February 21, 2017

They’re Making Lowball Offers

A report from the Real Deal on New York. “When real estate agent Geovanna Lim’s client went into contract on a $3 million new development condominium in Midtown Manhattan more than two years ago, the pad was an easy get for the Chinese national. He agreed to put $300,000 down and even decided against a mortgage contingency. But late last year, when the developer obtained a temporary certificate of occupancy and began closings, Lim’s client entered crisis mode. Faced with China’s strict new capital controls — which took effect Jan. 1 — the buyer scrambled to find a way to move $2.7 million out of mainland China and into the U.S. in order to pay for the apartment in full.”

“After successfully stalling for a few weeks, the period around Chinese New Year was spent doing everything possible to line up a hard-money loan, according to Lim, a broker and founder of Park Avenue International Partners. ‘He didn’t have time to get his money out,’ she lamented. ‘We signed a no-mortgage contingency contract. We didn’t know we’d need financing two years later.’”

“Designed to curb the massive amount of Chinese investment abroad, the Chinese government’s rule is changing the way investors are looking at New York City real estate — long seen as a safety deposit box for investors from around the world. Some investors, fearful that the Trump administration’s foreign policy could further depress their economic prospects at home, are more eager than ever to safeguard their money in U.S. real estate. ‘Their factories are going to have a slowdown because of the threat of tariffs, so they’re determined to come to the U.S. and establish [a business] here,’ Lim said.”

“Sotheby’s International Realty’s Nikki Field said she’s still seeing high-end buyers — but even ultra-wealthy Chinese clients are focused on value. ‘They identify that our market has softened and they’re looking for good value, strong opportunity and immediate returns,’ she told The Real Deal this fall. Attorney Edward Mermelstein, a partner at Rheem Bell & Mermelstein, agreed. ‘They tend to be much more value-driven and opportunistic, so if they’re not seeing a great deal, they’re heading in a different direction,’ he said. ‘They’re making lowball offers.’”

From Forbes. “When Ivanka Trump purchased her home at Trump Park Avenue in Manhattan back in 2004, the real estate market in Manhattan was soaring. Home prices were rising and demand at the top end of the market far outstripped supply. Now, as the daughter of President Trump lists that same home for sale this month for $4.1m, she is finding a Manhattan real estate landscape marked by softening sales and shrinking demand. The falloff is particularly acute at the very high end where a glut of expensive condominiums has flooded the Manhattan market hindering demand for top-tier properties.”

“The slowdown is unleashing a chorus of doomsday talk among usually bullish real estate professionals in the city and sparking discussion of a correction not seen since the property crash of 2008. Bidding wars for luxury properties are less frequent and fewer open houses have lines around the block, brokers report. Shrinking bank bonuses are further dampening demand.”

“‘No one is predicting an all-out crash,’ says Donna Olshan, president of Olshan Realty. ‘But a number of factors clearly show that the top of the market is contracting.’”

The New York Times. “In December 2016, median rents for one-bedroom apartments decreased in eight of the 10 most expensive American markets, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Zumper. The decrease in New York City was by far the biggest, at 9.1 percent.”

From Press Connects. “Developers, faced with an undergraduate student body no longer increasing in size and a development rate that may have outpaced that growth, are now wondering what will happen to the luxury living spaces they’ve already built. With five major student housing developments in downtown Binghamton, 710 beds at U-Club, and 562 beds soon to come from the townhouse expansion there, developers worry they’ve surpassed the market’s saturation point.”

“‘At this point, we probably have overbuilt,’ said Ron Kutas, a co-developer of the Chenango Place student housing development. ‘Not probably — we have.’”

“‘At the beginning, there was absolutely higher demand than there was supply. The developers … had a lot of experience in the local market. And then came kind of the rush for everybody else,’ said Kutas, a former BU student. ‘The city and … county … need to look at the long-term vision for the city. Because overbuilding, while it could create short-term economic benefits, could have some (significant) long-term economic effects.’”

“Among the long-term effects he worries about: vacancies; developments struggling to stay open; and, if some of them close, a hit to the city and county’s tax base.”




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138 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-02-21 09:08:07

‘Attorney Edward Mermelstein…agreed. ‘They tend to be much more value-driven and opportunistic, so if they’re not seeing a great deal, they’re heading in a different direction,’ he said. ‘They’re making lowball offers.’

This report is worth reading in full. It goes on to say a lot of these Chinese buyers are getting loans now and looking at the cheap stuff. The big driver up has become the driver down.

