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Any Slim Hope Of A Buyer’s Market Starting Would Be Hamstrung By The Fact There Aren’t Any Buyers

A report from WPTV. “We dug into the data and discovered that both nationally and in South Florida that home sales and prices are down. Ask anyone trying to sell a home in our area, and they’ll tell you the days of fast selling at any price are over. Diane Easter has had her two-bedroom and two-bath home in the Whisper Walk community, located west of Boca Raton, on the market since March. It was first listed at $280,000 and now it’s down to $247,000, she said. ‘Every time we lower ours, people down the street and behind us, they lower theirs too,’ Easter said. ‘It’s like they’re watching it.’ Real estate advisor Sera Peat met WPTV outside a Lake Worth condo that’s been on the market for four weeks. ‘It is a buyer’s market,’ Peat said. ‘I think for sellers it’s a little more challenging right now. The houses are sitting longer, many have taken them off the market or listed them for rent.'”

The Denton Record Chronicle. “Market interest rates have helped to bring more inventory back to the market. We’ve seen record amounts of inventory across many North Texas submarkets this summer. But don’t fret. The sky is not falling. Denton’s housing market is not collapsing. It’s responding to market fundamentals. There were 5.2 months of supply in Denton. We’ve likely seen the peak for inventory this year with seasonality setting in. Median price per square foot fell by 5.1% in July. Average price per square foot was down 4.5% year over year in the city of Denton. Area homebuilders continue to make deals to move new homes. Juicy incentives and mortgage rate buydowns helped to lower the median price per square foot for a new house in Denton County by roughly 10% from last year. Median rents were down 3% in the city of Denton. Apartment List shows asking rents down 4.1% from last year in Denton. It’s not uncommon to see one to two months of free rent at many area apartment developments. Abundant supply breeds competition. Renters in Denton now have a host of options to choose from. Conforming loan limits are still wildly disconnected from average U.S. home prices. Wildly inflated loan limits are now 61% higher than what most average new home shoppers can afford.”

The Denver Post in Colorado. “According to a recent DMAR City and County Market Trends Report, in July the median sales price was down 1.2% to $630,000 for single family homes and 6.5% to $392,500 for townhouse-condo properties. Days on market increased 25% for single family homes and 44.7% for townhouse-condo properties. Last month, there was approximately 13,897 single-family inventory of active listings, up 13.6% from the same time last year. Amanda Snitker, a residential real estate agent in Denver said metro housing data revealed inventory and days in MLS are both rising, while buyer activity has slowed. Buyers in the Denver market have a meaningful opportunity: more inventory, slower competition and stable pricing create space for strategic moves, said Snitker. ‘There is less pressure to rush into decisions, especially in higher price brackets,’ Snitker said.”

The Union Tribune in California. “There’s a good chance a home purchased in San Diego County last year is now worth less. The median home price was $900,000 in June, according to Attom Data Solutions, which combines sales of single-family homes, townhouses and condos. It’s down $15,000 from the same time last year and marks the fourth month in a row, based on revised data, where the median was unchanged. Month-to-month fluctuations are common, but it is rare for the annual price to drop. The last time this occurred was two years ago. San Diego isn’t alone with a continued sluggish real estate market, which has been affected by higher mortgage rates, elevated home prices and few sales. ‘People are just hesitant right now (to buy),’ said Raylene Brundage, a North County real estate agent. ‘Anybody I talk to is just saying, ‘Wow, this market is brutal right now.’”

“There were 2,307 home sales in June, way down from historical norms during the busy summer buying season. Yet it was an improvement from the same time last summer when home sales cratered to 2,169, marking the slowest June in Attom data going back to 2005. Brundage said mortgage rates still are a big factor in potential buyers pulling the trigger. She joked that any slim hope of a buyer’s market starting would be hamstrung by the fact there aren’t any buyers. Given San Diego’s high home prices, buyers could still face sticker shock. For example, the monthly payment for a median-priced San Diego County home would be around $5,000 in June (with mortgage rates at the time) — and that is assuming a 20% down payment of $180,000.There were 7,257 homes listed for sale in San Diego County in June, its highest level in recent memory. At the same time last year, there were 5,337 active listings; 3,488 listings in 2023; and 5,274 in 2022.”

From Silicon Valley in California. “The owner of a Berkeley apartment complex that faces foreclosure has filed for bankruptcy in a legal gambit meant to delay a lender’s efforts to seize or auction off the property. The 97-unit University Park Apartments had been headed toward an auction and foreclosure over a $28.3 million loan provided in 2023 by Terra Property Trust. Those efforts now face an uncertain timeline after the property owner, an affiliate of Academy West Investments, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its finances. An affiliate of Academy West Investments bought the five-story apartment complex at 1709 Shattuck Ave. in 2020 for $34 million, documents on file with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office show. Academy West specializes in student housing and apartment investments and is affiliated with Sunstone Development. In 2018, real estate executives Blake Wettengel and Tanya Muro formed Academy West.”

“At the time the Academy West affiliate bought University Park Apartments, the company’s executives touted its proximity to UC Berkeley. ‘We thought the location of the property was unsurpassed since it’s within a 2-minute walk to campus and near downtown, a major transportation center, and an arts and cultural district,’ Muro said. Academy West was also betting on the long-term trend of housing supply constraints in the area.”

