whole on their non-performing loans, so get ready for enforced “compassion,” taxpayers.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/17/mom-who-co-signed-student-loan-for-daughter-fears-losing-her-home.html

  13. Securing the Realm…

    Fewer Americans Willing To Fight And Die For Other Countries (8/21/2024):

    “A July poll shows that a majority of the American public does not support sending U.S. troops to defend Taiwan or Ukraine, sentiment that lines up with findings from other recent surveys on these heated subjects, which suggests that Americans appear to be warming to restraint and non-interventionism in international affairs.

    Indeed, another poll, conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in February found that a majority of Americans (56%) do not believe that the United States should pick a side in Israel’s war on Gaza. And a more recent survey from Council this month found that just four in ten support the United States sending troops to defend Israel if attacked by its neighbors.

    Despite these findings, Washington continues to push forward with fanning the flames of war around the world, whether being slow to work toward peace settlements in Ukraine and Gaza, stoking conflict with China, or throwing gargantuan amounts of money, unnecessarily, at the Pentagon and thus, the weapons industry.”

    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/america-polling-interventionism/

    1. While enlistments keep shrinking. I wonder how a Harris/Walz admin would spin why having a draft is “joyous”.

      2. Putin and Xi are a “threat to Democracy,” and it’s a joyful thing to defend Democracy around the world. Isn’t that the going philosophy now anyway?

        1. I suppose that the MSM can send the images of body bags coming home to the memory hole.

          Still, I don’t think too many young people will be thrilled about the draft. And this time I don’t think seeking asylum in Canada will help.

  14. Clutch those pearls harder.

    HuffPaint — Donald Trump Stokes Fears Of Another Jan. 6 (8/24/2024):

    “Donald Trump is telling supporters he already has November’s election in the bag and that the only way he can lose is if the Democrats “cheat,” raising alarms about the prospect of another Jan. 6-like event fueled by election subversion.

    “Our primary focus is not to get out the vote. It’s to make sure they don’t cheat. Because we have all the votes we need,” Trump claimed Wednesday at a rally in the battleground state of Arizona, whose electoral results he sought to toss out in 2020 based on false claims of widespread fraud.

    Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn told HuffPost over the phone that Trump is “planting the seeds of doubt already, and that’s all it took for Jan 6. to happen.”

    “Even if it’s just a small percentage of [Trump supporters], that’s all it takes. He’s planting the seeds, and it’s scary and dangerous,” he said.

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-another-jan-6_n_66c8a843e4b0b61af203a798

    The January 6th “prisoners” aren’t prisoners, they are hostages.

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    1. The same liars who tell you Biden got 81 million votes also expect you to believe that inflation is “only” 2.9 percent.

  17. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” — King Obama

    Staten Island man, 62, attacked by mob of teens during his nightly walk, suspects arrested: ‘I no longer want to live here’ (8/23/2024):

    “Streetside surveillance cameras captured the moment when nine juveniles followed the man down the road, according to video obtained by silive.com.

    “His mouth is all messed up. He was blindsided and kicked all over his body,” a relative of the victim told the outlet. “He fell flat on his face, not expecting anybody to hit him.”

    The man alleges that the group targeted multiple people before his disturbing encounter.

    “They actually harassed two other people before me, before I got there,” he told NBC New York. “So I basically walked into an ambush.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/staten-island-man-62-attacked-by-mob-of-teens-during-his-nightly-walk-suspects-arrested-i-no-longer-want-to-live-here/ar-AA1piPmc

    Take fathers out of the home and replace them with Big Government, and this is what you get.

  18. A reader sent these in:

    Fed: Now that our ‘restrictive’ monetary policy has brought asset prices back to 200% market cap to GDP and home prices are at their highest price levels ever let’s begin the next easing cycle and loosen financial conditions so we can safely embark onto the next asset bubble.

    https://x.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1827073541604565319

    Nvidia, CEO Jensen Huang has roughly sold $580 million $NVDA shares over the past 2 months.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1826628391484772494

    More women are skipping college to make more self-perceived income as electricians, car mechanics and truck driver, per NYP.

