They’re Thinking About How Much Money They Can Make Off Of It
A weekend topic starting with WTMJ in Wisconsin. “Lou Ann Brandstetter moved into her new home Thursday, which she bought sight unseen to beat out the competition. She learned about the home in Waterford from some good friends in the neighborhood and made an offer within 24 hours. ‘I know I had to snap it up just like that,’ Brandstetter said, snapping her fingers, ‘Because the housing market here is so tight for condos. If I didn’t snap it up quickly, it would’ve been someone else’s home.’ Still, Brandstetter said she experienced sticker shock when shopping for and buying her new home. In 2017, Brandstetter and her husband sold their almost 3,000-square-foot home on 7 acres, also in Waterford, for roughly $489,000. Fast forward to 2024: for her 1,400-square-foot condo, she paid about $390,000.”
“With mortgage rates starting to come down, homeowners who were reluctant to sell because they bought their homes at a good rate a few years back to reconsider. Jeremy Rynders with Keller Williams Realty believes that shift has already begun. While he, too, considers it a sellers’ market, he believes it’s moving toward buyers. ‘The discussion was, ‘OK, we love this house. How much over asking are we going to have to pay to get it?’ he explained. ‘Now the discussion is, ‘Hey, we like this house. Do you think it’s priced right?'”
Wichita-Hutchinson Plus in Kansas. “For years, there has been a limited supply of homes, creating an ideal market for sellers. Richelle Knotts with Reece Nichols said it has been that way since the pandemic. ‘We saw multiple offer situations where people were competing against the same house, having to pay over, do some appraisal gaps, those sorts of things, which was really kind of unheard of, very unprecedented for our marketplace,’ she said. The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a half point, meaning more homes could hit the market, benefiting buyers. ‘This time period, from now through the end of the year, our inventory is really solid and I would encourage anybody that is looking to buy to get out there now before it gets real competitive,’ said Knotts. ‘Don’t wait until spring because it’s going to get pretty competitive right now.'”
WKBN in Ohio. “The housing market has been hot, and now the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates. Housing prices continue to rise, but the Mahoning Valley is still less expensive when compared to most of the country. So what’s your best bet when it comes to buying right now? Samantha Aldish, president of the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors said to buy an older home that needs some love and go from there. ‘Say you buy the home this year and you are in it for two years and it’s appreciating for 7% right now. You can’t get a savings account that’s appreciating at 7%, so you’re not losing,’ she said.”
WIFR in Illinois. “Buying and selling a home in Rockford, named one of the nation’s top housing markets, might seem inviting, but realtors say you should be strategic about the timing. Ryan and Susie Fritz sold their long-term home for more than their asking price, but in a fast moving market, they decided to pause and think about their next step. The Fritzes took advantage of a great seller’s market and sold high. Now, the couple is leasing an apartment in the Rockford area. ‘You know with the inventory being low and just not a lot of options are out there, this made sense,’ explains Susie. ‘Everything is kind of highly priced at this point so we are not looking to purchase anytime soon, we want to wait for the market to come down.'”
Summit Daily in Colorado. “Actor Jack Nicholson and record producer Lou Adler teamed up to purchase what’s called the Newberry House near downtown Aspen, a Victorian wooden structure built in 1895 — which, to help their pro basketball needs, has better TV reception. This was 1980. The purchase price was $555,000, according to Pitkin County property records. Factoring in inflation, this purchase price equates to about $2.1 million in today’s standards. Property records show Nicholson eventually sold the house in 2013 for $11 million. But on Tuesday this week, Nicholson’s one-time Lakers haven was sold to former National Hockey League goalie Patrick Dovigi for $59.75 million, property records show.”
“According to Scott Bayens, a realtor with Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty, the confluence of home-size restrictions and the luxury market is prompting more wealthy homebuyers to look for turnkey locations — like the 7,908 square-foot Newberry House — rather than building anew. ‘They’ll stay there for two to four weeks, for a couple of years, sleep in the beds, make a meal, flush the toilet, and then, within two or three years, see a return of 25 to 50%,’ he said.”
Vail Daily in Colorado. “Eagle County and the Vail Valley’s residential real estate market continues to remain active. ‘Properties in Vail Village as well as Beaver Creek and Arrowhead have all been moving when priced well,’ said Craig Denton, managing broker for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colorado Properties’ Vail Village office. ‘If a seller overreaches, they’re likely to sit on it.’ As an example, Denton cites a recent listing for a Vail Village home that started out at $34 million. The home wasn’t receiving the interest anticipated, prompting the seller and Denton to work together to adjust the price. Upon adjusting to $29.9 million, the home now has five interested prospects, and they are in negotiations with two of the parties. ‘The market is going to dictate the value, and today’s buyers won’t even make an offer if they think it’s overpriced,’ said Denton. ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s at the lower end or the higher end. If a seller is serious about selling, they have to price to market.'”
“Laurie Slaughter, managing broker for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colorado Properties’ Gypsum office says that her office is seeing price reductions every day. ‘Buyers are hesitant to make an offer on properties they think might be overpriced, not in great condition, or have been on the market for a while. Conversely, the homes that are priced right can see multiple offers,’ Slaughter said. One particular single-family home that was priced right (under $700,000), received nine offers and sold for $25,000 over list price. Another listing has been on the market for 300 days and is still not under contract after at least two price reductions. ‘Today’s buyers get hesitant and then suspicious when homes are not priced right,’ Slaughter said. ‘A seller who prices their residence too high and then starts lowering it, has buyers assuming there are inherent flaws. Buyers don’t want to take too many risks, no matter what the price point.'”
KXRM Colorado Springs. “Colorado Housing Connects has seen an increasing number of inquiries from residents who are struggling to keep up with housing payments as the cost of housing and basic necessities continues to rise across the state. Since August, more than 7,000 Coloradans have contacted the housing helpline for assistance with affordable housing navigation and help with rent or mortgage payments. The inquiries represent a 37% increase over the monthly average of 5,336 inquiries in 2024. The recent numbers have exceeded those seen during the peak of the Great Recession when foreclosures were at an all-time high and the helpline received over 4,000 calls.”
“A poll by the Colorado Health Foundation found that 89% of respondents rated housing affordability as an extreme or very serious problem. A separate report from Forbes ranks Colorado as the 11th most expensive state in terms of cost of living.”
The Atlantic. “If you want to understand America’s strange relationship with housing in the 21st century, look at Austin, Texas. Since the beginning of the pandemic, even as rent inflation has gone berserk nationwide, no city has experienced anything like Austin’s growth in housing costs. This year, Austin is expected to add more apartment units as a share of its existing inventory than any other city in the country. Again as a share of existing inventory, Austin is adding homes more than twice as fast as the national average and nearly nine times faster than San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. (You read that right: nine times faster.)”
“The results are spectacular for renters and buyers. The surge in housing supply, alongside declining inbound domestic migration, has led to falling rents and home prices across the city. This is a surprisingly complex question for Americans today. In the U.S., our houses are meant to perform contrary roles in society: shelter for today and investment vehicle for tomorrow. If homeownership is best understood as an investment, like equities, we should root for prices to go up. If housing is an essential good, like food and clothing, we should cheer when prices stay flat—or even when they fall. Instead, many Americans seem to think of a home as existing in a quantum superposition between a present-day necessity and a future asset.”
“This magical thinking isn’t just a phenomenon of real-estate reporting. It is deeply rooted even in the highest echelons of policy making. Just look at the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform. The document reads (emphasis mine): ‘Homeownership has long been central to building generational wealth, and expanding access to homeownership to those who have been unfairly excluded and discriminated against is critical to closing the racial wealth gap.’ But then the same platform goes on to say (emphasis mine): ‘Housing in America should be stable, accessible, safe, healthy, energy efficient, and, above all, affordable. No one should have to spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, so families have ample resources left to meet their other needs and save for retirement.'”
