If You Lower The Price Enough, There Will Be Buyers

A report from CNN. “President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House already carried the potential for sweeping changes to the Federal Reserve. But now a growing question is not how the central bank will operate under Trump but if it’ll continue to operate at all. Elon Musk, a key Trump backer who is expected to have considerable sway in helping shape Trump’s policies, included a ‘100’ emoji while resharing Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah’s post on X calling for abolishing the Fed. ‘The Executive Branch should be under the direction of the president,’ Lee said Thursday in a post on X, hours after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters he wouldn’t resign if Trump asked him to. ‘The Federal Reserve is one of many examples of how we’ve deviated from the Constitution in that regard,’ Lee added. ‘Yet another reason why we should #EndTheFed.'”

“Asked where Trump stands on the matter, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CNN: ‘Policy should only be deemed official if it comes from President Trump directly.’ Calls to abolish the Fed are hardly new. Former congressman Ron Paul, who ran for president once as a Libertarian and twice as a Republican, published a book in 2009 titled ‘End the Fed.’ Then in June, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Lee introduced corresponding bills aimed at uprooting the nation’s central bank and shifting its responsibilities to the Treasury Department.”

The Union Tribune in California. “In San Diego County, 35% of homes were valued at $1 million or more in 2023, said a new study from LendingTree. That was up from 23% in 2022. The San Diego metro area now ranks fourth in the nation for the most million-dollar homes, ahead of Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami and others. The metro with the most million-dollar-plus homes was San Jose at 71.6%. It was followed by San Francisco (56.6%) and Los Angeles and Orange counties (36.4%). Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree said a $1 million house might still sound like a mansion in one’s mind, but that the reality is — in places like San Diego — it is closer to a middle-class property. ‘One million dollar homes are becoming more common, especially in places like San Diego,’ he said. ‘For lack of a better term, they are becoming less luxurious. Even 20 years ago, even in San Diego, $1 million probably would have bought you a pretty nice place.'”

San Diego Reader in California. “The notices to vacate keep coming for tenants of Hawaiian Gardens and Sussex Gardens, neighboring apartment groups on Imperial Beach Boulevard. Over 100 low-income, elderly and disabled tenants are facing eviction, and many showed up at last week’s city council meeting, pleading for help. ‘We almost have to stop eating, to pay rent,’ said Maria Cerda, a senior who struggles to afford her unit. ‘A few years ago a two-bedroom apartment was about $2,000. Now, I just went to see one, and it’s $2,800.'”

The Denver Post in Colorado. “A 50-unit multifamily affordable housing property in the heart of Littleton is up for auction. Littleton Main Street LLC, the complex’s owner, and Terra Management Group LLC, the property management company, have both filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to bankruptcy court case documents. Bids for the apartments, 2350 W. Main St., will be taken until Nov. 15, with the minimum bid being $6.2 million. The property’s units operate under Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.”

Fox 4 in Texas. “A Dallas real estate developer who bribed two city officials pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Sherman Roberts, the former head of City Wide Community Development Corporation, paid thousands of dollars to Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and city council member Carolyn Davis, according to court documents. In exchange, Caraway and Davis would support loans and low income housing tax credits for Roberts’ affordable housing projects in 2015. Caraway was paid several hundred dollars in cash and a monthly stipend to stop the city from seeking other bids for the project and deliver it to Roberts. ‘Once you’re successful with this project, don’t forget about me,’ Caraway told Roberts. ‘I won’t forget about you,’ Mr. Roberts replied. ‘That’s where the money is… the money has never been an issue.'”

The Independent. “The wife of an indicted celebrity house flipper with close ties to a popular radio personality is facing federal charges onaccusations she destroyed incriminating evidence by smashing her cell phone to bits with a hammer as the FBI waited outside her front door to seize it. Jennifer Iturralde Pina, whose husband, Cesar Humberto ‘Flipping NJ’ Pina is fighting wire fraud charges over what prosecutors described as a years-long Ponzi scheme that bilked dozens of investors out of millions, was hit with one count of destruction of records in a federal investigation, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday and obtained by The Independent. It says Iturralde, 42, knew the feds were about to search the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, home she and Pina share, and laid waste to the device moments before agents were able to get to it.”

