It Has Just Been A Nightmare, I Just Want To Put It Behind Me
A report from the Baltimore Sun in Maryland. “The housing market landscape in Carroll County is showing signs of improvement after months of low sales, shrinking inventory and climbing prices. Housing sales are up, and prices are down when compared to the same time last year. The average sale price for a home in Carroll last month was $498,654, down 2.2% from last year’s average price of $509,948. Sharon Callahan, president of Carroll County Realtors, who is celebrating 40 years as a Realtor, said she’s seen the housing market go up and down over the last four decades. It’s something that goes in cycles, she said. ‘I tell people ‘This is normal,’ but a lot of people look at me and think I’m crazy,’ she said.”
WXOW in Wisconsin. “September’s housing market data reveals an encouraging outlook toward a more balanced market. The market is also seeing a cooling effect on pricing. While competition exists, offers are increasingly coming in at or below asking price, a stark contrast to the aggressive overbidding of the past year. Mike Piecrek, President of the La Crosse Realtor Association, said, ‘This moderation is likely due to increased inventory and buyers becoming more price-conscious.'”
From KXAN. “The median price to buy a Texas home hasn’t changed since last year, according to a Texas REALTORS report, despite a 30.4% jump in listings over the third quarter of 2023. Home prices in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area saw a slight drop of 3.8%, but the median home likely remains out of reach for most residents at $437,925. Local listings are up 15%. Austin-area apartment units have also increased since 2023, which may be the cause of a 7% drop in Austin rent prices. Days on market only increased by a day, hitting an average of 100 days until closing — 10 days longer than the state average. ‘We have seen listings taking longer to sell, so homes need to be market-ready and priced well in order to attract an offer,’ said Texas REALTORS chair Jef Conn. ‘Buyers generally have more choices and a little more time to make decisions than a few years ago.'”
KLAS in Nevada. “The factors that have led to the lower rental prices are also changing the landscape for buyers in the Las Vegas valley. Ignacio Martinez has worked as a realtor in the valley for nearly two decades. He’s seen the market fluctuate. Sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better, which is what he would call right now. ‘60% more properties are on the market right now than they were in March,’ Martinez said. With interest rate changes and a major election coming up, changing times mean changing prices. Redfin reports that nearly 30% of home prices in Las Vegas saw price drops in September. ‘In times of uncertainty. A lot of sellers, since they also don’t know when the shoe is going to drop on any of those, if they have a need for it, they are going to put the house out on the market, and that’s where some really good deals are,’ Martinez said.”
The Palm Beach Post in Florida. “What are licensed engineers and architects finding after inspecting condominium buildings? Three complexes in Palm Beach County offer examples of the type of work that needs to be done to keep them safe. The law also requires a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) to determine what short-term and long-range repairs are necessary. It no longer allows an association to waive setting up financial reserves for those future repairs. Lake Clarke Gardens condominiums, built in 1966, is a 55-plus community consisting of 855 units. As of Sept. 16, more than 50 units were listed for sale; some have been listed for more than six months, and many of them have been significantly reduced in price.”
“The Plaza of The Palm Beaches, formerly known as Trump Plaza, needs some urgent care on the 525 S. Flagler Drive property. The 38-year-old complex consists of two 32-story towers with Intracoastal Waterway and ocean views. But like so many other buildings, some of the necessary maintenance was deferred, and now owners are paying the price. While the towers are safe to live in, the building will need to undergo a more stringent Phase Two inspection to identify the necessary repairs. Owners are expected to be hit with a special assessment for a multimillion dollar repair bill.”
WFLA in Florida. “After taking a beating from back-to-back hurricanes, some neighbors in Shore Acres are putting their homes up for sale, at a reduced price. Real Estate broker and President of Shore Acres Civic Association Kevin Batdorf said the flooding affected over 80% of homes this time around, leaving residents questioning whether they can stay. Which is also why he said the home that sits on Indianapolis St. is for sale, as is. ‘He has life ending disease. He’s going to stay in Portugal,’ Batdorf said. ‘He doesn’t have much time left, and he called and asked if I could sell his property.’ For the homeowner, whose property flooded out, he is selling for lot value, a term for when the house isn’t worth restoring, but the land still holds its value. ‘If you calculate the amount they’re selling your property for, plus the insurance amount, it may not make them whole, but it’s not strictly lot value that they’re selling for,’ Batdorf said.”
Mansion Global. “The disconnect in the South Florida condo market deepend in the third quarter, as newer inventory continued to fly off the shelf at higher prices, while older stock piled up and lost value, according to a report from ISG World released Thursday. Condos older than 30 years have lost 21% of their value since last year, and 41% since 2020. There were roughly 20,000 active condo listings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in the third quarter, of which 17,000, or 85%, were for older stock. ‘Most of these condominiums don’t have the cash to repair these structural defects,’ said Craig Studnicky, CEO of the South Florida-based brokerage ISG World. ‘If there’s no cash in the account, they send an invoice to all the unit owners—that’s called a special assessment.’ The fear of the special assessments has led to a glut of inventory as sellers try to offload their older condos, while buyers are opting to avoid the confusion by going for the rapidly dwindling newer stock, Studnicky said.”
The Sacramento Bee in California. “Sacramento’s housing market should benefit from expected declines in mortgage rates, but the region may be challenged by large, Bay Area employers’ commitments to bring workers back to the office, industry experts said. Sanjay Varshney, founder and principal of Goldenstone Wealth Management, said Sacramento benefited from the rise of remote work during the pandemic, but the pattern may be poised for a reversal as large firms like Amazon call workers back to the office. ‘That trend is going to hurt us,’ Varshney said. ‘My neighbors, who moved here from the Bay Area, are hitting the road two to three times a week.’ Varshney said he’s doubtful that mortgage rates will fall as far as 3% or 4%, as some consumers expect. ‘Anybody who’s been waiting patiently, hoping that they’re going to see those kinds of rates again, is probably going to be disappointed,’ Varshney said.”
CBS Bay Area in California. “For six years, residents near downtown San Jose have put up with a blighted piece of private property that has attracted drug dealing, homeless squatters, trash dumping and even a pair of fires. Now, the city has had enough and has taken the owner to court to force a change. The property at the corner of Fourth and St. John streets is along the route that Xzander Smith takes to his classes at San Jose State. ‘So, I’ve walked past this lot pretty much every day and seen the debris and have wondered every day what happened,’ he said. ‘Just kind of seeing the debris and trash and everything around it, it’s an eyesore for sure.'”
“There used to be a pair of empty Victorian homes on one end, but they both burned to the ground in March in a fire started by some homeless squatters. Brian Coria lives in a duplex right next to the lot where the houses burned. ‘It got lit on fire twice, actually,’ he said. ‘Somebody burned the house down and then somebody came back a few months later and they lit the rubble on fire. So, that rubble was lit on fire twice.'”
Boulder Reporting Lab. “Boulder’s Housing Advisory Board is eyeing a new solution for the city’s housing shortage: converting vacant office buildings into homes. About 40% of office space in Boulder is vacant, according to a 2023 report by The Colorado Group. The Housing Advisory Board, which advises the Boulder City Council on housing issues, is exploring how recent zoning changes could make converting these spaces into homes easier, though hurdles remain. ‘There are empty office buildings and they’re just burning cash,’ board member Stephen Hennessy, an attorney, said at the board’s meeting on Sept. 25. ‘We don’t have a bunch of empty land in Boulder where you can build. But we do have empty offices.'”
“Still, city building codes and financial realities pose challenges that developers say can make these projects nearly impossible to justify financially. It’s often cheaper to start from scratch. ‘You might have to rip so much of the framing out that you’re basically starting over,’ said Ryan Hanneman, an architect with RHAP Architecture and Planning. ‘Everyone thinks, ‘Oh we have all this commercial space, let’s just put people in it.’ But the code doesn’t allow it.’ Separately, in Denver, where nearly a third of downtown office buildings are also vacant, the city has launched an Adaptive Reuse Pilot Program in Upper Downtown.”
CTV News in Canada. “Creditors have moved to take ownership of most of the properties in northern Ontario owned by a group of 11 insolvent companies. They were one of the largest real estate owners in northern Ontario. The properties are located in Timmins (290), the Sault (200) and Sudbury (78), as well as 63 units in Kirkland Lake, Capreol, Temiskaming Shores and Val Caron. Including apartments, the companies owned 631 units. Initial estimates of their debts when they declared insolvency in January of this year were as high as $144 million, but the firm overseeing the process said the actual amount is about $90 million. The entrepreneurs involved in the companies include former YTV child actor Robby Clark, Burlington business owners Aruba Butt and Ryan Molony and Hamilton real estate agent Dylan Suitor.”