From Bisnow. “The retail portion of The New York Times’ former building has a new owner a year after the Kushner Cos. lost it to foreclosure. The undisclosed buyer — a high net worth individual, according to sources familiar with the deal — acquired the asset for just $28M, according to a press release. The price is less than a 10th of what Kushner paid for the multilevel Midtown Manhattan retail condominium less than a decade ago. Kushner acquired the 248K SF retail condominium at 229 W. 43rd St. for $295M. The next year, it refinanced its mortgage with a $370M loan package from Deutsche Bank and SL Green. At the time, it was valued at $470M.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Buyers and sellers in the Toronto-area real estate market this summer appear to be growing restless following many months of angst. Overall, Patrick Rocca, broker with Bosley Real Estate says the summer has been busier than he expected after a typical pace for June. Homes that show well and are well-priced sometimes draw multiple offers, he says, but many people are also striving to pay less than the asking price. ‘We’ve still got a lot of buyers who are looking for a steal.’ The strategy of setting an attention-getting asking price and a date for reviewing offers is hit-and-miss in the current market, adds real estate agent Dino Capocci of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Mr. Capocci tried that tactic in Bedford Park earlier in the summer when he listed a semi-detached house with an asking price around the $1.49-million mark. The highest of two offers was $1.42-million, he says, which is less than the sellers paid for the house seven years ago. ‘It failed miserably,’ says Mr. Capocci of the offer date, when the sellers rejected both bids. The house sold for $1.47-million three weeks later after lengthy negotiations with a third buyer.”

“Meanwhile, the lagging condo sector has likely been acting as a drag on other parts of the market, Mr. Capocci says. In the past, first-time buyers would build up some equity in a condo unit and use that as a stepping stone to a single-family home. But with prices sliding, many owners no longer have that option. ‘The condo owners are now under water. They’re not buying the bigger house.’ Looking towards September, Mr. Rocca is expecting a fairly brisk tempo of sales. ‘I’m fielding lots of calls from people who want to sell,’ he says. ‘Others wonder if they should wait until spring.'”

BC Business in Canada. “The four-storey Chloe condo project off Vancouver’s Arbutus Greenway was once marketed as a boutique, Paris-inspired luxury residence. Now, less than a year after completion, it’s become one of the city’s most closely watched receivership cases. According to reporting by the Vancouver Sun, the developer, Lightstone Development, owed more than $90 million in secured debt when court-appointed receivership proceedings began in February. That makes the case highly unusual, says Vancouver real estate agent Suraj Rai, who is following the proceedings closely. ‘Rarely do you see a completed building going through foreclosure, certainly not in Vancouver.’ Rai says the remaining units will be marketed in the coming weeks at prices ranging from $750,000 to $2 million, or about $1,500 per square foot on average. That represents roughly a 25 percent drop compared with the $2,100 per square foot that presale buyers agreed to pay several years ago.”

“‘The pre-sale selling price was at the ‘high-times’ of real estate, when people thought it would never come down. Now, it’s back down to earth. Though $1500/sf is by no means cheap.’ Rai explains that the debt on the project is ‘piling on at $16,000 a day,’ adding that the court documents specifically say that the receiver intends to move the units out without delay because of said debt. The Chloe is not an isolated case, Rai cautions. ‘There’s lots of foreclosures and receiverships, and I’d bet dollars to donuts, there’s more on the way.’ Still, he emphasizes the quality of the finished product. ‘I want to make this clear: They failed financially. But the building is absolutely gorgeous on the inside. They failed because they spent too much, making it too nice, and the market flipped on them.'”

From Chosun Biz in Korea. “In the first half of this year, the number of ‘unsold units after completion’ in the five major metropolitan cities has surged compared to last year. Unsold units after completion refer to complexes where apartments have been fully constructed but remain unsold. The number of unsold units after completion in Daegu has more than doubled compared to last year, and most major metropolitan areas such as Busan (89.9%) and Gwangju (59.9%) also saw an increase in unsold units after completion. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Woori Bank’s WM Sales Strategy Department on the 18th, the number of unsold units after completion in Daegu as of the end of June was recorded at 3,824 units. This figure represents an increase of 2,189 units (133.8%) compared to a year ago in June 2024 (1,635 units). This means the unsold units after completion have more than doubled over the year.”

“Kim In-man, head of the Kim In-man Real Estate Economic Research Institute, noted, ‘The complexes currently experiencing unsold units problem are those that started the project 4 to 5 years ago, around 2020-2021,’ adding, ‘They assumed the real estate boom would continue and took project financing (PF) loans, resulting in oversupply, the side effects of which are now becoming apparent.’ Nam Hyuk-woo, a researcher at Woori Bank’s WM Sales Strategy Department, also mentioned, ‘The significant oversupply, where the number of available units greatly exceeds demand, combined with relatively high selling prices, is contributing to the continuation of large-scale unsold units in major metropolitan areas.'”

This Post Has 65 Comments
  1. ‘At the time the Academy West affiliate bought University Park Apartments, the company’s executives touted its proximity to UC Berkeley. ‘We thought the location of the property was unsurpassed since it’s within a 2-minute walk to campus and near downtown, a major transportation center, and an arts and cultural district,’ Muro said. Academy West was also betting on the long-term trend of housing supply constraints in the area’

    And student housing is recession proof Tanya.

  2. ‘The retail portion of The New York Times’ former building has a new owner a year after the Kushner Cos. lost it to foreclosure. The undisclosed buyer — a high net worth individual, according to sources familiar with the deal — acquired the asset for just $28M, according to a press release. The price is less than a 10th of what Kushner paid for the multilevel Midtown Manhattan retail condominium less than a decade ago’

    6% to be exact. Are we there yet? And these guys have plenty of money, so they gave it away.

    1. “6% to be exact.”

      So Kushner Companies, LLC, a NY developer, paid roughly $467M, likely with borrowed money, so it ain’t over yet. Odds are ladybird Kushner’s thighs have been closed, welded shut!

      Just imagine: $467M – $28M = ($439M) Yikes!

  3. ‘many people are also striving to pay less than the asking price. ‘We’ve still got a lot of buyers who are looking for a steal’

    That’s the spirit!

    1. “buyers looking for a steal”

      you just know that was said in the most sneering, scolding manner possible ’cause it’s only good when the SELLERS price gouge on the way up.
      I mean, how dare the buyers attempt to bargain down the price. That commish is earned fair n’ square. Ya’ think all these Open House signs are free?!