“See the issue? On the one hand, the Democratic Party says we are all relying on homeownership to close the racial wealth gap, which implies that we should root for today’s home values to significantly rise, so that today’s minority owners can build wealth. On the other hand, the party says we need houses to be ‘above all, affordable.’ In that case, we should despair when home values rise too fast, because it implies that the next generation of owners will be priced out of the market.”
“I don’t think the authors of the Democratic Party platform are careless or clueless. I think they’re doing their best to articulate a folk wisdom: Housing should, somehow, deliver permanent affordability and constant appreciation, at the same time. The miracle of Austin is helpful to recognize, because it restores clarity to a simple truth: Houses are essential, but they are not magical. The normal rules of supply and demand apply.”
City News in Canada. “Housing in Toronto: it’s top of mind, it’s a part of daily banter and arguably one of the biggest concerns for city residents. The survey asked homeowners, who comprise 58 per cent of the sample, why the prices of home and condo units are now much higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. They were given multiple reasons and asked to choose all that may apply. Forty-five per cent believe investors, developers and others have overvalued the worth of homes or condos for greater returns.”
“‘The real estate industry has been in a state of what we call financialization, that they’re really looking at housing as a commodity. They’re not thinking about families and homes and use value. They’re thinking about how much money they can make off of it,’ explains Karen Chapple, director of the School of Cities and Professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. She adds that financialization is being driven not just by real estate developers, investors or landlords, it’s also ordinary people.”
“‘It’s mom and pop that have equity in their home, and they thought that their home had increased [a certain amount] in price and that they would be able to sell and take out their home equity and finance their retirement. So they don’t want to lower the prices,’ she says. ‘So it’s across the board, it’s the industry — but it’s also ordinary people that are holding on, keeping the prices high because they’ve been sort of deceived into thinking this is the actual value of their property. And you can’t blame them. They counted on it for their retirement.'”
Blog TO in Canada. “A home in Ontario was sold at a loss of nearly $500k after a number of failed attempts to sell. It’s no secret that the real estate market in Ontario is in a tricky spot. After soaring to record highs in recent years, the market now finds itself in a tailspin, rife with homes and condos sitting unsold and a plummeting market while home prices only continue to go up. Navigating the real estate market — whether as a buyer or seller — both in Toronto and beyond is akin to walking on eggshells, and it’s forcing some sellers to take drastic measures to sell their homes.”
“In the most recent case of a dramatic home price loss, one Brampton home was recently sold at a significant loss of $487K after four failed sale attempts and a whopping 196 days on the market. According to data from HouseSigma.com, prior to the home’s most recent sale on Aug. 9, 2024, the home had been purchased in 2022 for $1.67 million. Just over a year later, an offer that would have seen the home sold for $1.3 million (already a $300K loss) was the first of four attempted sales, with the home’s price further reduced each time. Finally, the home has been sold at a final price of $1.18 million — a $487K loss for its previous owners.”
Daily Telegraph in Australia. “Home seekers are bagging properties for an average of up to 15 per cent below the list price in pockets of Sydney as experts declare the city has become a ‘buyer’s market.’ The huge discounts, historically rare in Sydney’s pressure cooker housing market, have helped buyers save over $1m in some areas, with more discounts expected to come as spring listings pile up. It’s followed what was Sydney’s busiest August for new property listings since records began in 2009.”
“The listings bump, which continued into September, took some heat out of the market and meant sellers had to adjust their expectations to bait buyers. The discounts have tended to be higher in the southwest because of its proximity to a slew of new housing estates, which mean home buyers are spoiled for choice, experts explained. There was a similar trend in Mays Hill, in the Parramatta area, where a large supply of units has helped push down apartment prices. Average vendor discounting in the suburb was 8.6 per cent.Apartment buyers in Neutral Bay were getting an average of 10.5 per cent off list prices – the highest for a suburb within 10km of the Sydney CBD.”
“Digital Finance Analytics director Martin North said discounting levels could rise as higher interest rates force more homeowners to sell. ‘We are also seeing more ‘forced’ sales due to mortgage pain (and) arrears, where vendors have to sell,’ he said. ‘Despite the expectation of lower interest rates, eventually, I suspect we will see vendor discounts rising after the summer selling season.'”
“Among the homes currently listed with the biggest discounts is an apartment on Bigge St in Warwick Farm. It was originally listed in June for $419,000 but the price has since dropped 19 per cent to $339,000. A house in Berowra Waters is currently listed for $1.55m, down from the original $1.79m list price, according to a SQM Research report. There were even bigger discounts in the top end of the Sydney market, agents revealed. This included a Bondi Beach apartment on Sir Thomas Mitchell Rd now listed for $8.5m, down from $9.5m earlier this year. In Palm Beach, a house on Bynya Rd is for sale at $6.3m – $900,000 lower than in August.
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Federal income taxes.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4901552-israel-us-aid-package/
War pigs gonna pig.
The Hill (9/28/2024):
“Former White House national security adviser John Bolton suggested Friday that U.S. support for Ukraine will likely dwindle if former President Trump is elected in November, saying “It’s toast.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4904995-john-bolton-donald-trump-volodymyr-zelensky/
That’s a lie. They never had a chance to ‘defeat Russia’. All the neocons did was get a lot of people killed for nothing. Which is what they always do. Biggest losers in modern history.
AIPAC members serve as unregistered foreign agents for the state of Israel, yet every member of the Republicrat duopoly with the sole exception of Rep. Thomas Massie has an AIPAC minder telling them how to vote. Elections are meaningless when “our” representatives serve only their AIPAC and Cabal masters, and FIRE sector donors and lobbyists.
How many civilians have died in Lebanon in the past week?
Your income taxes are paying for ALL of it.
‘many Americans seem to think of a home as existing in a quantum superposition between a present-day necessity and a future asset’
Ever so often some writer will point out, hey yer talking out of both sides of yer mouth. But what’s been demonstrated is it’s mathematically impossible for the current generation of loanowners to continually finance the retirement of the previous with borrowed money.
Yep, and ditto for Social Security, it’s mathematically impossible for younger generations to continually pay for the older generations’ ever-increasing demands for retirement benefits.
Especially if you are borrowing 100% of those costs for decades. We still haven’t paid off the WW2 debt nor any of the wars since.
‘Say you buy the home this year and you are in it for two years and it’s appreciating for 7% right now. You can’t get a savings account that’s appreciating at 7%, so you’re not losing,’ she said.”
Stop lying, realtor scum. Buying a money pit on the cusp of bursting housing bubble is the worst financial mistake most FBs could make.
appreciating for 7% right now
Can’t do English and can’t do math.
the cusp of bursting housing bubble
There is that.
If prices went up 7% a year it wouldn’t be long until every shack in the country would be a million pesos and loanowners would be rich. That’s obviously not the case. Note how many can’t afford insurance or repairs.
Real inflation is at least triple the fake numbers being put out by the CPI, etc. So 7% appreciation is really a reflection of the dollar’s loss of purchasing power given the Fed’s expansion of the money supply.
Real inflation = the Fed’s expansion of the money supply.
Real inflation = the Fed’s expansion of the money supply.
I am floored by the number of people I encounter who think inflation is caused by “gouging”.
Real inflation = the Fed’s expansion of the money supply.
beyond the supply of goods and services
“Note how many can’t afford insurance or repairs.”
I.e. stuff 100%-financed debt donkeys don’t consider when buying…because real estate always goes up, and homeownership is the sure road to riches…
The recent numbers have exceeded those seen during the peak of the Great Recession when foreclosures were at an all-time high and the helpline received over 4,000 calls.”
Fake news. Globalist mouthpiece Paul Krugman and peerless prognosticator Yellen the Felon both assure us that the #Biden-Harris economy is booming.
Remember when we treated seasonal flues and respiratory illnesses with rest and vitamins instead of Communism?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/27/what-is-xec-the-new-covid-variant
“Colorado Housing Connects has seen an increasing number of inquiries from residents who are struggling to keep up with housing payments as the cost of housing and basic necessities continues to rise across the state.