“While the companies told investors they were buying the properties to renovate and rent or sell them at a profit, CCAA documents showed a number of questionable business practices. For example, at least $1 million was spent on luxury purchases and trips that had no relation to the business. A company owned by the directors of the company was paid high fees to oversee the renovations and high dividends were paid despite the companies losing money. A recent report in the Sault said many of the properties in the city have been fined under the vacant property bylaw. And one of the companies owned a derelict property in Timmins known as a drug den that was demolished earlier this year.”
The Globe and Mail in Canada. “15 Killarney Rd., Toronto. Asking price: $6,280,000 (June, 2024). Selling price: $5,475,000 (July, 2024). This 2½-storey house near Upper Canada College was briefly owned by former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney more than 20 years ago. About 20 groups passed through before one guest made a $5.475-million bid at the end of July. ‘2024′s summer was not great for the luxury market,’ said listing agent: Jane Zhang. ‘This was one of the only successful sales, in that period of time, over $5-million. Everything else was just sitting.'”
Domain News in Australia. “Richard Swanson faced a tough choice: sell the South Yarra investment property he had owned for six years for a loss, or hold on and hope it recovered in value. He chose to hold. That was five years ago and since then prices have only fallen further. After about 11 years, he has just sold the apartment for $156,000 less than he paid. This is the puzzle at the heart of Melbourne’s housing affordability crisis: property prices have soared over the long term, but not for all properties. Of the homes that sold in Stonnington in the June quarter, 25.8 per cent traded at a loss, figures from CoreLogic show. Stonnington runs second to the Melbourne City Council area, where 39 per cent lost money.”
“The Beechworth-based public servant, 63, and his wife bought their two-bedroom apartment off the plan about 11 years ago for $691,000. They settle to the new buyer on Monday for $535,000. Taking into account holding costs, he estimates conservatively they have lost $200,000. ‘It’s a lovely apartment in a lovely complex where we are in South Yarra but what we weren’t aware of is at the same time there was a lot of other developers who were also building lots of apartments,’ he said. ‘I think the apartment market is overcrowded.'”
“He sold through Woodards South Yarra, which handles sales of a mix of homes, from apartment towers, art deco unit blocks to multimillion-dollar houses. Director Luke Piccolo says large two-bedroom boutique apartments there can cost close to $2 million. ‘Some first home buyers have bought a one-bedroom apartment for $450,000 to $500,000 and it’s now worth in the high $300,000s or $350,000,’ he said. ‘Losing $100,000 on your first purchase sets people back a long way, a very long way.'”
“As for investor Richard Swanson, he also owns a Queensland apartment, but asked if he would invest in a Melbourne apartment again, he is blunt. ‘No, never,’ he said. ‘There is no incentive to own more than one property in Victoria.’ The apartment was supposed to be part of their retirement plans. Instead it cost $200,000. ‘It has just been a nightmare. I just want to put it behind me.'”
From Barron‘s. “China’s biggest stimulus package since the 2008 housing crisis has caused a dramatic upswing in stocks—and much of that is being fueled by young, headlong retail investors who see their prior investments in China’s embattled property market as a no-win game. ‘It’s like the California gold rush,’ one broker from the city of Chengdu told Barron’s. China’s youth have had an unexpectedly rough ride since the end of the pandemic. Their unemployment rate ballooned to more than 20%, and burnout was rife in the entry-level tech and education sectors. Despite infamous pressure from parents for children to invest in property as a pathway to forming a family, many found China’s housing market out of reach financially.”
“‘My parents helped us buy our apartment, but the value has been declining over the last two years,’ said newly married Ailene Wu, who works at a financial consulting firm in Changsha, the capital of centrally located Hunan province. Wu said she has about $50,000 to ‘play with’ on the mainland markets now that property has proved a ‘dead-end investment venue.'”
This Post Has 119 Comments
Comments are closed.
‘Condos older than 30 years have lost 21% of their value since last year, and 41% since 2020. There were roughly 20,000 active condo listings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in the third quarter, of which 17,000, or 85%, were for older stock. ‘Most of these condominiums don’t have the cash to repair these structural defects’
So yer saying the majority of airboxes in these big sh$thole counties have lost all of the minor respiratory illness bubble Craig? Sacré bleu! It’s a good thing everybody put 50% down.
‘spent on luxury purchases and trips that had no relation to the business. A company owned by the directors of the company was paid high fees to oversee the renovations and high dividends were paid despite the companies losing money. A recent report in the Sault said many of the properties in the city have been fined under the vacant property bylaw. And one of the companies owned a derelict property in Timmins known as a drug den that was demolished earlier this year’
This was that alleged ponzi scheme that blew up around a year ago.
‘Kirkland Lake, Capreol, Temiskaming Shores and Val Caron’
I’ve never heard of these igloo clusters before.
“This moderation is likely due to increased inventory and buyers becoming more price-conscious”
Realtors are liars.
“Condos older than 30 years have lost 21% of their value since last year, and 41% since 2020”
At least it was cheaper than renting.
“Anybody who’s been waiting patiently, hoping that they’re going to see those kinds of rates again, is probably going to be disappointed”
Debt Donkeys gonna donk.
To put it another way, all these rate daters are about to find out they’ve been dating a tranny.
And it’s illegal to break up with him.
Boy George – The Crying Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EPGhjxm0G0
“About 40% of office space in Boulder is vacant … Separately, in Denver, where nearly a third of downtown office buildings are also vacant”
Two weeks to flatten the curve, remember that one?
79% of Denver voters are vacant.
Like the lights are on, but nobody home?
t’s something that goes in cycles, she said. ‘I tell people ‘This is normal,’ but a lot of people look at me and think I’m crazy,’ she said.”
No, Sharon. They know you’re lying.
“September’s housing market data reveals an encouraging outlook toward a more balanced market.
The REIC shills in the garbage legacy media are trying to facilitate Always Be Closing by falsely implying the housing market is bottoming out and the mythical Spring Miracle Revival will soon start putting forth green shoots. We’ll see about that as each new month’s data paints a bleaker picture for FBs and speculator scum.
‘60% more properties are on the market right now than they were in March,’ Martinez said.
Is that a lot?
‘So, I’ve walked past this lot pretty much every day and seen the debris and have wondered every day what happened,’ he said.
First, Xzander, you should sue your parents for giving you that awful name. Then you should see if you can get independent study credit for six years of studying Progressive Malgovernance 101.
Of the homes that sold in Stonnington in the June quarter, 25.8 per cent traded at a loss, figures from CoreLogic show. Stonnington runs second to the Melbourne City Council area, where 39 per cent lost money.”
But…but…muh generational wealth!
The fraudulently installed Dementia patient is bitter about the palace coup that unseated him and contemptuous about his DEI hire usurper VP running in his place. This is glorious.
https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1850356595181367685
Poso has had a deep throat source in the WH for a while now. Based on the info, the source sounds like somebody close to Jill. A few weeks ago Jack reported that there had been negotiations for Joe to resign and give Kami the Pres bump, but looks like Joe/Jill backed out. He’s clearly not going to go quietly, and it’s too late to 25th him.
Pedo Joe might have the last laugh as no amount of electoral fraud can offset Kamala’s epic incompetence and unpopularity among the sane portion of the population.
https://x.com/ClownWorld_/status/1850427026395791554
Never forget. Never forgive. And remember who the dangerous rule-followers were.
https://x.com/liz_churchill10/status/1850523469902946565
100% safe and effective.
Justice is coming.
worlds thinnest apartment….
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1313053629987319
What is up with ads online and on Old People TeeVee that promote a gold buying “kit” ??
A “kit” for what?
You get some cash, go to a coin dealer (shop around), and you buy your gold and silver. It’s not that complicated.
These scammers convince old people to buy expensive numismatic coins, or weird sizes, like 1.25 ounces, — complete with fancy boxes — pitching that the collector value will skyrocket. These odd coins are wildly overprices, when in truth most of the value in gold/silver coins is in the metal itself. Much better to just buy the real thing.
I’ve also seen some magazine ads for gold coins that sell for $295 or some ridiculous amount. I guess those are just gold plate.
The product I really don’t like is precious metal IRAs. Basically it’s a 401K account where your money buys some physical gold in a vault who knows where. When you sell the IRA they send you your physical metal. It’s the only way to buy physical metal with funds from a tax-advantaged retirement account. Otherwise, you have to pay out cash money from your pocket. Even if the PM IRAs are sincere, I don’t trust the concept. How do I know that 5-10 years from now, they will honor the promise to send me my metal? There could be a world crisis. Remember the golden rule: thems who has the gold makes the rules. Not the people with a paper saying the gold is theirs. Or, as the saying goes “if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.”
A good percentage of Morgan silver dollars ,and silver rounds sold on Ebey are faked ,worth nothing ….always buy from a reputable source …
+1
I am reminded of all those ads offering to buy your gold jewelry. There were even shops in my little burg with signage proclaiming “We buy gold”.
