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The Housing Market Has Risks; Buy With Caution

A report from WISH TV. “November was a great time for feasting, football, and the central Indiana real estate market. ‘November looks very normal, and I know that’s not exciting, but it’s actually kind of fun right now because it’s been a long couple of years. When I say that, I mean that things are returning to a plateau. That’s true of both sales prices and interest rates,’ said Dan Brown, a realtor with F.C. Tucker. Brown says prices have ‘hit a ceiling’ and may rise in the spring, but right now, there are some good values out there for potential homebuyers. Brown’s advice for Hoosiers who want to sell their house right now? Don’t be overconfident. ‘Don’t be overconfident in the market. Prepare it, price it properly, and make sure you’re ready. There’s three things that affect the sale of a home: location, price, and condition. Two of those you can change. One of those you can’t. Focus on pricing it properly and making sure it’s in the best condition you can.'”

WFLA in Florida. “Months after hurricanes Helene and Milton took a terrible toll on the Tampa Bay area, some homeowners are still struggling to make their homes livable again. Gay Truce, 83, worked hard her whole life only to end up trapped between a rock and a hard place. She’s looking for some much-needed assistance hoping to repair her home ahead of the holidays. She has a damaged roof and fence as well as water damage inside. Truce tells us a roofing company installed her roof eight years ago and that it came with a 20-year warranty, but said when she contacted the company, they told her they would need to bill her for any repairs. ‘I went through my house insurance, and they won’t pay for it either,’ said Truce. Without help from her roofer or her insurer, Truce turned to FEMA and struck out there, too. That’s why she’s turning now to 8 On Your Side. It really upset me I thought, ‘how am I going to do this? I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ she said.”

The Globe and Mail. “Sixty-eight-year-old Valerie Anderson still recalls the rush of humid Florida air that greeted her in 1992, a stark contrast to the biting winter of her hometown in Calgary. Thirty years and three grandkids later, the Andersons proudly wear the ‘snowbird’ badge, escaping Canada’s harsh winters to a rental property off the Florida coast. But they’re unsure how much longer they can afford to live out their dream. Like many snowbirds, they’ve been feeling a chill on their wallet as the Canadian dollar dropped about 4 per cent against the greenback in recent months. Compared with last year, she said it costs her and her husband about $25 more per person a meal. A recent glance at the menu of their favourite restaurant showed a single dish of sea bass priced at the equivalent of $80 Canadian. ‘We both just said, ‘I don’t think so!’”

“Norman Seawright, who also decamps to Florida in the winter, owns a condo there and said he’s paying ‘easily 20 to 25 per cent more’ for everything. ‘The dollar just sucks right now – clients are asking a lot of questions,’ said Carson Hamill, a cross-border associate portfolio manager at Raymond James Canada. ‘People come to us that are renting permanently in the U.S., they’re going, ‘Oh, is it worth keeping this place?’”

The San Francisco Chronicle. “Everyone is leaving California. It’s been written again and again, so frequently since the COVID-19 pandemic, that it MUST be true. The California dream may be dead, but the current moment could be the inflection point California has needed for years. Dowell Myers, a demographer and professor at the University of Southern California, thinks it’s time for state lawmakers to step back and think about the future. Ultimately, for Myers, the media and nationwide fascination is about jealousy. ‘They don’t like that California has this romantic image,’ he said. ‘They’d really like to see it go up in flames.’ Especially as baby boomers retire and states compete for workers, Myers said it’s in other states’ best interest to ‘build a story about how California is going down’ and encourage people to ‘buy a home in a place where you can afford it.’ ‘We know no other state is quite like California but they can’t get the ocean, they can’t get the mountains. They can’t get the cool temperatures we have,’ Myers said.”

CalMatters in California. “Standing in his front yard in Wilmington, Jose Ulloa can’t get a sentence out without coughing. Heavy-duty trucks, headed to and from the Port of Los Angeles, pass in front of his home all day, their engines roaring and their exhaust spewing into the air. The parade of big rigs in his neighborhood started four years ago, after a series of traffic pattern changes altered their route. Imelda, his wife, sweeps the yard and cleans the home nonstop, but black dust still collects on every surface of their home within hours. ‘If you blow your nose, black dust will come out,’ she said. ‘It’s a terrible life living here.'”

“In Oakland, Mashhoor Alammari, who runs a small fleet of drayage trucks that haul cargo to and from the port, wants to do his part to help clean the air of dangerous diesel exhaust. His company, The Crew Transportation, Inc., bought two new zero-emission big rigs at a cost of more than $900,000. But the trucks, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, are expensive to operate and there are few if any fueling stations along their routes. The new trucks have been sitting in the parking lot most of the time since he bought them. ‘I don’t want to put myself into a financial hole,’ he said.”

CBS Bay Area in California. “The City of San Francisco is set to close its only safe parking site for homeless people living out of their vehicles in early 2025. The Bayview Vehicle Triage Center opened in January of 2022 and since then has run into numerous, costly, problems. Now dozens of people who live there will have to find somewhere else to call home, and many don’t know where they’ll go. ‘I have no clue,’ said Charles Rawls, who has lived in the parking lot for about a year. ‘I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t want to do the street thing where you go from street to street, to street every night. It’s crazy. You get no sleep.'”

“Rawls was planning on being there temporarily, just until he was able to get his vehicle fixed, but it still hasn’t happened. He says he’s not the only one who has been denied repairs. ‘They haven’t fixed anyone’s vehicle who is in there,’ said Rawls. ‘It’s supposed to be triage. We’re supposed to bring our vehicles in here to get repaired and then we’re out on our own. But it just sits there and gets worse. Then the rats get in them.’ He says the experience has been tough. ‘When I first got here we didn’t have nothing,’ said Rawls. ‘It was crazy. They put all this money in it and now they say you’re out of here in February. It’s crazy.'”