Nextdoor seems to be full of posts from “neighbors” begging for help and describing dire economic situations. Someone needs to inform them that the Biden-Harris economy is the envy of the world.
Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.
Nextdoor seems to be full of posts from “neighbors” begging for help and describing dire economic situations
It sure is. And open letters to whomever cut them off at intersection X/Y.
Add soaring insurance costs to Democrat-Bolshevik malgovernance, and California is toast.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13899263/California-State-Farm-home-insurance-warning.html
Welcome to climate change.
Welcome to sh!tty forest management and price controls.
Wasn’t climate changing before now? I sort of wondered what caused the Grand Canyon to appear? or large shark teeth being found during phosphate mining in Florida. Cave man gas?
The planet has been warmer due to more CO2, but that was long ago, and it thousands of years to develop and decline again. The industrial age is concentrating CO2 into the atmosphere at a much faster and increasing rate according to those folks who gather and study these data. Likely nothing will stop it except the doomsday comet strike.
Our “Border Security Czar” is more concerned about finding an “orderly process” to bring in tens of millions of illegals rather than securing the border against terrorists, criminals, benefits spongers, and other undesirables.
https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/09/28/kamala-harris-channels-mayorkas-border-more-migrants-less-chaos/
“orderly process”
It’s easier to bus them to your community if the invasion is orderly.
The Special K campaign is really hitting the “buh but muh Donald killed the border bill” meme HARD. Now Special K is making Yass Queen Girl Boss moves down at the fence pretending to be a powerful leader. Does anyone believe her at this point? DJT ran on border issues for the past 8 years’ one little photo op isn’t going to change any minds now.
Millions of homes flooded by Helene lack flood insurance.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/helene-dumps-rain-millions-us-205413731.html
“All those homes will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” —Roy Batty
Democrates introducing Bill to pact the Supreme Court . There isn’t anything they won’t do to try to destroy the check and balance system to the Constitution in their favor.
Just because they didn’t like a couple recent rulings from that Court, they want to stack it in their favor by adding up to 15 Justices.
FDR was not successful in stacking the Court, when he attempted it.
Its just a example of the never ending power grab by them to rig things in their favor. That party wants to over throw the Constitution and destroy the check and balance of the High Court.
Biden Administration allowed outrageous unvetted Border Invasion.Escalation of World Wars, mandated vaccines, and you know the rest.
Also in Summit of Future in New York the Powers that be met to try to firm up Global Governance, under the UN by Treaty again , which is a power grab to have UN dictate global policy to a bunch of Countries. Joe Biden was there of course, along with other World Leaders, WEF Cult of Monopolies, unelected UN, etc.
This power grab by these Entities, to advance their stupid UN 2030 Sustainable Earth Agenda , would just enslave humanity under their dictates of fraudulent narratives of Climate Change, Panademics, zero carbon policy by 2050, you will eat bugs, digital currency, 15 minute cities, technology control and surveillance, free speech not allowed.
The Psychopaths , want to take over the Globe and force this take over of humanity.
And, they don’t mind revealing their plans as if its a given. Main Scream News is just their bought off mouthpiece , and AI is being employed to serve their ends.
The worse part is they are genocidal demons who think they have the right to repopulate under the pretense of saving the earth from carbons, etc.
Its hard to get ones head around the fact that something this evil could be threatening all of us, and that world governments could be in collusion with it.
So, stacking the Supreme Court is just one more step in their never ending warfare.
IIUC, they need Congress to pack the Court. They can’t do it now because R’s control the House. And the new Congress is almost guaranteed to have an R Senate. So I think we have a reprieve from this for a while.
I agree Oxide. Currently they are using it for some kind of platform promise that they are going to alter the Supreme Court in the interest of Democracy, or to reverse overturn of Roe verses Wade .
If they rig the election, no end to what they can do.
“Housing should, somehow, deliver permanent affordability and constant appreciation, at the same time.”
How’s that magical Democratic thinking working out for all of the folks who live under a bridge?
Surging gold prices are a vote of No Confidence in the Fed & Biden-Harris regime.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/costco-still-selling-gold-bars-like-hotcakes-as-prices-surge-121843838.html
I’m under the impression they don’t care. As long as they are in charge the country could burn to the ground and they would be OK with that.
A reader sent these in:
The downside of flipping:
If you sell a house to a buyer at the top of a market and something changes in their life/loan etc – completely outside of your control
The buyer comes back and threatens to sue
It happened to me in 2009
Happening to me again in 2024
Homes I sold 18+ months ago to buyers who make speculative purchases.
https://x.com/shawngorham/status/1839389429259010182
A Haitian politician sips from a massive jug of water during his speech at the UN General Assembly.
He should have used a Stanley.
https://x.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1839427397021770156
Some car buyers are in for a nasty surprise:
On the surface things seem pretty good — car prices are coming down, incentives are going up.
But under the surface, there’s a growing problem… negative equity.
According to a Q3 survey, 31% of owners now owe more on their loan than their car is worth.
And with 61% of consumers over-estimating the value of their car, some of them probably don’t even realize it.
But there’s one group struggling particularly badly with this issue – EV owners.
46% were underwater this quarter alone. Plus, EVs are depreciating much faster compared to other brands.
Bottom line: Some tough conversations are waiting around the corner for many dealers and car buyers.
https://x.com/GuyDealership/status/1839666147756569007
I’ve been posting about this for weeks, even months. People have been downplaying the risks in the auto financing space since early 2023. Negative equity rollovers are up, delinquencies broke their 2019 trend in the fall of 2023, and most impactful (IMO) everyone who bought a new car or truck during the post pandemic hype bought a rapidly depreciating asset at higher rates (~7-9%), higher price (+20% in cases), with higher payments (~$700 average). There’s a massive imbalance that is making vehicle ownership nearly impossible for average Americans.
https://x.com/SquirtLagurski/status/1839688036113678752
Some 17% of remote workers said they worked from another location without telling anyone or watched TV or played video games while on the job, per USA Today.
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1839640380922605653
Cutting interest rates from 5% to 2.5% over 12 months while unemployment rises is not the same as cutting rates from 1.75% to 0.25% in 3 months while the government sends cheques to everyone to stay at home and shop online.
https://x.com/igetredpilled/status/1839746675386040453
At this time in 2019 (pre-pandemic) we had 1.5 months of supply of single-family homes for sale in metro Phoenix.
Now we have 3.0 months of supply for sale.
https://x.com/JohnWake/status/1839744045981004137
It took you THIS long?
Literally your kids can’t afford homes or to have kids.
The Canadian dream is crushed. Birthrate tanking. Home construction frozen.
“Oh. I’d better think of maybe voting different.”
https://x.com/Tablesalt13/status/1839727968462974999
Jonesborough, Tn by crossroads gas station Hwy 81s river is floating houses and cars through the tomato fields some houses completely under water search and rescue teams are down here
https://x.com/scannerfood/status/1839726574376976666
Unicoi County Hospital right now.. Dozens trapped on roof..
https://x.com/wxnotifications/status/1839721834972864712
The months supply of total US single-family housing increased to 4.8 in August.
This is the highest level since November 2015.
https://x.com/EPBResearch/status/1839761181436785096
Being a realtor is the kind of thing you do when nothing else has really worked out in your life. Similar to a car salesman.
https://x.com/k_98789/status/1839778306805383228
I don’t need to read a single financial headline to tell me what’s happening in the economy
Need a car? Take your pick and get it below list
Truck drivers? Scrambling for work
Homes? Plenty to choose from
Need a contractor? They’ll be there tomorrow
Free Money? Evaporated
Clothing and Furniture? 50% off
Private schools? No waiting list
This is not rocket science
https://x.com/gas_biz/status/1839667330374123765
I had to look up that this was a real quote, and yep, it’s a real quote.
https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1839797216652791882
The cheerleaders are telling us that the economy is strong and in for a “no landing” and yet the Umich data show that home and auto buying plans are lower today than they were at the very worst points in the last six recessions back to 1980. Go figure.
https://x.com/EconguyRosie/status/1839718079963496858
“The era of ultralow mortgage rates in the U.S. is unlikely to return anytime soon, even as the Fed cuts rates. Don’t expet 3% mortgage rates,” per WSJ.