‘Among the long-term effects he worries about: vacancies; developments struggling to stay open; and, if some of them close, a hit to the city and county’s tax base’

Don’t forget the people who loaned them money Ron.

Comment by oxide
2017-02-21 09:35:38

“Cheap stuff” …. I’m just glad that the foreigners are, for the most part, still sticking with effing floating boxes of air as investment vehicles.

They are still largely ignoring the cheap properties where the *real* riches are found: Oil-City type safe houses with good soil, breathable air, and plenty of water. i.e. eastern flyover.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-02-21 09:51:40

A few years ago I posted an article quoting a Chinese national who had bought a Houston condo - with a mortgage. Paid $100-150k IIRC.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 10:28:51

So how do these dudes pay the mortgage when the PRC is restricting cash out flows? And how do US lenders verify his income? I mean, I have to produce W2’s to get a loan. Are we back in no doc NINJA land?

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Comment by butters
2017-02-21 11:06:35

The rules apply to masses who honestly can’t afford a shack in Detroit. The connected few are the ones buying overseas and they are hardly restricted. Chinese have been buying bitcoins like crazy, too in recent years. I am sure that helps a bit.

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 14:27:25

China knows it is easier to buy us with fake Yaun then invade us.

 
Comment by junior_kai
2017-02-21 15:01:08

‘They identify that our market has softened and they’re looking for good value, strong opportunity and immediate returns’

They’ll get their immediate returns when we send their a55es right back to their dump of a country, lol. MAGA!

 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 15:22:41

The rules apply to masses who honestly can’t afford a shack in Detroit.

If the ChiComs are taking out loans then they can afford their speculative purchases either.

I guess what I’m saying is that there isn’t a checkbox on loan application forms that says: “I’m a Chinese national without a verifiable income”, or is there?

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 16:17:21

Maybe the Chinese are all cash or hard money with 50% down.

Sheeple take their Yuan-fake-money, then complain about the USA.

 
 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 10:36:12

A friend in Atlanta has said the Chinese were buying up houses there.

BTW, NYC has an excellent water supply.

Comment by butters
2017-02-21 10:55:11

Why would anyone buy in Atlanta? {smh}

Why would this country allow such a large scale of money laundering at the expense of its citizens? {violently smh}

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Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 17:54:27

1. greed

 
 
Comment by palmetto
2017-02-21 12:31:58

Speaking of water, this is from a USA Today article:

“San Francisco was slammed with almost 2 inches of rain;”

“Slammed” with almost 2 inches of rain. This is “journalism”? Wut? Two inches of rain is just about enough to settle the dust. No one gets “slammed” with two inches of rain.

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Comment by rms
2017-02-21 22:41:06

San Francisco has about 25-inches of rain per year, so 2-inches in a day is significant… particularly if the storm drains are sized for less. I’ll never forget FL and GA rained like crazy when I was a grunt in military training… spoiled California kid.

 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 13:13:56

A friend in Atlanta has said the Chinese were buying up houses there.

Must be the peaches and mint julips.

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Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 17:53:25

NYC all the water and rats one will ever need. Darn that city is dirty and crowded.

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Comment by Ben Jones
2017-02-21 09:09:32

‘rents for one-bedroom apartments decreased in eight of the 10 most expensive American markets’

It’s interesting that if you drill down, the decreases are largest in the most expensive parts of the most expense cities.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-02-21 09:24:46

‘No one is predicting an all-out crash,’ says Donna Olshan’

I don’t get this. About a month or so ago, I documented a guy who paid $32 million in 2012, probably pre-construction. Now he’s asking around $18 million and it isn’t sold. Just what constitutes “an all-out crash”?

Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 09:46:18

There are not enough jobs in Denver to support thousands of new one bedroom apartments that rent for $2,000 a month.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 09:56:02

Flyover wages with near coastal prices (Denver is the most expensive non coastal metro area in the country).

Yet the lunch bunch at work thinks it’s perfectly normal and that there is no bubble. Remind them that they thought the same thing before the 2008 crash and they will all roll their eyes at you.

Comment by taxpayer
2017-02-21 11:01:33

you forgot to mention TABOR again

I’m figuring down 1% in N VA and down 2% in MD

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Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 12:35:34

Because I didn’t want to rub salt into your gaping, open wounds. But since you brought TABOR up, how much did you say your taxes went up again?