“‘Horrible,’ said Aaron Wilson, describing his experience living in the lot since March ‘Day after day. Something torturous. Like a prison camp. Treated very unfairly. And we’re the bad people because we alerted the authorities.’ A budget analyst report in 2023 estimates the cost per vehicle at the site to be about $140,000 per year. Despite that, city officials just managed to connect reliable power in October, nearly three years after opening. New light poles were installed afterward, and in just a couple of weeks, stopped working. Wilson says many of the people who live in the facility feel the city is closing the site partially because they have complained about the lack of basic necessities, like ADA-compliant bathrooms and other facilities. ‘They like to retaliate if you tell on them,’ said Wilson. ‘If you’re a snitch, you’re the lowest common denominator and you’ll pay for it.'”

From Bisnow. “Elie Schwartz rose from obscurity in Brooklyn to stake a claim on the skylines of Manhattan and Philadelphia — and then it all came crumbling down. The CEO and co-founder of Nightingale Properties was charged with wire fraud on Dec. 4, a crime carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence if convicted. Schwartz pleaded not guilty at an Atlanta federal courthouse, but waived his right to a grand jury indictment, an indication that a plea deal could be imminent. He stands accused of defrauding hundreds of crowdfunding investors in two failed commercial real estate deals out of more than $50M.”

“He was a hotshot real estate investor touting a $10B track record and holdings up and down the East Coast. Now, he’s an alleged fraudster who sat before a magistrate judge represented by a public defender and was told to ‘adequately seek employment’ while he awaits trial. David Gutierrez, who invested $90K into Nightingale’s Atlanta Financial Center deal, said he’s only gotten 10% of his money back. He said he was relieved that the Justice Department finally brought charges against Schwartz but a little disappointed when he learned the specifics. ‘That’s it?’ Gutierrez said in a phone call Friday afternoon. ‘It’s good that they’re getting involved and applying a little pressure. I’m not sure what it’s going to do to collect the outstanding funds. I mean, if he’s in jail, he can’t do anything to generate income.'”

From Insauga. “The real estate market remains in a slump as many homes are selling for under the list price in the GTA and across Ontario. About 75 per cent of homes were sold for below the list price in November in the GTA, up from 70 per cent in October, according to Wahi. There have been several examples of homes selling for under asking or at a loss recently. A Brampton home sold for a $520,000 loss in November. Another Brampton home sold for a $487,000 loss in September, and a home sold for $700,000 under the asking price in Mississauga in October. Early expectations for a rebound in the Greater Toronto Area’s housing market in spring 2024 didn’t materialize, Wahi notes in the report. While the Bank of Canada rate cuts brought some affordability relief for homebuyers and existing owners, it was not enough to spark a major turnaround, the report notes. For much of the year, the majority of the GTA’s approximately 400 neighbourhoods have seen prices bid down.”

From Sky News. “Airbnb was once the darling of the holiday market, but hosts are now complaining about a sudden drop in bookings – while some former rental homes are being put up for sale as cities bring in restrictions. As the company grew, so have the accompanying problems: from viral Airbnb horror stories to protests from local communities who argue they have been priced out by landlords buying up properties to turn into holiday lets. Nowhere in the UK springs to mind more quickly than Cornwall in the battle over short-term rentals, with Airbnb often cited as the reason for over-tourism and the housing shortage for beleaguered locals.”

“Popular holiday destinations including London, Edinburgh, Paris, Czechia and Rome have all introduced varying restrictions on all short-term lets. In Barcelona, the city’s mayor has promised to phase out short-term letting licences entirely by 2028 in a bid to return 10,000 apartments to the residential market. Has all the bad press around Airbnb affected bookings? We asked London hosts for their experiences. Claire: ‘I’ve been a host since 2011 (Superhost and normally renting single rooms in my shared home). I’ve always been fully booked nearly 100% of the time and my earnings went up every year with the exception of 2020 and 2021. There was a massive jump in what people were willing to pay in 2022 and 2023 and now I’ve gone back down to a 2014 level so, for me, a bubble has definitely burst. I’m about 90% booked if I drop my prices enough but I’ve had to absolutely slash my prices. I find that sometimes with wear and tear, bills and cleaner fees, (which have gone up significantly) I’m barely breaking even.'”

“Now, searching #Airbnbust online, there is no shortage of hosts complaining about a sudden drop in bookings, or former rental homes being put up for sale as cities bring in restrictions. One owner claims he is losing $600,000 (£463,000) a year on his 70 properties.”

From China Daily. “China’s real estate market is undergoing a prolonged adjustment period. The government is focused on mitigating risks to prevent them from escalating into systemic economic threats. First of all, new homebuyers must remain vigilant, adopt a strong risk awareness, and avoid purchasing with speculative intentions. Despite the lower down payments and minimal loan costs, real estate risks persist. The primary risk in China’s real estate market is the ‘price bubble,’ which increases cost of purchasing. For example, if a house worth 1 million yuan, which is about five or six times of local urban residents’ annual income, is currently priced at 2 million yuan. Despite its fall from the peak price of 2.5 million yuan, the potential purchasers still face risks of financial loss due to further price reduction.”

“What’s more, government policy guidance should help buyers understand the real estate adjustment process and the government’s phased regulatory objectives. China’s real estate bubble has been building for nearly 20 years, accumulating significant risks. Stabilizing the market is no easy task. From a market clearance perspective, the second phase of real estate adjustment will feature price reductions and promotional sales, alongside large-scale reductions, optimization of existing stock, and quality improvements in new developments. Therefore, a long-term decline in housing prices is inevitable. Stabilization does not mean returning to a bubble-driven market with another round of price surges, which would only exacerbate risks.”

“Lifting purchase and price restrictions does not equate to neglecting market risk management. Financial and housing regulators must enhance oversight of subprime loans, clearly delineating prohibited subprime loan boundaries and strictly prohibiting their issuance. Additionally, real estate developers should include risk warnings — such as ‘the housing market has risks; buy with caution’ — in their sales offices and advertisements.”