Silver, Bitchez!!
https://x.com/hashtag/silver?src=hashtag_click
I have sporadically purchased some gold coins over the past 15 years as new grandchildren (and great grandchildren) have arrived. I have yet to find a coin dealer who is willing to sell gold coins; they only want to buy. All that I have purchased have been from online sources, Perhaps it may be because I am a casual collector but I am not willing to trek across wide areas in search of these mentioned waiting coin dealers.
they only want to buy
Meaning they expect prices to soar
Has gold been expected to always go up in price?
Why would anyone ever sell if that were the case?
I am just a novice trying to leave a small non-monetary legacy to a number of descendants. The gold coins are a way to leave a personalized bequest that will possibly remind them of old Papa Jim. I don’t think money does that trick and very likely gold coins won’t either but I am trying.
Has gold been expected to always go up in price?
If the number of fiats soars, then yes.
I started collecting coins about 65 years ago. I remember quite well when they took the silver out of our coinage. I sold that coin collection in the first year of my marriage when the realities of having a spouse steal from the family business caught me off guard. It was good for me that I had a store of wealth. Nobody would loan a scrawny college student money anyway.
My grandmother came to the US early in the 1900s. Before she left Scotland, her mother put a gold half sovereign in her hand and told her that as long as she had that she would never be poor. In her old age she gave it to me and I will eventually give it to one of my grandchildren.
I have bought and sold gold and silver many times over the decades as fortune and circumstances changed. the price has increased lately, but I can assure you that the price change over the long term has not matched the loss of value of the dollar. It also is not a productive asset, as the Bible teaches.
Your children may appreciate the gift of gold, but when they need money for food it will be a short term memory. Consider it a small portable guarantee of groceries in some future tight spot. Nothing wrong with that.
“…having a spouse steal from the family business…”
OMG, the deceit.
Some of the DNC’s unhinged Red Guards and globalist imports have slipped the leash and turned on their masters – it’s glorious to see Comrade Kamala getting heckled by these loons who were supposed to be weaponized against Trump supporters.
https://x.com/joma_gc/status/1850313706074431713
They’ll just have more Haitians vote for her.
They haven’t given up and are determined to drag her across the finish line.
The Election Is Looming — and These Washingtonians Are Running Scared (10/25/2024):
“As Washington reaches the end of a fraught election season — and prepares for a potentially even more fraught interregnum — people across the political spectrum are expressing worry about a violent display by the losing side. For liberals, fears of a Jan. 6 rerun are baked in, based on very real history. But conservatives also worry about antifa-style outrage.
“January 6th was a very scary time,” said Shreya Tulsiani, a public health researcher who has been in the capital since graduate school. “I used to live right off of North Capitol Street, so I could see the Capitol. There were Proud Boys petting my dog that day. I don’t want to be a part of it.”
Though the Capitol building’s role on Election Day is minimal, she sees Nov. 5 as dicey as well. “I feel like election week might be crazy too,” she said. “I don’t know what’s planned but I don’t want to be near it. … I know that the response here is, like, let’s bring out the tanks, let’s bring out the people with guns. That doesn’t make me feel safe either.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/people-washington-fleeing-town-election-090000609.html
They PET YOUR DOG? Oh, the horror!
Remember which party had to build a wall around the Capitol on January 20th? Democrat Party, that’s who.
There were Proud Boys petting my dog that day. I don’t want to be a part of it.”
Poor dear. I hope your PTSD from the dog-petting incident is responding well to treatment.
“My best friend in the world was on Capitol Hill on January 6. He’s in a wheelchair. I was very worried. You think about stuff like that. Do I think there’s going to be another January 6?”
There will be another January 6, the question is will there be another made for tv false flag storming of the Capitol starring paid crisis actors, produced by New World Order Productions and directed by the Feds?
Funny, on Jan 6 I don’t recall rioters smashing storefronts or starting fires.
If Harris loses I do expect Haitians, Venezuelans, Antifa, BLM, etc. to loot and burn from coast to coast, especially in blue states where the governor will tell the national guard to stay home.
It’s a good idea to head off to Costco and stock up before the election.
The BLM-Antifa rent-a-mobs stopped showing up when they stopped getting paid to show up. But their globalist moneybags will be in a vengeful mood if the electorate massively rejects their cardboard cutout Comrade Kamala, and will do everything possible to present Trump with one crisis after another.
Food banks in Canada are starting to ban international students due to abuse. Lil’ Fidel’s globalist imports have no qualms about defrauding their hosts.
https://x.com/Tablesalt13/status/1850349625594560589
Import the Third World, become the Third World.
And had all these imports never happened in the first place, there would be no need for food banks,
In Canada, as in the U.S., the .1% massively increased their wealth during the scamdemic and by importing 3rd World wage slaves to depress labor costs.
“The high trust society is broken.”
And that’s the truth. International students are supposed to arrive with ~$20K CAD to last them their first year. But evidnetly there are plenty of companies in India that will loan out $20K to the student just long enough to stamp the paperwork. The student repays the money (plus a fee), arrives in Canada broke, and helps himself to charity.
I haven’t seen specific examples, but I believe many people take the maximum allowed from the food bank and sell the extras for cash.
A reader sent these in:
Toyota tops the list of “most-loved” car brands:
Recently, iSeeCars analyzed 929,000 vehicles from 1981 to 2009, searching for the top cars kept on the road for over 15 years.
The result? Toyota takes the top five spots.
Not shocking — given their reputation for reliability and longevity.
Yet – there were some surprises in the truck segment like the Honda Ridgeline and Nissan Frontier.
Sure, most drivers don’t keep their cars around for 15+ years –
But with the avg. age of cars on the road at 12.6 years…
It’s clear cash-strapped car owners are trying to squeeze every bit of value out of their cars (and keep their costs lower).
Big picture: Now more than ever, makes and models with premium price tags must prove their worth if they want a shot at capturing these buyers.
https://x.com/GuyDealership/status/1849866451634749642
For some it isn’t a matter of being cash strapped.
I just flat out like my 15+ year old Toyotas.
Reliable, fairly easy to service and just the right mix of comfort, tech and features.
No plans on joining the rolling iPad world. Just gonna keep driving the ones I have.
Not having a car mortgage is just a bonus.
https://x.com/Atomic_Ferret/status/1849869146252771517
Washington Post presidential endorsements by year:
• 1992: Clinton🟦
• 1996: Clinton🟦
• 2000: Gore🟦
• 2004: Kerry🟦
• 2008: Obama🟦
• 2012: Obama🟦
• 2016: Clinton🟦
• 2020: Biden🟦
• 2024: NO ENDORSEMENT🚨
This is devastating news for Kamala Harris.
https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1849855476323975232
Very surprised WaPo is not endorsing the candidate running against Adolf Hitler… hmmmm…
https://x.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1850095859280527562
cNN now WaPo
https://x.com/simon_ree/status/1850111189285736958
Can’t we just drone Adolf?
https://x.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1850189059697545422
There’s a cost surge that’s quietly killing car deals:
Auto insurance. We all need it – but what used to be a manageable part of owning a car is now blowing up budgets.
For one thing – full coverage will jump 22% to $2,469 in 2024. And some cities are seeing policies over $6,000 — three times the national avg.
But how did auto insurance premiums get so high in the first place?
Surging repair costs, more tech-laden total vehicle losses, a spike in uninsured drivers, more accident attorneys, and extreme weather damage — to name a few reasons…
These factors crushed insurers with massive underwriting losses in 2022–2023.
So – when inflation started ratcheting up over the past three years, premiums were too low to cover rising costs – pressuring insurers to raise rates to keep things stable.
The catch is insurance companies must get state approval for rate changes —
Which can take months and months due to the sheer volume of requests.
And while insurers have raised rates to stay afloat, they’re still profiting — 9.5% margins in 2023 vs. 4.7% in 2022.
However, not everyone has fared well…
Rising premiums are keeping buyers on the sidelines and shrinking dealership sales.
With new car prices around $48,000 and (prime) loan rates between 7.5% and 10%, monthly payments hit $740.
With insurance factored in? Buyers often pay over $1,000 a month.
So, it’s no surprise that 52% of households have delayed purchasing a vehicle this year due to the rising cost of ownership.
And it’s even worse for the payment-constrained subprime market…
Joel Bassam, President at Easterns Automotive Group (mostly subprime sales), told me that 10-15% of deals die directly because of insurance premiums.
Now the question is — when can we expect auto insurance premiums to come down?
The brokers I talked to believe meaningful drops may not come until late 2025–2026, as the insurance market cycles back to a “soft market.”
But business never stops, and people will always need cars, so… here’s how some dealers are tackling rising insurance premiums:
Creative deal structures to lower monthly payments with tax credits and incentives.
Embedded insurance at the point of sale to secure competitive quotes.
In-house insurance arms to subsidize premiums and close more deals.