“Cesar Pina reportedly first became interested in real estate in 2005, while serving an 18-month prison sentence for credit card fraud and drug-related crimes. He was promoted heavily by DJ Envy, born RaaShaun Casey, on his Power 105.1 FM morning show, The Breakfast Club, as a real estate wizard. Envy — who has not been charged with a crime, and was reportedly himself taken for $500,000 — traveled the nation with Pina holding real estate seminars promising returns of up to 45 percent within five months. ‘We’re talking about generational wealth,’ Envy said in a 2021 video he and Pina posted on Facebook. ‘When this is all said and done, and I pass away and he passes away, our kids will get that money.'”

KSL in Utah. “A 3rd District judge has denied a repeated request for bail from a Kamas mother accused of killing her husband .Judge Richard Mrazik did, however, separate four charges related to mortgage fraud that allegedly occurred in 2021, ruling that they should be presented as part of a separate trial, as Kouri Richins’ attorneys requested, to keep the trial fair and not prejudice the jury. Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Bradley Bloodworth said prosecutors only charged Richins with mortgage fraud that was ‘easy to prove on paper’ to not distract from the trial, but they could have charged ‘many more crimes’ between the 2021 mortgage fraud charges and the murder charge. He said forging bank statements is evidence that Richins knew she was out of money.”

WPBF in Florida. “A Jupiter man is behind bars after being accused of mortgage loan fraud. Troy M. McKenna, 34, was arrested Thursday and charged with fraudulent use of personal identification information and mortgage fraud. A report from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department alleges that McKenna secured a $1.5 million mortgage loan under the name of his ex-fiancée on Dec. 6, 2023. The report notes that the victim told law enforcement that she did not give permission to McKenna to open the loan with her name.”

“According to the report, the victim said that McKenna used a property that was owned by both the victim and McKenna as collateral to obtain the mortgage loan. During law enforcement’s investigation, it was determined that McKenna was the only person who signed the notarized document for the loan, but the victim’s signature was used in other parts of the loan documents. It was also discovered that the mortgage document was altered in the notarized section to remove the victim’s name and added McKenna’s name and signature instead. It is believed the notarized section was altered to make it appear that two individuals signed the notarized document.”

From WTKR. “For many families, paying one mortgage is difficult enough. So, imagine if you got a notice one day that said there was a second one in your name and if you did not pay tens of thousands of dollars immediately, the bank was going to take your home. That is what happened to one family in Virginia Beach. Now, they’re going through litigation to keep their home and warn others about so-called ‘zombie mortgages.’ To understand the situation the family is in, I need to take you back to the early 2000s. During this time, people were taking out second mortgages on their home. Interest rates were low, and they could use the second mortgage as a line of credit. The first mortgage would cover most of the debt, and the second mortgage would cover the remaining 20%. However, when the market crashed home values went down, and people could not pay.”

“According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if you default on a second mortgage your home can be foreclosed on even if you are current on the first mortgage. ‘Sometimes there’s situations where folks think that the mortgage, or a loan, is discharged for whatever reason, but then later they come to find out that’s not true. That’s why they’re commonly referred to as zombie mortgages. They kind of like come back to life, if you will,’ says Brandon Ballard, a strategic litigation attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia. Ballard says that is what happened to the Virginia Beach family he’s representing. They did not want to go on camera but told me they were notified unexpectedly that their home was being foreclosed on.”