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This Post Has 59 Comments

  2. ‘Gutierrez, who invested $90K into Nightingale’s Atlanta Financial Center deal, said he’s only gotten 10% of his money back. He said he was relieved that the Justice Department finally brought charges against Schwartz but a little disappointed when he learned the specifics. ‘That’s it?’ Gutierrez said in a phone call Friday afternoon. ‘It’s good that they’re getting involved and applying a little pressure. I’m not sure what it’s going to do to collect the outstanding funds. I mean, if he’s in jail, he can’t do anything to generate income’

    One of the toughest jobs here at HBB Dave is informing investors like yerself that yer fooked. And you only live once.

  3. ‘I’ve been a host since 2011 (Superhost and normally renting single rooms in my shared home). I’ve always been fully booked nearly 100% of the time and my earnings went up every year with the exception of 2020 and 2021. There was a massive jump in what people were willing to pay in 2022 and 2023 and now I’ve gone back down to a 2014 level so, for me, a bubble has definitely burst. I’m about 90% booked if I drop my prices enough but I’ve had to absolutely slash my prices. I find that sometimes with wear and tear, bills and cleaner fees, (which have gone up significantly) I’m barely breaking even’

    You could scrub the toilets daily yerself Claire. You haven’t been eating expensive food have you?

    1. Sean Strickland isn’t Canadian, he’s American and pretty darn outspoken. He doesn’t have that filter, it’s pretty glorious most of the time.

  5. EasyKnock, Residential Sale-Leaseback Company, Abruptly Shuts Down Amid Legal Scrutiny

    It turns out that running a sale-leaseback business in the residential market isn’t that easy. Real estate investor EasyKnock, which purchased homes and then leased them back to the former owners, abruptly shut down Monday. The closure comes as the embattled firm faces more than two dozen lawsuits and investigations from state attorneys general.

    It also follows an October consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission that warned of the potential predatory nature of the entire sale-leaseback business model in traditional housing.

    “After many years of serving consumers, EasyKnock has closed its doors,” the company’s website says. “While EasyKnock may no longer be around, arrangements have been made to ensure continued services for our customers.”

    Jared Kessler founded New York-based EasyKnock in 2016 and raised millions of dollars in venture capital funding.

    It closed a Series D funding round in February with $28M raised from investors including Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff, HousingWire reported. Its Series C funding round closed in early 2022 with $57M raised.

    The firm grew through acquisitions in 2023, including Ribbon in May, Onder in September and Balance Homes last December. Most recently, the company completed the May 2024 acquisition of HomePace.

    EasyKnock’s expansion coincided with increased scrutiny over its business practices. In December 2023, the firm agreed to pay $200K in a settlement with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell over allegations that EasyKnock engaged in deceptive marketing tactics.

    A June investigation by NPR identified more than 20 lawsuits and found that the sales to EasyKnock can end up costing homeowners tens of thousands of dollars in equity.

    The Michigan attorney general sent the company a cease and desist order in May, adding to mounting lawsuits, including from disgruntled customers. EasyKnock denied liability in all of its cases and was cooperating with investigators, the company told NPR.

    It is unclear how EasyKnock will unwind its assets and what agreements it has made to sell the houses it purchased from sellers who became tenants.

    Stacey Tutt, a senior staff attorney at the National Housing Law Project, told NPR that the company’s sales contracts typically include a buyback provision, but she questioned whether customers who had sold their homes for cash to become renters would have the funds to repurchase the property.

    “That’s where I get very concerned about their ability to stay in the homes, given the terms of the contracts themselves,” she said.

    https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/capital-markets/easyknock-which-brought-sale-leasebacks-to-the-residential-market-abruptly-shuts-down-127135

  6. 52% Of Federal Office Leases Can Be Terminated By End Of Trump’s Term

    If President-elect Donald Trump wants to accelerate the government’s downsizing of its office footprint to cut costs, he’ll have plenty of opportunities. Roughly 52% of the federal government’s leased office portfolio either has lease expirations or termination options between now and the end of 2028, according to an analysis of General Services Administration data from S&P Global Ratings.

    The majority of that space is from expiring leases, totaling about 59.2M SF, while another 18.5M SF has termination options.

    “The GSA is going to be very busy from now through the end of 2028, not just in the national capital region but on a national basis, because the sheer number of leases expiring is massive,” Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairman Darian LeBlanc, a top government office leasing broker, told Bisnow.

    https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/office/52-of-federal-government-office-leases-can-be-terminated-by-end-of-trumps-term-127140

  7. Letters to the Editor: I was a small landlord who gave up on L.A. because of draconian rent rules

    To the editor: After reading your editorial on a new rent-control proposal in the city of Los Angeles, I remain convinced that the City Council, the mayor and the Housing Department do not get it. The editorial outlined how revisions in the rent control law would lower the ability for landlords to increase rent as compared to the current law.

    I was one of the mom-and-pop landlords who tried to do the right thing and had long-term tenants. Our rents were ridiculously low.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, we went without a rent increase for four and half years while inflation skyrocketed. After 80 years of owning in our family, my brother and I sold the apartment building this year, as owning it made little financial sense.

    These draconian rent control policies are forcing out landlords who want to do the right thing by their tenants and can no longer afford to do so. The result will be rent-controlled apartments in Los Angeles becoming more outdated and in disrepair, or landlords doing unscrupulous things to force their tenants to leave.

    Gail Feuerstein, Irvine

    To the editor: Fortunately, Los Angeles has long been a city with a rent control policy, which is intended to ensure that residents who have worked and lived in a community for years or decades can remain in that community, rather than the rented home they live in going out to the highest bidder every year.

    That said, landlords do need to receive incremental rent increases from existing tenants each year to pay for escalating costs of maintenance and management.