    Vocational school enrollment shot up by 16% last year, reaching a record level since the National Student Clearing House began recording such data.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1826605742469583000

    The cognitive dissonance is astounding. In an article stating the number of buyers backing out is a result of macro econ shifts, this Redfin economist says “This might be a good time to buy”

    https://x.com/jimmydean197/status/1827021102578815447

    California’s population has shrunk by more than 570,000 since 2020, based on Census Bureau data.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1827009653605007783

    Stand back. Nothing this dumb has been tried before.

    https://x.com/SuburbanDrone/status/1826991491299819855

    New U.S. homes are selling for $3.50 less per square foot than old ones, the widest gap in at least six years, according to Zillow.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1826964355474440534

    My world view:

    1. Global credit demand falls
    2. Inflation falls
    3. Rates fall
    4. Demand falls
    5. Jobs fall
    6. Oil price falls
    7. Stocks fall
    8. Wage growth falls
    9. Fed cuts aggressively
    10. Recession

    Policy Intervention & QE have diminishing rate of return, especially when falling inflation triggers carry trade unwinds, which are triggered by Central Banks unable to inflate debt away which is reason funds can stay short notes/bonds and oil or long big tech.

    It’s ovah. The market just doesn’t know it yet.

    https://x.com/SamanthaLaDuc/status/1827020389303660833

    Jackson Hole…

    ❌ Inflation above target.
    ❌ 20% inflation in 4 years.
    ❌ Core inflation above target
    ❌ 🇺🇲 déficit above $1.5 trillion in ten months.
    ❌ Public 🇺🇲 debt at all-time highs.

    And the Fed decides to make government borrowing easier.

    Fascinating.

    https://x.com/dlacalle_IA/status/1827014403520151879

    Not good, but expected.

    “Governments will have a choice between reducing spend, raising taxes, borrowing or printing more money”.

    They always choose to print more.

    https://x.com/pedro_fiorito/status/1827020783761174692

    More than half of residential investors (52%) have lost $100,000 or more on a single real estate investment, per Clever Real Estate.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1826968130238750741

    From January to May this year, there was an average of 20 real estate, rental or leasing insolvencies in Canada every month, per the Globe.

    Canada is on track to reach about 240 real estate insolvencies this year, which would be 57% higher than 2023 and 13% higher than 2009,

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1827020978179747909

    Builders are offering 4.9% rates around Atlanta and free basements to get rid of their inventory. If this was anything of substance the permit and ‘housing starts’ numbers wouldn’t be where they are.

    https://x.com/GriffyRyan/status/1827009609627775297

    REDFIN: “.. The share of [home] listings with price *drops* in the 4 weeks ending Aug 18 rose to 6.9%, the highest on record.”

    https://x.com/carlquintanilla/status/1826954105199186322

    Throwback tweet

    https://x.com/SallyMayweather/status/1826671902808834337

    In metro Phoenix, 34 loans for multifamily properties are currently on a CMBS watch list.

    “The next 24-36 months will be difficult for developers, investors, lenders, brokers and contractors”

    Tides Equities facing 2 foreclosures.

    https://x.com/FCNightingale/status/1827125958295327015

    “Record-high vacancy levels, feeble rental rates, a contracting tech sector and a growing number of foreclosures have created an ominous landscape for Bay Area offices.”

    Well over 1/3 of the office space is empty in San Francisco.

    https://x.com/FCNightingale/status/1827114575327531151

    Powell and the FOMC permanently harmed a couple hundred million Americans by making them poorer, after vowing to intentionally spike their cost of living.

    Heckuva job, Jay.

    https://x.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1827097961332957419

    Figure out how you pay for something, then buy the thing.

    Not something you wanna do backwards.

    https://x.com/GayBearRes/status/1827106854599573685

    With 🇨🇦 facing a massive housing shortage

    Why would CMHC prefer to see over 100K homes converted to full-time Airbnb rentals rather than long-term homes for families?

    CMHC’s reaction explains a lot about the vision & values driving housing policy in 🇨🇦

    https://x.com/JohnPasalis/status/1826709401811779739

    Bank of Japan governor warns global markets are ‘unstable’

    https://x.com/FT/status/1826850238977413134

    Video released by the #Houthis seems to show the setting of explosive charges on the deck of the tanker #Sounion off the coast of Yemen in the #RedSea.