Bottom line: The worst may be behind us, but the pressure isn’t over yet. What’s your plan for dealing with rising premiums?
https://x.com/GuyDealership/status/1850171956370264070
She’s been saying this for two years
https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1850273697036440062
The FED Is Called Out for Understating the Trillion Dollar Commercial Real Estate Crisis
Rebel Cole, professor of finance in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University says
HUNDREDS OF BANKS COULD CLOSE OR BE FORCED TO MERGE OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
These numbers should be sounding alarm bells 👇👇👇👇
“…The problem puts hundreds of banks and billions of dollars in assets at near-term risk, he said.
Among the 4,594 banks of any size, including smaller banks,
1,849 had total commercial real estate exposures greater than 300% as of June 30;
1,096 had exposures greater than 400%;
536 had exposures greater than 500%; and 293 had exposures greater than 600%.
“My educated guess is that we will see about a quarter of the 156 banks with more than $10 billion in assets disappear within the coming 12 months, either forced to merge or closed” by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. because of excess commercial real estate mortgage exposures, Cole said.
“Among the 4,400 smaller banks, I expect to see between 500 and 1,000 disappear for the same reason.”…
“Origination data shows that the maturity wall will grow to nearly $1 trillion in 2025 and peak in 2027 at $1.26 trillion, S&P estimates.”…”
https://x.com/kshaughnessy2/status/1850152939060396385
“Boomers are leaving America to retire abroad in droves because the US is too expensive,” per FORTUNE.
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1812868977091059807
📢 Lorne Park Lunacy 🤯
📍Mississauga, ON 🇨🇦
Sold 1 day ago. 🏡💨
The rate cut 📉 didn’t help these Lorne Park homeowners as they had to take a $300K loss 💸 on the home they bought in 2022 for $3.1M.
What’s truly shocking 😱 is that they bought this home in August 2022, when the market was in an absolute freefall 📉 from the February 2022 highs, and they still took a $300K bath on this. 💦
https://x.com/ShaziGoalie/status/1850279164647182749
I think 99% of realtors don’t understand the fact that rates are going down isn’t a positive for the country overall.
https://x.com/StonkStreets/status/1850236367978242372
The rate cut 📉 didn’t help these Lorne Park homeowners as they had to take a $300K loss 💸 on the home they bought in 2022 for $3.1M.
It was only Yellen Bux.
“Not having a car mortgage”
Anybody who takes out a 84 month car loan is a looser.
Sure, most drivers don’t keep their cars around for 15+ years –
But with the avg. age of cars on the road at 12.6 years…
The second statement contradicts the first one.
Even in my UMC neighborhood, few are trading in every 4-5 years.
Here’s the link to the original study (below). They are referring to cars that are kept for 15+ years by their original owner.
Brand — % of cars kept by original owner for 15 years.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid — 7.0%
Toyota Camry Hybrid — 6.9%
Toyota Highlander — 6.6%
Toyota Tacoma — 6.4%
Toyota Prius — 6.3%
Honda CR-V — 6.3%
Ford Escape Hybrid — 6.3%
Overall Average — 3.7%
More here: https://www.iseecars.com/most-loved-cars-study#v=2024
I would be interested in where the data came from used by this “study”. Perhaps it was scientifically assessed but these days all studies and polls have the possibility of taint. The answered are dependent on who is responding and how the questions are asked and was there any selectivity (intended or not) in the assessed grouping.
But how long are they keeping them on average? 7 years? 10? 12?
A model I see a lot of in my neighborhood is the Nissan Xterra, which was discontinued in 2015. They all look very well kept, they aren’t beaters.
As for keeping a car 15 years, say you put 15K on it every year, that’s 225K miles. Even for a Toyota that’s pushing it and you are now entering the phase where a lot of repairs are needed.
That said, with the WFH trend, I’ll bet a lot of people are now only putting 3-4K miles per year on the odometer. Those cars will still be fine when they are 15 years old
“Boomers are leaving America to retire abroad in droves because the US is too expensive,” per FORTUNE.
They will find that those foreign locales have some serious caveats.
“She’s been saying this for two years”
Of course this is in reference to Barbara Cornhole. Look up what she was saying in ‘06, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09. In all those years ol’ Barbs was screaming that now was the best time to buy and that you’d be crazy not to.
Yeah and this is from one of the biggest puddle watching blow-hards. She’s been saying this since the mid-2000’s and I’ve blogged about it all along.
Recession-hit Argentina gripped by ‘Ponzidemia’
A quiet Argentine town best known for its oranges has become the symbol of a Ponzi scheme plague sweeping the crisis-hit nation that has cost thousands of people their savings.
Nearly 30 percent of the population of San Pedro, a town of 70,000 people situated about 170 kilometres (106 miles) north of Buenos Aires, fell for an investment app peddled by two actors posing as businessmen that promised up to 2 percent daily returns paid in cryptocurrency.
“I trusted it, as did some in my family,” Carlos Rodriguez, a 66-year-resident, told the Cadena 3 radio station, adding that the RainbowEx app showed him earning $80-100 a day, nearly doubling his income.
But the dream of easy money in a country battling a severe recession and three-digit inflation soon turned to dust.
Rodriguez lost nearly all his savings.
He is one of between 15,000 and 20,000 people in San Pedro who invested in the platform, the town’s mayor Cecilio Salazar told the Radio 10 station.
“We’re looking at a $49 million scam,” lawyer Adolfo Suarez Erdaire, who represents around a hundred alleged victims, told AFP, adding that he had “calls coming in from all over the country.”
Similar suspected scams were also reported recently in Chubut and San Juan provinces in the south, Santa Fe province in the center and Cordoba in the north, all involving another platform, Peak Capital, which closed on October 18.
There are thousands of victims,” the Chubut prosecutor’s office said, adding that the amounts swindled ran into the millions of dollars.
“There is an epidemic,” Maximiliano Firtman, an IT expert, who investigated RainbowEx, told AFP. The scams are “taking advantage of the crisis,” said Firtman.
He added that young people, who are disproportionately affected by poverty — 60,7 percent of Argentines aged 15-29 are officially considered poor — were driving what he called a “Ponzidemia.”
“There are 19-year-olds who are teaching 16-year-olds how to become a millionaire in three months” through investment platforms, he said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/recession-hit-argentina-gripped-by-ponzidemia/ar-AA1sZwIQ
“There are 19-year-olds who are teaching 16-year-olds how to become a millionaire in three months” through investment platforms, he said.
Heck with shining shoes!
2 percent daily returns paid in cryptocurrency.
Seriously?
When the sun sets over Las Vegas, Nicole Williams gets to work, serving drinks from behind the bar of an opulent hotel on the city’s infamous strip.
But life for Ms Williams, 45, and other service-industry workers who form the quiet backbone of Vegas’s booming economy, is far from luxurious. “When you’re shopping for a big family like mine, it’s rough out here,” she told the BBC while shopping for groceries and taking children to appointments across town.
The mother of seven children, aged 10 months to 16, said she often fears buckling under the weight of the economy.
She is not alone. In dozens of interviews with Las Vegans who work in vital local industries from construction and casinos to restaurants and bars, low-wage workers from across the political spectrum told the BBC that kitchen-table issues – especially unaffordable housing and costly childcare – are what will determine how they vote on 5 November.
“Nevada is not a blue state,” said Ted Pappageorge, the Secretary-Treasurer of Culinary Union Local 226, referring to the traditional colour of the Democratic Party (the Republicans are red).
The politically powerful group has endorsed Harris. “We’re barely purple. If the election happened right now, Trump wins, we think,” he added.
Despite booming business, Nevada’s unemployment rate was the highest in the nation at 5.6% in September. In Las Vegas, home to three quarters of the population, the figure stood even higher at 5.9%.
The state was also hit particularly hard by the pandemic, when unemployment rose to around 30% – which State Democratic Chair Danielle Monroe-Moreno described as a sign that “when the country gets a cold, Nevada gets the flu”.
“Five dollars isn’t $5 anymore, and $100 barely gets you any groceries,” said Fermin Gonzalez, an unemployed, Mexico-born former restaurant worker living in Las Vegas. At 60 he fears he will have difficulty finding work again. “We used to be able to make money here. People are dissatisfied.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/its-rough-out-here-why-trump-and-harris-should-listen-to-this-mum-of-seven/ar-AA1sXv4k
“she often fears buckling under the weight of the economy”
Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.
“Five dollars isn’t $5 anymore, and $100 barely gets you any groceries,” said Fermin Gonzalez, an unemployed, Mexico-born former restaurant worker living in Las Vegas.
Welcome to Yankee hell.
He’s 60. I’m gonna guess he’s been here for a while. Probably has no savings and if he’s still here illegally he also has no social security in his future.
I’m sure when he arrived everything was easy. Wages were decent, rent was low and groceries were cheap. But all that has changed. So yeah, welcome to Gringo Hell, which he helped create.