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1839655480400179407
Classic FAFO Highlights
https://x.com/SteveInmanUIC/status/1839726098826854701
Temu Lizzo has seen better days.
https://x.com/SteveInmanUIC/status/1839699927686852959
“Candlemakers’ union demands total ban on light bulbs”
https://x.com/cafreiman/status/1839745012386746786
Unemployment is surging. The flood of immigration has made finding work a brutal fight. Don’t expect wages to go up—they won’t. Mortgage borrowing limits shot up by 50%, paraded as a “win.”
But the real disaster? A poverty tsunami is about to hit, and it will ravage this country harder than any climate catastrophe ever could.
https://x.com/TdLeaker/status/1839662578919715301
1,308 multifamily units in Houston facing foreclosure
https://x.com/aryal1994/status/1839800464931684571
Former AirBNB house in Vancouver just sold today for a $1,160,000 loss 😮😮😮
KABOOM!! 💣💣💣💣💣💣
2122 SW Marine Dr.
Sold for $4,100,000… bought for $5,260,000…
https://x.com/mortimer_1/status/1839164029090328896
This former Canuck, who’s home is vacant, is trying for a home run on it 🤷♂️
https://x.com/mortimer_1/status/1837958771823292580
Why stop at 30 years… imagine the lower payment at 50 year, 100 year, or 200 year mortgages… just imagine the payment at 1 million year mortgages!!!!!
https://x.com/mortimer_1/status/1837250560400974077
“home and auto buying plans are lower today than they were at the very worst points in the last six recessions back to 1980”
Paul Krugman could not be reached for comment.
“A poverty tsunami is about to hit, and it will ravage this country harder than any climate catastrophe ever could”
I’m not feeling the “joy” in paying $40 for a single bag of groceries.
You need to look at things holistically.
According to a Q3 survey, 31% of owners now owe more on their loan than their car is worth.
They’ll just have to keep it until it’s paid off. If they can.
It took you THIS long?
Literally your kids can’t afford homes or to have kids.
The Canadian dream is crushed. Birthrate tanking. Home construction frozen.
“Oh. I’d better think of maybe voting different.”
Exactly. They kept Trudeau in office for 9+ years. Why did they vote for him to begin with? What did he promise them?
upper and middle class women in the surburbs keep voting for him in large numbers. A lot of the surburban ridings switched to the Liberals under Trudeau.
They think he is handsome, speaks woke etc. In the US, we have to watch this as well – Lots of surburban women are going to vote for Kamala because she speaks in goodle-gook phrases and is not mean like Trump
Some 17% of remote workers said they worked from another location without telling anyone or watched TV or played video games while on the job
What % of in-office workers took long lunch breaks, surfed porn sites, or spent hours yakking about Nascar while on the job?
Mostly in places where workers had poor or absent supervision.
Places like home (or other).
Mostly in places where workers had poor or absent supervision.
Places like home (or other).
Definitely depends on the nature of your work.
The waves on North Jetty Beach in Florida were fast and furious.
High winds and flooding consumed much of Florida’s “Big Bend” following Hurricane Helene.
In Venice, Florida, wildlife mixed with motor vehicles that had to drive through three to four feet of flood waters.
Lehigh Valley native Joe Orchulli has lived in Venice for 13 years. He’s been through many hurricanes, but he says it’s been a while since he’s seen anything like this.
“I have friends, personally, who have lost their homes along the beach. People lost their businesses, a lot of flooding, destruction to roads, and, yeah, it’s been it’s pretty crazy,” said Orchulli.
Tracy Weaver says the last 24 hours have been scary.
“There was really high winds blowing. Trees were coming down, and then downtown Fort Myers was underwater,” said Weaver.
Weaver moved to Florida from Pennsylvania four years ago and now lives in North Fort Myers.
She says she started getting storm surge warnings on her phone and the next thing she knew, the storm water invaded her house.
“I looked out my front window and it looked like a river through the parking lot of my condo. And I went to the back of the house and saw water just coming up through the foundation, through the back door to my Florida room,” said Weaver.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/i-looked-out-my-front-window-and-it-looked-like-a-river-people-with-lehigh/article_6075acba-7d18-11ef-a343-cf871cab8bd8.html
Build or buy right on the beach, pay the price. Don’t whine and ask for government help.
Officials warn that EVs could catch fire if inundated with saltwater from Hurricane Helene
Electric vehicles can catch fire if they are inundated by saltwater, so owners who live in the path of a major storm like Hurricane Helene should take precautions and prepare for the possibility that they’ll be unable to charge their cars during a power outage.
What can EV owners do? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged EV owners this week to get their vehicles to higher ground before Hurricane Helene arrived. Although the problem is rare, there have been a number of instances in recent years of electric vehicles igniting after hurricanes.
Keeping electric vehicles out of standing water is the best way to avoid the possibility of a fire.
Tesla offers similar advice about avoiding letting its vehicles become submerged if at all possible, but if that does happen the carmaker suggests towing the vehicle at least 50 feet away from structures or anything combustible until it can be inspected by a mechanic.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/officials-warn-evs-could-catch-201708365.html
How not to run a country: Government ineptitude and Canada’s economic malaise
In 2024 Canada has good news to share!
We now have a rapidly growing export industry, already considered to be one of the global top 10.
It is an industrial dream come true, consisting of selling advanced manufacturing goods to the Global South. Statistics are somewhat unreliable, but the annual revenues were above $1.5-billion in 2023 with 2024 promising to break that record.
There is only one problem with this new export – it consists of stolen cars.
Yes, we are now officially an international powerhouse in car theft, according to Interpol. The situation is so bad that in March, 2024, Toronto police advised citizens to leave their keys in the front door to avoid confrontation with the thieves as they enter private homes looking for them, and our Federal Minister of Justice had his government-issued car stolen twice in 2022.
Even more disturbing is what this industry entails: taking a very large object – an SUV – driving it without any apparent problems into a major port; putting said SUVs in a container; loading those containers on ships; and sending them to prearranged foreign destinations. In short, our government has limited ability to control our very own borders, a basic tenet of national sovereignty.
Interestingly, unlike other advanced countries that strategically invest in innovation to become more productive, Canada does not, so the Canada Border Services Agency does not have the same equipment that allows its U.S. counterpart to efficiently scan closed containers or check what goes into them. The only reason we know where our stolen cars end-up is thanks to Canadian citizens searching and finding them for sale on the internet.
Accordingly, a real concern is what else has organized crime freely been exporting from Canada?
The answer is: God knows, because the Canadian government certainly doesn’t.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-how-not-to-run-a-country-government-ineptitude-and-canadas-economic/
Cars are actually the big item. The local gangs – working with the more eastablished mafia – have penetrated the ports of Montreal and Halifax and cars are being loaded into containers. There is literally a supply chain of thiefs. Local ones case out neighbourhoods steal them at night and take them to rendevous locations before sunrise, where another group drives them cross country to the port, and then the established Mafia take over to get it through the port.
‘no-question’ SUVs are in big demand in the S.America
‘the Canada Border Services Agency does not have the same equipment that allows its U.S. counterpart to efficiently scan closed containers or check what goes into them’
This is on purpose and typical of K-da. It reminds me of the money laundering debate years.
We’ve got tough laws!
How many people have been prosecuted for money laundering?
Well, none for many years.
Same exact thing happened with Australia.
Dreams of studying in Canada fade for students in India
Canadian government’s 10% cut to international student permits causing concern
The policy is sowing confusion among prospective students, said Sumit Jain, director at Jain Overseas, an immigration and study abroad consultancy company based in Jalandhar, Punjab.
Jain has been in the study abroad business for 15 years and Canada has always been the most attractive option for students. But now, Jain said about 70 per cent of the students his company helps are “in limbo” and adopting a wait-and-see approach before applying to study in Canada.