      (why, the nerve of these skinflint bottom dwellers!! realtors have payments to make, too. after all, that Merc/BMW/Telluride won’t pay for itself & lord knows I hit the wall so hard that Only Fans is not an option. And my man’s blue pills are just not working anymore.

      Stop the listings !
      Turn those HELOCS BACK ON !!

  4. ‘Rarely do you see a completed building going through foreclosure, certainly not in Vancouver’

    You must be a puddlewatcher Suraj, cuz I can remember some. And yer fooking the previous buyers by 25%.

  5. ‘The complexes currently experiencing unsold units problem are those that started the project 4 to 5 years ago, around 2020-2021,’ adding, ‘They assumed the real estate boom would continue and took project financing (PF) loans, resulting in oversupply, the side effects of which are now becoming apparent.’

    Jerry broke it off in yer a$$ Kim.

    1. Hoarders gonna hoard.

      * “Hoarding disorder (HD) or Plyushkin’s disorder is a mental disorder[7] characterised by persistent difficulty in parting with possessions and engaging in excessive acquisition of items that are not needed or for which no space is available.” —wiki

    2. That mess had to be there when they were house shopping. Take emotion out of home buying and look over the fence. Would love to know what that realtard knew.

  6. “many have taken them off the market or listed them for rent.’”

    Nice! More rental inventory means lower rents too. Leave it on the market, prices come down. Turn it into a rental and rents come down. Take it off the market and we’ve got tomorrow’s foreclosure. It’s all good!

    1. yes, I guess there is no way around losing money on that investment. either low rents and long periods sitting empty, or just lose it al at once through a sell at lower price. choose your poison.

  7. “Kim In-man, head of the Kim In-man Real Estate Economic Research Institute, noted, ‘The complexes currently experiencing unsold units problem are those that started the project 4 to 5 years ago, around 2020-2021,”

    Kim In-man: soon to be green track suit player # 269

  8. “We’ve seen record amounts of inventory across many North Texas submarkets this summer. But don’t fret. The sky is not falling.”

    Everything that follows in that article indicates that the sky is indeed falling.

  9. I frequently ride my motorcycle down this road. Its a nice scenic ride along the bay. This is a 62 year old remodeled block house. There was a popular seafood restaurant and marina several hundred yards away from this property. After hurricane Ivan in 2004, the restaurant and marina were reduced to rubble. This house would have had approximately 6 to 10 feet of water intrusion. There were large boats lodged up in trees all over the woods surrounding the marina. This property is owned by a flipper.

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3575-Robinson-Point-Rd-Milton-FL-32583/47895304_zpid/

  10. Cracker Barrel has gone Bud Light. After unveiling their new logo their stock is tanking. We have one here in my little burg, but it’s at the other end of town, just off I-25. Plus going out for breakfast has become a luxury for many. The only time I eat breakfast in a restaurant is when on vacation, and that’s only if the hotel doesn’t offer a hot breakfast buffet.

  11. From the Dumver Post

    Colorado lawmakers return to Capitol to fix budget as they tangle over Trump tax bill — and solutions

    The Colorado Capitol will return to a bustle Thursday as lawmakers flock back months early for a special session on the budget that no one wanted.

    The bills they pass in the coming days could determine the fate of certain state tax breaks and how much the state dips into its reserves — as well as the need for spending cuts for programs. The federal tax-and-spending bill signed by President Donald Trump last month blew an estimated $783 million hole in the state budget for the current fiscal year, spurring Gov. Jared Polis to call the special session and sending the Democratic majority into a scramble to rebalance the books and shore up state services.

    As some here would like to say: $783 million, is that a lot?

    Assuming that states were getting Biden Bucks at a proportional rate to population I would estimate that about $50 billion Biden bucks were handed out like Halloween candy to state governments last year, and possibly more. And that doesn’t include all the free cheese handed out to counties, cities, school districts, etc.

    And speaking of school districts. my teacher relative in NC found out that they will be furloughed (no pay) over the winter break. This is on top of layoffs, no dental plan, etc.

    1. According to WTOP, Maryland had a $3B shortfall this year because they weren’t expecting federal shortfall money. At a population of 6 million, that’s about $500/person. A pure multiplication puts that at $170 billion for the country. I would guess the reality is more like $80-100 billion.

  12. Boston.com readers disagree with a report saying Boston is entering its ‘next chapter’

    Conde Nast Traveler says Boston is entering its “next chapter” when it comes to diversity and inclusion in an article about the historic city featured in its September/October issue.

    We asked Boston.com readers in an informal poll if they agree, and the majority said no.

    In the piece, author Sarah Khan wrote that Boston has a reputation as “the exclusive enclave of Mark Wahlbergs, ‘paahked caahs,’ and obnoxious sports fans,” but the city’s artists, entrepreneurs, chefs, and Mayor Michelle Wu — the first woman and person of color elected mayor — are changing that.

    “I was just at Fenway Park. It was a sea of white people. Made me uncomfortable.” — Jane from the South End

    https://www.boston.com/community/readers-say/2025/08/20/boston-entering-next-chapter/

    1. “I was just at Fenway Park. It was a sea of white people. Made me uncomfortable.” — Jane from the South End

      This reminds me of an anecdote from many years ago here in my little burg.

      A female Asian (Chinese) colleague came to a meeting form San Diego and stayed at a local hotel. She said that she saw a lot of men wearing cowboy hats in the restaurant and bar, and said she felt uncomfortable. I explained to her that if someone gave her a bad time that those guys would have rushed to her rescue.

  13. DC gay bar owners report thousands in losses due to federal presence

    WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The federal takeover is being blamed for fewer people coming out to clubs and bars in Northwest.

    Several owners say they’ve lost thousands of dollars because people stayed home or went somewhere else to avoid the intimidating sight.

