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Those Who Overstretched To Go All-In Could Soon Be Feeling Burned

A report from Fortune. “The regional housing markets seeing the most price cuts are in the very places that soared the most during the pandemic. As that pandemic housing boom fizzled out last month, things shifted quickly in Provo. In May, a staggering 47.8% of Provo sellers slashed their list price. That’s up from 12.2% in May 2021. Just behind Provo was Tacoma, Wash. (where 47.7% of listings got a price cut); Denver (46.9%); Salt Lake City (45.8%); Sacramento (44.3%); Boise, Idaho (44.2%); Ogden, Utah (42.6%); Portland, Ore. (42.0%); Indianapolis (41.9%); and Philadelphia (41.2%).”

The Portland Press Herald in Maine. “Tom Landry, owner of Benchmark Real Estate in Portland, felt a shift two or three weeks ago, like a little bit of the air went out of the market. Erin LaMarche, a Coldwell Banker realtor based in Kennebunkport,  said she’s seen more price reduction in the past two weeks than she had in the previous two years. ‘It’s no longer a feeding frenzy with insane numbers of offers on listings,’ said Hitz, a broker with Maine Home Connection in Portland.”

“Leanne Barschdorf Nichols, a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Portland, said everything would have to completely fall apart before the market swings in buyers’ favor. There have been some price reductions, yes, but she said those are largely corrections from people who have gotten ‘ahead of their skis’ and listed a property at an unreasonably high price.”

Mansion Global. “‘Some buyers are no longer able to afford the home they want because mortgage rates have increased so much. There aren’t nearly as many people moving into the Boise area now that prices have gone through the roof,’ Shauna Pendleton, a Redfin agent in Boise, said in the report.  ‘Ironically, a lot of Boise newcomers are now leaving because the quiet, slow-paced lifestyle that drew them here doesn’t exist the way it did before so many people moved in.'”

From 10/11 Now on Nebraska. “Across the Midwest the housing market is starting to slow down. Homes are staying on the market longer than they were during the pandemic. Lincoln real estate agent Megan Ourada said the ‘cool down’ starts at the top. ‘In those million-plus price points it’s really starting to even out,’ Ourada said. ‘We see that trickle down. So, over the next, I would guess maybe year, we’ll see that switching and becoming more of an even market.’ 10/11 NOW spoke with several other realtors on Tuesday who confirmed these things. Houses are staying on the market for a little longer, interest rates are up and on the rare occasion, sellers will discount their homes.”

“Ourada said the average closing price on all property in Lincoln is $260,000. ‘A house that was $100,000 purchase price this year, might have been five years ago a $60,000 house. I would expect over the next year or so it would be 105, 110, that normalized increase in equity.’ Ourada said this change in market is no reason for buyers or sellers to panic.”

The Dallas Business Journal. “The North Texas housing market is shifting fast as rising interest rates and volatility in the stock market make their mark, said Michael Coburn, broker/owner of Re/Max Town & Country. Now, however, sellers are looking at market trends, using accurate comps and listing their homes at reasonable prices, Coburn said. He’s seeing more price reductions and properties staying on the market longer. ‘This by no means is a bubble about to pop,’ he said. ‘It’s just a long-overdue correction in the market.'”

“Last year and early this year, real estate agents would put a house on the market on a Thursday and have multiple offers, sometimes 25 to 100, at far above the list price by Sunday, Coburn said. ‘Sellers would see a home sell in a neighborhood for $400,000 that was listed at $300,000, so they would price their home at or above $400,000 and sell for $450,000 to $500,000, and the next seller would price at $500,000,’ he said. ‘In the last two years, a seller could get away with doing that. Buyers and sellers did not care about comps — it was a free for all.'”

The Bakersfield Californian. “Bakersfield’s primary measure of local home prices took a dip last month that observers expect was the first of more to come amid expectations for continuing mortgage rates increases. After holding steady or gaining in recent months, the median price of an existing home in the city dropped 1.5 percent to settle at $385,000, which was still up more than 20 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to data from local appraiser Gary Crabtree.”

“Crabtree’s market report noted the supply of homes for sale in Bakersfield rose more than 37 percent in May to reach 609 listings, which represented a year-over-year increase of 118 percent. He observed that rising costs are ‘beginning to impact the market as offers above list price and multiple offers decline.’ ‘With 60 years’ market experience, I can’t recall a more abrupt short-term change’ in the market, he wrote.”

From The Hill. “Hiring freezes and layoffs are hitting the tech sector as Silicon Valley prepares for a predicted recession. Near-zero interest rates, a booming stock market and massive consumer demand allowed tech firms to aggressively expand their workforce at the start of the pandemic. But the recent economic downturn is forcing many companies to reverse course and cut costs to shore up their reserves. ‘Even six months or a year ago the view was, in many of the smaller firms of course, ‘Profits aren’t important, we just gotta grow. We grow into profits.’ During recessions, and during valuation shifts like we’ve seen in the markets in the last couple of months, unprofitable growth companies are getting killed. Their stock prices are collapsing,’ said Steven Weber, a professor at the Graduate School of Information at UC Berkeley.”

“Google Cloud terminated dozens of support roles in March, Insider first reported. An employee on the team who was not cut during the reorganizing told The Hill that since the initial ‘vague’ announcement, they still lack a clear picture of what triggered the decision and leadership’s vision for the future of the remaining team. ‘It’s pretty stressful. I mean, obviously, this job is how I pay my mortgage and where I get insurance. It’s a job that I like doing. I like working with my customers. I liked working with the folks who got laid off, they were good people,’ the employee added.”

From Bloomberg. “Lennar Corp. has started trimming prices and offering buyer incentives in some areas of the US to bolster sales in a cooling housing market. With demand now starting to wane after the pandemic boom, ‘current attempts at guidance are tantamount to ‘guessing’ and not ‘guiding,’ Executive Chairman Stuart Miller said in the company’s earnings statement. He warned about the slowdown already underway, calling it a ‘complicated moment in the market.'”

“Seven regions had significant slowdowns this month, Lennar said. They were: Raleigh, North Carolina; Minnesota; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, the Central Valley and Sacramento in California; and Seattle. The company increased incentives, such as mortgage rate ‘buy-downs,’ and lowered prices in some subdivisions to boost demand.”

The Commercial Observer. “‘CMBS conduit and secured-based lending (SBL) transactions racked up approximately $263 million in realized losses during May 2022 through the workout of distressed assets, marking a sharp rise from the previous month,’ wrote Marc McDevitt, a senior managing director at CRED iQ. ‘CRED iQ identified 34 workouts classified as dispositions, liquidation or discounted payoffs in May 2022. Additionally, there were two distressed loans securitized in Freddie K transactions that were in need of a workout, but only one of those loans incurred a nominal loss. Of those 36 total workouts, there were 14 distressed assets that were resolved without a loss.'”