Twenty per cent of his students have already crossed out Canada and opted for other countries like Germany, the United States or the United Kingdom, he added.
“I know their dreams are on hold. It’s very tough to tell [students] about this,” said Jain.
The drop in interest from Indian students is consistent, said a representative from another study abroad consultant company.
“We used to send thousands of students, but right now the numbers have decreased to 25 per cent of what we used to do last year,” said Pavneet Sidhu, who works with the Chandigarh-based Gem Overseas.
“I would say 60 to 70 per cent of students have lost their interest [in Canada].”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dreams-of-studying-in-canada-fade-for-students-in-india-125122072.html
Why can’t India just create their own world-class universities and send their students there? In a country of a billion people, there have to be at least a million geniuses who would make their schools the envy of the world. Why are they always mooching off of the reputation of other countries?
We had some Indians comment here years ago and we talked about things. One big issue there is racism, they said. And almost every RE story I come across from there involves corruption, people getting sued, defaulting, failing to finish airboxes, etc. There’s apparently a lot of flaws in their system. IMO this more of a GTFO of India thing than college.
IMO this more of a GTFO of India thing than college.
Exactly. They hope to get a green card after they graduate. The problem, especially in Canada, is finding a job. As I’ve mentioned before, my employer is mostly hiring outside of North America and Western Europe.
The problem, especially in Canada, is finding a job.
In Canada, they call it ‘having Canadian experience’, which is code for no foreigners. The irony, of course, is you can study at uni for 4+ years and still lack this ‘Canadian experience’.
Oxide.Your making a very good point that I have thought about often.
‘I don’t think it’s a place for loitering’: Drayton Valley wants to stop the unhoused from using civic centre
Town council in Drayton Valley is looking for more enforcement at the civic centre because unhoused residents have been using the vestibule as a place to get warm.
The issue was discussed at a meeting on Sept. 18.
Coun. Rick Evans expressed concerns after witnessing individuals using the vestibule to charge their phones and visit, and others who went into the bathroom for around 30 minutes.
He said he believes it would be helpful if the front desk staff were able to contact the Community Peace Officer (CPO) for help in moving those individuals along.
Coun. Monika Sherriffs expressed agreement with Evans, saying that the Warming Hearts Centre is there to provide that kind of support.
She says those who have been banned from Warming Hearts have to deal with the consequences of their actions and that doesn’t include using the civic centre for a warming space.
Sherriffs is also concerned that these individuals are not receiving fines for when they are loitering or trespassing in buildings.
“There are a few occasions where I have seen the unhoused intoxicated and it’s very obvious that they’re under the influence because they’re doing some sort of a moon dance in the middle of the street,” said Sherriffs. “Just moving them along… I don’t think that’s enough. I think fining them for public intoxication should start happening.”
She says she doesn’t believe the excuse that most of them can’t afford it.
“Most of them are on some kind of government assistance. They do have money. They do need a clean record to get their driver’s license renewed, they need a driver’s license to get into the food bank. There is a system,” she says. “If they don’t like being fined in Drayton Valley they can move to a town that is a little bit more lenient with that behaviour.”
https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/i-don-t-think-it-s-a-place-for-loitering-drayton-valley-wants-to-stop-the-unhoused-from-using-civic-centre-1.7054717
Satellite imagery showed that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday.
The sinking of China’s first Zhou-class submarine represents a setback for Beijing as it continues to build out the world’s largest navy. Beijing has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, which is crucial to international trade.
Meanwhile, China faces longtime territorial disputes involving others in the region including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The United States has sought to strengthen ties to its allies in the region and regularly sails through those waters in operations it says maintains the freedom of navigation for vessels there, angering Beijing.
The submarine likely sank between May and June, when satellite images showed cranes that would be necessary to lift it off the bottom of the river, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details about the submarine loss.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday he was not familiar with the topic and did not provide any information when asked about it at a Beijing press conference.
The U.S. official said it was “not surprising” that China’s navy would conceal it. The submarine’s current status is unknown.
https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-nuclear-attack-submarine-sank-during-construction-us-official-says/7802700.html
Zimbabwe knocks 40% off value of gold-backed currency
Zimbabwe’s central bank has devalued its gold-backed currency by over 40% against the US dollar, indicating that the last ditch effort to stabilise the country’s volatile economy, is in trouble.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) made the decision to slash the local exchange rate to 24 Zig to $1 (£0.75) on Friday.
This slump is due to an increase in demand for the US dollar, which is also legal tender. It comes after warnings from by large retailers of store closures if the rate remained fixed at the previous level.
The Zig, which stands for Zimbabwe Gold, was launched over six months ago and is the country’s sixth currency in 25 years.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/zimbabwe-knocks-40-off-value-154951245.html
Jordan Peterson spent more than half a million dollars in legal fees in his highly publicized battle with the College of Psychologists of Ontario, a recently filed court application for a fee assessment shows.
The popular right-wing provocateur – through his new lawyer, Howard Levitt – submitted the assessment request to Superior Court last week, challenging an allegedly “exorbitant” $506,000 bill from Mr. Peterson’s former lawyer, Peter Henein.
However, in a twist, when The Globe and Mail contacted Mr. Peterson for comment about why he is seeking a refund, a representative for the bestselling author said that Mr. Peterson had no issues with Mr. Henein’s fees.
“We asked the Henein firm for a review of our bill. We have been informed of the rationale to our satisfaction. We have instructed our counsel to withdraw our filing,” Jordan Spencer wrote in an e-mail. The Globe reached out to Mr. Levitt for clarification on the chain of events, but did not receive a response.
This fee assessment application is the second time that Mr. Levitt has gone to court over Mr. Peterson’s legal bill. The first was initiated in September, 2023. It was left unresolved, but provides a fascinating window into Mr. Peterson’s fight with the college, because materials filed by Mr. Levitt’s firm as part of that case – which are now on the public record – include dozens of pages of unredacted legal invoices from Mr. Henein’s team.
In November, 2022, the complaints committee of the college determined that some comments made by Mr. Peterson on social media may be considered “degrading, demeaning and unprofessional” and potentially harmful to public trust in the profession. The review came in response to numerous complaints received by the college about Mr. Peterson’s activity on Twitter, now called X, including a post in which he called Gerald Butts – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former principal secretary – a “prik” and another about a Sports Illustrated cover that featured a plus-sized model, in which Mr. Peterson wrote: “Sorry. Not Beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.”
On Jan. 7, 2023, there was an item: “E-mail correspondence re: settlement terms with Butts.” (Mr. Butts sued the YouTube personality for defamation after Mr. Peterson called him “stunningly corrupt” on social media and then refused to take the post down. Mr. Peterson’s spokesperson said that the case was settled “with mutual satisfaction” and they will not comment further. Mr. Peterson deleted the tweet.)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-jordan-peterson-challenges-his-lawyers-bill-after-losing-case-against/
Damn, so sad Peterson is being attacked for free speech opinion.
Canadians don’t have Rights like free speech. They only get privileges as the government pleases.
Opinion: Harris claims she’s for the middle class. Where’s she been for the past 4 years?
If Democrats are the party of the working class, they sure have a weird way of showing it.
On Wednesday, while speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, Vice President Kamala Harris made a pitch to the middle class. Her speech comes as consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest level since August 2021, thanks to a slowing job market and higher costs for food, housing and other essentials.
If this election comes down to any one issue, it won’t be abortion or immigration. It will be the economy.
Yet, Harris’ economic proposals are more about pandering than solutions. Her plan, for example, to hand out $25,000 to first-time homebuyers is meant to attract younger voters. But how much would that giveaway add to the already soaring budget deficit? How would it affect inflation? What would it mean to the affordability of housing in the long term? Harris’ guesses are as good as mine.
During her speech, Harris criticized former President Donald Trump’s personal wealth and portrayed herself as an advocate for the middle class.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who actually build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” Harris said.