    At 150k tons, this tanker is almost twice the size of Exxon Valdez and the environmental damage to the region will be massive.

    https://x.com/mercoglianos/status/1827074505505960328

    Due to the frequency of these significant price drops In Bend Oregon, I am changing the term from “Winner of the week” to “Deal of the Day”. Whats wild is I see several of these significant drops on any given day now. $470k total price drop.

    https://x.com/jimmydean197/status/1827055900366139650

    US population growth has collapsed

    Reaching levels near 0% = almost NO growth

    This is worse than even the Great Depression

    https://x.com/GameofTrades_/status/1827054689491570835

    Toronto crime is getting next-level brazen.

    Criminals throw Molotov cocktails into a Liberty Village shop. There’s a police station across the street, less than 250 meters away.

    https://x.com/StephenPunwasi/status/1827055640398778789

    Canadian Real Estate Inventory Grew More Than 2x The Rate of Sales

    https://x.com/BetterDwelling/status/1827089962807824890

    Rowlett City Council passes resolution regarding institutional investors in the single family housing market

    https://x.com/jjsheedy/status/1827045466531324086

    Greatest economy ever.

    https://x.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1827171851568545971

    NEARLY HALF OF ALL CORPORATE ELECTION CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2024 HAVE COME FROM THE CRYPTO SECTOR.

    Axios notes: “Blockchain companies have supplied 48% of the $248 million of corporate money donated to influence federal elections this cycle,” according to Public Citizen.

    https://x.com/DeItaone/status/1826631518774853733

    1. More women are skipping college to make more self-perceived income as electricians, car mechanics and truck driver, per NYP.

      FWIW, I’ve never met one.

      1. beat me to it. I’ve met a few female truck drivers but they are typically only doing van (dry van) or reefer and nothing “hard” or requiring physical labor. And they almost never chain (In bad weather, chaining the drives).

        Never met a female tradesman of any type. The female on a big site is either traffic control or “safety” of some type.

        2. The only women I see in the trades are the fake ones on HGTV and DIYers on TikTok. And really, you need a man to do the plumbing and the drywall and the roofing. Too much manual strength involved. I guess women could be electricians, but even that’s a stretch.

    2. ❌ 20% inflation in 4 years.

      I’d say it been more than that. 20% is probably as low as the government could bogus it and think it would sell.

      1. 20% is a joke. More like 8 to 10% PER YEAR last 4 years.

        it’s AT LEAST 50% more expensive for everything since 2019. at least.

    3. “Governments will have a choice between reducing spend, raising taxes, borrowing or printing more money”.

      Even if the Orange Man wins and the GOP controls the House and Senate, I am not very confident they will reduce spending, at least not significantly. The best we can probably hope for is that the deficit will stop growing.

      1. Most of our spending is Medicare and Social Security, and the Boomers are fixing to collect. The next President will preside either over the next hyperinflation or the next Depression.

        But DJT will at least secure the border.

    4. Video released by the #Houthis seems to show the setting of explosive charges on the deck of the tanker #Sounion off the coast of Yemen in the #RedSea.

      US Navy fail. They can’t keep shipping lanes safe from a bunch of goat herders armed with Iranian drones.

        1. Perhaps they used Iranian missiles. But the Navy has been unable to guarantee safe passage in the Red Sea.

          1. With my admittedly sparse knowledge of the subject, I don’t see a missile either. It looks to me like they boarded it and placed explosives on the deck.

          2. That too shows that the Navy can’t keep the Red Sea safe. From what I have read, the Navy is having a hard time keeping its own ships safe in the Red Sea.

            My brother works in supply chain at a big multinational. He told me that they have stopped shipping stuff through the Red Sea/Suez Canal and are instead shipping all the war around Africa, because it’s too risky.

          5. The US navy used to have a lot of smaller boats like destroyers. Now we have a few big boats like aircraft carriers. Carriers are great for taking out countries, but not good for being in 900 places at once. Peter Zeihan discusses this all the time.

    5. Criminals throw Molotov cocktails into a Liberty Village shop. There’s a police station across the street, less than 250 meters away.