“‘Loss severities for the month of April ranged from 2 percent to 100 percent, based on outstanding balances at disposition. Total realized losses in May represented more than a threefold increase compared to April’s realized loss totals of approximately $75 million.'”

The Financial Post. “Evidence that Canada’s housing market is cooling has been obvious for several months, but now some economists say signs are appearing that the reckoning will be worse than they had feared. This month too Magenta Capital Corporation, one of Canada’s largest private lenders, decided to temporarily halt new loan applications until September. Although Magenta accounts for only a small portion of total lending, it is a big player in the subprime market, says Capital, and its decision may only be the beginning.”

“‘There will be so many more of these Mortgage Investment Corps suspending lending in the next eight weeks,’ said Ron Butler, of Butler Mortgage, in a tweet after the news. ‘When your modelling suddenly shows values dropping 5% a month in some markets, what else can you do?'”

The Vancouver Sun. “It’s hard to keep up with all the things that have flipped since Canada’s COVID-crazed housing run up. As mortgage broker Ron Butler has quipped, a ‘fear of missing out’ — or FOMO — has given way to ‘a fear of getting screwed.’ And while there are housing difficulties in many countries now, don’t be lulled into thinking Canada is like elsewhere. Price jumps here have been more extreme. So now everyone is vulnerable to a bubble.”

“Prices have already dropped 15 to 25 per cent in some suburbs of Vancouver and Toronto. Big-city cores could well be next, despite urban Canadians getting used to decades of strong demand from domestic and foreign buyers and speculators. With the Bank of Canada raising lending rates in the past couple of months, the typical five-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped from about 1.75 per cent to five per cent and more. Many of those who overstretched to go all-in could soon be feeling burned.”

“Distressed sellers are already putting places on the market in Greater Toronto. And, as specialist John Pasalis notes, even the Bank of Canada doesn’t expect the full impact of interest rate hikes to be felt for 18 to 24 months. ‘2023 could get challenging for highly leveraged households if rates stay high and if we indeed see a recession and job losses,’ Pasalis says. ‘That’s when Canada could really feel the downside of basing much of its economic growth on driving up household debt.'”

“Many bought in a frenzy by borrowing against their own homes, when mortgages were rock bottom. Even with residents of Vancouver and Toronto struggling with some of the most unaffordable property in the world (the typical price in Greater Vancouver is $1.26 million), pandemic investors were among those making several offers on homes, squeezing out first-time buyers again. Governments did nothing to stop the speculation. And we’ll never know if their inaction has to do with a large number of federal Liberal Cabinet Ministers and Ottawa MPs (as well as MLAs in Victoria) being among those investors.”

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This Post Has 220 Comments

  1. The K-da video:

    Toronto Real Estate Doesn’t Always Go Up – June 15
    Jun 21, 2022

    18 minutes. The Florida video:

    NEW CONSTRUCTION INCENTIVES – PORT SAINT LUCIE – PGA VERANO, EMERY, CADENCE, MARRITA & ESPLANADE
    Jun 21, 2022 Esplanade is offering a low 4.8% interest rate if you close by July 30. They have 2 quick move in homes. Text me code ESPLANADE to find out more. I can facetime you from the quick move in homes if your interested.

    Marrita Reserve is only 20 very large homes for all ages. Smallest home is 3500 square feet. I have prices and can help you by facetiming you from the lot you chose or by sending you prices and floor plans, etc.

    Emery has 14 homes left and they are discounting some of them up to $15,000. Let me know if you are interested in the 14 homes left in Emery; 7 Aspens, 4 Brians, 1 Dahlia, 1 Danbury and 1 Rowan.

    Cadence is going to open in 2 months. Lower budget homes. 900 homes total.

    9 minutes.

  2. ‘she’s seen more price reduction in the past two weeks than she had in the previous two years’

    Gosh, I wonder how widespread this is going to be?

    ‘There will be so many more of these Mortgage Investment Corps suspending lending in the next eight weeks,’ said Ron Butler, of Butler Mortgage, in a tweet after the news. ‘When your modelling suddenly shows values dropping 5% a month in some markets, what else can you do?’

    It’s worser than that Ron. With inflation several points higher than rates, lenders are taking an a$$ pounding on every loan, every day!

    1. That list of cities with the largest share of price reductions makes a perfect starting point for anyone who wants to prepare for cash deals at the bottom. Those cities will have long lists of surplus property that they need to get rid of in 4-5 years. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be disposing of thousands and thousands of properties on their websites. After the first year or two of the bust the properties will start to back up and sit as the market gets saturated. Pro Tip: anything listed under 50k no one will loan on and requires cash. There will be real gems just sitting unwanted. Lowballs will be accepted. This is where generational wealth can be made for regular folks just by being in the right place at the right time. It only comes around every 14-16 years. Will you be ready?

      1. Pro Tip:
        Based on Housing Bubble 1 TBTF banks actually have liquidation sales where they will consider “any” offer on properties in certain price ranges. Last bubble I know at one time any offer on an under $100K house would be considered. A different time is was any offer on homes over $500K. I don’t know how you find out about the “liquidations.” I only found out because I worked with the foreclosure department..

  3. ‘Last year and early this year, real estate agents would put a house on the market on a Thursday and have multiple offers, sometimes 25 to 100, at far above the list price by Sunday, Coburn said. ‘Sellers would see a home sell in a neighborhood for $400,000 that was listed at $300,000, so they would price their home at or above $400,000 and sell for $450,000 to $500,000, and the next seller would price at $500,000,’ he said. ‘In the last two years, a seller could get away with doing that. Buyers and sellers did not care about comps — it was a free for all.’

    Now THAT is some sound lending.

    1. Now hold on a minute. According to a few local realtors those are ALL CASH buyers. LOL. I’m seeing a pattern in my local area (Denver North to Boulder). Seems that somewhere along the line sellers have decided that a purchase made since 2019 can muster a $100k+ ROI per year now. That’s a pretty typical amount from my observation. Bought in 2019? Should have sold in 2021.
      You should have bought a squirrel!

    2. Trying to price in the drop in demand due to an anticipated recession…

      Should be good for cooling inflationary pressures. Unfortunately, low unemployment may suffer collateral damage.

  5. ‘With 60 years’ market experience, I can’t recall a more abrupt short-term change’ in the market’

    I’ve never seen so much crater Gary. No room for the global crater, and there is plenty. Too much happening in the US and K-da.

    2. Fuel is about to hit £2 a litre

      Almost $10 a gallon. And that is the average price, not some outlier like prices in Marin county.

  7. “Leanne Barschdorf Nichols, a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Portland, said everything would have to completely fall apart before the market swings in buyers’ favor.”

    Hans Gruber: Okay.

    1. I was about to ask what sane person would buy property in Portland. Should have guessed it was Maine.

    2. Nothing against Mainers but they’re not exactly the most sophisticated lot. Not really their fault… It’s just the way it is in that corner of new england.