Back home nobody has any money while here your money isn’t worth anything.
The mother of seven children, aged 10 months to 16, said she often fears buckling under the weight of the economy.
Where are the dads? I assume there is more than one baby daddy. One would think that by age 45 she would have learned to snap her legs shut, but some people never learn.
Walmart is selling a tiny house for less than $16,000
moneywatch
By Megan Cerullo
October 18, 2024 / 1:27 PM EDT / CBS News
These days you can have almost anything shipped to your door from websites like Amazon and Walmart — including a house.
Walmart is now selling a tiny house online for $15,900. The 19-by-20 feet “expandable prefab house” is delivered by flatbed truck and requires a forklift for unloading, according to the online listing.
Made by Chery Industrial, a New York-based storage solutions company, the tiny home has space for a bedroom, living room, bathroom, dining room and kitchen. It comes unfurnished and without appliances.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/walmart-tiny-house-chery-industrial-16000/
“Walmart is selling a tiny house for less than $16,000”
\\
– I’ve already got mine! A man’s home is his
castlebounce house! 😂– You will own (tiny)…
http://nolimiteventrentals.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/20943/files/2017/11/IMG_2845-2b3.jpg
“I’ve already got mine!”
Nice curb appeal. How many baths? 🙂
The NYPD is investigating if the deadly Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is pimping women in Queens’ “Market of Sweethearts” — where dozens of prostitutes boldly plied their trade this week in defiance of a law-enforcement crackdown.
It was business as usual on the notorious sex corridor along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights when The Post visited Tuesday night, less than a week after the NYPD and State Police kicked off their operation to fight the scourge of sex trafficking that has soared with the migrant influx to the city.
Asked whether she or a trio of other skimpily-dressed girls on the block knew about Tren de Aragua, she replied, “What? No,” and shook her head.
Yet across the street, a pair of men wearing head-to-toe black, red and white Chicago Bulls shirts and shorts — the trademark colors of the migrant gang that has made its way to the Big Apple — appeared to be keeping tabs on the women.
Later, another man wearing a white Michael Jordan jersey — bearing the number 23, another gang sign — was seen near 75th Street. The gang frequently wears Chicago Bulls clothing because of the team’s colors, police said.
Investigators have identified Tren de Aragua members with suspected hookers on Roosevelt Avenue in videos gang members have posted on social media, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said this week.
“How’d we identify them?” he asked. “They had the hat on – the 23 Bulls hat. They had the 23 tattoo. They had the red and white clothing that they were wearing. So our gang experts are saying that . . . either they’re part of the TDA group or they’re working with TDA.”
https://www.aol.com/bloodthirsty-venezuelan-gangsters-might-pimping-113630775.html
The Chicago Democrat Party machine is the most corrupt in country – which by Democrat-Bolshevik standards of sleaze is saying something. Rest assured local apparatchiks and DEI police and judicial officials are getting their cut for allowing TdA to carry out its criminal rackets with impunity.
“They’re not sending their best”
“The NYPD is investigating if the deadly Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is pimping women in Queens’
Just ask Martha Raddatz, she will tell you the deadly Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is only pimping a few women in Queens.
In the past six years, the federal government alone has spent or committed to spend over $50 billion on electric vehicle (EV) production and sales. Provincial governments (mostly Ontario and Quebec) have committed another $20 billion-plus.
That’s not just for ultra-expensive EV battery plants, but also subsidies to EV buyers, plus money for EV infrastructure, such as charging stations and home chargers.
The feds give everyone buying an EV $5,000, even for high-priced, exotic models. British Columbia tops that up with $4,000 more. Quebec adds $8,000.
Canadians spend just over $80 billion a year to buy just under two million cars and trucks. With all those billions of taxpayers’ dollars sloshing around the EV market, you might guess that 10% or 20% of vehicles on our country’s roads are EVs.
Wrong.
Of the 25.7 million vehicles currently registered in Canada, just under 330,000 are fully electric. That’s about 1.3%.
Nearly 6% of new cars being sold are currently EVs (although that market has stagnated). However, of the entire Canadian fleet – new and used – just over 1% are battery-electric. There just aren’t that many EVs in Canada, certainly not enough to justify the waste of all those taxpayers’ billions being lavished on the industry by “green” politicians such as Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier Francois Legault.
The Liberal government’s forced transition to EVs just isn’t working. Sales of EVs would have to nearly triple next year to meet the Trudeau government’s regulation dictating that 20% of vehicle sales must – must – be EVs by 2026. They would have to increase 10-fold to hit the mandate of 60% by 2030 and rise 15-fold to hit 2035’s 100% mandate.
Over the next decade, EV technology will improve. Batteries will propel vehicles farther on a charge. Charging times will be reduced and maybe even costs will come down. But not by enough or fast enough to meet the environmental fantasizing of Trudeau and his hardline Environmental Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Even the Liberal government isn’t entirely convinced of the wisdom of its own EV mandate. There is a carve-out in the regulations that allow police cruisers, ambulances, rescue vehicles and fire trucks to retain ICEs (internal combustion engines). If EV technology is not reliable enough for first responders, why should the rest of us be forced to adopt it?
Still, the Trudeau Liberals remain eco-fanatics.
At a House of Commons Trade committee hearing this week, federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne reaffirmed the Liberals’ commitment to 100% EV sales within 11 years.
“When you’ve been doing the same thing for a hundred years,” Champagne said, “and you change the technology in the way that we’re doing, you have short-term adjustment.”
Or, just maybe, you have utter chaos and market destruction.
Most major manufacturers have pulled back sharply on EV production since the beginning of the year because the market for electrics just isn’t there. Last week, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, said that if the EU maintains its EV mandate (which matches Canada’s), it will lead to “massive shrinkage of the (automobile) market.”
But maybe that is just what the Liberals want – far fewer people owning far fewer cars.
The Trudeau government’s own internal research shows their EV mandate will likely price a quarter or more of Canadians out of the car and truck market entirely.
There are two ways to get to 100%. Either you continue to sell current levels of new vehicles and subsidize EVs like hell. Or you sell far fewer cars, but they’re all electric.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/gunter-billions-spent-on-evs-with-little-to-show-for-it/ar-AA1sZ6t8
Over the next decade, EV technology will improve. Batteries will propel vehicles farther on a charge. Charging times will be reduced and maybe even costs will come down.
Pure fantasy. Right up there with fusion rectors, which are always 10 years away.
“Or you sell far fewer cars, but they’re all electric.”
Only the rich will have cars. The rest will live in the pod in the 15 minute city and take the bus.
On a side note, has anyone figured where they’re going to get all the copper and silver for all these EVs? We’re running a silver deficit and most copper mines are older than Special K.
‘We don’t support neo-Nazis, Indians are welcome in Germany’
Germany’s most controversial rightwing party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) was invited to accompany Chancellor Scholz’s ongoing visit to India. But Leif-Erik Holm, Opposition Member of the Bundestag and AfD’s economic advisor, had to pull out due to illness. In an exclusive interview to Padma Rao Sundarji from Germany for Times of India Online, Holm talked about why AfD’s popularity is growing so rapidly, Germany’s problem with illegal immigration, its good experience with migrants from India and why his country needs Indians so urgently.
Leif-Erik Holm, your party is described as a “far-right”, “right-wing” and “populist” in the mainstream media around the world, including in India. They say your party opposes the migration of foreigners to Germany, especially of Muslims. Is that a fair description of AfD, or do you want to offer a better one?
Holm: The labels that are attached to my party are just as inaccurate as the claim that the AfD generally rejects the immigration of foreigners. We are a conservative party with a strong liberal orientation. What we reject is unrestricted illegal immigration, which completely overburdens our country, our society and our social systems. On the other hand, anyone who comes to us legally, integrates, provides for themselves and contributes to Germany’s prosperity, is welcome.
Your party was democratically elected to three crucial Länder (state) parliaments in eastern Germany earlier this year. We assume there was no rigging of the vote. Yet, other parties refuse to form coalitions with AfD. In fact, they want the AfD banned. Interestingly, even Germany’s Central Council of Jews spoke against any such ban. Why are you hated so much, both by the German media as well as all mainstream political parties?
Holm: The AfD is a thorn in the side of established parties and the mainstream media, because they fear for their positions and their money pots. They are afraid of losing the power they believed to be secure. And rightly so. Because the citizens are voting for us out of conviction, because they want a different policy that finally puts their concerns at the centre of action. A policy that takes care of the interests of its own citizens first. The AfD does that, and that is precisely why more and more people are voting for us.
Set aside the liberal media. There are dozens of personal accounts on Youtube by young Indians in Germany. They say they don’t feel culturally accepted, that they often get racial slurs hurled at them, that people -especially in eastern Germany -expect them to speak perfect German -which takes at least a decade to learn, that they get sidelined in favour of white English job-seekers, even for jobs that require English. What do you say to them?