      What 9 years of Trudeau have wreaked upon Canada

  20. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Several local and federal law enforcement agencies announced 12 indictments of members of a drug trafficking organization.

    On Friday, officials gathered at the United States Attorney’s Office in Tampa for the announcement.

    A grand jury in Tampa has indicted 12 people for federal charges of murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and COVID-19 fraud, officials said.

    Eight of the 12 individuals were reportedly involved in the trafficking of controlled substances.

    Carlos Dones, the lead and supplier of the ring, was a “significant drug trafficker,” supplying cocaine and fentanyl.

    Funds, totaling around $6.5 million from the drug trafficking, were used for house renovations, a nearly $100,000 Mercedes, cosmetic surgery, and international travel.

    On Aug. 3, 2021, one of the suspects murdered one of its own members, with a single gunshot to the back of their head.

    The attorney’s office said one individual defrauded a bank by transmitting $110,000 to buy a home, while several individuals falsely reported employment and income to secure a mortgage.

    Within two fraudulent companies, Dones obtained more than $30,000 in loans, in which he used those funds for his personal gain.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/live-florida-officials-announce-multiple-143531133.html

  21. Yes, Kamala’s Price Controls Lead to Socialism

    “Kamala Harris Is No Communist, Socialist, or Nixon,” Jill Lawrence assures us. OK. But are we sure?

    Not that anyone’s asked me, but as someone who regularly accuses progressives of being “commies,” I think I can help shed some light on why many voters are getting the wrong idea.

    For one thing, handing self-professed socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez prime-time slots at the Democratic National Convention could send some independent voters mixed signals.

    Nominating a vice-presidential candidate who not only honeymooned in Red China on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre but once taught high school kids that the Maoist system — one of the most (if not the most) murderous and dehumanizing regimes in history — is a place where “everyone shares” and gets free food and housing? That wasn’t helpful, either.

    All that said, you definitely don’t want to make one of the pillars of your economic plan price controls.

    Kamala Harris certainly isn’t the first politician to suggest controlling politically inconvenient prices, but history has conclusively proven that price caps cause shortages, hoarding, black markets and an array of other unpleasant outcomes.

    If you’re going to rationalize this policy by blaming the kulaks of “price gouging” and peddling the age-old notion that cabals of bad guys in competitive markets can get together and dictate prices, it’s going to raise alarm bells.

    Until the government shutdown of the economy during the COVID pandemic, grocery prices had been low and dropping. Probably because Big Grocery is also one of the most competitive industries in the country, with numerous national chains, regional chains, higher-end markets, affordable big-box chains and online competitors, including Amazon.

    Yet we’re supposed to believe that one day, just as overall inflation happened to hit a 40-year high, everyone in grocery business decided to get together and collude to raise prices in a manner that was consistent with overall inflation? They think you’re idiots.

    In an embarrassing Axios defense of Harris’ plan, headlined “Don’t call it price controls: How price gouging bans really work,” Emily Peck contends that “Harris’ economic proposals, broadly speaking, are meant to help middle-class Americans deal with a higher cost of living.”

    Oh, is that what they’re meant to do? Axios assures us that states already have innocuous anti-gouging laws on the books for emergencies. (Yes, those are also completely counterproductive. “Price gouging” during emergency shortages helps alleviate hoarding.)

    In any event, to stress the innocuous and ubiquitous nature of anti-“price gouging” laws, Peck is compelled to rely on the expertise of far-left Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, as one assumes no self-respecting economist would go on the record defending price caps.

    Which brings me to The New York Times’ Paul Krugman, who argues Harris really isn’t backing price controls, per se, but merely a ban on “price gouging on groceries” — which he surely knows is a myth. Harris’ plan is nothing but a “populist political gesture,” the Nobel Prize-winning economist explains.

    Since the presidential candidate hasn’t offered any concrete plans, we must assume she still supports enacting Elizabeth Warren’s Price Gouging Prevention Act, which, despite the assurances of Axios and Krugman, would imbue the Federal Trade Commission with wide-ranging unilateral federal authority to dictate prices on groceries. And if you believe government regulatory agencies will judiciously use this power, I have news for you.