      I have two native Mainers on this job and I overheard one of them say, “The housing market is coming apart. I should have sold my house in Brunswick.”

      That was 30 minutes ago.

    4. “Leanne Barschdorf Nichols, a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Portland, said everything would have to completely fall apart before the market swings in buyers’ favor. There have been some price reductions, yes, but she said those are largely corrections from people who have gotten ‘ahead of their skis’ and listed a property at an unreasonably high price.”

      Leanne, I don’t think that means what you think it means. Skiing is on a downslope. I would think in a declining market if someone wants to sell a home, they SHOULD get “ahead of their skis” and price lower than the rest of the FB rushing for the exits.

    1. The MSM tells us

      Whenever I read or hear anything in the MSM, I just assume the opposite is true:

      Covid is an existential threat
      The jab is safe and effective
      Men can be women
      There won’t be any inflation
      Inflation is transitory
      Inflation is good for us
      The economy has never been better
      The Right is evil violent. the Left is law abiding and peaceful
      No one needs to own frearms.
      Replacement Theory is a hoax
      Men are toxic
      Whites are evil, only blacks matter (other minorities don’t matter)
      Global warming is killing us
      We can easily transition to 100% renewables energy
      Russia is losing the war
      Economic sanctions will bring Russia to its knees.
      Etc.

    2. So the articles about fertilizer shortages and pending poor harvests are fake news? We’ll find out soon enough… many people will find out the hard way.

      1. So the articles about fertilizer shortages and pending poor harvests

        Well, as Mr. Banker points out, futures are telling a different story.

        What I have heard about fertilizer is that it costs more this year. Plus I hear that in the alternative media, not the MSM. The MSM is busy blaming Putin for food price increases.

        1. What I have heard about fertilizer is that it costs more this year. Plus I hear that in the alternative media, not the MSM.

          Ditto. It’s not clear to me how into the future wheat futures are.

    3. This is a good example of the importance of perspective. If you adjust your chart parameters to the longer views the picture changes. If you zoom out far enough there are some scary patterns that have formed. Just depends on which way you look at it.

    4. Wheat production is fossil fuel intensive, at least in the US. Lower fuel prices => lower wheat production cost => lower wheat prices.

  11. ‘Distressed sellers are already putting places on the market in Greater Toronto. And, as specialist John Pasalis notes, even the Bank of Canada doesn’t expect the full impact of interest rate hikes to be felt for 18 to 24 months. ‘2023 could get challenging for highly leveraged households if rates stay high and if we indeed see a recession and job losses,’ Pasalis says. ‘That’s when Canada could really feel the downside of basing much of its economic growth on driving up household debt’

    ‘Many bought in a frenzy by borrowing against their own homes, when mortgages were rock bottom. Even with residents of Vancouver and Toronto struggling with some of the most unaffordable property in the world (the typical price in Greater Vancouver is $1.26 million), pandemic investors were among those making several offers on homes’

    It is a bit bewildering that this shack bubble thing couldn’t be seen as a road to nowhere. These are countries that brag about how sophisticated their policies are. They drive the central bankers around in limos, the media fawns even though most of these clowns have never had a real job in their lives. What could go wrong?

    1. Listings in my nabe have popped up like mushrooms after a rain shower. There were zero in March. There are now eight.

    2. They drive the central bankers around in limos, the media fawns even though most of these clowns have never had a real job in their lives. What could go wrong?

      A couple hundred years ago, these central banker fawks would already have been executed.

  12. Dramatic moment Ukrainian kamikaze drone ploughs in to major oil refinery inside Russian territory sparking huge fireball explosion

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10941085/Dramatic-moment-Ukrainian-kamikaze-drone-ploughs-major-oil-refinery-inside-Russian-territory.html

    A Ukrainian kamikaze drone today ploughed in to a major oil refinery inside Russian territory, sparking a huge fireball explosion.

    Footage shows the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying at a low-level height towards the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine.

    Video then shows the drone striking the oil refinery, causing a massive explosion which was heard ten miles away.

  14. Re-post from the last thread.

    The HBB is not Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit. These topics can be discussed without censorship:

    “Last weekend in Houston, Texas Republicans got a taste of just how far right their party has become. At the state’s biennial GOP convention, delegates officially declared Joe Biden an illegitimate president”

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    “Additional planks attacked trans rights, cast gender-affirming medical care as actionable malpractice”

    It’s in the Bible, and the term for it is abomination.

    “The protest in Dallas earlier in June was just one among a wave of troubling attacks on LGBTQ people or events that have disrupted Pride Month”

    It’s called grooming.

    https://www.salon.com/2022/06/22/lone-star-hate-right-wing-activists-in-texas-drive-a-new-wave-of-anti-lgbtq-bigotry/

    This whole article is just a massive smear against the entire state of Texas, and that Texans would dare to reject the globalist pedophiles trying to seize custody of, and mutilate and rape their children.

    Also note that the article references the Anti Defamation League, which at the time of its founding was an actual civil rights organization.

    But now, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center, they have cast their lot in with the pedophile groomers, i.e. the Democrat Party.

    “They’re not sending their best”

  15. I just got this email:

    Fully Occupied, Cash-Flowing 32 Home SFR Portfolio in Joshua Tree, CA

    1. A “32 home SFR portfolio” in Joshua Tree, CA? Are you sh!tting me? Is that like the whole town? This sh!t is nuts.

    2. Those desert places will be spanked hard as usual. Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, etc will have large inventories of unoccupied crap shacks available in a few years. (Yes there are crap shack areas in Palm Springs, but it’s neighbor Desert Hot Springs is an entire town of them.) Don’t worry, they aren’t going to run out of desert any time soon!

      2. We get more accurate reporting from a Russian news source (Sputnik) than from the New York Times, Washington Post, UK Guardian, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, PBS, Associated Press, and trio of scum The Atlantic, Huffington Post, and Salon.

        Globalist scum media.

      1. He’s probably afraid of losing all those lucrative board positions and speaker fees when he retires if he doesn’t toe the leftist line.

        1. I doubt he’s thinking too far ahead, he is probably being paid right now. Maybe Soros opened a slush fund for him. How much do you think it cost? What is the average value of a Republicans integrity these days? I bet it’s not that much. I’d still like to know how much those traitors got for their trips to Ukraine.

  17. As that pandemic housing boom fizzled out last month, things shifted quickly in Provo. In May, a staggering 47.8% of Provo sellers slashed their list price.

    I smell fear. Is that you, greedheads?

  18. ‘it is a big player in the subprime market, says Capital, and its decision may only be the beginning. ‘There will be so many more of these Mortgage Investment Corps suspending lending in the next eight weeks’

    Did they use the S word? Say it ain’t so K-da?