The vice president’s speech pulls from her new 81-page policy book, “A New Way Forward for the Middle Class.” In Pittsburgh, she said her plan would lower costs and help America become a global leader in “industries of the future.” Harris promised “commonsense solutions to help Americans buy a home, start a business and build wealth.”
But if her manufacturing plan is simple common sense, then why hasn’t the Biden-Harris administration been following it for the past four years?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinion-harris-claims-shes-for-the-middle-class-wheres-she-been-for-the-past-4-years/ar-AA1riMbA
100% unelectable.
Some think they could “elect” a cardboard cut out if they wanted to.
They can apparently.
If this election comes down to any one issue, it won’t be abortion or immigration. It will be the economy.
But our economy is the envy of the world, or so I am told.
A Tribute to Mises on the Anniversary of his Birth
September 29, 2024, is the one-hundred-and-forty-third anniversary of the birth of Ludwig von Mises, economist and social philosopher, who passed away in 1973. Von Mises was my teacher and mentor and the source or inspiration for most of what I know and consider to be important and worthwhile in these fields of what enables me to understand the events shaping the world in which we live. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to him, because I believe that he deserves to occupy a major place in the intellectual history of the twentieth century.
Von Mises is important because his teachings are necessary to the preservation of material civilization. As he showed, the base of material civilization is the division of labor. Without the higher productivity of labor made possible by the division of labor, the great majority of mankind would simply die of starvation. The existence and successful functioning of the division of labor, however, vitally depends on the institutions of a capitalist society that is, on limited government and economic freedom, private ownership of land and all other property, exchange and money, saving and investment, economic inequality and economic competition, and the profit motive institutions everywhere under attack for several generations.
When von Mises appeared on the scene, Marxism and the other socialist sects enjoyed a virtual intellectual monopoly. Major flaws and inconsistencies in the writings of Smith and Ricardo and their followers enabled the socialists to claim classical economics as their actual ally. The writings of Jevons and the earlier Austrian economists Menger and Böhm-Bawerk were insufficiently comprehensive to provide an effective counter to the socialists. Bastiat had tried to provide one, but died too soon, and probably lacked the necessary theoretical depth in any case.
Thus, when von Mises appeared, there was virtually no systematic intellectual opposition to socialism or defense of capitalism. Quite literally, the intellectual ramparts of civilization were undefended. What von Mises undertook, and which summarizes the essence of his greatness, was to build an intellectual defense of capitalism and thus of civilization.
Von Mises showed to be absolute nonsense such clichés as poverty causes communism. Not poverty, but poverty plus the mistaken belief that communism is the cure for poverty, causes communism. If the misguided revolutionaries of the backward countries and of impoverished slums understood economics, any desire they might have to fight poverty would make them advocates of capitalism.
Socialism, von Mises showed, in his greatest original contribution to economic thought, not only abolishes the incentive of profit and loss and the freedom of competition along with private ownership of the means of production, but makes economic calculation, economic coordination, and economic planning impossible, and therefore results in chaos. For socialism means the abolition of the price system and the intellectual division of labor; it means the concentration and centralization of all decision-making in the hands of one agency: the Central Planning Board or the Supreme Dictator.
Von Mises’s contributions to the debate between capitalism and socialism the leading issue of modern times are overwhelming. Before he wrote, people did not realize that capitalism has economic planning. They uncritically accepted the Marxian dogma that capitalism is an anarchy of production and that socialism represents rational economic planning. People were (and most still are) in the position of Moliere’s M. Jourdan, who never realized that what he was speaking all his life was prose. For, living in a capitalist society, people are literally surrounded by economic planning, and yet do not realize that it exists. Every day, there are countless businessmen who are planning to expand or contract their firms, who are planning to introduce new products or discontinue old ones, planning to open new branches or close down existing ones, planning to change their methods of production or continue with their present methods, planning to hire additional workers or let some of their present ones go. And every day, there are countless workers planning to improve their skills, change their occupations or places of work, or to continue with things as they are; and consumers, planning to buy homes, cars, stereos, steak or hamburger, and how to use the goods they already have for example, to drive to work or to take the train, instead.
Yet people deny the name planning to all this activity and reserve it for the feeble efforts of a handful of government officials, who, having prohibited the planning of everyone else, presume to substitute their knowledge and intelligence for the knowledge and intelligence of tens of millions. Von Mises identified the existence of planning under capitalism, the fact that it is based on prices ( economic calculations ), and the fact that the prices serve to coordinate and harmonize the activities of all the millions of separate, independent planners.
Thus, von Mises demonstrated that capitalism is an economic system rationally planned by the combined, self-interested efforts of all who participate in it. The failure of socialism, he showed, results from the fact that it represents not economic planning, but the destruction of economic planning, which exists only under capitalism and the price system.
Von Mises was not primarily anti-socialist. He was pro-capitalist. His opposition to socialism, and to all forms of government intervention, stemmed from his support for capitalism and from his underlying love of individual freedom and conviction that the self-interests of free men are harmonious indeed, that one man’s gain under capitalism is not only not another’s loss, but is actually others’ gain. Von Mises was a consistent champion of the self-made man, of the intellectual and business pioneer, whose activities are the source of progress for all mankind and who, he showed, can flourish only under capitalism.
This essay originally appeared in 1981, on the occasion of Mises’s one-hundredth birthday.
https://mises.org/mises-wire/tribute-mises-anniversary-his-birth
Ayn Rand I guess was another promoter of capitalism, and talked about the evils of socialism/communism.
The evil characters in her books were always socialist/communist that were control freaks wanting a forced dictorship.
She was into the concept of pure capitalism, without interference from government, or other forces.
She would be turning over in her grave right now seeing what’s going on now.
What I remember about her books and papers even way back then was, we are already on the slippery slope. Concepts were becoming accepted in law and ‘society’ that were the seeds of socialism. This country went seriously commie under FDR. I don’t think she’d be surprised at all.
Your right, because she was giving warnings.
I agree with all of the above, except that “capitalism” is not the same thing as “free market economy”. “Capitalism” means the supremacy of capital over labor, so that for example if a company lays off workers, and the stock price goes up, this is regarded as a positive development and the company senior executives are rewarded with large bonuses.
In a truly free market economy, government (and society) would recognize that capital and labor are equally essential for producing wealth, and would not favor one over the other.
Socialism / communism always lead to the same results: loss of freedom, famine, and genocide.
And what happens if property Insurance Companies start refusing to insure any property that might have risk of claim, or prices to insure become off the charts expensive.
If you ask me this was the ploy Insurance Companies used to get Government to enact Medicare, so they would make more profit. So, the Government insures people over 65, that have higher risk of medical claims.
So, if buying a property puts you under risk of being cancelled, or sky high premiums from Insurance Companies, that’s another risk in owning property these days.
So, if the Gov takes over on taking risk on property risk from Insurance Companies, than it could be a risk they will do some Commie program.That they charge you more if you make more.Think Commie Obama care where if you make more, you pay more for Health Insurance.
My point is the Government seems to always want to benefit big Monopolies, so just who is government working for?Government backed loans where government takes the risk is another example of this.
And for years they told you that health care is so high, because of all the research Big Pharmacy has to pay for. But it comes out how Government has been granting billions in research dollars for Pharmacy.
So, this private/public relationship between big Monopolies and Government has been a rigged thing to increase profits to private party Mega Corporations.
Think, Military complex
Think food Industry
Think Med.system
Think student loans, property loans
Think Insurance Companies
Think food stamps
Think welfare programs
Think tax write offs
Think bail outs paid by tax payers
Think Cares Act transferring trillions to big Business
Government interference has managed to loot the tax payers, to the benefit of Mega Corporations.
Now the Mega Corporations/Rich Elites , etc are literally trying to take over World with their One World Order dictorship.
Who does the Government work for?I think the answer is plain to see, especially now.
<em?“I don’t think the authors of the Democratic Party platform are careless or clueless.
The authors of the Democrat Party platform are disingenuous. Beyond empty, contradictory platitudes, they have no plans to address the #1 cause of the housing crisis: private equity and corporate intervention into the housing market to gouge renters, and Fed monetary policies that have turned housing into a speculative asset bubble.