    Recent allowable annual rent increases for apartments built before Oct. 1, 1978, have been around 3%. However, rent increases were not allowed during the pandemic. As the impact of the pandemic subsided, somewhat higher rent increases of 4% were allowed in 2024, presumably to partially offset the prior rent freeze.

    A long-term limit of 3% appears reasonable, as landlords can charge higher market rents when tenants eventually move out — so annual overall rent increases for an apartment complex should average more than 3%.

    I would hope most investors purchasing apartments are in it for the long term and not to make a killing in a year or two.

    Ken Hense, Los Angeles

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/letters-editor-small-landlord-gave-110001787.html

    2. I would hope most investors purchasing apartments are in it for the long term and not to make a killing in a year or two.
      Ken Hense, Los Angeles
      Based on his letter to the editor I am guessing he has never been a landlord in the city and is simply virtue signalling.

  8. “Popular holiday destinations including London, Edinburgh, Paris, Czechia and Rome have all introduced varying restrictions on all short-term lets. In Barcelona, the city’s mayor has promised to phase out short-term letting licences entirely by 2028 in a bid to return 10,000 apartments to the residential market.

    Die, speculator scum.

  9. One owner claims he is losing $600,000 (£463,000) a year on his 70 properties.”

    It would take a heart of stone to read about such wanne-be real estate moguls on a glide path to insolvency, and not laugh.

  10. LOL@ Mangione referred to the United meeting in NYC as a “bean counting conference”

    Coin Clippers

  11. All the multi million dollar homes around me are burning , Camarillo highlands and now Malibu, Will Insurance companies try to make up the difference by raising premiums for people in tract homes not located up canyons and hill tops ? Yea probably.

  12. Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling

    President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump.

    Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!”

    After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park.”

    Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.”

    Even Thanksgiving dinner isn’t a trolling-free zone for Trump’s adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene.

    The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

    In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.”

    As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body.

    After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden’s spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru.

    Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor.

    “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.”

    Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office.

    “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.”

    “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.”

    https://infotel.ca/newsitem/us-trump-trolling/cp1453521129

    1. This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious

      I would say that Trudeau is responsible for that.

  14. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “stupid” not to put his own name on pandemic relief checks in 2021, noting that Donald Trump had done so in 2020 and likely got credit for helping people out through this simple, effective act of branding.

    Biden did the second-guessing as he delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution defending his economic record and challenging Trump to preserve Democratic policy ideas when he returns to the White House next month.

    “I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history, and also learned something from Donald Trump,” Biden said at the Washington-based think tank. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks … and I didn’t. Stupid.”

    Biden used his speech to argue that Trump was inheriting a strong economy that is the envy of the world. Biden called the numbers under his watch “a new set of benchmarks to measure against the next four years.”

    “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden, who warned that Trump’s planned tax cuts could lead to massive deficits or deep spending cuts.

    https://www.click2houston.com/news/politics/2024/12/10/biden-says-he-was-stupid-not-to-put-his-name-on-pandemic-relief-checks-like-trump-did/

    1. “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history”

      New York Post — Millennials rely on credit cards at record rate during 2024 holiday season (12/11/2024):

      “Since 2020, millennials have used credit cards for the majority of their holiday spending – between 70% to 80% – and the percentage has been climbing, according to a three-year analysis of 2,000 American millennials.

      Credit card use made up a whopping 88% of millennials’ Black Friday spending this year – up from 79% in 2023 and 72% in 2020, according to data from Piere, a personal finance app.

      Meanwhile, credit card debt in the US jumped $24 billion to a record $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024 – 8.1% higher than a year ago, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.”

      https://nypost.com/2024/12/11/business/millennials-rely-on-credit-cards-at-record-rate-during-2024-holiday-season-study/

      Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.

      1. Americans earning under $50K are skipping meals, selling belongings and delaying medical care to cover housing cost (12/6/2024):

        “not surprisingly, 74% of Americans earning less than $50,000 per year regularly struggle to afford their mortgage or rent payments, according to a recent Redfin report.

        What is shocking, though, are the sacrifices some lower earners are making to keep a roof over their heads. In fact, 24% of Americans earning under $50,000 a year have skipped meals to afford their rent or mortgage payments. And 23% have been forced to sell belongings.

        Homeownership has become increasingly unaffordable in the wake of the pandemic. During the first quarter of 2020, the median U.S. home sale price was $329,000. After reaching a peak in the fourth quarter of 2022 of $442,600, the median price now rests at $420,400 as of the third quarter of 2024.”

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-earning-under-50k-skipping-180900270.html

        Paul Krugman muh best economy ever

    2. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks … and I didn’t. Stupid.”

      I’m betting we’ll see another round of stimulus checks in 2025. The combination of inflation and higher interest rates on debt laden households have wiped out the working class.

  15. Google pulls McDonald’s negative reviews over arrest in UnitedHealth murder

    Google on Monday removed derogatory reviews about McDonald’s MCD.N after the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson was arrested at its restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police say a customer alerted a local employee about him.

    The negative comments aimed at McDonald’s were the latest in what is known as “review bombing,” where an establishment is hit with a litany of bad reviews based on a political view or an occurrence unrelated to its actual business.

    In this case, the negative and one-star reviews showed up after Luigi Mangione, 26, was captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona. He was spotted eating at the restaurant by a customer who alerted a McDonald’s employee, state police said.

    “These reviews violate our policies and have been removed,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

    The policy says that review contributions “should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business” and that “content that has been posted from multiple accounts to manipulate a place’s rating” will be removed.

    “This location has rats in the kitchen that will make you sick and your insurance isn’t going to cover it,” one review said.

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/google-pulls-mcdonald-s-negative-reviews-over-arrest-in-unitedhealth-murder-1.7139911

  16. GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit

    General Motors Co. said Tuesday it will retreat from the robotaxi business and stop funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle unit.

    Instead the Detroit auto maker will focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems for personal vehicles like its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel.

    GM said it would get out of robotaxis “given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market.”

    The company said it will combine Cruise’s technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers.