 
 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2017-02-21 12:28:05

I think the youngs are still looking at the wrong correlation and think the mere act of buying a house brings wealth and success for their eventual kid(s). By that logic, since I’ve heard the mega rich rent and I rent, the transitive property suggests I should be a gazillionaire by now.

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Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 12:59:04

We had a young pup on the team who finally bought a shack last year. The consensus at the lunch table was that he did the right thing and is going to make bank on the appreciation.

 
Comment by butters
2017-02-21 13:04:31

The consensus at the lunch table was that he did the right thing and is going to make bank on the appreciation.

Greenspan-Bernanke-Yellen axis says he is right on that assumption. On top of that we have a real estate builder as our prezident. Next 4 years will be golden for the real estates value.

 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2017-02-21 16:09:18

“…we have a real estate builder as our prezident. Next 4 years will be golden for the real estates value.”

Ya know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. Does he (a) raise rates to keep the winnings among he and his friends who are stronger borrowers, or does he (b) lower or keep them the same to keep the game going in general? Sounds like it’ll be (b) at least for 200 days.

 
Comment by rms
2017-02-21 23:03:28

Ya know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.

Me too.

The pension plans desperately need higher returns, but corporations, government(s) and families are in debt up to their eye teeth. Interest rates will likely remain depressed for the duration of the boomer retirement wave, est. 2029, IMHO.

 
 
 
Comment by Ethan in Northern VA
2017-02-21 12:02:10

I said the same thing about Norfolk VA but they seem to fill the buildings.

 
Comment by Carl Morris
2017-02-21 17:36:21

There are not enough jobs in Denver to support thousands of new one bedroom apartments that rent for $2,000 a month.

I thought in the age of Airbnb nobody wanted 1brs any more and the spread between 1br and 2-3br was widening a lot?

Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 18:24:35

I don’t know, but the majority of the units in the building I’m working in in Cherry Creek now are all one bedroom. Two bedrooms are the corner units.

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Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-22 09:40:11

Everyone wants to live in Cherry Creek /sarc

 
Comment by Ethan in Northern VA
2017-02-22 09:42:01

Does it work out to something like $25/sqft? I love how the apartments in Norfolk cost more per sqft than the most luxury of the office penthouse space occupied by lawyers and accountants.

 
 
 
 
Comment by acutehemroid
2017-02-21 11:37:58

The high-end real estate is suffering because the Chinese Gov’t won’t let their richest citizens send money out to buy in Manhattan or some place just as loony? I’ve read that we are past peak globalization. Brexit, Putin’s Russia, Trump’s promises, may point to this. But about real estate…

Here are some numbers:
Median Family income in Manhattan: $66,739. I googled it.
Median condo price in Manhattan: $1.4 million. I googled that, also.
Price to income ratio: 21.

Let’s say google got the income wrong by 200%.
New price to income ratio: 10.
Ok, not there yet.

In fact, the median income will have to change by 700% for the income to match the median condo price.

So, which will it be? Median Family Income will equal $470k? No, not likely.

OR

Median condo price drops to $200k from $1400k? No, not likely.

Hmmm… and some people wonder why dystopian TV, movies, and books are so popular. Maybe we are living in such a society? I just can’t help but mulling over these numbers. They are unnatural and too weird. Trust me, I know the unnatural and weird. In fact, they are my favorite things to do.
Regards,
Roidy

Comment by Michael
2017-02-27 04:29:05

The Manhattan income numbers are skewed by all the people living in government housing as well as in rent controlled and stabilized units.

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-02-21 12:00:39

It is indeed strange how they’re not able to bring themselves to reality.

There is no greater definition of a crash that collapsing demand. And it is collapsing the man we’ve had year after year after year since 2008.

 
Comment by rms
2017-02-21 22:44:40

Just what constitutes “an all-out crash”?

That’s when [your] place won’t sell for half-off.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-02-22 02:21:49

Nobody ever predicts an all-out crash, which explains why nobody can ever see them coming.

 
 
Comment by Puggs
2017-02-21 09:38:30

Zero Percent Down Loans In A Raging Bubble: Didn’t We Try This Before?

Sher did!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-21/zero-percent-down-loans-raging-bubble-didn%E2%80%99t-we-try

Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 09:51:28

This bubble is even better because now we have the Rocket Mortgage app from Quicken Loans.

Push button, commit financial suicide, LOLZ.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 09:59:14

FWIW, had you bought a place in Denver in 2008 and sold it say last year, you would have made a tidy profit. The key of course is to have made the decision to sell and not wait another year for more appreciation.