    2. Oh dear…I fear such a “suspension” (read: end) to loose lending is going to eliminate the dumbest buying segment from the market, which will exert downward pressure on bubbleiyious shack prices. If I had pearls, I’d surely be clutching them right about now.

  20. ‘Ironically, a lot of Boise newcomers are now leaving because the quiet, slow-paced lifestyle that drew them here doesn’t exist the way it did before so many people moved in.’”

    Translation: California equity locusts are decamping from yet another community they’ve ruined with their imported libtard pestilence.

    2. They probably didn’t care for the winters. Imagine you’re a Clownifornian who has never had to deal with sub 32F weather and who has never had to shovel snow before or drive in it.

      1. Haha. My son told me of a young woman that just moved to Coeur d’Alene. She sold her car and plans to bike everywhere because the weather is so nice. When asked about winter, she genuinely thought that it “did not snow in town”

        1. Wait until she sees the snow shovels and bags of ice melt at WalMart, and the snow blowers at Home Despot and Blowes.

        2. I don’t get these bike fanatics. Even here in sunny LA where it might be feasable, we still get rain, 30-40F temps, Santa Ana winds and heat waves over the course of a year.

  21. Globalist scum media.

    The Atlantic — What Are Trump Supporters So Afraid Of? (6/21/2022):

    “As the January 6 hearings restarted today after the long weekend, I was thinking about the weird, psychotic fear that has overtaken millions of Americans. I include in those millions people who are near and dear to me, friends I have known for years who now seem to speak a different language, a kind of Fox-infused, Gish Galloping, “what-about” patois that makes no sense even if you slow it down or add punctuation.”

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    “Such conversations are just part of life in divided America now. We live in a democracy, and there’s no law (nor should there be) against the willing suffocation of one’s own brain cells with television and the internet. But living in an alternate reality is unhealthy—and dangerous, as I realized yet again while watching the January 6 committee hearings and listening to the stories of Republicans, such as Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and others, describing the threats and harassment they have received for doing their duty to the Constitution.”

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    “There have always been unstable people in America, and they have always done frightening things. But there seem to be a lot more of them now. Some of them are genuinely dangerous, but many more are just rage-drunk nihilists who will threaten any public figures targeted by their preferred television hosts or websites, regardless of party or policy.”

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    “I think the Trump superfans are terrified of being wrong. I suspect they know that for many years they’ve made a terrible mistake—that Trump and his coterie took them to the cleaners and the cognitive dissonance is now rising to ear-splitting, chest-constricting levels.”

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/06/what-are-trump-supporters-so-afraid-of/661346/

    The Atlantic is globalist scum media.

    Don’t fall for any Glowbait and find yourself snared in a Glowtrap, because Glowie gonna glow.

    They know that their whole narrative is collapsing, which is forcing them to stage Glowie events like the Fedsurrection in Idaho a few weeks ago.

    This country is on the edge of a precipice, poised to fall into eternal Marxist globalist totalitarianism.

    It is literally an existential turning point, between freedom and tyranny.

    Time is running out…

  23. I have cornered the market on stripper poles, large empty auto/RV repo-lots, peloton bikes & smith machines for all those soon to be jobless realtors.

    mr. banker has the A-Team on retainer for those “difficult” cases.

    2. A shrewd businessman would figure out how to replace the handle bars on those bikes with the surplus stripper poles and park them along the road outside of your repo lot. Hire some unemployed used house babes to ride them during business hours. Maybe attach some sort of LED lighting to the bikes so they can generate green power for the blinking sign that says “realtors are liars.” Profit!

  25. “Tom Landry, owner of Benchmark Real Estate in Portland, felt a shift two or three weeks ago, like a little bit of the air went out of the market.”

    Shift happens.

    And I can’t wait to see the June housing stats. Things are going to get real, real soon.

    1. And I can’t wait to see the June housing stats. Things are going to get real, real soon.

      My concern is that once things “get real,” we’re going to get even more central banker/government meddling.

  26. Some good news for a Wednesday.

    “Between the historic hike of the federal interest rate, the crash and burn of crypto at large and the bear market making conditions unfavorable for once-bullish startup investors, tech, once flowing in cash, has felt the pinch acutely. Companies that had already laid individuals off at the onset of the pandemic or assured employees that they would not lay anyone off in recent weeks have cut their staffing drastically.

    From industry stalwarts to buzzy startups, here are all the high-profile San Francisco and Silicon Valley tech firms that have laid workers off in May and June this year. This list may be updated.”

    https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/All-the-biggest-tech-layoffs-17244608.php

    Taxis, food delivery, and magical fake internet money?

    That’s as revolutionary as inventing the steam engine, the cotton gin, railroads, and the telephone, right?

    “They’re not sending their best”

    1. here are all the high-profile San Francisco and Silicon Valley tech firms that have laid workers off in May and June this year

      Most of them I’ve never heard of. Curiously, we had a pretty good quarter. It helps that we make stuff that customers actually need and use, instead of “solutions looking for a problem”.

    2. Schadenfreude, it’s not just for breakfast anymore.

      “PayPal gave pink slips to 83 employees at its San Jose headquarters in April, a filing with California’s Employment Development Department showed, weeks before it planned to shutter its San Francisco offices.”

  27. Lots of new homes coming to market here in Columbia county Georgia (Evans) just in time for the price declines. They started clearing these subdivisions last winter while prices were still high and now the homes are being put on Zillow as quickly as possible to get contracts on them. These homes are just having the slabs poured so they’re 3-4 months from completion.

    The problem is that the home prices here went up 30-40% in the last two years and the wages did not follow. This area was a disaster courtesy of the last real estate bust and I imagine that’s what’s coming back in the next 6-12 months. Many of the homes purchased in the 2006-2008 time frame still haven’t returned to the prices that were paid for them.

    1. I don’t see myself ever buying a new home. Too many HBB stories of homebuilders just leaving them half-done rotting in the sun.

        1. Metal is probably a good choice for your climate — not much worry about corrosion. But it looks expensive to heat in the winter. I wouldn’t mind a tiny-ish version of one of those — 550-750 sq ft. Anyway, I’m not worried. Eventually I will own a house with no mortgage in a place where people actually want to live.

          1. “a place where people actually want to live”

            Beanie Boy can’t wait to get out of Maryland and move all of his operations into West Virginia, because Maryland.

            From your own description, on this blog, you live in a Salvadoran ghetto of MS-13.

            You will own nothing.

            Nothing.

          2. Beanie Boy likes gunz and running his own business. That’s ok. But for every beanie boy, there’s a a dozen salvadorans who will want to buy my house 10 years from now.

    2. These homes are just having the slabs poured so they’re 3-4 months from completion.

      Just in time for 8%+ mortgage interest rates!

    3. Columbia county Georgia (Evans) just in time for the price declines.
      I get foreclosure “alerts” on Evans RE. Seems like several new ones a week. Prices look reasonable, which surprised me.