    “We’ve been so dead. Like Friday was miserable. I went down to other bars, and it was miserable at those bars,” said David Peruzza, owner of Pitchers and A League of Her Own. “Saturday, we took a huge hit too. Sunday, we were just completely dead.”

    Perruzza even had a drag queen who didn’t want to come to work.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dc-gay-bar-owners-report-thousands-in-losses-due-to-federal-presence/ar-AA1KLWK1

    1. The important information is buried at the end. The bar owners says there cops are asking for IDs at checkpoints, and the drag queens don’t look like their ID picture, and that’s why business is down.

      I dunno about that. What percentage of gays are cross-dressers? Not enough to shut down a gay bar.

  14. After 13 years with City of Denver, employee reacts to layoffs amid budget cuts

    On Monday, the City of Denver announced 171 city employees would be laid off as the city faces a $200 million gap in next year’s budget. The city also shared that it would be eliminating 665 open positions and finding new funding for 92 jobs.

    Scott Gilmore was one of them, the longtime manager for the Department of Parks and Recreation, receiving his notice Monday.

    “I was sending emails this morning about the high line canal, because I was working on the high line canal,” Gilmore said, “But I’m off, I’m not going to be doing that anymore.”

    Gilmore explained that the city emailed him on Monday, in part, “It is with regret that I am providing you with this notification that your position is being abolished and you will be laid off.”

    Now, after decades of working in public service and 13 years with the city of Denver, his career is coming to an end.

    “I’m one of the 170 plus that now have to figure out how I’m gonna pay the bills. How am I gonna take my daughter back to college in Boston in a week, and how do I pay for her tuition?” Gilmore said.

    Monday’s layoffs came just hours before Denver’s city council meeting, where Scott Gilmore’s wife, Stacie Gilmore, holds a seat.

    “It is a really hard day as an elected official,” Stacie Gilmore went on to say, “A few folks, and you all know who you are, because I know you know who you are, said, well, you know what? During ARPA, during the pandemic, we hired a lot of people, and so there’s a lot of fluff in our city. Well, you know what today? Those fluff are human beings.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/after-13-years-with-city-of-denver-employee-reacts-to-layoffs-amid-budget-cuts-its-gonna-be-tough/ar-AA1KNQPn

    1. “It is with regret that I am providing you with this notification that your position is being abolished and you will be laid off.”

      I’ve never seen a layoff notice worded like that. Usually you are simply told that your position has been eliminated and your last day is X (often today).

  15. Conversions Outpace Construction As Denver’s Office Leasing Market Resets

    Denver’s office market is being reshaped on two tracks. In the urban core, smaller floor plate buildings are being converted to residential. In the suburbs, large blocks are increasingly candidates for demolition.

    The divide is tied to building size and location, CBRE Senior Vice President Anthony Albanese told Bisnow. Downtown assets with 15K to 20K SF floor plates can be adapted for housing, he said.

    Suburban properties with 30K SF or more per floor often leave long, windowless interiors that don’t work for apartments.

    “That’s where we’re starting to see more demolition,” Albanese said.

    CBRE’s second-quarter office report shows conversions and demolitions are now outpacing new construction across the metro. The shift comes as vacancy reached 27.4% in the second quarter and net absorption remained negative with a net loss of 442K SF.

    Taken together, the report signals that Denver’s office market is entering a reset. Conversions are giving downtown a path forward, and suburban demolitions are clearing obsolete inventory.

    https://www.bisnow.com/denver/news/office/denver-office-market-conversions-demolitions-130647

    1. Suburban properties with 30K SF or more per floor often leave long, windowless interiors that don’t work for apartments.

      “That’s where we’re starting to see more demolition,” Albanese said.

      A lot of those are just old big box structures with cubicle farms inside. I once interviewed at a really bad one, which I think was originally industrial and repurposed into a cubicle farm. It had no windows, just sky lights. It felt like a dungeon.

    2. IMO they should start converting office-park style office buildings into shelters or housing. Those places are often single-story small buildings, almost like a strip mall. No problem with enough windows, or even stairs.

      1. My little burg is putting a sales tax increase to voters this Nov, with the proceeds going to the homeless.

        There is only one outcome of giving freebies to the homeless: more homeless will show up, with their palms extended.

  16. D.C. Office Investor’s Troubled Portfolio Forces Major Stock Sales

    Cogent Communications CEO and D.C.-area commercial real estate investor Dave Schaeffer has had to give up the vast majority of his stake in his tech company to support his office portfolio.

    Schaeffer, who owns 42 office buildings in the Greater D.C. area, told Bloomberg that his portfolio has lost more than half of its value since 2022, dipping from $1.1B to $500M.

    Schaeffer purchased two D.C.-area office properties from Lerner Enterprises in the summer of 2022 — a two-tower Tysons property and one in downtown D.C. — for $100M. He paid nearly $103M for two Rosslyn office buildings at the end of 2018 that total 281K SF.

    He told Bloomberg his office portfolio’s vacancy rate has risen from 10% before the pandemic to 35% today, and it is largely made up of Class-B buildings. CBRE’s second-quarter report found the Class-B segment had the highest vacancy in D.C. at 26%, while the overall market was at 22.6%.

    “I had a stable portfolio that was consistently appreciating. And then when Covid hit, the portfolio began to depreciate,” Schaeffer told Bloomberg. “The DOGE overhang and the additional pressure that put on the entire market turned the D.C. market from one of the best into one of the worst markets nationally.”

    https://www.bisnow.com/washington-dc/news/office/dc-property-investors-troubled-portfolio-forces-sales-of-stock-portfolio-130638

  17. US steel tariffs leave Indian foundries gasping

    Work has slowed or stopped in Kolkata, a major hub for India’s steel foundries that export sanitary castings. Owners discuss distress privately but don’t share much publicly, and workers are confused.