Comment by butters
2017-02-21 10:05:34

Most people will wait to see another year of more appreciation. Greed never stops.

Those who are brave enough to sell, most will buy another shack immediately at a higher price. They will rationalize “oh we gotta live somewhere.”

Maybe less than 1% people have the discipline to sell and wait for the collapse.

See how easy it is to become 1%er.

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Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2017-02-21 10:33:00

Speaking of housing strategy, and hindsight being what it is, if I could go back I’d be on the 2 year plan. Buy sh!tbox, fix it up while living there, live there 2 years, sell, repeat. Woulda been easy while I was single.

 
Comment by oxide
2017-02-21 12:37:31

There isn’t a single sh!tbox for sale in my neighborhood. They were all bought up and fixed up about three years ago.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 13:44:34

The local code inspector on my box-fix project did this for decades and when he got tired of the insulation and drywall life, he retired to the cushy job of inspecting the work of others.

 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2017-02-21 16:15:41

“did this for decades”

I was alluding to the $250k capital gains exception, in place since 1997. Is that what he was doing? Was there an exception of some sort before then, or was he just riding whatever RE rehab waves existed before then?

 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2017-02-21 16:20:07

“There isn’t a single sh!tbox for sale in my neighborhood.”

I don’t chase those already for sale. There are a handful still available here, but about a dozen that I was eyeing got bought for way too much during this upswing…and sold for way too much more.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 19:04:01

Is that what he was doing?

I doubt it. More likely just living at the office.

 
 
Comment by oxide
2017-02-21 10:53:14

You also had to make the decision to either seriously downsize (perhaps to a rental) or move out of the area. It’s no good to sell an expensive house if you have to buy another expensive house.

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Comment by butters
2017-02-21 11:09:53

That’s what my friends have done. Have to keep up with Joneses I suppose. House defines who you are in many circles. Sad..pretty sad.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 12:40:43

I think that as long as you don’t fill the house up with cr@p, downsizing back to a rental is easy. I know of more than a few couples who are empty nesters and won’t downsize because they can’t part with their accumulated stuff, and probably won’t until their health becomes an issue and forces them to downsize.. Being that Goonie is a bachelor, keeping his house empty and spartan would have been a snap.

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 15:58:52

Apartment 402 is becoming vacant soon. I’m negotiating to rent it for a week so I can replace the flooring and paint in 401.

The family compound at an undisclosed location 100+ miles southwest of here has already been purchased, with cash, obviously.

I’m never buying a house in Denver.

 
Comment by oxide
2017-02-21 16:06:48

Empty nesters and won’t downsize because they can’t part with their accumulated stuff, and probably won’t until their health becomes an issue and forces them to downsize..

More likely their health will become an issue and it will be left to the kids to do the downsizing. I heard a story that the *best* Goodwill and Salvation Army deals can be found in Florida because the parents die off and the kids have to fly down to get rid of the stuff. The kids ship it all off to the Goodwill in an indiscriminate heap so they can make it to the airport in time to fly back.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-02-21 16:43:15

“I heard a story that the *best* Goodwill and Salvation Army deals can be found in Florida because the parents die off and the kids have to fly down to get rid of the stuff.”

Can confirm. However, the parents’ stuff is getting crappier and crappier as time goes by. One of my fave charity shops only opens two mornings a week, all run by volunteers.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by oxide
2017-02-21 09:54:22

University of Binghamton (still SUNY) has a student body of ~19500 and costs

They built the housing before figuring out the the student population is about to drop. From what I’ve seen, most of the teenagers are anchor-babies. I don’t know how many of them will be able to drop $25K on college.

Comment by taxpayer
2017-02-21 11:05:05

the NY edu co-located biz incubators are a neat scam- see the ads on bloomberg all the time. “lowest taxes in years”
bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 
Comment by LI LI Land
2017-02-21 11:48:13

They want to make tuition “free” in NY especially for these kids I guess…

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/03/pf/college/cuomo-new-york-free-tuition/

Where’s all this free money coming from?? Oh right… Gonna be blood from a stone soon in NY. People are already maxed out here.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 12:56:03

I guess property taxes will be going up again in NY state. A lot.

Must resist … don’t say it … I can do it … sorry … I just have to say it:

Got TABOR?

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 13:07:10

City college is dirt cheap already and free if you are poor.