Holm: That the reticence with which some citizens in Germany react to immigrants from other cultures is not automatically meant in a derogatory way. Germany isn’t a classic immigration country like the USA, for example, and so it sometimes takes a little longer for people to warm up to each other. The main problem, however, is that Germans have had bad experiences with uncontrolled mass migration. There are too many illegal immigrants who become criminals and commit the most serious crimes. There are gang rapes, gang crime, drug crime, and the perpetrators are mostly foreigners. This naturally gives rise to prejudices, from which even the righteous immigrants suffer. It was and is a serious mistake on the part of former Chancellor Angela Merkel and now Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to allow this to go on for years. We need to control and regulate immigration. This will also facilitate the integration of those immigrants who abide by the law, who are hard-working and who contribute to society.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/we-don-t-support-neo-nazis-indians-goo-welcome-in-germany/ar-AA1sX9gX
We are a conservative party with a strong liberal orientation.
They’re socialists who want to stop unlimited immigration into Germany, as they know it threatens their welfare state. Far right, my caboose.
Elements of the Heritage UK population are starting to push back against their globalist Quisling government and its Great Replacement agenda.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14005545/Tommy-Robinson-supporters-figurehead-held-police-clash-protesters.html
Canadian cities struggling to get past ‘Whac-A-Mole’ solution to homeless encampments
On a strip of grass dividing a busy east-end Montreal thoroughfare from a block of residences in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district stand about two dozen tents, a reflection of a housing market that can’t provide enough affordable homes.
Tents along that strip of land adjacent to Notre-Dame Street have come and gone since 2020, when the number of homeless people rose rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Homeless people build shelters there and in other empty spaces across the city, and social workers — under police supervision — dismantle them, forcing campers to pitch their tents somewhere else, only to evict them once again.
Part of the problem is that coexistence is uneasy for people in encampments and residents of nearby homes.
“No neighbourhood in the city wants the new homeless resource, or wants the subsidized housing in their area, or wants the tiny homes in their area, whatever the solution you’re looking at people object,” said David Chapman, executive director of community group Resilience Montreal.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canadian-cities-struggling-to-get-past-whac-a-mole-solution-to-homeless-encampments/ar-AA1t0dHA
Blinken’s Blinkers—Four Years of Biden Foreign Policy Failure
In around three months’ time, the Biden administration will be out of office. Exits typically prompt reflection. For an outgoing administration, the chief task is to shape the narrative. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent legacy-molding foray grounds the Biden administration’s legacy in the “fierce competition” with the “revisionist powers”—Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China—who want to bring down America and dominate the international order at the US government’s expense. On Blinken’s telling, the Biden administration’s strategy of domestic industrial spending and improved international partnerships were the one-two punch that “has put the United States in a much stronger geopolitical position today than it was four years ago.” Unfortunately for Blinken, nothing can sugarcoat the bitter pill of four years of Biden administration failures.
Start with the Biden administration’s “historic investments in competitiveness at home.” Blinken touts the Inflation Reduction Act, which has been appropriately mocked and pilloried. A colossal spending bill purporting to reduce inflation? Really? Are we to be spared nothing? Most charitably understood, the Inflation Reduction Act is, among other things, supposed to incentivize domestic manufacturing of things like electric vehicle batteries, components, and minerals through features like tariffs and tax credits. For EV batteries and minerals, we overwhelmingly depend on China, despite China being foreign policy hawks’ chief rival. This was awkward indeed.
But this “problem” is the Biden and Obama administrations’ own creation. Under their dictates, the EPA and other federal agencies have relentlessly forced a transition to electric vehicles. They accomplished this through EPA’s approval of California’s “Advanced Clean Cars” programs—a unique federal program under which California alone, with EPA’s approval, can set vehicle emission standards—and setting stringent light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards that only “zero emission” EVs can meet.
It is the ultimate Washington con game: obscure that the government caused the problem, while taking credit for the “solution.” The Biden administration claims to be acting from concern about dependence on China and offshoring domestic manufacturing, while at one and the same time continuing to ratchet up EV mandates to alarming levels. All the while, presidential candidate Kamala Harris claims, “I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.” Sure, the Biden-Harris EPA may not tell you, “Thou shalt drive an electric vehicle,” but rest assured these regulations will price most Americans out of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, while EVs are artificially underpriced due to government fiat.
If the Biden administration’s domestic industrial policy is seriously flawed, the foreign policy picture is in shambles. Secretary Blinken touts the Biden administration’s “intensive diplomatic campaign to revitalize partnerships abroad.” The problem is US leaders conceive of international relations as parenting, with the US as the perpetual parent of its “partner” nation-state children. And the Biden administration acts as a parent of the worst sort. They spoil nations around the globe with foreign aid like it is a trust fund, while refusing to impose conditions so other nations will like them. The result, unsurprisingly, is that those nations act like entitled brats, never satisfied with what they have. Worse still, because “Power tends to corrupt,” our foreign aid recipients are far worse than mere children. The US government’s model is more akin to giving your heroin-addicted son an irrevocable, unconditional trust fund, while imploring them not to spend it on drugs. What did they expect would happen?
https://mises.org/mises-wire/blinkens-blinkers-four-years-biden-foreign-policy-failure
The problem is US leaders conceive of international relations as parenting, with the US as the perpetual parent of its “partner” nation-state children.
As many third worlders say “All the Americans do is lecture us (to be more lgbt)”
Why hasn’t St. Greta called out Blinken for his pointless 11 transatlantic trips to Israel to “negotiate” an end to the Gaza crisis? AIPAC answers to Israel’s Likud Party, and the uniparty answers to AIPAC. So the idea of Blinken being an envoy to Netanyahu is ludicrous – anyone confused about the nature of the relationship between Netanyahu and Biden needs to watch the “Bring out the Gimp” scene in PULP FICTION.
Why hasn’t St. Greta called out Blinken for his pointless 11 transatlantic trips to Israel to “negotiate” an end to the Gaza crisis?
I suppose it’s because she wants to continue getting paid.
Blue States Gave Trump and Vance an Opening
Donald Trump and J. D. Vance have a story to sell you: Amid a scramble for housing in the United States, the real problem is the presence of immigrants.
Americans “cannot ignore the impact that the flood of 21 million illegal aliens has had on driving up housing costs,” Trump argued at the Economic Club of New York’s luncheon in September. Vance has made this argument even more fervently—on X, in recent interviews, and in other venues. During the vice-presidential debate, Vance declared that “25 million illegal aliens competing with Americans for scarce homes is one of the most significant drivers of home prices in the country,” adding, “It’s why we have massive increases in home prices that have happened right alongside massive increases in illegal-alien populations under Kamala Harris’s leadership.”
Key elements of this story are false. For one thing, the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States is likely about 11 million, less than half of Vance’s estimate. Furthermore, when the economist Ernie Tedeschi compared places that experienced a surge in foreign-born populations with places that saw large increases in housing prices for native-born Americans, he couldn’t even find a simple correlation. But Trump and Vance correctly understand one thing: Making the American public believe that immigrants are drawing down limited resources is an effective way of bringing out illiberal sentiments that could fuel the GOP ticket’s victory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-illiberal-right-s-malthusian-bid-for-the-presidency/ar-AA1sYfaO
Why Latino Men in Arizona Are Holding Out on Harris
Before the fight began, Rep. Ruben Gallego was testing his form against a boxing dummy for an audience on TikTok. Nearby, aspects of his biography (“El Marine”) and attacks on Kari Lake, his opponent in Arizona’s Senate race (“La Mentirosa” — the liar) were rendered in the form of colorful loteria cards — a Mexican answer to Bingo — scattered on folding tables in the corner of a massive strip mall parking lot.
It was a Saturday night in the heavily Hispanic Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. A mostly male crowd sat on plastic chairs and coolers facing two large screens, eating tacos and and listening to a mariachi band as they awaited the start of a prize fight featuring the Mexican middleweight boxer Canelo Álvarez. Gallego’s “Fighting for Arizona” signs covered the windows of the boxing academy hosting the event, but there was not much else to signal this was a campaign event.
Gallego, who’s represented this area in Congress for a decade, argued to me that many of the men who showed up at an event like this are unlikely to absorb political information through traditional channels. Instead, they get much of their news filtered through messengers hostile to the Democratic Party: their co-workers, and often, their bosses. “Who do you think working-class Latino men work for?” he asked. “Working-class white men are Republican, and they’re hyper-political.” Gallego is trying to counter this lunchbox politicking from the other side — putting on a non-political event where his brand of Democratic politics can seep through. His campaign picked up the tab for the tacos. But he did not make a speech. “It’s a very soft sell,” he told me. “If you speak, they’re going to get turned off. They’re not going to listen.”