    GM bought Cruise automation in 2016 for at least US$1-billion with high hopes of developing a profitable fleet of robotaxis.

    Over the years GM invested billions in the subsidiary and eventually bought 90 per cent of the company from investors, all while racking up millions in losses.

    GM even announced plans for Cruise to generate US$1-billion in annual revenue by 2025, but it scaled back spending on the company after one of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolts dragged a San Francisco pedestrian who was hit by another vehicle in 2023.

    The California Public Utilities Commission alleged Cruise then covered up details of the crash for more than two weeks.

    The incident resulted in Cruise’s licence to operate its driverless fleet in California being suspended by regulators and triggered a purge of its leadership – in addition to layoffs that jettisoned about a quarter of its work force.

    GM chief executive officer Mary Barra said Tuesday the new unit will focus on personal vehicles and developing systems that can drive by themselves in certain circumstances.

    The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated. Two years ago, crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. disbanded its Argo AI autonomous vehicle venture in Pittsburgh that it co-owned with Volkswagen Group.

    At the time the company said it didn’t see a path to profitability for a number of years.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-gm-to-retreat-from-robotaxis-and-stop-funding-its-cruise-autonomous/

    1. The move is another step back from autonomous vehicles, which have proved far harder to develop than companies once anticipated.

      I guess it can only be “imminent” for so many years. I remember when the first google cars hit the streets of New York, which I recall was in 2010. A lot of people were convinced that these would be everywhere in just a few years and no one would be driving anymore.

  17. Buyer’s Remorse: Man Crashes Subaru Into Showroom After Dealer Refused to Take It Back

    On Monday morning, a man wanted to return a used, mid-2000s Subaru Outback to the Tim Dahle Mazda dealership he bought it from hours earlier in Sandy, Utah, after he reportedly discovered undisclosed mechanical issues. When the dealership told him “Too bad, no takesies-backsies” (I’m paraphrasing), he decided to crash his newly bought Subaru through the showroom’s front door.

    According to ABC4, the man purchased the Subie on Monday morning but didn’t learn of certain mechanical issues until after driving it home. Seemingly not wanting to be duped, the man called the dealership back asking to return the vehicle but they told him it was sold “as-is” and they wouldn’t return it. He threatened to drive the car through the dealership showroom if they didn’t return the car. Apparently, they didn’t take his claim seriously enough.

    Later that day, at 4 p.m., the man showed up with his Subaru. Someone in the dealership must have whipped their phone out to record what he did for evidence, but I’m not sure they expected what happened next. He actually did it—he smashed through the wall like a Subaru-powered Kool-Aid Man. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

    In the video of the incident above, you can see him drive the Subie through the glass wall, door, and front desk, then get out and say “I told you m#therfuckers,” before attempting to walk out the giant hole in the wall. I’m not trying to call the man a liar, but the Outback at least ran well enough to drive through a building.

    “He came back but with a rage,” dealership employee Aylin Hernandez told FOX13. “Without thinking, he just acted out on rage.”

    That blind rage landed the man in cuffs. And the penalties for driving through the dealership are likely far worse than whatever repair costs the Subaru needed. The man has since been arrested and is being charged with felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.

    https://www.thedrive.com/news/buyers-remorse-man-crashes-subaru-into-dealership-after-they-refused-to-take-it-back

  18. Utah agent accused of profiting up to $300K by using informant to sell drugs

    A Salt Lake City federal agent within the Department of Homeland Security is accused of using a confidential informant to illegally sell bath salts, earning profits up to $300,000.

    David Cole, who worked within the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations office, was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess a Controlled Substance in an indictment handed down this week.

    “Part of Homeland Security’s job is to prevent drugs from entering into the United States,” said Clayton Simms, a local criminal defense attorney. “Rather than stop that, this Homeland Security Officer, the allegations are facilitated that encouraged that and actually carried out drug deals rather than stop them.”

    After working legitimate controlled drug buys with the two agents and others within Homeland Security Investigations, the informant said Cole approached him with a proposition to sell bath salts illegally. The informant said he’d pay $5000 to Cole and the other agent for the bath salts, and then sell them on the street for $10000, which he’d be allowed to keep.

    “Bath salts are not heroin, cocaine and meth, but it’s very damaging to your health and it’s similar to a methamphetamine in terms of effects that it gives you,” said Simms.

    https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/utah-agent-accused-of-profiting-up-to-300k-by-using-informant-to-sell-drugs

    1. Bath salts?

      I thought that was a last decade, South Florida, go batsh*t and chew somebody’s face off thing. Bath salts are still around?

  19. How neoliberal policies fueled the fall of Assad

    While some attribute this turmoil to external pressures, such as Western sanctions and authoritarian governance, one critical factor remains underappreciated: the neoliberal policies implemented during Bashar al-Assad’s presidency. These market-focused reforms, heralded as harbingers of growth and modernization, instead bred widespread discontent among Syrians, weakening societal structures and paving the way for extremist groups to emerge.

    When Bashar al-Assad took power in 2000, Syria shifted from the state-led welfare model to neoliberal economic reforms aimed at integrating the country into the global economy. These reform strategies included opening markets to foreign trade, dramatically reducing import restrictions, and privatizing state-owned enterprises. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of goods restricted from importation dropped from 3,000 to just 100, exemplifying Syria’s new market-oriented stance designed to attract foreign investors. However, this also exposed domestic industries to international competition, revealing long-standing inefficiencies.

    The reform of the banking sector further accelerated this transition. In 2001, the introduction of the Private Banks Law facilitated the emergence of new private banks with foreign investors, fundamentally altering Syria’s financial landscape. By 2018, Syria hosted 14 private banks, significantly foreign-owned. This shift, meant to invigorate the economy, largely failed to deliver on promised growth.