 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 12:53:25

” I don’t know how many of them will be able to drop $25K on college.”

They’ll qualify for .gov grants and minority only scholarships and borrow the balance (if needed). Then they’ll graduate and get to go to the front of the line for cushy, well paid government jobs with pensions.

Comment by junior_kai
2017-02-21 16:07:58

Only a small “minority” (pun intended) will be able to go that route. Most will not graduate and never should have been admitted in the first place. Even those that graduate may take 6 or more years to do so.

Math FTW.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 18:23:17

They’ll just major in victims studies and then get a nice six figure dot gov job

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Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 18:29:01

I haven’t talked to anybody still working on my last Uncle Sugar gig at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO recently, but I’m guessing there’s gonna be alot of sad panda boohoo after 9/30/2017 when the next federal fiscal year starts…

 
Comment by taxpayers
2017-02-22 05:25:18

Chop heads
Rif n role

 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-22 09:43:12

From what I have heard, working a the NREL in Golden has always been a dicey affair.

 
 
 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-02-21 18:26:47

University of Binghamton (still SUNY) has a student body of ~19500 and costs

They built the housing before figuring out the the student population is about to drop. From what I’ve seen, most of the teenagers are anchor-babies.

Binghamton is the either most prestigious or second most prestigious campus in the SUNY system. If many of the students are immigrants, quite a few of them would probably be the children of Asian “tiger moms”. And if the legislature were to make the decision to shrink SUNY, they’d probably maintain funding to their top campuses and go after the some of the less renowned ones.

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 18:59:17

It’s Appalachia. See anything wrong with the picture?

Comment by MightyMike
2017-02-21 19:04:32

It doesn’t matter. Columbia University is just a few blocks away from Harlem.

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Comment by Karen
2017-02-21 20:05:45

Binghamton is a few blocks from…nowhere

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 10:31:18

My apologies for reposting this. I hadn’t realized there was a new thread up. I thought it was interesting bubble food for thought.

China “core” population set to peak this year and decline significantly for the next 25 years. It’s a fact that requires no crystal ball. This as their explosive debt accumulation tops $35Tr. That’s about $50,000 per working age stiff. The author thinks debt in China will continue to grow exponentially and blow bubbles around the world for years.

https://econimica.blogspot.gr/2017/02/global-economic-growth-is-presently-all.html

Comment by butters
2017-02-21 10:53:07

11 million undocumented + their families, so close to 30 to 40 million people will become legal in next 10 to 20 yrs or so. They need houses to live.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-02-21 18:20:41

That’s a lot of entitlement votes. Deport the whole bloc.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 18:25:55

It has begun, just witness how the left is already losing its mind over the sob stories of identity thieves and welfare parasites who are being deported. Daily headlines about how “immigrants” are living in fear. Last time I checked, legal immigrants were going about their daily business.

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Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-02-21 18:51:07

Illegal immigrants, by definition, have no respect for our legal system. Every single one should be deported and never allowed back, for any reason. Not even as a tourist.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 18:51:34

Disconnects. Where were the tears when Obama was deporting?

 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-02-21 19:03:42

People say, “but who will pick the food on the farms?”

Americans will. When they get hungry enough, they will.

Or the robots will do it. The leftists really like their robot ideas, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

 
Comment by butters
2017-02-22 09:17:51

Disconnects. Where were the tears when Obama was deporting?

I think it was one of the biggest lies….just like his presidency.

Catch and release was the name of the game.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-22 13:37:32

Catch and release was the name of the game.

No kidding. The fact that identity stealing illegals would calmly stop by once a year to “check in” with immigration speaks volumes about that.

I wish I could have seen that woman’s face when she was told that the gig was up.

“But, but … I’m a community activist … you can’t deport me!”

Wanna bet, cupcake?

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Josh
2017-02-21 13:02:52

Soon…

Comment by rms
2017-02-21 23:27:37

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

 
 
Comment by Foo Bar
2017-02-21 13:08:05

Reading this blog for a year.
Not seeing any slowdown whatsoever in South Bay Area.
Los Altos for example. When will I see any change (10-20% correction in real estate)?
For bay area real estate (Single family homes in good area), for anything significant to move south, the stock market needs to crash. And not seeing that happening at all. Dow all set for 21000. Crazy but true.

Comment by Justme
2017-02-21 13:23:57

>>the stock market needs to crash. And not seeing that happening at all.

Just waiting for that 0.25% to 0.50% interest rate jump from Gramma Yellen in March.