    So, sure, it’s a bad sign that Harris intends to fight inflation using failed socialist policy prescriptions. Let’s not forget, though, the last time Harris vowed to help fix inflation, she was the “tie-breaking vote” on the effort to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into an overheated economy.

    It’s fair to say that inflation is a complex, multifaceted issue that isn’t entirely any one entity’s fault. You don’t need to be a socialist lawyer from Fordham to understand that the Biden administration did everything to exacerbate inflation — ignoring warning signs, cramming through a massive partisan spending bill using parliamentary tricks, all the while undermining energy production.

    Last I heard, Kamala was a member of that administration.

    Has Harris proposed price caps on groceries because she’s a devout Marxist? Unlikely. The power-hungry politician’s tendency to embrace collectivist and zero-sum economic thinking is merely a sign of an authoritarian demagogue. Kamala is not Stalin. She’s more like some middling Latin American dictator. That’s bad enough.

    https://townhall.com/columnists/davidharsanyi/2024/08/24/yes-kamalas-price-controls-lead-to-socialism-n2643853

    1. Socialism in all its forms involves the coercive transfer of wealth from the producers to the parasites. This requires Communists & socialists to establish internal security/regime protection forces patterned after Lenin’s Chekists or Stalin’s NKVD to forcibly disarm, imprison, or kill resisters and other “Enemies of the State.” The Founding Fathers, foreseeing the rise of tyranny in America, bequeathed us a 2nd Amendment and gave us the explicit right to form militias that would counter coercive firepower in the hands of a tyrannical, unaccountable government. Naturally, this means the globalist scum media is going all out to depict patriot militias as mortal threats to “Our Democracy.” These latest globalist bugbears will require and justify a new internal security force – for which the military-age manpower has already been imported by the globalists & Biden regime – to disarm the Bitter Clingers. Forward, Soviet!

      https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-secret-ap3-militia-american-patriots-three-percent

    2. 100+ million dead in the 20th century under socialist and communist regimes.

      No nation has ever voted itself OUT of communism. Not one.

        1. Meanwhile, Cuba and Norko chug along.

          The Soviets tried to play the hegemon game, and its empire collapsed. Like how we too will collapse if we don’t get our act together.

    3. Kamala Harris Is No Communist, Socialist, or Nixon

      Nixon? Probably meant the little guy with the funny mustache.

  23. Data on Biden-era crime rates shreds Republican talking points

    Republicans keep claiming that Biden-era crime rates are going up. Reality keeps replying that Biden-era crime rates are going down.

    June 12, 2024, 9:20 AM EDT
    By Steve Benen

    https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/data-biden-era-crime-rates-shreds-republican-talking-points-rcna156717

    Shock Video: Man Brutally Beaten by Pack of ‘Teens’ in Unprovoked Ambush

    by Dan Lyman
    August 24th 2024, 9:31 am

    A 62-year-old man was seriously injured during a brutal, unprovoked attack by a mob of ‘teens’ in New York, according to reports.

    The shocking incident unfolded on Staten Island on July 15, but surveillance footage just surfaced this week.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/shock-video-man-brutally-beaten-by-pack-of-teens-in-unprovoked-ambush/

    1. FBI says crime has plummeted to start 2024 – but is missing a big part of the data

      Mike Bedigan
      Los Angeles
      Wednesday 12 June 2024

      “This data makes clear that last year’s historic decline in violent crime is continuing,” said Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick B Garland, in a statement released on Monday. “Our work will not be done until all Americans feel safe in their communities.”

      However, data informing the FBI’s figures is supplied voluntarily by law enforcement agencies across the US, and do not include major metropolitan areas including Los Angeles and New York, where crime is historically high. The LAPD and NYPD are the two largest police forces in the nation, but they are not included in the FBI data, which could have changed the data if it had been included.

      https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/fbi-crime-statistics-2024-b2561552.html

    2. “teens”

      Youfs / youts? Students? Spring breakers? Spring break in August, obviously.

      Future doctors and astronauts, every single one of them — Real Journalists.