  28. Look at how long this URL string is, and that is after I trimmed another 100 characters of junk from the URL.

    The URL string is the (rather extended) article title.

    “I felt like I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time has come. Is it time to go big or go home?

    I have another 25 years of a boring 9-to-5 job, and I just want out. The markets are tanking, and there’s talk of recession. I sit here day after day, doing the same old drudgery, and I want to have some hope that I may have an exit strategy.

    Should I buy Bitcoin BTCUSD, 0.04% and Ethereum ETHE, -0.27% ETHUSD, -0.36%, and keep it as an early escape or even a retirement strategy? My 401(k) is a shadow of what it was last year.”

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/i-missed-the-bus-on-bitcoin-but-now-feel-like-my-time-has-come-is-it-time-to-go-big-or-go-home-i-have-another-25-years-of-a-boring-9-to-5-job-and-i-just-want-out-11655138006

    What little you have left, you will lose all of it, because all crypto is reverting to its intrinsic value: Zero.

    You will own nothing.

    1. I have another 25 years of a boring 9-to-5 job, and I just want out

      Not to worry, dude, chances are, after you turn 40 no one will want to hire you anyway. You’ll get laid off from your cubicle farm job, and will spend the rest of your working days stocking shelves at WalMart or running around an Amazon warehouse, until they also let you go when you’re too slow and make too many mistakes.

      1. “I want out.”

        Yeah, him and everyone else. He wanted to get rich quick and live the high life, is what he wanted. And tell the rest of us to have fun staying poor. Anyway, if he has 25 years left, he’s probably 40 already. But there’s still time for him to think outside the cube and pick up a two-year tech program at any small school.

        1. But there’s still time for him to think outside the cube and pick up a two-year tech program at any small school.

          If he’s 40, it’s too late to “learn to code”, as he will be seen as “too old to code”. Plus coding isn’t necessarily fun. Sure, it’s probably more interesting than processing insurance claims or accounts payable. But there is this term in coding known as “technical debt”, which basically means the code base you keep trying to fix is a patchwork mess of kludges and should have already been tossed and rewritten, but that’s not how it works. You are expected to quickly add another kludge to fix the bug or add a new feature, while likely breaking something else in the process.

          Automated regression testing? If it’s done at all, it’s an afterthought and the coverage is minimal.

          1. “there is this term in coding known as “technical debt”, which basically means the code base you keep trying to fix is a patchwork mess of kludges and should have already been tossed and rewritten, but that’s not how it works. You are expected to quickly add another kludge to fix the bug or add a new feature, while likely breaking something else in the process.”

            In the scope of work of the project I am running now, we demo’d 100% back to the low-volt (120 volt) panel.

            Bare bones, scorched earth, above ceiling and walls. Everything in the tenant space is *NEW* and our site super told me we did the cleanest wall rough in he has seen in a long time.

            Arapahoe County, Colorado.

          2. There’s more to life than IT. 45-year olds can be remarkable interior designers or paralegals or medical records technicians or foresters or truck drivers or heck, even farmers or customer service reps for airlines, or any number of things that don’t involve cubicles. They always need tradespeople but there might be an age component there too.

    2. btw, bitcoin’s dead cat bounce is fading fast. But I’m still hodling to the vampire theory. I will not believe that Bitcoin is really dead and gone until I see proof of stake … in its heart.

    1. For a $7.25M asking price, could they not clean the living room carpets? Or were they afraid they’d look worse clean?

      1. I think they’re rugs, which can be sent out to be cleaned. But, yeah, they look gross.

      2. Looks like the rug was picked out by post-Garbo owners in the 80s. Along with the matching fuschia window treatments. There’s pretty good hardwood underneath, so it would be easy to take up the rug and install something more classic to match the wood.

        Photo #22 shows the Smallpox Memorial Hospital ruin. Kinda cool but disturbing at the same time.

  30. Fryeburg, ME Housing Prices Crater 31% YOY As Soaring Inventory And Collapsing Demand Ravage Maine Housing Market

    https://www.movoto.com/fryeburg-me/market-trends/

    As one New England broker explained, “Houses are wallet emptying rapidly depreciating assets. Especially here in sub-arctic climates like here in New England.”

  32. Oh, oh, another high profile young man dies of suddenly:

    Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jaylon Ferguson has died, the team announced Wednesday. He was 26.

    The team did not release any details around Ferguson’s passing.

    1. Wait until toddlers start dying. If that doesn’t break mass formation psychosis, nothing will.

      3. “mass formation psychosis”

        Do you remember when Google started manipulating the search results for “mass formation psychosis” right after Dr. Robert Malone appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast?

        Do you remember? The HBB remembers.

        No Glowie, but this will end with nooses.

        Nooses? Aren’t you, like, not allowed to talk about nooses?

        This isn’t Facebook, this isn’t Twitter, this isn’t Reddit, and this isn’t YouTube (owned by Google), so yeah, we’re gonna talk about nooses.

        Hey Glowboy, your wife is getting plowed by MAGA Chad on the regular, while you’re getting paid to read these posts.

        Plowed, and plowed hard. She always has a headache now anytime you try to get some affection. You’ve been “vaccinated” at least 4 times now, so it’s not like you have any viable sperm left to create a baby with.

        “They’re not sending their best”

    2. We all know what it was. That safe and effective thing. Again. But please don’t discuss the elephant in the room.

  33. The housing slow down in Phoenix Arizona

    Jun 21, 2022 The housing slow down in Phoenix Arizona is real. Should we expect a transaction crash this summer in 2022? I think so. The May numbers look great but Real Estate is a 90 days lagging indicator. Are we seeing Fear in the housing market? YES! Prices and rates are causing buyers to shun the market. This is opportunity for others!

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

    7 minutes. At 4:45 they added 3,000 shacks to listings in the past 5 days. Shortage dammit! This is a loan officer.

    2. they added 3,000 shacks to listings in the past 5 days

      I remember the lead up to last bust in Phoenix, where inventory was building and almost nothing was selling. It was like entire neighborhoods were for sale with nary a buyer. That place is a dump.

    1. My little burg has crossed the 600 mark for active listings. A 600% increase from four months ago. It reached 2000 after the 2008 crash.

    2. I love how appreciation rates can go up 30-40% in 2 years and monthly mortgage payments can go up 40% in 6 months, but a 40% reduction in prices can’t happen.

      1. It’s the exact opposite of the “escalator up, elevator down” principle of the stock market.

      2. but a 40% reduction in prices can’t happen

        Sellers have to become distressed first. I wonder if we will see a repeat of the shadow inventory like last time. Empty houses that are not for sale.

        1. Guaranteed and it’s the same problem. The banks who have the mortgages are allowed to show their value as whatever they lent out. Even if it’s non-current. If they sell the house at a loss (a given as they sell the winners quickly) they then have to recognize the loss. Multiply times 1000’s of homes.