Comment by Foo Bar
2017-02-21 14:57:37

Not so sure about the rate jump - Yelen just talks and just tests the waters.
The real action happens many more months later (if at all).

 
 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 13:50:44

Foo Bar - you can go long, you can go short, but getting the timing right is the tough part.

China crash will get the ball rolling.

Los Altos may never crash, just flatten or drop a little for 7 yrs and taxes will increase. Jobs need to flee in that area first.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 18:54:17

“A five year high”

Wasn’t one of our friends here telling us there is a shortage?

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-02-21 19:01:29

That would be PretzelBoy. :mrgreen:

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Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2017-02-21 13:51:58

San Francisco County, CA Rental Rates Plummet 7% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-county-ca/home-values/

 
Comment by Karen
2017-02-21 14:53:08

From Ben’s last link - a student housing bubble in Binghamton, NY

I had a friend who went to school there in the early 90’s. I visited and though that it was the most depressing place I had ever been. A sad, dying, decaying city.

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-21 16:24:32

“A sad, dying, decaying city.”

What! Are you kidding?

The Official Binghamton Tourism Website

http://www.visitbinghamton.org/

Oh, you’re not kidding.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-02-21 16:46:51

“A sad, dying, decaying city.”

Been that way since the 1970s.

In 2014, Hugh Grant starred in a movie called “The Re-Write” that was filmed at Binghamton University. It was actually not a half-bad little slice-of-life flick.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rewrite

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2017-02-21 15:43:34
Comment by redmondjp
2017-02-22 00:15:16

Thanks for the daily laugh, Housing Analyst!

Still plenty of rich, foreign buyers here keeping prices at record high levels. Inventory, conversely, is at record low levels, even for this time of year.

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-02-22 14:35:08

Have another tall glass of rage my good friend…

Issaquah, WA Housing Prices Crater 19% YoY

 
Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-02-22 17:30:43

Man, you sure drink the Kool-Aid.

 
 
 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 16:34:48

CUTS — 705 Columbia St, Santa Fe, NM 87505 | MLS #201604365 -

$399k to $275k cut in 4 mos and still falling.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-21 18:27:51

Been to Santa Fe once. I didn’t get what the fuss over the place was all about.

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-02-21 23:52:46

‘Been to Santa Fe once. I didn’t get what the fuss over the place was all about.’

My SO’s cousin once saw Val Kilmer all disheveled in a bistro there back in the 1990’s. So worth it I guess….

 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2017-02-21 16:52:27

Is zillow lazy? They stick to predictions no matter what happens locally

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-02-21 17:01:18

An update:

‘Ivanka Trump has just cut the asking rent for one of her Manhattan apartments after struggling to find a buyer or tenant. Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, first put the condo at Trump Park Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on the market in December for $4.1 million. At the same time they relisted it for rent, asking $15,000 per month. But while the sales price is unchanged, on Tuesday they reduced the rent to $13,000, according to the listing.’

‘City property records show that Ms. Trump paid $1.52 million for the condo in 2004.’

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-02-21 23:55:24

Weren’t people all sour on NYC RE right after 9/11? Head for the hills kind of thing?

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2017-02-21 17:04:58

Midtown Manhattan Rental Rates Crater 10% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/midtown-new-york-ny/home-values/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-02-21 17:12:34
 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-02-21 17:55:24

Only reason I’m posting this one today (it’s about mortgages getting more difficult in New Zealand) — is the photo of the two mortgage guys in the article. It struck me as pretty funny. They *totally* have that look, like, “We know we’re doing something fraudulent, and we don’t care!”. Those smiles.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/89629125/mortgage-rationing-bites-brokers-say

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-02-21 18:46:08

If either of these guys came on my dock, it would be the boat hook without conversation.

 
Comment by rms
2017-02-22 00:04:13

“They *totally* have that look, like…”

The one on the right holds ‘em down for the Cheshire Cat Grin guy.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-21 19:24:26

goon

You weren’t the first 1:14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB0bVXBH2K8

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-02-21 19:27:55

Boise studio 434 sq ft - this cant end well $1500 min 3 mo lease

https://boise.craigslist.org/apa/5976201754.html

Comment by rms
2017-02-22 00:10:09

The Aspen Lofts in the heart of [vibrant] downtown Boise, ID? LOLZ!

Comment by rms
2017-02-22 00:15:21

Gotta love that, 0-Br/1-Ba.