    But some owners, like Vijay Shankar Beriwal of Calcutta Iron Udyog, are not holding back. He blames the 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imposed by US President Donald Trump, which went into effect in June. Trump cited national security concerns under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962 for the move. In addition to the steel tariffs, Trump has also imposed 25% “reciprocal tariffs” on most Indian goods. The US president has proposed an additional 25% tariff, set to go into effect later this month, in response to India’s purchases of Russian oil.

    “The full impact has yet to hit the market, but the stressors have begun to show. Those with existing US orders are clearing them fast, but new orders are slow or absent. Many foundries have stopped work,” he says.

    The 50% steel and aluminum tariff, part of Trump’s protectionist trade policies, threatens to choke eastern India’s export-driven foundries and medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), which rely heavily on the US market.

    India exported $4.56 billion in iron, steel, and aluminium products to the US last year, including $587.5 million in iron and steel, $3.1 billion worth of iron or steel products, and $860 million in aluminium products, based on data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This accounts for roughly 5.3% of India’s $86.51 billion total exports to the US.

    The domestic market is also under pressure. With export orders stalling, manufacturers are flooding the local market, intensifying competition.

    “Some clients demand 5% price cuts, others want credit payment. These are unprecedented moves,” says RK Damani, owner of Industrial Casting Corporation in Kolkata.

    The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) estimates an 85% drop in US-bound steel exports, leading to a surplus that could push down domestic steel prices by 6-8%, further squeezing MSME margins.

    “With the tariffs now, competitive pricing will be a deciding factor. But some countries, like China, have a great appetite for undercutting prices. Indian SMEs may not have the wherewithal to match that,” said FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai.

    “The problem with steel exports is that all developed countries are closing. Europe [European Union] has been charging duties since 2018, and from January 2026, it will impose the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM),” said Ajai Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative.

    https://www.dw.com/en/us-steel-tariffs-leave-indian-foundries-gasping/a-73691340

  18. Stelco owner ‘doesn’t give two hoots’ about the workers: Ontario Premier Doug Ford

    Ontario Premier Doug Ford went on a rant Wednesday against the head of the company that owns Hamilton-based steel company Stelco, saying his support for U.S. tariffs shows he “doesn’t give two hoots” about those workers.

    Lourenco Goncalves, the president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, has spoken positively about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel, including doubling them from 25 to 50 per cent.

    “This bold action strengthens the American steel industry and safeguards the livelihoods of our nation’s steelworkers,” Goncalves said at a meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute, which he chairs.

    Earlier this week, Goncalves also said in a press release that he applauded the U.S. Department of Commerce’s move to expand the scope of steel and aluminum tariffs.

    “I got a problem with that guy,” Ford said. “He doesn’t give two hoots about his workers at Stelco.”

    Stelco should get a new owner or maybe the province should buy them, Ford mused.

    “I’m done with this guy signing letters saying, ‘Yeah, bring all the steel down (to) the U.S., tariff the crap out of Canadians,'” Ford said.

    “This is the owner. So remember that, Stelco workers, when your owner comes prancing through your place. He doesn’t support you. I look forward to getting a phone call from him because he has my cell number. I’m going to blast him.”

    The premier was in Hamilton to announce $70 million worth of funding for training and employment services for workers in industries affected by U.S. tariffs.

    Ford said it’s also important to make as many products in Ontario as possible, including steel rails and I-beams, for the various construction and transit projects underway in the province.

    “The problem is we got too comfortable with our closest friend and ally, with the United States,” he said. “No one in a million years would think a guy named President Trump would come along and start an economic war with his closest friend and ally, not to mention with the rest of the world. And the rest of the world goes back and kisses his behind all the time.”

    https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/national-business/stelco-owner-doesnt-give-two-hoots-about-the-workers-ontario-premier-doug-ford-11102218

  19. Salvadoran man arrested while trying to self-deport from California. His punishment? Deportation

    A Salvadoran man with a criminal record was recently arrested at San Francisco International Airport while trying to board a flight to self-deport.

    After three weeks in custody, a federal court convicted him of being in the country illegally following a prior removal, according to court documents, and he is now expected to be deported back to El Salvador — exactly where he was attempting to go when he was detained.

    Jeisson Rony Escobar-Valencia, 30, was brought to the Bay Area at 11 years old by his father, who had obtained temporary protected status due to unsafe conditions in El Salvador. Escobar-Valencia spent the entirety of his adolescent and adult life in the U.S, where he now has a 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, according to documents filed by his attorney, Elisse Larouche.

    Escobar-Valencia is a convicted sex offender and was previously deported, but his lawyer said that when he boarded the flight at SFO, he was “trying to do the right thing — leave the U.S. because he did not have legal status here.”

    In 2018, Escobar-Valencia was convicted of committing lewd acts with a child under 14 years old.

    According to Larouche, he entered a plea deal that he thought would protect him from deportation. It did not, however, and he was deported to El Salvador in May 2021 after spending three years in prison.

    Shortly after arriving back in El Salvador, Escobar-Valencia was the victim of an attempted homicide. After this traumatic encounter, Escobar-Valencia feared he would be kidnapped or attacked again, according to Larouche.

    “It was in this context that Mr. Escobar-Valencia made the decision to return to the U.S.,” Larouche wrote. “He understands now that he should not have returned, but at the time, he was in extreme fear and made the wrong and unlawful choice.”

    Upon his return to America, Escobar-Valencia was arrested in Martinez, Calif., in July 2021 and served four months in jail for failure to register as a sex offender. On Feb. 14, he was once again arrested for failure to register as a sex offender in Richmond, Calif. In July, he made the decision to self-deport, purchasing his own ticket from San Francisco to San Salvador.

    But when Escobar-Valencia attempted to board his flight on July 23, he was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to court documents.