Canadian Mortgage Trends. “While plenty of consumers believe the Bank of Canada’s steady interest rate cuts will drop mortgage rates meaningfully across the board, economist Don Drummond isn’t so sure that prediction applies to fixed rate mortgages. Drummond, a former TD economist who has advised Canadian Prime Ministers, believes the ultra-low rates of the last decade were an aberration. Drummond argues that Canada’s ultra-low interest rates from 2011 to 2019 did more harm than good. Intended as economic relief after the Financial Crisis, the prolonged low rates contributed to ballooning house prices, making homes less affordable even as mortgages became cheaper. ‘You had a rock-bottom interest rate, but you had to buy a million-dollar house,’ he told the audience. ‘How does that help anybody?'”

ABC News in Australia. “NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has suggested it is possible to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney for ‘a couple of hundred bucks’ a week. During an interview on Tuesday morning about rental and housing affordability on ABC Radio Sydney, Ms Jackson was put on the spot by a question about rent prices. Presenter Hamish Macdonald asked: ‘What do you reckon is a reasonable price to pay in rent for a two-bedroom flat in Sydney?’ Ms Jackson said it depended on where in Sydney before appearing to guess the answer. ‘Sydney’s a big city, you know, I mean, a couple of hundred bucks right?’ she said. Asked where in Sydney it was possible to find a two-bedroom property for that much, Ms Jackson said: ‘There are places in Sydney you can.'”

“The median rental price for a unit in Sydney was $720 a week, according to the latest Domain data, a reduction from $750 a week in the June quarter. Later in the interview, Ms Jackson said she did not mean $200, saying ‘don’t put words in my mouth.’ Ms Jackson’s main focus is increasing social housing as Housing and Homelessness Minister, but she is involved in policy to address the broader rental and housing crisis and regularly comments on the issue. ABC Radio Sydney listeners were quick to point out Ms Jackson’s unrealistic estimate of rental prices saying ‘she has got no idea’ and was ‘living in an alternate reality.'”

From Voxy. “New Zealand’s property market remains subdued, with a rising share of sellers incurring losses amid higher listing volumes, falling house prices, and persistent economic challenges. The proportion of loss-making resales climbed to 9.8% in the September quarter, the highest level since Q2 2015, up from 8.2% in the previous quarter. The proportion of investors selling for a loss climbed to 11.1% in Q3, up from 8.5% in Q2 and the highest level in a decade. In comparison, owner-occupier loss-making resales rose to 8.8%, highlighting a slightly widening gap between the two groups.”

“‘Investors appear to be feeling the pinch a little more acutely, likely driven by cashflow challenges and possibly a reduced appetite to sustain loss-making properties,’ CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said. ‘While we’re not seeing a widespread exit from the market, the rise in investor losses suggests cash flow may be an issue for multiple property owners and some may be opting to cut their losses rather than continue to subsidise underperforming assets, particularly with still elevated mortgage rates.'”

New York Times. “One by one, tycoons who built their wealth on China’s economic rise have been giving up their trophy homes in Hong Kong. Two apartments in a Frank Gehry glass-and-steel tower that twists out of the mountainside. Three European-style mansions with turrets and swimming pools. Four white villas sitting in a row. All but two of the properties have already been sold for tens of millions of US dollars each. And while it might be hard to believe, each one was a steal – snatched up for discounts of one-third to more than half of the previous values.”

“Now, many of the same people who contributed to the housing market’s inequities, from the builders to the wealthy speculators, have found themselves being forced to sell their prized homes fast. Their riches had swelled with an unfathomable rise in China’s real estate market, and its collapse and aftermath have left many short on cash. ‘Everyone is asking for money,’ said Joseph Tang, the chair of real estate firm JLL in Hong Kong. Businesses are under pressure as the economy continues to slow, the broader property market is under strain and the cost of borrowing has climbed steeply. ‘The only thing that is sellable is residential property because, if you lower the price enough, there will be buyers,’ Tang said.”

“Most notable among them is Hui Ka Yan of the one-time property giant China Evergrande. Creditors seized his European-style homes, which were collectively worth more than US$190 million, after the company collapsed. One of them sold this year for US$58 million, less than half of the US$130 million that a company tied to Evergrande and Hui had paid for it in 2009, according to the global real estate firm Knight Frank.”