Beyond empty, contradictory platitude
Which Orwell aptly named doublethink.
On Bill Maher Show that stupid liberal guest he had on said in essence that Biden should dissolved the Supreme Court. Said words to effect that High Court is “Harem for Trump.”
Really these people are mentally sick , and just plain stupid. Useful idiots that have no ability to even know what is at stake.
I have a friend that suffers from TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. Its a insidious type of brainwashing that makes this friend a total idiot. This friend is a avid CNN watcher, who took five Covid shots, until vaccine damage occurred.
This friend was intelligent thru life but something happened . Friend now battling for life dealing with med system , and spouse is dealing with vaccine provoked medical emergencies also. I get calls constantly.
Its all so unbelievable .
I think what happens to otherwise intelligent people is that they become enamored of evil, though of course they don’t think they are evil.
I have a friend that suffers from TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. Its a insidious type of brainwashing that makes this friend a total idiot
Is he a college professor or educator. I have a friend with the same issue. Being a College professor/lecturer totally changed his economics.
Harris-Walz Campaign BUSTED For Using Paid Actors to Pretend They Were Disgruntled Trump Voters Who Switched to Kamala
by Infowars.com
September 28th, 2024 12:42 PM
The Harris-Walz campaign was just busted for using two paid actors in a campaign ad to pretend they were Pennsylvania farmers and former Trump voters who switched to Kamala Harris.
The Harris campaign’s misleading ad depicts two farmers who were previously Trump supporters that have switched their support to Kamala Harris after the events of January 6, 2021.
But those farmers turned out to be actors Robert Lang and Christina Chadwick who have an “extensive” history of donating to the Democrat Party, Sky News Australia reported on Thursday.
“For a party that talks about the dangers of disinformation and misinformation, they engage in plenty of it,” Sky News anchor Rita Panahi noted.
Correspondent Kosha Gada also said the ad highlights the astroturfed nature of Kamala’s support and is part and parcel of the “synthetic” campaign she’s run since Joe Biden was forced out of the ticket.
“I think it’s another illustration of a synthetic campaign and a very synthetic candidate,” she said. “Where everything is manufactured, from her anointment after Biden was pushed out, to the way the campaign is being run and very limited media…and then creating these narratives, these fictional narratives of these two Trump supporters who turned supposedly in this case, and it turns out they’re Democrat actors. You can’t make this stuff up, it’s pretty brazen.”
“The question of course is, will these antics make it into the mainstream or not with a media that’s very favorable to her, but to the extent that it does, I do think things like this are damaging because it goes to that point that she’s not a very authentic candidate,” she added.
https://www.infowars.com/posts/harris-walz-campaign-busted-for-using-paid-actors-to-pretend-they-were-disgruntled-trump-voters-who-switched-to-kamala
But those farmers turned out to be actors Robert Lang and Christina Chadwick who have an “extensive” history of donating to the Democrat Party, Sky News Australia reported on Thursday.
https://youtu.be/schmOxBbaBM?si=VQ5mgUds1Vcksrfh&t=537
I’m also guess that Harris supporters are being paid to infiltrate DJT rallies, just to obtain footage of people “leaving early.”
FBI Orchestration of Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Exposed in Stunning Documentary Trailer
by Infowars.com
September 28th, 2024 3:24 PM
The FBI used at least 12 confidential informants to entrap a small number of patsies of a right-wing militia group into kidnapping Whitmer leading up to the 2020 election.
“The FBI used at least twelve informants and two undercover agents (with unfettered access to taxpayer funds) to purchase alcohol, ammunition, vehicles, drugs, explosives, and more in order to frame these men for the felonies that the FBI themselves were committing,” the film’s producers said.
Ultimately, nine men were convicted or pleaded guilty in the case, and five were acquitted.
The FBI chief who oversaw the Whitmer kidnapping false flag, Steven D’Antuono, has since headed the FBI’s Washington field office that executed the raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Aug. 2022.
https://www.infowars.com/posts/fbi-orchestration-of-gov-whitmer-kidnapping-plot-exposed-in-stunning-documentary-trailer
KIDNAP and KILL: An FBI Terror Plot | OFFICIAL TRAILER 2
https://youtu.be/otrPsfWZc_w?si=r8MT4f7KKeJuN3jh
FBI Orchestration of Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Exposed in Stunning Documentary Trailer
And as always, there are never any consequences
Anyone who tries to use the Democrat talking point that they weren’t all from Biden/Harris needs to be reminded that Venezuela’s crime rate didn’t drop by 70% under Trump’s watch but it did under Biden/Harris.
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions roaming US streets: ICE data
ICE provided the new data to lawmakers this week
Adam Shaw By Adam Shaw Fox News
Published September 27, 2024 1:29pm EDT |
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions are loose on the streets, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data provided to lawmakers this week.
The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about national data for illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention — known as the non-detained docket. The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket.
The data says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charge
Those include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions.
There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tens-thousands-illegal-immigrants-sexual-assault-homicide-convictions-roaming-us-streets
‘I know I had to snap it up just like that,’ Brandstetter said, snapping her fingers, ‘Because the housing market here is so tight for condos. If I didn’t snap it up quickly, it would’ve been someone else’s home’…In 2017, Brandstetter and her husband sold their almost 3,000-square-foot home on 7 acres, also in Waterford, for roughly $489,000. Fast forward to 2024: for her 1,400-square-foot condo, she paid about $390,000′
You got schlonged Lou Ann.
‘They’ll stay there for two to four weeks, for a couple of years, sleep in the beds, make a meal, flush the toilet, and then, within two or three years, see a return of 25 to 50%’
Scott I’ve blogged on you Aspen clowns getting kicked in the nuts more times than I can remember.
‘The market is going to dictate the value, and today’s buyers won’t even make an offer if they think it’s overpriced,’ said Denton. ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s at the lower end or the higher end. If a seller is serious about selling, they have to price to market’
Talk em down outta that tree Craig, hit them with the rejection thing.
‘The huge discounts, historically rare in Sydney’s pressure cooker housing market, have helped buyers save over $1m in some areas, with more discounts expected to come as spring listings pile up’
Here we go again with one of yer ‘rare’ craters Sydney.
VP Harris new Campaign slogan is, “A NEW WAY FORWARD.”
Wonder what that means.
A new way to go forward that I can assure you is actually going backwards ,if we adopt any policies from that fake stooge for the One World Order Cult.
Was 2008 a particularly good year for stocks?
Financial Times
Chinese equities
Chinese stocks post best week since 2008 after stimulus blitz
Beijing’s pledge to support capital markets and economic growth targets also helps lift European stocks and metals prices
A montage of Chinese president Xi Jinping and the emblem of the People’s Republic of China
China’s leadership has recently sought to support capital markets, stabilise a property sector crisis and boost domestic consumption
Arjun Neil Alim, Cheng Leng and William Sandlund in Hong Kong and Harry Dempsey in London yesterday
Chinese equities have surged to their best week since 2008 after Beijing launched an economic stimulus package including a $114bn war chest to boost the stock market.
The CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed companies is up 15.7 per cent for the week in its best performance since November 2008, when China announced a similar stimulus package in response to the global financial crisis.
The rally, which has also helped buoy European markets and industrial metals, comes as China’s leadership rushes to support the country’s capital markets, stabilise a property sector crisis and boost domestic consumption in order to meet its economic growth target of 5 per cent for the year.
On Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China unveiled an Rmb800bn ($114bn) lending pool for the country’s capital markets, comprising funds to lend to companies to buy back their own shares and to lend to non-bank financial institutions such as insurers to buy local equities.
The CSI 300 index closed up 4.5 per cent on Friday while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 3.6 per cent, up 13 per cent since the start of the week in its biggest weekly gain since October 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
…
‘Complete Obliteration’: DeSantis Says Hurricane Helene Damage Worse Than Idalia
More than 50 storm-related deaths have been confirmed among Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis said Hurricane Helene’s “monumental storm surge” caused far greater damage than last year’s Idalia.