 
 
Comment by DirtyLawyer
2017-02-22 07:07:26

Greater Boise Market is nuts right now. All-time low inventory is propping up prices, although a few properties have been sitting for months - sellers shooting for the moon with crazy asking prices. Curious to see what happens in the Spring. Rents have been jacked up too. Prices completely out of whack for local wages.

I am looking to buy, will have 150k-200k to put down. In the specific areas I’m looking, stuff goes into contract pretty quickly. Not looking to flip, looking for a place to live. Currently staying rent-free with inlaws in SF Bay Area (my old 3/2 house in Newark was $2200/mo, landlord jacked up to $2700/mo, and I gave notice).

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-02-22 08:02:46

Why buy it when you can rent it for half the monthly cost?

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-02-21 20:11:36

Where were you in 1993-1994-1995 yo playa?

Things Done Changed - Biggie (Original Version):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdciOXroU9o

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-21 22:00:47

SE Region IV

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2017-02-22 06:04:50

Boots!
Report in on your local sales
Last weekend is the big ‘re season kickoff in many markets.
A big office building in n va sold for 19990s pricing= ouch

 
Comment by azdude
2017-02-22 06:23:46

If you are not feeling guilty about your offer it wasnt low enough.

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 08:29:07

I purchased my current shack with a bid of $1,000.00 over asking in 2012. I put in a few lowball offers from about 2009 - 2011 without any success, although that was a time when many houses in my targeted areas were being held off the market with non-paying robo victims soaking up a few years of rent free living or tax free rental income.

I have a fast forward to today but I’m not sure I want to post it.

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-02-22 07:09:14

Reserve Bank interest rate moves limited by high debt, rising house prices

By senior business correspondent Peter Ryan and Michael Janda

Fears of inflating housing bubbles in Sydney and Melbourne are stopping the Reserve Bank from cutting interest rates to boost the economy, the central bank governor conceded today.

The stark admission by Reserve Bank governor Phillip Lowe about the RBA’s dilemma comes as soaring house prices in the eastern states have Australians carrying “more debt than they ever have before”.

Dr Lowe delivered the reality check at the Australia Canada Economic Leadership Forum, where he said low interest rates made it attractive for borrowers in both countries to invest in real estate, making further rate cuts an undesirable option.

“We are trying to balance multiple objectives at the moment,” he said in response to questions after the speech.

“We’d like the economy to grow a bit more quickly and we’d like the unemployment rate to come down a bit more quickly than is currently forecast.

“But if we were to try and achieve that through monetary policy it would encourage people to borrow more money and it probably would put more upward pressure on housing prices and, at the moment, I don’t think either of those two things are really in the national interest.”

For the moment, it looks like the Reserve Bank feels content — or locked in — to leaving official interest rates on hold at a record low 1.5 per cent.

However, Dr Lowe expressed optimism that this level of rates was low enough to spark business investment and stronger economic growth, and therefore there would be no need to lower rates further.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-22/reserve-bank-warns-on-household-debt-risks/8292036?section=business

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-02-22 08:06:57

Seems like.. wherever you go, or wherever you look — everyone is in debt up to their eyeballs. I’m sure things will work out just fine though.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-02-22 08:26:21

It’s up to the Fed to ensure that steadily rising asset prices prevent an underwater homeowner situation like the one that ensued in the post-2008 episode.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-02-22 08:09:20

It’s always delightful when the most fervid proponents of open borders and fundamental transformation get a healthy dose of what they’ve been advocating for.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/02/21/swedish-newspaper-photographer-attacked-no-go-zone/

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 09:33:32

I believable it was Tarara who posted a video of a German kid getting beat up by peaceful immigrants.

As far as this violence in Sweden the MSM just told me it wasn’t true.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y89-8cNj7PM

Comment by taxpayer
2017-02-22 11:07:11

for bigger crowds at long range use 22 shorts notched”stinger”
for in close you have to go w shotguns

We are ready in N VA

 
Comment by Tarara Boomdea
2017-02-22 12:32:28

I can’t find it (was on youtube) but many, many years ago I was appalled to see a televised Swedish public service announcement advocating interracial marriage, with bad, Abba style singing and dancing. Fine, but is that something a government should be involved in at all? Crazy.

I loved the Swedish-Norwegian TV series The Bridge. The star of the series, Kim Bodnia, left the show because he said he couldn’t take the anti-semitism and violence in Malmo.