  24. New York Post — Lesson of RFK is how Democrats drive away their own voters (8/24/2024):

    “Kennedy’s departure from the Democrats has been mocked in the press. However, when he spoke on his withdrawal, many of us who have been lifetime members of the party identified with his remarks.

    Then the party changed. Where once they defended free speech, Democrats have rallied behind censorship and blacklisting of those with opposing views. They have sought to block dozens of Republicans from ballots, including former President Trump. To make matters worse, they have done so in the supposed name of democracy.

    Those actions were raised by Kennedy in his powerful and poignant withdrawal speech. He detailed how the Democratic party moved to stop him from running against President Biden in the primary, including efforts to block him from ballots. It was an ironic moment. After harassing candidates like RFK and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, the Democratic leadership then simply installed their choice at the convention in an unprecedented bait-and-switch.

    There could have been a substantive primary that exposed the diminished mental state of Biden and allowed for a democratic choice on the best nominee. Instead, the Democrats prevented such choices from being made and selected a leader with all of the transparency and deliberation of a party Congress in China.

    Kennedy said that the Democratic Party has virtually shoved him and other voters into the arms of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.”

    https://nypost.com/2024/08/24/opinion/what-rfk-jr-endorsement-means-for-the-democratic-party/

    1. the Democratic leadership then simply installed their choice at the convention in an unprecedented bait-and-switch

      When Bernie Sanders was cheated out of his nominations, the DNC had to resort to chicanery and fraud to sideline him. Now they don’t even bother with that anymore.

      Primary votes? We don’t need any of those, because muh democracy. What is scary is just how many people lap this up.

  25. Is it true that monetary policy operates with long and variable lags, so any rate cuts this fall won’t impact the economic situation until well into 2025?

    1. Economy
      Rate cuts won’t prevent a recession and the economy is deteriorating ‘quite rapidly,’ investment strategist says
      Kelly Cloonan
      Aug 23, 2024, 9:44 AM PDT
      Read in app
      The Federal Reserve building in Washington.
      Ting Shen/Xinhua/Getty Images

      – A recession is coming even if interest rates come down, according to BCA Research chief strategist Garry Evans.

      – “We see signs that the economy is turning down,” Evans said, pointing to labor market indicators.

      – Fed chair Jerome Powell said Friday that “the time has come” to cut rates.
      …
      https://www.businessinsider.com/rate-cuts-recession-economy-labor-market-federal-reserve-bca-research-2024-8

  28. ‘We have been talking with some lenders, and basically it sounds like they’ll be able to wrap that into the buyer’s loan so that they can still pay for our services without having to come up with the cash out of pocket,’ Williams said. ‘So that’s kind of great’

    ‘one very important thing, the two quasi-government secondary market outfits that keep the mortgage money flowing by purchasing loans from primary lenders and rolling them into securities for sale to investors worldwide have yet to say whether they would buy loans that include commissions’

    So Desirae is talking out of her a$$. The was a peep about FDA doing it but nothing since. And of course nothing mentioned about the routine financing of closing costs as well, pushing the loan to value way over 100%. I haven’t read one story yet of a loan being denied since/because of UHS settlement.

  29. ‘When it came time to vote for the three-person board for the homeowners association, Invitation installed two employees on the board. Both live in Texas…’We feel taken advantage of,’ Phillips said. Some have explored selling. With a corporation in control, it doesn’t feel like residents have a say anymore. ‘People are upset,’ said Phillips. ‘They feel like there’s just nothing anyone can do’

    The big builders will fook you relentlessly Kelly. Around 2008 in Maricopa AZ, a national name builder had promised a junior high to the new loanowners to move to that gotforsaken sh$thole. Then SHTF, they had packed the HOA and said, we don’t need that junior high right now. Tales of woe, people driving their kids 3 hours to school round trip a day. Most tossed the keys naturally cuz serious simultaneous price crater.

  30. ‘Developers will offer a lowball price versus what a seller thinks their gorgeous dream home is worth, but they’re simply bleeding out the illness,’ Zalewski said. ‘Developers will sit back until the seller feels very lucky to unload at a price they never would have accepted before’

    That’s the spirit Peter, keep up the good work!