    The liberalization of the agricultural sector was another contentious initiative. State farms, which had been collectively owned since Hafez’s era, were privatized, resulting in a sharp concentration of land ownership. By 2008, a mere 28% of farmers controlled 75% of irrigated land, while nearly half of the farmers held a scant 10%. This privatization decimated the agricultural workforce, which fell by 40% between 2002 and 2008. Employment in agriculture dropped from 32.9% in 2000 to a mere 14% by 2011, undermining rural economies and displacing countless workers.

    The health sector also succumbed to neoliberal reform under Bashar al-Assad, marked by a shift toward commercialization driven by the EU-endorsed Health Sector Modernization Program ratified in 2003. Public health service quality and availability declined, pushing many Syrians toward privatized healthcare options. From an international standpoint, Syrian healthcare spending plummeted to a dismal 0.4% of GDP before 2010, contrasting sharply with the global norm of 5-12.5%.
    A second wave of neoliberal reforms commenced in 2005 following extensive consultations with the IMF and World Bank. These included drastic subsidy cuts which, in 2008, led to diesel prices skyrocketing by 257%. Resulting production cost hikes forced many farmers to migrate to urban areas in search of employment, while industrial sectors were similarly crippled by increased expenses. Consequently, essential goods became unaffordable for many, contributing to inflation and exacerbating widespread financial strain.

    The neoliberal agenda yielded uneven rewards, benefitting the elite and foreign investors, particularly from Persian Gulf monarchies, while burdening the wider population. Tax rate reductions for corporate and individual profits in the business sector exacerbated inequality, compounded by chronic tax evasion.

    The neoliberal shift intensified inequalities in housing and urban development, with luxury housing proliferating for the wealthy amid a backdrop of sprawling informal settlements. The economic policies of Bashar al-Assad fostered unprecedented societal impoverishment, even as GDP grew by 4.3% annually from 2000 to 2010. These economic gains, however, benefitted only a small elite, with the GDP more than doubling from $28.8 billion in 2005 to approximately $60 billion by 2010. By 2007, 33% of Syrians lived below the poverty line, with another 30% hovering just above it.

    The shift in public sector roles to the private sector starkly demonstrated the inability of market-driven reforms to achieve social equity. Neoliberal policies dismantled much of the welfare state, benefiting foreign investors and local elites while destabilizing society.

    https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/507339/How-neoliberal-policies-fueled-the-fall-of-Assad

  20. Biden is rushing aid to Ukraine. Both sides are digging in. And everyone is bracing for Trump

    The grinding war between Ukraine and its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with President Joe Biden rushing out billions of dollars more in military aid before U.S. support for Kyiv’s defenses is thrown into question under the new administration.

    On the war’s front lines, Ukraine’s forces are mindful of Trump’s fast-approaching presidency and the risk of losing their biggest backer.

    If that happens, “those people who are with me, my unit, we are not going to retreat,” a Ukrainian strike-drone company commander, fighting in Russia’s Kursk region with the 47th Brigade, told The Associated Press by phone.

    “As long as we have ammunition, as long as we have weapons, as long as we have some means to defeat the enemy, we will fight,” said the commander, who goes by his military call sign, Hummer. He spoke on condition he not be identified by name, citing Ukrainian military rules and security concerns.

    “But, when all means run out, you must understand, we will be destroyed very quickly,” he said.

    Trump, who has long spoken favorably of Putin and described Zelenskyy as a “showman” wheedling money from the U.S., used that moment to call for an immediate ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

    And asked in a TV interview — taped before he met with Zelenskyy over the weekend in Paris — if Ukraine should prepare for the possibility of reduced aid, Trump said, “Yeah. Probably. Sure.”

    https://www.kcra.com/article/ukraine-war-bracing-for-trump-presidency-biden-aid/63141704

  21. Tensions in Team Liberal over finances held hostage to political desperation

    You could see how things got awkward. The Prime Minister’s Office insisted on a GST holiday to buy votes and all it did was blow billions without winning the Liberals any support.

    That’s uncomfortable for the Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, who made specific promises about the size of the deficit that she was very, very unwilling to repeat on Tuesday – just days before she is to present a Fall Economic Statement.

    That’s a tough spot for a finance minister. It’s hard to say you’re a successful fiscal manager when you miss the goals you set eight months ago while promoting a two-month tax break on Christmas trees, Chianti and sugar plums.

    It’s even tougher because that gimmick didn’t work. The Liberals didn’t move up in opinion polls. The fall update is something like the next-to-last chance to wheel out a new bag of tricks. And The Globe and Mail reported there are tensions between the Finance Minister and the PMO over the latter’s desire for vote-catching goodies and more big spending.

    Ms. Freeland answered a reporter’s question about the tensions by saying it is a “great privilege” to serve as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. It sounded like someone in the PMO has been reminding her it’s a privilege. If Ms. Freeland had blinked three more times it might have been seen as a signal she’d been taken hostage.

    That was all fun for the opposition in Question Period, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre teased that Ms. Freeland wanted a big deficit but the Prime Minister wanted a bigger deficit on steroids. “Who will win?” he asked.

    Ms. Freeland stood up to insist the Liberal government is united – prompting howls of laughter from opposition benches – while Mr. Trudeau defended spending on dental care and a GST cut, but didn’t offer any endorsement or praise for his Finance Minister.

    But the real problem is that the Liberals have slid so far that voters seem ready to turn up their noses at any policy if it comes from Mr. Trudeau.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-tensions-in-team-liberal-over-finances-held-hostage-to-political/

    1. Poilievre has next year’s election in the bag. The only question now is if the Liberal’s coalition will collapse and force an early election.

      Meanwhile, DJT keeps trolling Trudeau.

  22. She was almost the first Black woman to lead Sacramento. What her loss means for California progressives

    Nine months before narrowly losing the Sacramento mayor’s race, on a chilly night in early March, Flojaune Cofer arrived at her election night party dressed in a geometric print tunic, red pants and stiletto heels. The first-time political candidate and public health advocate — Dr. Flo to her supporters — was all smiles as she made her way through the bar in Old Sacramento, the capital city’s touristy waterfront district.