‘Anti-semitism in Malmo made me quit’ says The Bridge actor

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 14:51:38

OT

Tarara

I hope things are going as well as posible for you and your family.

Hang in there.

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Comment by Tarara Boomdea
2017-02-22 17:36:32

Thanks, phony. Things are good; haven’t really taken it all in yet. I’m a big fan of denial, I’m good at it and it works for me ;-)

I figure I’m going to hit the bricks in about two weeks, probably go with a temp agency. It was unfortunate that things had been made even worse since I had both knees replaced, one in October and one in December (cartilage degenerated over the last eight years due to an accident) so I was not in the greatest of shape when my mother really started to go downhill, but ya got to do what ya got to do. (Break out the violins.) Not great timing, but I couldn’t stand it any more and knew I’d have to find work pretty quickly after her passing. So here I am. I figure I’ll be up to speed in about two weeks.

Welcome to Costco. I love you.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 18:26:23

In the early 80s I was a helper for a Drywall hanger who turned down a 250 board job for $3.25 a board because he figured it was worth $3.75 a board.

After sitting home that week and earning $0 I learned 2 things.

1: Any paycheck was better than no paycheck.

2: That dumb@ss hanger was going to have to find a new helper.

IMHO

You take the best job you can find to start, do it well and it will lead to a better job.

 
Comment by phony scandals
 
Comment by Tarara Boomdea
2017-02-22 21:38:46

You take the best job you can find to start, do it well and it will lead to a better job.

So true. And you never meet the person that will give you another opportunity by staying home.

 
 
 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-22 09:51:58

Wanna bet the Clinton News Network website won’t have a link to that story?

Comment by butters
2017-02-22 10:19:12

They had one yesterday on the front page.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-02-22 13:41:53

I don’t recall seeing the one about the journalist. I did see one about the riots and how they happened in “immigrant neighborhoods”, which just happen to have Sharia law and are no go zones for the police, and their presence to arrest an alleged rapist triggered the riot.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 14:23:16

“They had one yesterday on the front page.”

And the day before.

Former US ambassador to Sweden disputes Trump’s claims of refugee threat

By Theodore Schleifer, CNN
Updated 2:46 PM ET, Tue February 21, 2017

Washington (CNN) A former US ambassador to Sweden said Monday that the country was perfectly safe even though it had accepted a large number of refugees from Syria, refuting concerns raised by President Donald Trump during a rally Saturday.

“The crime rate has not skyrocketed,” Azita Raji told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day,” citing data showing a weak correlation between terrorism and the migrations.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/20/politics/us-swedish-ambassador-donald-trump-refugees/

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Comment by butters
2017-02-22 09:29:09

Is this a joke or what?

Why Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Could Sink U.S. Home Prices

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-22/why-trump-s-immigration-crackdown-could-sink-u-s-home-prices

Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 09:58:35

“Is this a joke or what?”

I can tell you this, I knew of a couple of undocumented gentlemen who were flipping houses like hamburgers at a company picnic in Port Saint Lucie Fl. and walked away from 10 or 15 when the bottom fell out.

Having said that, I don’t think Trump’s Immigration crackdown (Obama deported more than 2.5 million undocumented people) will move U.S. home prices one way or another.

 
 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-02-22 11:05:30

office building near DC sold for 76% less than the last sale of 2011

wow, the human tornado could level DC area…………..

 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-02-22 11:31:06

Buy everything that isn’t nailed down, because the money is worthless.

 
Comment by xstate
2017-02-22 11:54:07

I’ll make an offer of $1.00 if there is clear title and no BS.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-02-22 15:05:42

This might explain the spaceship in the Pennsylvania field the otherwise normal dude and his girlfriend tried to tell me about in 1977.

Seven potentially habitable Earth-sized planets spied around tiny nearby star

By Daniel CleryFeb. 22, 2017 , 1:00 PM

Astronomers announced today the discovery of an extraordinary planetary system: seven Earth-sized planets that could all have liquid water on their rocky surfaces. The planets circle a tiny, dim, nearby star in tight orbits all less than 2 weeks long. Although it isn’t possible today to say whether the planets harbor life, astronomers are excited because each planet’s orbit passes in front of—or “transits”—its parent star. What’s more, the system’s proximity to Earth means that answers to questions about whether the system is habitable may come in just a few years’ time with the launch of a powerful new space telescope.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/seven-potentially-habitable-earth-sized-planets-spied-around-tiny-nearby-star

 
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