  31. ‘As I wrote earlier this year, Fannie Mae — and all the other purveyors of centralized capital — are not interested in pursuing strategies that make housing broadly affordable. In fact, they will oppose any policy that actually makes prices go down’

    It should be noted that at great expense and after a bail out, Fannie Mae’s chief goal is affordable housing.

  32. ‘I feel scammed,’ said San Leandro homeowner Katie Lucas, while standing in her shell of an ADU. ‘They got me,’ said Rohnert Park ADU buyer Steve Sonza. The people who’ve contacted NBC Bay Area Responds say they’re out more than $1.2 million, collectively. Others, in a Facebook group, say they’ve lost at least another $4 million. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a solo builder doing one small project at a time or you’re Anchored Tiny Homes, reportedly building hundreds of ADUs, the state of California only requires $25,000. One size fits all. Customers said if their claim is approved, the insurance company will divide that $25,000….It’s split up against the 400 — or however many — people have applied for that bond,’ Sonza said. ‘So, it’s not per person. It’s split.’ If the $25,000 is divided equally by 400, that works out to a mere $62.50 payout per customer. ‘That’s insane,’ Sonza said. ‘Why are we allowing that? [The bond] should be much higher. If we’re dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars, $25,000 is not going to cover it’

    Remember when UHS were so excited that guberment was going to start backing loans for these back yard shanties? It was just a few months ago in San Jose. And you have to set up an HOA for every one. Joy!

  33. ‘The risk if it’s too high is that the house sits and buyers begin thinking there must be a reason why others have passed it by. In Deer Park…‘Why compete with five or six neighbours?’ is the advice he gave the homeowners…Some may have to sell if they see a big jump in their payments. ‘We might see a flood of listings’

    Dino is a well known far right, Putin puppet, anti death shot, election/climate denying, mis-mal-dis information spouting threat to democracy!

  34. ‘Experts have revealed some worrying signs that Australia’s property boom might end. Home values across regional Australia have plummeted’

    To Australian media, if it stops skyrocketing it has plummeted. That’s consistent with a mania.

  35. Hysterical! Oblivious Dems Trolled by Comedian at DNC
    Infowars.com

    August 24th 2024, 12:19 pm

    Comedian Lionel McGloin infiltrated the DNC on Thursday to troll numerous prominent Democrat lawmakers and supporters who thought he was a fawning journalist.

    McGloin asked a DNC delegate what she would pick if she had to choose between access to abortions or democracy.

    “If I had to choose…I guess access to abortion,” she said.

    Champagne Joshi
    @JoshWalkos

    😂 These people at the DNC had no idea this dude is making fun of them.

    5:42 (but funny as hell)

    7:01 PM · Aug 23, 2024
    ·
    https://x.com/JoshWalkos/status/1827118939966505039

    Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y) also said “rich white men” would be taxed more if Democrats remained in power.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/hysterical-oblivious-dems-trolled-by-comedian-at-dnc/

  37. Breaking: Telegram Founder Durov Arrested by French Police
    by RT

    August 24th 2024, 4:48 pm

    Tucker Carlson
    @TuckerCarlson

    Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world. Here’s our interview with Durov from several months ago:

    5:37 PM · Aug 24, 2024

    Tucker Carlson
    @TuckerCarlson
    ·
    Apr 16

    Ep. 94 The social media app Telegram has over 900 million users around the world. Its founder Pavel Durov sat down with us at his offices in Dubai for his first on-camera interview in almost a decade.

    18:40 / 58:28

    1.5M
    Views

    https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1827460234887008277

  38. Vivaldi – Summer Violin Concerto, Ospedale della Pietà, Agnieszka Uscinska & Andrzej Kucybała

    Akademia Filmu i Telewizji

    7 years ago

    00:00 Allegro non molto
    05:46 Adagio e piano – Presto e forte
    07:53 Presto
    Agnieszka Uścińska – violin
    Andrzej Kucybała – conductor
    Stanisław Moniuszko School of Music Orchestra in Bielsko Biała, Poland
    La Folle Journee de Varsovie
    recorded at Polish National Opera House in Warsaw, 27 September 2016

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

    11:37.