    “[Escobar-Valencia] said goodbye to his family including two young children and partner, and was determined to set up a life in El Salvador where his family could later join him,” Larouche wrote. “Instead, the government intervened to criminally prosecute Mr. Escobar-Valencia, putting him in criminal custody for this case followed by a prolonged period in immigration custody before he can return to El Salvador.”

    Escobar-Valencia subsequently entered a plea bargain agreeing to the “virtual certainty of his deportation” in exchange for the swift resolution of his case, according to court documents. On Aug. 14, a federal judge sentenced him to time served plus one more day in prison, after which point Escobar-Valencia was transferred into ICE’s custody.

    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-08-21/salvadorian-man-arrested-while-trying-to-self-deport-at-sfo-his-punishment-deportation

    I suppose they wanted to get the charge finalized in case he tries to come back.

    1. , where he now has a 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter

      When they start popping them out they don’t waste time. Probably from 2 different women.

      I suppose they wanted to get the charge finalized in case he tries to come back.

      That crossed my mind as well.

      1. I wonder if those mothers were underage too. I think they caught him before he self-deported because they wanted for him to be banned from any entry for 10 years (or was it life?)

    2. “convicted of committing lewd acts with a child under 14 years old”

      This is who Muh Resistance is protesting to keep in the country.

  20. Mother of ICE detainee prays for ‘miracle’ as stunned East Oakland neighbors reckon with arrests

    With its cathedral ceiling and a tall, red chimney, the house on 79th Avenue hardly stands out in a quiet, working-class East Oakland neighborhood where residents tend to look out for one another.

    Each morning, four of the young men who lived there would shuffle into an SUV parked out front, headed to their jobs at an East Bay fast-food joint. One of them had recently been promoted to kitchen manager, his mother said.

    The neighbors never saw any cause for concern. So they were left shaken when, late on the afternoon on Aug. 12, seven people were taken from the house on 79th Avenue near Hillside Street, swept into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans and driven away to be held in detention facilities around the country.

    The 10 people who lived there, a mix of extended family members and a pair of housemates, are all originally from Honduras and hold varying immigration statuses. An attorney for the detainees said none had criminal backgrounds. A search of federal criminal records turned up no cases for them.

    Now, several of the residents are being held at a detention center in Tacoma, Washington, while a 17-year-old with Down syndrome was kept in San Francisco for a few nights last week before being transferred to a facility in New York state.

    Norma Torres, whose son — Kenneth Mena Torres — was among those arrested, described a jarring moment when ICE agents brusquely entered their home to scan the face of each person living there. She asked where the detainees would be taken, but the agents offered no explanations.

    Norma shared Kenneth’s name with this news organization, along with those of three other detainees: Eleazor Saul Galo, Carlos Ariel Reyes Ávila and Kency Joana Torres Ávila, the last of whom is Norma’s niece.

    Norma Torres, who along with two others was not arrested, migrated to the U.S. in 2013, with her son joining three years later. She has a green card, she said, while her son had been waiting on his own after receiving permission from immigration officials to live and work here in 2020.

    Both are listed in property records as owners of the East Oakland home. The other residents had been paying them rent to live there.

    “They are hard-working people,” Torres said of the detainees. “They haven’t hurt anybody, and they weren’t making any trouble. They just want to live here and go to their jobs.”

    Some of the elderly homeowners in the neighborhood have lived there for decades. The area is not immune to crime, but 60-year-old Tony Lewis said ICE rolling up on the block bears far worse trauma than anything else the community has dealt with.

    “You just can’t come in somebody’s house for nothing,” Lewis said. “That’s just like, the Ku Klux Klan coming up to my house — it’s the same thing!”

    The dramatic uptick in activity by immigration authorities has strained public life among migrants across California, leading many to avoid public spaces where ICE officers may be present.

    “It takes a lot of courage just to go to work right now,” said a worker, Candida, whose last name was omitted in a statement provided by the California Fast Food Workers union. A manager at the restaurant that employed the people detained in Oakland declined to comment.

    Torres, meanwhile, has had trouble keeping track of where her loved ones are in the system, with her information solely coming from a Centro Legal de la Raza attorney, Nikolas De Bremaeker.

    After first alerting local news media about the arrests last week, De Bremaeker did not respond to a follow-up interview request. He mentioned at a recent news conference that, in recent days, a hefty case load was regularly keeping him at work late into the night.

    Torres is grateful to the attorneys who are helping her family. But given the national climate, she doubts there’s any way for the loved ones who shared her home to avoid deportation.

    “A miracle of God,” she said of her hopes. “That’s all there can be.”

    https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/08/20/oakland-ice-arrest-response/

    ‘That’s just like, the Ku Klux Klan coming up to my house — it’s the same thing!’

    It’s worse than that Tony, it’s the hollowcost!

    ‘They are hard-working people,” Torres said of the detainees. “They haven’t hurt anybody, and they weren’t making any trouble. They just want to live here and go to their jobs’

    They’ll get used to the outhouse and banana leaves again Norma, and so will you.

    1. “You just can’t come in somebody’s house for nothing,” Lewis said. “That’s just like, the Ku Klux Klan coming up to my house — it’s the same thing!”

      They keep throwing sh!t at the wall, to see what will stick.

      Both are listed in property records as owners of the East Oakland home. The other residents had been paying them rent to live there.

      Not just homeowners, but in the Bay Area.

    2. Norma Torres, who along with two others was not arrested, migrated to the U.S. in 2013, with her son joining three years later. She has a green card, she said

      And she was harboring illegals. Might that be grounds for losing her Green Card and being deported?

      1. I would agree with you, but I’m not sure they’ve started up the harboring prosecutions yet.

        What’s interesting here is that ICE came into a private house, for which I believe they would need a warrant. Usually ICE has doesn’t have warrants so they nab them out in public, such as on the way to work. Speaking of work, that’s four breadwinners gone in one shot.