“Clearly you saw storm surge in excess of 15 feet,” DeSantis said to reporters in Taylor County’s Dekle Beach on the morning of Sept. 28.
“So that is much, much more significant than what we’ve seen in recent storms like Idalia that hit and certainly Debbie, and that is really, really destructive. So, as you look around here, you see some homes that are now just rubble.”
He said some of the damage he saw while flying over the affected coastline on Sept. 27 en route to Cedar Key was “complete obliteration.”
As recovery and emergency response efforts continue across the southeast United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, more than 50 storm-related deaths have been confirmed, and early estimates expect to see more than $15 billion in damages.
DeSantis confirmed that at least 11 of those storm-related fatalities occurred in the state. However, none of these fatalities occurred in Taylor County, where Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.
Historic rainfall of more than 11 inches in less than 48 hours was recorded in Atlanta.
Multiple tornadoes were confirmed in North Carolina, and immense rain and landslides have all but cut off the western portions of the state.
“All roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed,” the North Carolina Department of Transportation stated on its website. ”I-40 and I-26 are impassable in multiple locations. Travel in this area for non-emergency purposes is hindering needed emergency response.”
Departing flights out of Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina have been canceled through 4:50 p.m. local time on Saturday.
North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper issued a major disaster declaration request for 39 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Sept. 28, specifically requesting federal public assistance and individual assistance in the storm’s aftermath. “Helene brought pain and destruction to our state and we’re working to get help to people quickly,” Cooper said in a press release. “As waters recede and winds die down, families and communities will need assistance to clean up and recover and this request can help speed up the process.”
The remnants of now-post tropical cyclone Helene are expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley for the remainder of the weekend. Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/complete-obliteration-desantis-says-hurricane-helene-damage-worse-than-idalia-5731855
“‘Complete Obliteration’:”
Since I worked after Hurricane Andrew mostly in Kendal north of the storm center where there were roofs ripped off roofs and gable ends blown over and people rode out the storm in bathrooms with mattresses over their heads to survive, which was still nothing like what I saw when I got lost and ended up at what looked like I was standing in the middle of what I knew from pictures Hiroshima looked like after it was hit by the atomic bomb and asked a Military policemen directing traffic where the hell I was and he replied…. You are looking at Homestead Airforce base sir. I have always told people if a Cat 4 or 5 is going to hit anywhere near you, lock up your place and leave. Just get as far away as you can, wait until it is safe and then go back and pick up the pieces of your life because at least you’ll have a life.
Their body count from that storm was BS. I was in an emergency room with a guy who worked for me and had been cut on the job where I met a man who said his Mom had a place in Homestead west of the base where the military was pilling up migrant workers and burning them. After what I had seen there was no doubt in my mind he was telling the truth. Back then illegal workers were afraid of being deported and they stayed in shacks that were blown away and turned to piles of splinters.
Now that the Fed is cutting interest rates, is it safe to assume real estate can only go up from here on out?
Real Estate
The real-estate market is in for sharp correction with losses that could take a decade to recover from, strategist says
Jennifer Sor
Jul 4, 2024, 5:30 AM PDT
Photo illustration of a house exploding into flames
iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI
America’s property market is due for a correction.
That’s according to Chris Vermeulen, a longtime strategist who’s the founder of The Technical Traders. He thinks real estate is on the verge of a steep price correction, and he’s forecasting that both residential and commercial properties could soon experience a wave of distress, causing prices to plunge about 30% in both markets.
“People are going to have to start to sell their homes,” Vermeulen told Business Insider in an interview this week. “What we’re starting to see is people starting to realize they can’t afford their mortgages, or they need to downgrade. A lot of people are struggling financially, and this is really the tip of the iceberg. Give it another two or three years — that’s when the real-estate market gets hit the most.”
His forecast is among the more dire sounded by real-estate commentators in recent months. Most observers expect home prices to stay elevated over the near to medium term, but Vermeulen said the signs pointing to a big move down were beginning to add up, noting a weak backdrop for the US economy that could end up hitting consumers — and particularly, mortgage holders — hard.
Americans are already showing signs of weakness. Retail sales have been unexpectedly soft for the past two months, according to data from the Census Bureau, with purchases rising just 0.1% over May. Vermeulen said that implied corporate profits were set to weaken, which could spark more layoffs or reduced hours for workers as businesses trim costs and try to keep shareholders happy.
Layoffs began to surge at the start of the year, with job-cut announcements rising 136% in January, according to the consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Unemployment could peak around 5% to 6%, Vermeulen said, in line with what other economists have forecast.
“People are starting to get laid off as unemployment rises. People have burned through their savings, and inflation is crazy higher,” he said, adding, “Eventually, people aren’t going to be able to pay their mortgages.”
Most mortgages in the US are 30-year fixed rates, and many existing mortgages have been locked in at lower rates from several years ago. But Vermeulen said Americans tend to “stretch themselves too thin” when purchasing their homes, which means some borrowers could eventually buckle financially as unemployment ticks higher.
Residential foreclosures rose 3% in May, according to the data provider ATTOM. Failures could continue to climb for the next two or three years as Americans eventually become too financially burdened, Vermeulen said.
The fallout in the commercial real-estate sector could meanwhile be more severe. Bloomberg reported that the sector had more than $900 billion in debt approaching maturity this year, after which it will have to be refinanced at higher rates and with potentially lower property values.
…
Vermuelen predicted that the Fed would eventually pull back interest rates as the economy tips into a recession. But he said banks, bearing huge losses in their mortgage and commercial real-estate portfolios, would be more hesitant to lend, weighing on demand and causing real-estate prices to plunge.
Vermeulen said that while a 50% correction was possible in some areas, he was expecting “somewhere around a 30% correction in real estate.”
Property prices could drop by about 30% across the entire residential and commercial property market, he added.
Those losses could take seven to 10 years to recover from, he said, because of the long nature of real-estate cycles.
“The price of real estate has doubled or tripled in the last couple of years. It’s pretty wild. And usually, when an asset goes up that much that quickly, it usually comes back and pulls and corrects,” Vermeulen added. “It’s going to be an incredible opportunity for people who can identify the bottom.”
…
https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-crash-home-prices-correction-foreclosures-mortgage-defaults-2024-7
“Unemployment could peak around 5% to 6%, Vermeulen said, in line with what other economists have forecast.”
How many recessions since 1970 saw unemployment peak below 6%? I count 0 out of 6. I wonder why so many economists predict the next recession will be different?
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE
“‘Say you buy the home this year and you are in it for two years and it’s appreciating for 7% right now. You can’t get a savings account that’s appreciating at 7%, so you’re not losing,’ she said.”
Can you get a savings account that’s at risk of CR8Ring?
“…You can’t get a savings account that’s appreciating at 7%, so you’re not losing,’ she said….”
Must be the REIConplex new math.
Your *real* return is 7% – holding costs.
At least here in SoCal typical holding costs are 3%-4% (of purchase price / year), especially in high value areas such as Orange County.
Thus, real returns are closer to 4% or even less.
So, Mr. Realtor, how are those real returns looking now?
I’m getting the Federal Funds Rate with $USFR.
US Markets Closed
Dow Jones
+0.33%
Nasdaq
-0.53%
S&P 500
-0.13%
META
-0.2%
TSLA
+2.87%
AAPL
+0.25%
Home
Markets
A notorious market bear who called the 2000 and 2008 crashes warns stocks are in their ‘third great speculative bubble’ in the last 100 years
William Edwards
Sep 28, 2024, 3:00 AM PDT
new york stock exchange trader bubble
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
– John Hussman warns of a bubble in US stocks rivaling those in 1929 and 2000.
– High valuations and negative technical trends bode poorly for future returns.
– But AI and soft-landing enthusiasm could continue to propel the rally.
…
https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-bubble-sp500-outlook-valuations-1929-2000-hussman-2024-9