And with 10 days to go before the election, it is becoming clear Latino men are also a particular vulnerability for Vice President Kamala Harris. Though Harris led former President Donald Trump by nearly 20 percentage points in a recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll of Latino likely voters in Arizona, Latino men under 50 leaned heavily in the other direction, supporting Trump by 51 percent to Harris’ 39 percent among 18- to 34-year-olds, and by 57 percent to 37 percent among 35- to 49-year-olds. “Looking at the data, it was all about inflation/economy and immigration,” said David Paleologos, who led the survey. Paleologos sees that frustration with the Biden-era economy creating a vulnerability for Harris that is especially pronounced with Latinos in the state. “She’s 7 percent shy of where she needs to be,” he said.
More than one Democratic pundit I spoke to cited “machismo” in answer to questions about Trump’s appeal among Latino men. It’s a retreat to fuzzy cultural explanations that Geraldo Cadava, a historian at Northwestern University whose books include The Hispanic Republican, called lazy. “I think the bottom line is, Democratic consultants, Democratic politicians, they just have such a hard time accepting that Latinos can just be conservative,” said Cadava — favoring charter schools or lower taxes or Republican leadership on the economy for the same reasons as many white voters. Likewise, he sees the most compelling explanations for the Latino gender gap in basic structures of American society, like educational attainment (more Latina women attending college), or in the fact that Latino men, especially in a state like Arizona, are over-represented in professions that are especially friendly to Trump — military, police, border patrol and construction.
“Hispanic men,” Jesse Romero, who runs the group Catholics for Trump, told me, “want to be able to work. They don’t want government overreach. They want to be left alone.”
When I asked Florez how communities with often intimate, and recent, experiences of immigration would respond to similar rhetoric, he dismissed concerns about the impacts of Trump’s promised “whole of government” deportation force. “The first group that is going to be benefited by a mass deportation resolution to the immigration problem are the Hispanics that have been in this country legally for the last 40, 50 years,” he said, in fluid English that still bore the traces of his native Colombia, echoing Trump’s Tucson speech. “We all know that I’m an immigrant, right? I understand when the president [Trump] is talking about immigrants, he’s not talking about me.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/10/26/arizona-latino-voters-harris-trump-00184233
I’m sure they’re sick of inflation, unemployment and the nonsense their kids bring home from school. DJT didn’t deport them last time, so that threat is hollow.
machismo
Biden’s military dropped a “recruitment” ad featuring Emma And Her Two Moms.
Trump dropped a Fight Fight Fight image.
Men are re-discovering their T.
“Men are re-discovering their T.”
\\
– Viva la différence!
https://barsoom.substack.com/p/academia-is-womens-work
Academia is Women’s Work
Why male flight from the DIEvory tower is sending it into a death spiral
John Carter
Oct 16, 2024
‘This moderation is likely due to increased inventory and buyers becoming more price-conscious.’
What about the collision between Pandemic-era price expectations with higher-for-longer mortgage rates, which recently began increasing further after the Fed’s supersized rate cut on renewed inflation expectations?
Do you keep buying stocks, even though you know they are historically overvalued?
Markets
A notorious market bear who called the 2000 and 2008 crashes shares 3 signs it’s a terrible time to invest in the S&P 500 — and warns stocks are due to underperform Treasurys by 10% over the next 12 years
William Edwards Oct 26, 2024, 2:00 AM PDT
stock trader panics
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
– John Hussman warns of poor S&P 500 returns over the next 12 years.
– High valuations suggest potential underperformance against Treasurys.
– Hussman’s past predictions include accurate forecasts of the 2000 and 2008 crashes.
Before investing in the stock market, John Hussman urges investors to keep in mind that return outcomes ultimately have different probabilities based on when you buy in.
While the S&P 500 has averaged 10.5% annual returns since 1957, that doesn’t mean those are the average returns you’ll get no matter when you enter the market.
“This is like stepping into a house with two rooms, one with the temperature at 0 degrees and one at 140 degrees, and expecting a temperature of 70 either way,” said Hussman, the president of the Hussman Investment Trust who called the 2000 and 2008 crashes, in an October 17 note.
Case in point, if you bought in on February 14, 2020, you’d be up 71%. But if you bought in just over a month later, at the bottom of the pandemic-driven crash on March 20, you’d be up 152% right now. They’re both great outcomes, no doubt. But they’re very different. And in business cycles where monetary and fiscal stimulus aren’t as robust, the market can take a much longer time to recover.
Right now, a few different variables show that investors should expect poor outcomes over the next 12 years if they were to invest in the S&P 500 today, Hussman said.
First, there are valuation levels. Hussman’s go-to measure is the market cap of non-financial stocks divided by those stocks’ total gross value added. The metric is at all-time highs, surpassing the largest bubble peaks in history.
Hussman likes it so much because it’s been a fairly good predictor of 12-year market returns relative to 10-year Treasury returns. Here’s the relationship between expectations and actual market returns. Current expectations have the S&P 500 underperforming Treasurys by 9.9% annually over the next 12 years.
Then there’s investor sentiment, which Hussman measures through the uniformity of movement in thousands of securities. In the chart below, when the measure goes flat like in 2000 and 2008, it’s historically been bad for stocks.
Finally, there’s the accumulation of warning signs of market over-extension that rivals prior major downturn periods. The individual warning signs that Hussman monitors are various technical indicators, like the S&P 500 being within 2% of its 5-year high while less than 72% of stocks are below their 200-day moving averages and 2.5% of stocks hit new both 52-week highs and lows at the same time, among other conflicting signals.
Hussman’s track record — and his views in context Hussman’s outlook is often seen as extreme, and perhaps fairly so. But valuations are causing skepticism about future market returns among others on Wall Street, even if not to the same degree.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs forecast that the S&P 500 would average 3% annual returns over the next decade. That’s less than the 4.2% annual yield that risk-free 10-year Treasurys offer.
…
https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-terrible-time-to-invest-sp500-bubble-hussman-2024-10
“Current expectations have the S&P 500 underperforming Treasurys by 9.9% annually over the next 12 years.”
Is that alot?
The S&P YTD is 22%. A good crash could wipe that gain out. I just wish I could get more than a paltry 4% from Treasuries, considering that real inflation is still running high, contrary to the government’s gaslighting.
You can if you go with shorter duration (13-week, for example)
San Diego Union-Tribune
News
56% of California renters slammed by housing costs vs. 35% of homeowners
Nationally, 52% of renters are burdened vs. 25% of owners.
Author
By Jon Lansner
Orange County Register
UPDATED: October 10, 2024 at 4:13 p.m.
“How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market.
The pain: Slightly more than half of California tenants pay 30% or more of their income for housing costs, compared with roughly one-third of homeowners.
The source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at the latest Census Bureau stats tracking household housing expenses in 2023. Anyone paying 30% or more of their income for a roof over one’s head can be seen as having a housing-cost burden. We noted a large gap in this yardstick of financial pain between renters and those who own – combining owners with a mortgage and those with no home loans.
The pinch
Last year, 56% of California renters spent 30% or more of income on housing costs, the fifth-highest share among the states.
Meanwhile, 35% of California homeowners were similarly burdened – No. 2 nationwide.
This is not just California: Nationally, 52% of renters faced such budget stresses vs. 25% of owners.
Pressure points
The No. 1 state for burdened renters was Florida at 62%. Then came Nevada at 57%, Hawaii at 57% and Louisiana at 56%. Texas was No. 12 at 53%.
Where do renters fare the best? North Dakota has just 37% in the 30% club, then South Dakota and Wyoming at 41%, and Kansas and Nebraska at 44%.
As for homeownership, only Hawaii’s 36% share of stressed owners topped California. No. 3 was Florida at 31%, followed by New York at 30%, and New Jersey at 29%. Texas was No. 14 at 26%.
And where do the fewest owners face large pressures? West Virginia at 16%, North Dakota at 17%, then Indiana, Ohio and Iowa at 19%.
The actual number of housing-overwhelmed Californians seems even uglier.
California ranked No. 1 with 3.2 million renters in this 30% club – 15% of the nation’s 22 million. Then came Texas at 2.1 million, New York at 1.74 million, Florida at 1.66 million and Pennsylvania at 740,400.
As for burdened homeowners, California was also highest at 2.4 million, 12% of the nation’s US at 19.8 million. Next was Florida at 1.7 million, Texas at 1.66 million, New York at 1.2 million and Illinois at 768,300.
Bottom line
The economic whipsaw that was the pandemic era meant many households – both across the state and nationwide – found housing costs were outpacing rising incomes.
Tenants faced surging rents and had few vacancies to choose from. Owners briefly enjoyed historically cheap mortgages, but certain home expenses — from energy to taxes to insurance — skyrocketed.
But for Californians, let me reveal a whiff of optimism, which is kind of difficult to do: The rest of the nation is catching up to the Golden State’s housing-cost challenges.
…
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/10/10/56-of-california-renters-slammed-by-housing-costs-vs-35-of-homeowners/
This is not just California: Nationally, 52% of renters faced such budget stresses vs. 25% of owners.