          So if they have a 500k mortgage outstanding and need to foreclose but the house is only worth 300k currently. If they just hold it, they show it as non-performing but the asset is still “worth” 500k. If they sell it for 300k, now they have to recognize the 200k loss. When money is free (thanks Fed) it’s easier to just borrow more to cover the non-performing loans than it is to recognize the loan.

          Another aspect of free money destroys price discovery.

    3. He thinks the Fed’s rate hikes will actually curtail inflation so they can lower interest rates again. 🤣

      1. There’s a guy called “uneducated economist” on Youtube who is a bona fide idiot. He lost a house to foreclosure last time after buying at the peak. Guess what he did this time? He bought another house at the peak, less than 6 months ago, and he is counting on the FED to prevent house prices from falling.

        1. I can see greed blinding someone into becoming a F***ed Buyer once, but getting burned twice?

          I guess humans are the only creatures to make the same mistake more than once.

          1. It gets worse. He works the cash register at a lumber yard. Once the housing bust is in full swing, he’ll be out of a job.

          2. I fear a friend of mine has done that. He had a condo he bought at the top in the mid 2000s that he lost over the last bust.

            He JUST closed last month on an $850k 50-year old tract home in Santa Clarita that he bought sight unseen – only saw the pictures.

            Place last sold for $475k back in 2015. First sold for $37,500 in 1974.

          3. Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.

  35. ORANGE COUNTY
    SOCAL SUMMER MARKET FORECAST 2022

    Jun 21, 2022 The best way to sum up what’s going on in Southern California right now is that the PARTY IS OVER. that’s right the fed’s jump of interest rates two points in the last few months has really put a break on real estate prices and real estate sales here in Southern California…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_wQyee-WQ

    4:12.

  36. Dallas Housing Market Update 6/21

    Jun 21, 2022 Happy Tuesday and welcome to another weekly Dallas County Housing Market Update! Oh, how the tides (may) have turned?! Still seeing a good amount of inventory hitting the market, and deals getting done but another week of increased price reductions!

    Unlike Rockwall County, where we are seeing price reductions spread across a mix of new and existing homes, Dallas County is seeing price reductions on predominantly existing homes! It seems to be a sudden switch but I think we’ll see prices stabilize or agents adjusting how they are bringing properties to the market. Only time will tell but buyers may have an easier path to home ownership in the near future, however, they should act quick as the Fed has said they are committed to raising rates through the remainder of the year!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIcIatVq7k8

    3 minutes.

  37. Are We Seeing a Major Market Shift?
    Denver

    Jun 22, 2022 Has the housing market shifted? Is it still a good time to buy? Many people have reached out to ask us these questions, so today I’ll address them both and discuss what’s going on in the current marketplace. Now that spring has arrived, we’re seeing quite a few more houses coming onto the market. It’s still a strong seller’s market, but this is great news for buyers who have been in dire need of inventory for a long time. Does this signal a huge change on the horizon?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6_lc2tOw8

    3 minutes. At 20 seconds, “there were a thousand houses that hit the market” the Thursday after Easter. At 1:50 back on market: Buyers under contract getting “cold feet” and using inspections to cancel the deal.

    1. “there were a thousand houses that hit the market” the Thursday after Easter

      I was telling a young couple to save for a down payment and to be patient, as it will take a few years for prices to bottom out, which is when they should buy.

  38. A reader sent this in:

    ‘JPMorgan Chase & Co is laying off hundreds of employees in its home-lending business and reassigning hundreds more this week, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.’

    ‘More than 1,000 employees will be affected, the report said, and about half of them will be moved to different divisions with the bank.’

    “Our staffing decision this week was a result of cyclical changes in the mortgage market,” a spokesperson for the bank said.’

    https://news.yahoo.com/jpmorgan-lays-off-hundreds-mortgage-152017853.html

    1. So when do we here it’s no longer issuing mortgages because the Fed’s not buying?

      3. “So when do we hear it’s no longer issuing mortgages because the Fed’s not buying?”

        – Hi RPR, Right now the Fed’s “balance” (liabilities) sheet hasn’t declined by more than “a smidgen,” based on the 6/15/22 data point.

        https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WALCL
        Assets: Total Assets: Total Assets (Less Eliminations from Consolidation): Wednesday Level (WALCL)

        – They may have technically stopped buying U.S. Treas. + MBS, but haven’t started selling anything according to the chart. Not much is rolling off yet either. They’re definitely taking “baby steps” on the tightening, while they were taking giant steps on the easing. Funny how that works. Recall that inflation is running at 8.6% (CPI) as of last month, while the only raised the FFR by a measly 0.75% (75 bps). The Fed is still way behind the curve. By not buying MBS they’re supposed to be slowing the mortgage market, since not buying MBS would cause mortgage rates to rise. Apparently the purchase market didn’t get the memo last week, according to the article below. Maybe some still remaining panic buying ahead of further rate increases? Generally housing was unaffordable before rates moved up. Add to that the doubling of rates and I would think mortgage originations would be on life support already. So who’s buying? Maybe the high end is still alive (for now). I don’t really know. I think refi’s are mostly gone at this point though.

        https://confoundedinterest.net/2022/06/22/hot-hot-hot-mortgage-purchase-applications-up-6-wow-refi-applications-down-3-1-wow-as-fed-keeps-massive-covid-stimulus-in-place-aei-home-price-index-up-17-yoy-in-may/

        confoundedinterest17
        June 22, 2022

        “Hot, Hot, Hot! Mortgage Purchase Applications UP 6% WoW, Refi Applications DOWN -3.1% WoW As Fed Keeps Massive Covid Stimulus In Place (AEI Home Price Index UP 17% YoY In May)”

        “But the expectation of Fed rate hikes is causing mortgage rates to soar and borrowers are trying to get buy housing before The Fed chokes off rates.”

        “Although mortgage rates have been rising quite fast, The Fed’s balance sheet is only being reduced quite slowly, leading to a continuation of the hot, hot, hot housing market.”

        – Related Tweet here.

        https://twitter.com/MacroAlf/status/1539623069089685504
        Alf @MacroAlf

        “*Powell: Fed may need to sell MBS at some future date.

        Let me translate: house prices need to drop and we are going to make sure that’s the case.

        Got it?”

        8:55 AM · Jun 22, 2022·Twitter Web App

        – I wouldn’t believe anything the Fed says. Watch what they do. I personally think they’re making it up as they go along, but the average American is getting screwed in the process.