    Stepping off the stage and forming a line with supporters and friends, Cofer started dancing, the joy on her face palpable.

    Vying to be the first Black woman to lead Sacramento and the city’s most progressive mayor in modern history, Cofer was laboring against the political status quo. But more than a week later, she bucked expectations when she emerged as the primary’s top vote-getter in a pack of well-known establishment politicians. The results upended predictions, even as Sacramento’s other most well-known progressive, incumbent Katie Valenzuela, handily lost her District 4 council seat.

    Now, Cofer has conceded, veteran state Assembly Member Kevin McCarty is preparing to enter the mayor’s office, and the overall 2024 election results are forcing progressives to once again question their place in a city, state and country that is skeptical, fearful or hostile to their values.

    She had never held elected office, though she had chaired the city’s Measure U Community Advisory Committee, the half-cent tax increase aimed to restore and safeguard city services. Initially, she says, she viewed the suggestion as a compliment but not an actual invitation. But when she started to feel stymied by her broader community policy work, Cofer’s outlook shifted.

    “I started feeling frustrated because more so than disagreements over policy, I felt like the imagination that I was just talking about just wasn’t there,” said Cofer, 42.

    All around Cofer, from the top of the Democratic ticket on down, the party of the left was leaning to the right as it sought to win over an increasingly polarized electorate. Vice President Kamala Harris was campaigning with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and talking tough on immigration. Gov. Gavin Newsom was treating homelessness, an issue he used to speak of in housing terms, as a law enforcement matter. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, trying to avoid being the first S.F. mayor to lose a reelection bid in 30 years, was campaigning for a tough-on-crime bill in a city once synonymous with progressivism.

    Like the other candidates, her platform centered on addressing Sacramento’s housing and homelessness crises, though her solutions veered leftward of her rivals’: The city needed to use some of its existing vacant spaces, including underutilized parks, to create sanctioned camping and parking spaces for its unhoused population. The parks could offer stability as well as restrooms and showers.

    Cofer said she wanted to divert the money from vacant police jobs to violence prevention programs as well as to the Department of Community Response, which works to connect individuals in crisis with critical services and treatment options. Her proposal was a noted departure from McCarty’s pledge — and from a growing number of Democratic mayors who have embraced bigger police budgets — to eventually increase the number of police officers in Sacramento.

    Longtime Democratic political consultant Steven Maviglio, who lost his own bid for trustee to the American River Flood Control District, falsely accused Cofer of changing — and lying about — her position on how to use city parks to help unhoused populations.

    Although a Sacramento Bee analysis debunked the claim, Maviglio persisted to characterize Cofer’s campaign promises as militantly leftist.

    Cofer dismissed Graswich as “sexist” and Maviglio as inconsequential, saying before the election that voters were more ready for change than the old guard understood.

    Jamin Pursell, a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, says such descriptors are a common tactic from status-quo politicians and wonks who believe emerging candidates must “kiss the ring” in order to earn respect and validation. The tactics, he adds, are often aimed at women candidates of color — whether it’s Cofer or Marisol Rubio, who lost the state Senate District 9 seat to fellow Democrat Tim Grayson.

    “(Rubio) got 48% of the vote with no corporate backing, she still had the same tone thrown at her (as Cofer did),” Pursell said. “She went in against an established Democrat and was painted as a radical.”

    While California remained blue in the presidential race that saw both the electoral college and popular vote swing behind Trump, there were signs of a marked leaning toward the center.

    Breed lost to a more moderate Democrat, the Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie. In Alameda County, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price — both considered progressives — were recalled by constituents who saw them as soft on crime.

    Statewide, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, which will increase penalties for certain theft and drug crimes, and rejected propositions aiming to expand rent control and limit the forced labor of prison inmates.

    Aimee Allison, a Democratic strategist and founder of She the People, a national coalition that works to place more women of color in politics, said the election results show that Democrats continue to struggle with outreach and messaging.

    “Democrats who are locally and nationally the fulcrums of the progressive politics, as imperfect as that is, (have) a perennial problem about how to speak to the people who will deliver wins and get them to vote,” Allison said. “Trump leaned deeply into his base. No apologies.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/she-was-almost-the-first-black-woman-to-lead-sacramento-what-her-loss-means-for-california-progressives/ar-AA1vCnuT

  23. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8889-Scenic-Hills-Dr-Pensacola-FL-32514/44641459_zpid/

    Just reduced 80K. Sold for 165K in 2013. Now listed for 315K in a country club neighborhood in Pensacola. Its an older 3300 sq/ft house, but needs updating. Still overpriced in my opinion since it was built in 1969, needs updating, and then there’s property tax and insurance.

    My wife and I are looking for a bigger house, we might consider it if we could get it for the lower 200’s, but its a two story house and we’re baby boomers.

    Glad to finally see more significant local price reductions.

    1. Nothing says “dated” like being a split level.

      Also, the kitchen’s gray floor abutting the adjacent brown wood floor just looks weird. I’ve seen this in other houses.

    3. That house has ISSUES. started at 450k. went under contract TWICE at 440k, reduce price and then reduced price again (massively). Those inspections (of the earlier contracts) found something.

      Even the 2013 deal started at 199 and closed at 165……….something was found (and never fixed)
      also it’s a split level. ick.

  24. Star Real Estate Brokers Alexander Brothers Charged With Sex Trafficking

    Luxury real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon were arrested and charged with sex-trafficking by federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday.

    According to the indictment, the three brothers worked together for “well over a decade” to “drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of victims.” They allegedly promised luxury experiences, travel and accommodations to lure victims to locations where they were assaulted.

    Oren and Tal Alexander were major real estate agents in cities including New York and Miami, working with an extensive roster of ultra-wealthy and celebrity clients. Since June, the two have faced multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault in a series of civil lawsuits, with some of the episodes dating back more than a decade. The third brother, Alon, also faces civil allegations of sexual misconduct.