  21. CT immigration advocates call for action after ICE raids

    DANBURY — Saying they refuse to let their neighbors disappear in silence, a large group of local immigration advocates gathered in pouring rain in a parking lot across from the Danbury courthouse and called for action after recent federal immigration raids in Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford.

    “People are being ‘disappeared’ on the streets right now, here. And it is up to us. It is up to the leaders, to grow a spine, to find courage, to stand up and to take action,” shouted Juan Fonseca Tapia, co-founder of Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants at the rally on Wednesday afternoon. “The longer they wait, the stronger these fascist groups will become. We are running out of time.

    “We need people. We need leaders who are willing to stand next to us and to put their bodies in the line to keep our families safe, to stop the construction of concentration camps. We need leaders who are willing to push the line in real ways,” Fonseca Tapia said, with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., standing behind him.

    Juliana Soares, a Danbury resident and daughter of immigrants, condemned the confrontation that occurred between armed ICE agents with military gear and unarmed civilians less than a week earlier.

    Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants said masked agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were at the courthouse Thursday, Aug. 14, and detained two individuals. They also say the agents threatened to pepper spray and use stun guns on advocates who demanded they identify themselves and present a warrant.

    “What we saw last week at the Danbury courthouse was, in fact, an ambush,” Soares said. “Dozens of out-of-state ICE agents dressed in military gear, armed, standing off against everyday people in our community; students, retirees, neighbors that took their lunch breaks, people who simply showed up to witness and make sure that nobody disappeared in silence and alone, as ICE would prefer.”

    Soares said she “was, and still am, enraged” by what happened.

    “They weren’t there to protect anyone. They weren’t stopping some mass operation. They were here to intimidate, to show force and to send a message that they can and will assault our and other communities at will,” she said.

    In a statement issued Wednesday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston Office announced authorities had apprehended 65 immigrants living in the country illegally during a recent four-day operation in Connecticut.

    The agency highlighted 13 of those people, dubbed “the worst of the worst,” with criminal histories who were apprehended in Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford. They had convictions and arrests for assault, sexual assault, carrying a prohibited weapon and robbery. The 13 were reportedly from Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, India and Peru, ICE said.

    Melany Yunga, a senior at New Haven’s Wilbur Cross High School, said she is deeply worried about a fellow student, a junior who was detained by ICE in July. He has been transferred from “one detention center to another.”

    “He is a junior, only one year younger than me. He should be worrying about his classes. He should be comparing schedules with his friends. He shouldn’t be leaving his teenage years fighting to survive detention. This is why we’re here today,” she said.

    Those transfers throughout the immigration detention system make it difficult for their families to find them, said Clementina Lunar, a member of Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants. It can also be hard to get legal assistance,with immigration attorneys swamped with cases, and children afraid to come home from school “and find that one or both of their parents are being disappeared,” Lunar said.

    “These are the realities of our immigrant neighbors,” Lunar said. “These are families who live and work among us, the friends, the classmates of young children, the woman who cares for our father in the nursing home, the man who does the landscaping in our condo complex. … They are hardworking, honest, caring, taxpaying contributing members of our community who make our lives better, who often do the jobs that others refuse to do, who make Danbury a place worth living in.”

    https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/danbury-immigration-advocates-plan-protest-ice-20825616.php

    ‘The agency highlighted 13 of those people, dubbed “the worst of the worst,” with criminal histories who were apprehended in Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford. They had convictions and arrests for assault, sexual assault, carrying a prohibited weapon and robbery. The 13 were reportedly from Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, India and Peru, ICE said.’

    They just want a better life!

    1. A spokesperson for the governor responded Wednesday to news of the operation.

      “Connecticut is not a ‘sanctuary’ state. That term has no legal definition, and it is not an accurate description of our laws and practices,’ Rob Blanchard said. “Labeling Connecticut a ‘sanctuary’ ignores the reality that our approach mirrors that of many other states that have adopted clear rules for cooperation with federal immigration authorities. As this action proves, nothing in Connecticut law prevented immigration officials from conducting these enforcement efforts, contrary to their own agency’s assertions.”

      Connecticut House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora released a statement Wednesday about the ICE sweep:

      “I applaud ICE’s successful operation targeting and removing criminals from our communities. This enforcement action against individuals who have been involved in serious offenses—including kidnapping, assault, drug crimes, weapons violations, and sex crimes—demonstrates the importance of prioritizing public safety. However, this operation also highlights an outrageous disconnect between federal enforcement priorities and state policies that provide sanctuary for individuals with extensive criminal histories, including members of transnational gangs. Connecticut residents want and deserve leadership that puts their safety first by working cooperatively with federal authorities to ensure that those who pose threats to our communities are captured and removed.”

      Senators Stephen Harding and Rob Sampson issued the following statement:

      “Good. This is excellent news. Connecticut’s streets are now safer. Violent offenders are now in custody.

      The federal government clearly has taken note of Connecticut’s super-sanctuary policies, even though Gov. Lamont and Democrats really, really don’t want the term ‘sanctuary state’ applied to our state.

      The federal government clearly has taken note that Connecticut law under Democrat one-party rule prohibits local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities – including for those who have been convicted for violent felonies. Some examples:

      1. Contamination of water supply or food supply for terrorist purposes

      2. Damage to public transportation property for terrorist purposes

      3. Strangulation

      4. Assault of an elderly/blind or disabled person in the second degree with a firearm

      “So we thank ICE and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for their focus on Connecticut and their diligence in making Connecticut’s streets safer. Connecticut Republicans will continue to stand for law and order, and we will continue to stand with victims of violent crime.”

      https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/ice-arrests-65-undocumented-immigrants-in-four-day-sweep-in-connecticut/3627816/

      1. We need people. We need leaders who are willing to stand next to us and to put their bodies in the line

        So they want suckers to FAFO.