        “The last duty of a central banker is to tell the public the truth.” – Alan Blinder, former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 1994 on the PBS Nightly Business Report

    2. and reassigning hundreds more this week

      Reassigning? From what I have observed, Corporate America doesn’t slide individual contributors into new jobs when the music stops. What I have seen is that some people are allowed to apply for another job as an internal transfer for 60-90 days after getting riffed. I have also noticed that they are not given special consideration and are treated as someone from outside, meaning they have to jump through all the hoops an external hire is subject to. And they are perceived as damaged goods, as layoffs are often used to fire “deadwood”. I have seen just a few people pull it off.

      1. they are not given special consideration and are treated as someone from outside, meaning they have to jump through all the hoops an external hire is subject to.
        I had this exact experience several decades ago when Wash. Mutual bought and closed us. No special treatment

  40. Brandon is giving us an $0.18 a gallon federal tax holiday!

    That means when I spend $150 putting gas in my F-250 to get a little over 3/4 of a tank I will be saving $5.40!

    I can put that towards the extra $125 a week I am spending on gas, food, laundry detergent, paper towels etc.

    FJB

    1. “$125 a week”

      Without taking any time off, that’s $6,500 a year.

      Maybe try digging into the seats of that F-250 and dig out a few quarters. Look under your couch cushions at home too.

      Remember in April 2020 when Sandy from Westchester (who is not from the Bronx) said “we love to see it?”

      You need to love it too. Turn *UP* the thermostat (Florida), turn off some lights, watch less TeeVee, and take shorter showers.

      Zelensky needs $7 billion a month, peasant.

      “We’re all in this together”

  41. Sounds like it’s going to be more inflation:

    Fed Chairman Jerome Powell conceded that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes won’t solve two of the biggest problems facing families: high prices for gas and groceries.

    During a Senate Banking Committee hearing Wednesday, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Powell to proceed with rate hikes cautiously and avoid setting off a recession that costs millions of jobs.
    Warren asked Powell if Fed rate increases will lower gas prices, which have hit record highs this month.

    “I would not think so,” Powell said.

    1. “Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Powell to proceed with rate hikes cautiously ”

      And are we to believe that this woman is for the little guys?

      1. “And are we to believe that this woman is for the little guys?”

        – Senator Fauxcahontas? 1 part in 1,000,000 Native American Fauxcahontas? Believe? In the same sentence? Made my day! 🙂

        “How do you know when a politician is lying? His [or her] lips are moving.” – Favorite Old Joke

        “Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason.” – José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, translated from Portuguese

        – Just another day in paradise! 🙂

      2. “Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Powell to proceed with rate hikes cautiously ”

        She’s a speculator. She owns rental houses. She doesn’t want Powell to break it off in her asz.

        1. You have to wonder how many ConGrass critters are taking a beat down in their risk asset portfolios as the Fed tightens monetary policy, and how many will try to use their bully pulpits to dissuade Powell and company from upholding their price stability mandate.

    2. Is it possible to keep interest rates pinned to the floor without enabling inflation to drive prices through the roof?

      The Fed leadership seems to think the answer is an emphatic “no”. The Modern Monetary Theory people believe otherwise, but headline inflation statistics are not cooperating.

      Low unemployment is not helpful if the dollar is losing half its value in under ten years’ time, and speculative madness is driving the costs of fuel, shelter and other essentials sky high.

  42. I looked out the window and saw a shiny F-350 drive by. It was a contractor who puts concrete curbing in yards. Stuff like this:

    https://kraftskurbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Krafts-Kurbing-Gallery-2-640×480.jpg

    Anyway, he must charge a pretty penny to drive a nearly new F-350. I’m gonna guess that will soon change.

    Between $5 gas and a recession where potential customers decide to hang onto every dollar they have, I expect there will soon be a large inventory of low priced trucks on dealer lots. Too bad I don’t want or need one.

    1. Anyway, he must charge a pretty penny to drive a nearly new F-350. I’m gonna guess that will soon change.

      At least he does actual work, not fake work tapping keys on a keyboard in his pajamas all day.

      1. +1

        The van they gave me when I got promoted has over 100K on the odometer. I want to get a “Zero to 60, eventually” sticker for it, because Denver road rage.

          1. One stupid move and you die on a job like that. You don’t have to even do anything stupid to die. Dangerous a f. Those are real men. Panty waists like Lloyd Blankfein need to be culled.

          2. When I was 15 years old I had a friend, same grade, who got a job on a well. Big strong guy, over 6 feet tall. His first day after work, he fell asleep in his car and his family had to come and take him home.

          3. Badasses right there.

            7-330 production
            330-430 to hotel, shower
            430-830 $500 in chow with company card
            830-1130 beer and strippers

          4. I worked on oil rigs 40 years and those guys were really impressive when pulling pipes and changing drill bits. Keep in mind that the pipes were 30 feet long onshore ( 90 foot offshore if I recall correctly) and they need to pull up say 8-10,000 feet up to change the drill bits. Very impressive.

      3. “not fake work tapping keys on a keyboard in his pajamas all day.”

        👍👍👍
        … and clucking…. don’t forget the cluck cluck cluck.

    2. 1:49 to 2:07 of the CLOWN WORLD POLICE video is where we will be in one or two more stolen elections.

  44. I heard someone make a comment about this US Navy training video saying….

    “Somewhere in China there is a general saying this is going to be easier than I thought.”

    U.S. Navy releases shocking video providing directions on how to use correct pronouns

    Jun 21, 2022

    https://youtu.be/2YCQq5rboOk

        1. Rolling Stones — Under My Thumb (live at Altamont 1969):

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRQaqmP7QGY

          Real Journalists think they are going to control the #Narrative of this upcoming summer of Soros bought and paid for political violence?

          Get bent. All globalists get the noose.

          Large mobs of starving people with no electricity and/or homeless is like the 2022 thing to be…

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXQvvv6rFJk

          “They’re not sending their best”

  49. “First Guns, Now It’s Immigration”: GOP TX Senator John Cornyn Advances Gun Control Bill, Plans Mass Amnesty Next

    by Chris Menahan | Information Liberation
    June 22nd 2022, 4:34 am

    GOP sellouts are uniting with Democrats to ram through new gun control legislation and are planning a mass amnesty for illegal aliens and DACA recipients next.

    Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were seen shaking hands on the Senate floor on Tuesday evening after voting to advancing their new gun control bill.

    A “smiling” Cornyn reportedly told Sen. Alejandro Padilla (D-CA), “First guns, now it’s immigration.”

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/first-guns-now-its-immigration-gop-tx-senator-john-cornyn-advances-gun-control-bill-plans-mass-amnesty-next/

  50. Car question w/ background: I sold my Audi Q5 a couple weeks ago. We hoped my mom’s 2004 MINI MC40 JCW w/ 55K miles would get us by for 1-2y but the clutch gave out yesterday. I need a more reliable car while considering CA gas prices. Full electric doesn’t make sense for us right now. Hubby drives a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Great car, BTW! I loved the size and hatchback on my Audi A3 that preceded the Q5. Hubby likes the Ford Maverick and thinks it would be useful to have a truck once we have a house (moving, gardening, etc.). I’m willing to buy or lease. What would you get?