    Earlier on Wednesday, police cars and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were spotted outside Oren’s home in Miami Beach and a spokeswoman for the FBI’s New York office confirmed agents were executing a search.

    Early Wednesday morning, police cars descended on Oren’s waterfront mansion, rattling one of the wealthiest corners of Miami Beach.

    Law enforcement agents knocked down the property’s gate and security cameras were tossed on the ground, after being ripped off walls. Around 6 a.m., an agent yelled through a bullhorn for Oren to come out for about an hour, according to three neighbors who witnessed the scene.

    The fallout from the allegations has forced the brothers to step down from the brokerage they co-founded, Official, as the firm was dropped from key projects and staff departed.

    The allegations have also shone a spotlight on the workplace culture of Douglas Elliman Inc., where the pair worked before founding Official. Howard Lorber, its chairman and chief executive officer, retired in August. Bloomberg reported in November that an internal inquiry showed he had an intimate relationship with two brokers.

    The Alexander brothers hold the record for the most expensive US home sale ever, a $238 million Manhattan penthouse. While Oren focused mostly on South Florida, Tal operated in Manhattan.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/star-real-estate-brokers-alexander-brothers-charged-with-sex-trafficking/ar-AA1vFZhI

  25. FBI Director Christopher Wray to Step Down, Paving Way for Kash Patel

    FBI Director Christopher Wray is going to resign soon, the bureau said on Dec. 11, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump’s next nominee for the position.

    Wray, 57, told FBI employees during a town hall that he will step down when the current administration ends in January 2025, an FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

    “After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray told the employees.

    “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission—the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”

    Wray is currently serving a 10-year term that started in 2017.

    Trump nominated Wray during his first term in office. President Joe Biden opted to keep Wray in place during his only term in office.

    Trump has nominated Kash Patel, a former federal prosecutor, to be FBI director once he enters office again on Jan. 20, 2025.

    FBI directors require Senate confirmation.

    During Trump’s first term, Patel helped the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee to compile evidence showing the FBI did not act properly when it investigated former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Special counsel John Durham later found that FBI agents were motivated by confirmation bias in the probe, which did not establish coordination between the campaign and Russia.

    Patel later worked for the White House National Security Council. In 2020, he worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. And during the final months of Trump’s first term, he was the chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
    Trump said when announcing his choice to lead the FBI that Patel “will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”

    Patel told The Epoch Times after being selected that “we will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to our justice system and return the FBI to its rightful mission: protecting the American people.

    The FBI in 2022 executed a search warrant on Trump’s home in Florida, in one of two federal cases brought against the former president. Trump said he did nothing wrong. Prosecutors closed the cases after Trump won the November election.

    Trump and many other Republicans have repeatedly criticized the FBI, alleging its actions have been fueled by partisanship.

    Wray told a House panel in 2023 that he has been a Republican his whole life and has not acted with bias.

    “The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” he said at the time.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/fbi-director-christopher-wray-to-step-down-paving-way-for-patel-5774738

  27. ‘Alammari, who runs a small fleet of drayage trucks that haul cargo to and from the port, wants to do his part to help clean the air of dangerous diesel exhaust. His company…bought two new zero-emission big rigs at a cost of more than $900,000. But the trucks, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, are expensive to operate and there are few if any fueling stations along their routes. The new trucks have been sitting in the parking lot most of the time since he bought them. ‘I don’t want to put myself into a financial hole’

    Yer in a 900k hole right now Mashhoor.

  28. ‘He says he’s not the only one who has been denied repairs. ‘They haven’t fixed anyone’s vehicle who is in there,’ said Rawls. ‘It’s supposed to be triage. We’re supposed to bring our vehicles in here to get repaired and then we’re out on our own. But it just sits there and gets worse. Then the rats get in them’…A budget analyst report in 2023 estimates the cost per vehicle at the site to be about $140,000 per year’

    That’s some central planning right there.

    ‘He says the experience has been tough. ‘When I first got here we didn’t have nothing,’ said Rawls. ‘It was crazy. They put all this money in it and now they say you’re out of here in February. It’s crazy’…‘Horrible,’ said Aaron Wilson, describing his experience living in the lot since March ‘Day after day. Something torturous. Like a prison camp. Treated very unfairly. And we’re the bad people because we alerted the authorities’

    ‘Ultimately, for Myers, the media and nationwide fascination is about jealousy. ‘They don’t like that California has this romantic image,’ he said. ‘They’d really like to see it go up in flames’

  29. ‘Therefore, a long-term decline in housing prices is inevitable’

    Long time readers may remember I used to do 2 or 3 China posts a week before Xitler told the media no bad stories. That was around 2014 IIRC. So it’s interesting to see this on China Daily.

  30. This Is Why Condos Are Suffering The Most (GTA Condo Real Estate Market Update)

    Team Sessa Real Estate

    14 minutes ago TORONTO

    This episode looks at the current GTA Condo Markets – Toronto, York Region & Peel Region for the week ending Dec 4, 2024. We also discuss how the problem for condos is going to compound because so many of the units for sale are investor-owned.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9EI4k0pMQc

    18:33.

  32. Gay Truce, 83, worked hard her whole life only to end up trapped between a rock and a hard place.
    Why do terrible things only seem to happen to hard working folks? I have Never seen an article about a lazy slacker ending up in the predicament like this, have you? Thank God I am a lazy slacker so hopefully I won’t end up like her.

  34. ‘We know no other state is quite like California but they can’t get the ocean, they can’t get the mountains. They can’t get the cool temperatures we have,’
    GA, SC NC have all three in about a 4 hour or less drive. Plus, no Zombie apocalypse, at least not yet. I live in the foot hills and can get to the beach in a little over 3 hours and an it’s a little over an hour to Boone/Asheville. Boone Asheville is (was???) a common summer vacation spot

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