    1. Facing Possible Cash Crunch, Giant Real Estate Fund Limits Withdrawals

      Starwood Real Estate Income Trust is restricting what investors can redeem rather than sell its properties to raise cash.

      Barry Sternlicht from the shoulders up while speaking during a panel discussion.
      Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, which is managed by Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group, said it would buy back only 1 percent of the value of its assets every quarter.
      Credit…Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
      By Maureen Farrell
      May 23, 2024

      A giant real estate fund managed by the company of the billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht is limiting the amount of money that investors can redeem, in an attempt to fend off a potential cash crunch as high interest rates pummel the market for commercial properties like office buildings.

      Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, which manages about $10 billion and is one of the largest real estate investment trusts around, said on Thursday that it would buy back only 1 percent of the value of the fund’s assets every quarter, down from 5 percent earlier.

      Starwood said that it had chosen to tighten the limit because it was facing more withdrawals than it could meet with its cash on hand, and that it was a better option than raising money by selling properties at discounted prices. The value of commercial properties has fallen — hit both by lower occupancy since the coronavirus pandemic and by high interest rates that make real estate less affordable.

      In a letter to shareholders, Mr. Sternlicht, who leads the Starwood Capital Group, and Sean Harris, the chief executive of Starwood’s REIT, said: “We cannot recommend being an aggressive seller of real estate assets today given what we believe to be a near-bottom market with limited transaction volumes, and our belief that the real estate markets will improve.”

      Any such gates tend to spook investors.

      “This will have a negative effect on fund-raising,” said Kevin Gannon, chief executive of the investment bank Robert A. Stanger & Company, which follows the REIT market. “I think it will give people more pause.” He added that “no one anticipated that redemptions would stay this big this long.”

      Real estate investment trusts buy and own commercial or industrial properties and generate dividends for investors. They are typically publicly traded entities. But the Starwood REIT and one created by the private equity behemoth Blackstone are privately held and instead sold by financial advisers, mostly to individual investors. Some churn is normal in the business, as investors make decisions about what to buy and sell.

      The trouble starts when a REIT doesn’t have enough cash — or fears it won’t — to pay investors back, usually because the rate of withdrawals is higher than the amount of money coming in. In recent months, investors have sought redemptions so they can put money into other assets that tend to perform better in high-interest-rate environments.

      Private equity funds and other major real estate firms have raised tens of billions of dollars from individual investors to pour into real estate. But since the Federal Reserve started its campaign to raise rates two years ago, this once-booming market has been running into trouble.
      …
      https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/business/starwood-reit-limits-withdrawals.html

      1. “…given what we believe to be a near-bottom market with limited transaction volumes, and our belief that the real estate markets will improve.”

        Seems to me like this real estate bust is just getting started, but then I am no expert like billionaire Barry….

      1. “…how Americans can prepare for the possibility of a recession…”

        1. Assume the crash position

        2. Avoid real estate investments like the plague

    1. Asian Markets
      China’s home-price slump deepens to new 9-year low despite stimulus
      By Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo
      August 15, 202412:58 AM PDT
      Updated 10 days ago
      New apartment buildings are seen under construction in Yichang, Hubei province, December 18, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily/File Photo

      – New home prices fall in annual and monthly terms

      – Property-related figures such as sales and investment slump

      – More supportive polices are expected

      BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) – China’s new home prices fell at their fastest pace in nine years in July, as a slew of support policies failed to stabilise prices and restore confidence in the struggling property sector.

      The prolonged housing market slump has weighed heavily on the world’s second-largest economy and its consumers, with analysts saying Beijing’s 5% GDP target for 2024 may be too ambitious even as other economic gauges have steadied.

      New home prices fell 4.9% from a year earlier – the sharpest drop since June 2015 and deeper than a 4.5% slide in June, Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed. Earlier, Reuters also reported prices fell 5.0%, which was due to an automated rounding off of figures.

      “It is increasingly looking like the property market will continue to need more policy support to establish a bottom,” analysts at ING said in a note.
      …
      https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-home-price-slump-deepens-july-new-9-year-low-2024-08-15/

      1. “It is increasingly looking like the property market will continue to need more policy support to establish a bottom,”

        Does the hair-of-the-dog hangover cure really work?

Comments are closed.