\\
– Arab Spring, 2010-2011
– American / Western Spring 2025+?
– Continued high inflation from our Socialist Stooges via the Fed’s $ printing and they’ll soon get a life lesson in some serious social unrest.
– This happens when the masses can’t afford food or shelter. We’re well on our way.
– There are serious consequences to this policy.
– Next stop on the economic trajectory is Venezuela.
– Too bad Javier Milei isn’t available right now. Maybe there’s a Milei AI app.? Just replace .gov with that. Problem solved.
Most renters have no inkling of the role of the Fed and its private equity accomplices in making housing so unaffordable. Not a single uniparty candidate has make ending the Fed and its debasement of the currency the centerpiece of their campaign.
Not a single uniparty candidate has make ending the Fed
That’s a good way to get Arkancided.
Ok, so that dude Michelle Obama has come out to say your racist and sexist if you don’t vote for Harris.
So, what a persons policies are doesn’t matter, or what their policies have been for 4 years. Its all about attacking the voters for being racist/sexist.
Your a bad person if you don’t vote for Harris, never mind the fact that Harris/Walz are Commie shill puppets of the One World Order dictorship.
Trump is Hitler, bad man wanting to destroy democracy.
So, does this mean that Harris will represent women and blacks if she is elected. Aren’t you suppose to represent all races and genders as President of US.
Racist, Racist, sexist, sexist name calling was a false construct created by a Cult of psychopaths and
Fraudsters, along with Climate Change Doomsday and global Panademics.
You can’t vote your self interest as a individual because that goes against the bogus narratives of the One World Order power grab.
So, you have Michael Obama name calling voters, sexist and racist if you don’t vote for this puppet Harris.
Aren’t we all getting sick of being called racist, sexist, Hitler, Climate change and vaccine deniers and a threat to democracy?
Disgusting display of racism and sexism being voiced by that demon fake Michael Obama and her fake treasonous ex President spouse Barry Obama.
Ok, so that dude Michelle Obama has come out to say your racist and sexist if you don’t vote for Harris.
I don’t give a flying fig what Big Mike has to say.
Did Big Mike just acknowledge that there are two genders?
https://x.com/brianstelter/status/1850324197093912906
Big Mike juxtaposed with Harris reminded me of Brittney Griner.
OBAMA when President said they were going to fundamentally transform America, and “Yes we can”.
Well now that you have a little taste of the blantant treasonous transformation of the USA, how do you like it now?
The true faithful still believe that it will work and transform the USSA into a utopia, and that it simply needs a little more time to do its magic. Plus as long as they have their six figure jobs in .gov or corporate America they aren’t as affected by its failings as others are.
I watched a few minutes of an NFL game earlier (something I have tried to avoid for the last few years) and saw some dude wearing some kind of a padded bag on his helmet. What’s next diapers?
Here is a video of a man we watched growing up and tried to emulate when we played, well with what we could get away with anyway. It only takes 0:52 of this video to see how he played although 4:27 is worth a laugh.
Mike Curtis
https://youtu.be/ip5rj0XoQcM?si=kjq_BG4jGlbQqzHB
Globalist pulpit prostitutes & their aptly named “flocks” are an abomination.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/christians-preaching-case-kamala-trump-144024696.html
Get to sawin’ and slashin’ like you mean it, greedhead sellers.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-time-homebuyers-hold-off-on-purchases-amid-slim-pickings-high-mortgage-rates-120053583.html
Maybe this should stay on Mexico’s side of the border.
https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/a-mayors-beheading-shows-who-runs-this-mexican-city-the-gangs-d6c1b717
Of all the fake, oligarch-funded astroturf organizations supposedly lining up behind gun-grabber Comrade Harris, “Hunters and Anglers for Harris” is the least credible.
https://www.ammoland.com/2024/10/harris-walz-hunters-anglers-push-flops-with-gun-owners-nice-try-but-no-thanks/?
‘Callahan, president of Carroll County Realtors, who is celebrating 40 years as a Realtor, said she’s seen the housing market go up and down over the last four decades. It’s something that goes in cycles, she said. ‘I tell people ‘This is normal,’ but a lot of people look at me and think I’m crazy’
Jerry really screwed up this time Sharon.
‘offers are increasingly coming in at or below asking price, a stark contrast to the aggressive overbidding of the past year…‘This moderation is likely due to increased inventory and buyers becoming more price-conscious’
Gosh Mike, I hope no one overpaid during the aggressive overbidding!
‘a slight drop of 3.8%, but the median home likely remains out of reach for most residents at $437,925. Local listings are up 15%. Austin-area apartment units have also increased since 2023, which may be the cause of a 7% drop in Austin rent prices. Days on market only increased by a day, hitting an average of 100 days until closing — 10 days longer than the state average’
It wasn’t that long ago that Austin shacks got snapped up in a few days. Same with Florida.
‘60% more properties are on the market right now than they were in March…nearly 30% of home prices in Las Vegas saw price drops in September…‘In times of uncertainty. A lot of sellers, since they also don’t know when the shoe is going to drop on any of those, if they have a need for it, they are going to put the house out on the market, and that’s where some really good deals are’
So they need to GTFO Mike.
‘Batdorf said the flooding affected over 80% of homes this time around, leaving residents questioning whether they can stay. Which is also why he said the home that sits on Indianapolis St. is for sale, as is. ‘He has life ending disease. He’s going to stay in Portugal,’ Batdorf said. ‘He doesn’t have much time left, and he called and asked if I could sell his property.’ For the homeowner, whose property flooded out, he is selling for lot value, a term for when the house isn’t worth restoring, but the land still holds its value. ‘If you calculate the amount they’re selling your property for, plus the insurance amount, it may not make them whole, but it’s not strictly lot value that they’re selling for’
It doesn’t matter to the loanowner Kevin. He’s a dead man walking and just wants to GTFO and wrap up his affairs. Fook the comps. You’ll get yer money.
‘Richard Swanson faced a tough choice: sell the South Yarra investment property he had owned for six years for a loss, or hold on and hope it recovered in value. He chose to hold’
It was the right move Dick, hold the line!
‘That was five years ago and since then prices have only fallen further. After about 11 years, he has just sold the apartment for $156,000 less than he paid…he estimates conservatively they have lost $200,000. ‘It’s a lovely apartment in a lovely complex where we are in South Yarra but what we weren’t aware of is at the same time there was a lot of other developers who were also building lots of apartments,’ he said. ‘I think the apartment market is overcrowded’
It’s hard to know what’s true when the media tells you every day there’s a shortage and everybody is getting rich for doing nothing Dick
‘As for investor Richard Swanson, he also owns a Queensland apartment, but asked if he would invest in a Melbourne apartment again, he is blunt. ‘No, never,’ he said. ‘There is no incentive to own more than one property in Victoria.’ The apartment was supposed to be part of their retirement plans. Instead it cost $200,000. ‘It has just been a nightmare. I just want to put it behind me’
Another FB Dick from Australia, two in one article!
My Speech at Donald Trump’s MSG Rally
Tulsi Gabbard
29 minutes ago
Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr’s full speeches from Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Chapters:
0:00 Tulsi’s Speech
5:53 RFK Jr’s Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hb2xOlioog
13:30.
Song played to introduce Melania Trump.
Paradise City · Guns N’ Roses
https://youtu.be/T0ZmErXkbxE?si=XItPaM0Cd6oHIsQv
Watching the rally right now. My Twitter/X feed totally BLEW UP with liberal accounts screeching about “What a yazi rally this is, it’s pure hatred, it’s so insane, I never want to see this again, we are so broken, but we are so fired up to resist, we aren’t going back.”
I dunno, it looks like a regular rally to me.. and they have the entire crew there. The only sore point is a comedian who evidently made a lot of bad jokes, which gave the libs a lot of fodder. Oh well.
By the way, my X feed is also blowing up with “rumors” that the DJT campaign-ending video isn’t the gropey one, nope, it’s a video proving that J13 was staged with a packet of ketchup. Once they get the video, they’ll post it, any minute now…
Far-Left Media Launches All-Out ‘Trump Hitler’ Blitzkrieg With 5,500 Stories In One Week
Sunday, Oct 27, 2024 – 11:05 AM
This week, the far-left corporate media hate machine unleashed a ‘blitzkrieg’ of propaganda against the American people, a clear sign of desperation as polls increasingly point toward a favorable outcome for former President Trump this November.
New data from Bloomberg shows the story count for “Trump Hitler” in MSM jumped to a mindboggling 5,500 this week – the most massive total count in the ten years Deep State muppets in MSM have called Trump a Hitler/Nazi. This is a clear indication that Biden-Obama-Harris radicals and their billionaire funders are getting increasingly desperate.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/far-left-media-launches-all-out-trump-hitler-blitzkrieg-5500-stories-one-week