    2. They just want a better life!

      Even if that is true, there is a legal process they could have followed. Instead they chose to break into our country like burglars. And then they plug into the welfare system and get mucho queso gratuito

  22. Officers detain man in ICE enforcement on National Mall as he screams for help

    Federal agents and D.C. police detained a man along the National Mall as he cried and screamed for help on Wednesday afternoon.

    The immigration enforcement action occurred near the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. It comes as President Donald Trump promises to crack down on crime and illegal immigration in D.C.

    News4 was on the Mall to cover another story when we saw law enforcement pull the man over. Officers and agents appeared to make a traffic stop of a man in a blue SUV with an Uber decal. He got out of the car and spoke with law enforcement. After about 12 seconds out of the car, he appears to try to escape. Two members of law enforcement quickly take him to the ground and are joined by four others.

    “I don’t owe anything! I don’t owe anything!” he repeatedly yells in Spanish. “Please! I’m not a criminal! I work here! I want to be with my family!”

    At one point, six men could be seen kneeling on the ground over the man as he continued to scream. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Park Police and Metropolitan Police Department insignias can be seen.

    Families walk by, a tour bus passes and people film on their phones as members of law enforcement pin the man to the pavement for about 2 minutes. Dozens of National Guard troops can be seen standing on the side and watching.

    The man screams “My family! My family! My family!” over and over again.

    About 3 minutes after the man stepped out of the SUV, masked agents put him into an unmarked vehicle.

    “My family has papers! My family and my children! Please! Please!” he screams as he is loaded into an SUV, with the museum behind him.

    The man, 36-year-old David Perez-Teofani, is from Mexico. His wife told Telemundo 44’s Freixys Casado on Wednesday night that she last saw her husband at 8 a.m. when he left for work in D.C. She said she learned he had been detained not from law enforcement but from someone who saw the video of him screaming.

    “A neighbor let me know that a video of him was circulating on social media, that ICE had detained him,” she said in Spanish. “I don’t understand why ICE did this. They have mistreated him a lot. The video shows how ICE mistreated him,” she said. “He just went to work today and now he never came back home.”

    Perez-Teofani has a final order of removal and entered the U.S. illegally three times, said an ICE official. He was arrested in Fairfax County on Jan. 30, 2024, and was charged with aggravated sexual battery against a minor under 13 and felony indecent liberties. However, ICE told News4 prosecutors dropped the charges that August.

    In a statement to News4, DHS said, “Yes, this illegal alien from Mexico was previously arrested in January 2024 in Fairfax County for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13. Glad he is off of Washington DC’s streets thanks to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and ICE.” Those charges were dropped by prosecutors, ICE told News4.

    The detention comes days after Chief of Police Pamela Smith issued an executive order allowing officers making traffic stops to notify ICE about immigrants living in the country without legal status.

    The effects of Trump’s Aug. 11 deployment of the National Guard and federalization of D.C. police have rippled through the District for the past week-and-a-half.

    A resident who ordered Uber Eats stepped outside to see his delivery driver being detained in the Shaw neighborhood on Saturday. National Guard troops are patrolling Metro stations and bus stops, News4 reported.

    The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told News4 on Thursday morning that “the victim and her mother did not wish to move forward, had stopped responding to calls from police, and did not appear at court hearings, making prosecution impossible at the time.” Prosecutors dropped the charges “so that our office can prosecute them later, should the victim wish to move forward and seek accountability in the future.”

    https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/officers-detain-man-in-apparent-ice-enforcement-on-national-mall-as-he-screams-for-help/3977693/

    ‘I don’t understand why ICE did this. They have mistreated him a lot. The video shows how ICE mistreated him,” she said. “He just went to work today and now he never came back home’

    Pack some toilet paper wife. It’ll be the last you ever use.

    1. “I don’t understand why ICE did this. They have mistreated him a lot. The video shows how ICE mistreated him,”

      I’m not a legal expert, but I expect it has something to do with him trying to run away.

      And it also shows how good a job Uber does of screening its drivers: he’s illegal, has a deportation order and he assaulted a minor. Was he perhaps also a gang banger?

    2. “charged with aggravated sexual battery against a minor under 13 and felony indecent liberties”

      This is *exactly* who the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti Defamation League want in this country, and if you oppose that, YOU are the problem.

  23. These Condo Owners Can’t Take It (GTA Condo Real Estate Market Update)

    Team Sessa Real Estate

    20 hours ago TORONTO

    In this episode we discuss how tough it is for regular people who tried to get into the condo market. This episode looks at the current GTA Condo Markets – Toronto, York Region & Peel Region for the week ending Aug 13, 2025.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqeJcABO1Sg

    17 minutes. Tales of woe.

  24. ‘Every time we lower ours, people down the street and behind us, they lower theirs too,’ Easter said. ‘It’s like they’re watching it’

    They are watching it Diana, they are afraid yer going to give it away and steal their sweet equity.

  25. Denton…Area homebuilders continue to make deals to move new homes. Juicy incentives and mortgage rate buydowns helped to lower the median price per square foot for a new house in Denton County by roughly 10% from last year’

    Builders fooking their previous customers – check!

    ‘Conforming loan limits are still wildly disconnected from average U.S. home prices. Wildly inflated loan limits are now 61% higher than what most average new home shoppers can afford’

    That’s some sound lending right there.

  26. ‘People are just hesitant right now (to buy),’ said Raylene Brundage, a North County real estate agent. ‘Anybody I talk to is just saying, ‘Wow, this market is brutal right now’…For example, the monthly payment for a median-priced San Diego County home would be around $5,000 in June (with mortgage rates at the time) — and that is assuming a 20% down payment of $180,000′

    California has always been expensive Raylene.

  27. ‘Capocci tried that tactic in Bedford Park earlier in the summer when he listed a semi-detached house with an asking price around the $1.49-million mark. The highest of two offers was $1.42-million, he says, which is less than the sellers paid for the house seven years ago. ‘It failed miserably’

    So the minor respiratory illness is all gone and then some Dino?

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