    1. P.S. We’re a small family of 3 and rarely, if ever, have a fourth person in the car.

      1. As someone who has owned at least one continuously since 1988 (currently two), I couldn’t agree more.

    3. I had a 2008 MINI for 5 years. Even before 40K miles it began to fall apart. It was that bad.

      1. Good to know. My mom’s MC40 JCW is a collector car once we get it back in shape. MINI only made 1000 MC40s. We’re not sure how many of those had the John Cooper Works package.

        1. I remember that the JCW package was very pricey. My 2008 was a base model, about $20K at the time. The JCW version (about twice the HP) was about $35K, IIRC.

          1. My mom went to the dealership to buy a green convertible, saw the MC40 w/ JCW, and after thinking about it over lunch at Mi Guadalajara in Escondido went home with it. Other drivers on the road vastly underestimate it.

    4. My son just purchased a brand new Toyota Corolla hybrid for circa $30K at Poway Toyota. He’s a happy camper.

    5. The clutch slave cylinder was the problem and is now fixed. I appreciate the input. Honda for the overwhelming win! We’ll try to make it to October when a recession is widely acknowledged. We’ll have more bargaining power then. Ideally, we can eek it out until we buy a house, install solar and a charging station, and some of the newer EVs work out their kinks.

      1. What soured me on MINI was the price of the parts. A thermostat valve was almost $300 back then, plus labor. The were no generics at the time. A generic thermostat valve is usually $20 at an auto parts store.

        1. the price of the parts

          Yep. German cars aren’t cheap, especially when they go out of warranty. Unfortunately, that’s how I like my cars. With the MINI in the shop waiting to be picked up, I was driving my 2001 BMW Z3 today.

  51. Other cars we’re pondering:
    Honda Civic Hatchback (hybrid or not)
    Mazda3 Hatchback
    MINI Clubman

    1. Note that the 2018 Toyota Rav 4 Limited is the last year for a non-turbo 2.5-liter engine and a real 6-speed automatic transmission. It’s a great car for an active owner, but they’re spendy too. I’m keeping an eye out for one for my daughter if prices dip back to pre-chip shortage levels.

      1. I just drove her Honda V6 Coupe over to Seattle yesterday, spending the evening in a hotel room doing a bowel prep for a colonoscopy this morning, without sedation. Then I drove back home for our Red Cross blood drive. That coupe drives like it’s on rails, and that V6 power can easily pass cars going uphill. Awesome car, IMHO.

          2. I went alone, and going without sedation means walking out just minutes after the procedure and drive home.

          4. going without sedation

            Did they give you something to bite on?

            I’ve had the procedure. I was sedated and I woke up in the middle of it. It was a very unpleasant experience. I remember someone saying “He’s waking up!” They sedated me again and it was back to slumber land. To be honest, I felt very lucid after the procedure and think I could have driven home myself. But their policy is “no ride, no colonoscopy”. Not even a taxi. They wheelchair you to your ride. They want someone with you for the next 24 hours. Anyway, my next stop was breakfast, and a lot of it!

            Now that I think of it, I should be due for another one next year. Just the thought of drinking another gallon of colyte makes me feel sick.

          5. drinking another gallon of colyte

            Per my mother who passed away from colon cancer, you want Suprep even if you have to pay more for it.

          6. even if you have to pay more for it

            I suppose it depends on how much more. My insurance has a $5 copay for colyte. $20-30 more? Sure, if it’s really that much easier to drink. $300? Probably not.

          7. WAG: $100 at most out-of-pocket. Kaiser will give you the cheap stuff. I got without asking “the good stuff” from Scripps Health for mine.

          8. if it’s really that much easier to drink

            Not so much to drink but how it works (cramping, etc.), yes!

      2. According to Toyota’s website the RAV4 still has the 2.5 liter engine. It still has a slushbox (not a CVT) and has 8 gears.

          2. And I want the FWD version, not AWD.

            Here in the Centennial State all the dealers have is AWD. If you want FWD, you have to special order it. This is true of all SUV’s, except perhaps hybrids, which are a special beast.

    2. I agree with butters in that you can’t go wrong with a Honda.

      But I’m a truck guy so I’m siding with your husband and going with the Ford Maverick. Of course I would sacrifice some gas mileage and skip the hybrid 2.5-liter and get the turbo 250-hp 2.0-liter which hits 60 mph in 5.9 seconds 🙂

      CarandDriver

      Pricing and Which One to Buy

      Going with the XLT adds 17-inch aluminum wheels, cruise control, a power lock for the tailgate, power exterior mirrors and more, making it the value-oriented model. We’d upgrade to the optional turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder for $1085 and add all-wheel drive for $3305.

      https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/maverick

  56. “‘This by no means is a bubble about to pop,’ he said. ‘It’s just a long-overdue correction in the market.’”

    Keep on a whistling as ye stroll past the graveyard…

    1. Yahoo
      South China Morning Post
      Bitcoin market meltdown prompts fresh warning in China that value of world’s leading cryptocurrency could fall to zero
      Wed, June 22, 2022 at 2:30 AM·3 min read

      The global cryptocurrency industry’s latest meltdown has prompted fresh warning in China that the value of bitcoin could drop much further and be worth nothing, as Beijing renewed efforts to dissuade Chinese investors from all crypto-related activities.

      An article published on Wednesday by the Economic Daily, a newspaper directly under the Central Committee of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, said investors should beware the risk of bitcoin prices “heading to zero” amid the recent decline of the world’s first and leading cryptocurrency.

      “Bitcoin is nothing more than a string of digital codes, and its returns mainly come from buying low and selling high,” the newspaper said. “In the future, once investors’ confidence collapses or when sovereign countries declare bitcoin illegal, it will return to its original value, which is utterly worthless.”
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-market-meltdown-prompts-fresh-093000754.html

    2. The Wall Street Journal
      Currencies / Foreign Exchange
      With Markets in Disarray, International Investors Are Stockpiling U.S. Dollars
      Foreign investors, concerned about soaring inflation and a global slowdown, are keeping their cash in the U.S. currency
      The Tech Sector Is Taking a Beating. Here’s Why.
      As markets react to inflation and high interest rates, technology stocks are having their worst start to a year on record. WSJ’s Hardika Singh explains why the sector — from tech giants to small startups — is getting hit so hard. Illustration: Jacob Reynolds
      By Julia-Ambra Verlaine
      Updated June 21, 2022 5:47 am ET

      Foreign investors selling stocks and bonds are hoarding the U.S. dollar as market volatility picks up.

      Typically investors repatriate cash into their local currency, but not this time. U.S. capital flow data show the foreign cash pile of dollars is close to records as investors reduce risky assets in portfolios and hang on to the world’s reserve currency.
      …

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