Bearing The ‘Lesser Of Two Evils’ Pain
A report from CBC News in Canada. “Canada’s addiction to real estate goes far beyond our obsession with talking about it. Our economy actually relies more on the fees associated with buying and selling houses than it does on agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting combined. In Canada, upcoming data will likely show those fees have already started to fall, as the number of home sales across the country fell in June by the most in seven years. ‘This is a stunning 1.9 per cent of GDP,’ said Macquarie analyst David Doyle. Doyle says Canada’s increased reliance on real estate fees can be blamed on years of ultra-low interest rates, worsened during the oil price slump when the Bank of Canada cut rates even further. ‘I think they felt that the lesser of two evils in that situation was to cut interest rates,’ Doyle said.”
“But that fix has helped put Canada in another tricky situation, where the economy relies to an unusual extent on home transactions. That could have particularly negative consequences as the central bank begins to raise rates again. ‘The drag on the economy that’s going to flow from [higher rates], I think, will prove to be much more severe than it’s been in the past,’ he said. ‘It’s not something that, as an economy, you would look at as a position we want to be in.’”
From the Guardian on the UK. “Aroom in a friend’s rented north London houseshare came up recently. Usually, this would mean an instant queue of prospective tenants waiting for their 10-minute interview slot, followed by an unpleasant few hours of decision-making. This time, my friend reported, whole days passed without anyone getting in touch. We wondered if it might be the first hairline crack in some huge chasm about to rip through life as we know it – if, in the future, we would look back on the empty wasteland of the city and remember that day as The Day London Turned.”
“The news last week that the number of people leaving the capital has reached a five-year high will come as no surprise to anyone trying to house themselves in the capital. Whatever the political shocks of the last year, some things are unchanged: house prices continue to bear no relation to earnings, private landlords remain largely unregulated and rents continue to eat up two-thirds of the average Londoner’s wages. Plus, it’s dirty, noisy, overcrowded.”
From Reuters on China. “Luxury lakeside homes and high-rise condominiums are coming up fast in China’s sleepy inland town of Bengbu, a clear sign that a home-buying frenzy sweeping across the country’s major metropolises and provincial capitals has reached even its smaller cities. The increase in demand is welcome news for smaller cities that have a massive overhang of unsold houses left from the last real estate downturn three years ago. However, the surge in construction threatens to outpace or match the increased demand for housing, leaving housing inventories untouched.”
“The hidden danger, analysts say, is that real estate inventories are often higher than indicated by official figures. Official inventory data only counts completed homes, while private estimates include homes that are being built but not completed yet. Official data showed nationwide inventories stood at 646 million sq m as of end-June. Private estimates, which tend to lag official data, can be several times bigger than that.”
“A Bank of China estimate that includes not-yet-built projects shows China’s real estate inventories stood at 8.28 billion sq m at end-2016, most of which - 5.8 billion - in tier-three and four cities.”
From Interest.co.nz in New Zealand. “The number of homes newly listed for sale on Realestate.co.nz fell to the lowest level on record last month, and asking prices for Auckland properties continued to slide for the third consecutive month in July to $608,143. That means it has now fallen by $40,619, or 6.7%, since it peaked at $648,762 in February. The slide in average asking prices is most pronounced in Auckland, where it has fallen for the last five consecutive months and was $903,752 in July, down by $74,900 (7.7%) from its peak of $978,652 in February.”
“That suggests vendors are starting to accept that the market has weakened and are being more realistic with their asking prices. The drop in prices in Auckland may be starting to spread to other regions, with July’s average asking price being lower than June’s in 11 of Realestate.co.nz’s 18 sales districts.”
The Morning Bulletin in Australia. “In good news for rental tenants and bad news for landlords and property developers, Rockhampton has an oversupply of vacant rental properties according to the latest REIQ property data. REIQ data for the June quarter revealed that although Rockhampton rental vacancies levels had dropped, they still sat at the highest level of all of the Queensland regional centres.”
“‘Developers were coming in and building rental properties and selling them in a lot of cases to interstate buyers with guaranteed rental returns over a 12 month period,’ said REIQ zone chairman for Rockhampton Noel Livingston. ‘The demand was there for a period of time but those good times don’t last forever. To me that was never sustainable and that’s proven that it was never sustainable.’”
“Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow said it was pleasing to see the rental market settling down now but the vacancy rate was still way too high. ‘As Noel Livingston has said before, we’re bearing the pain that comes from ill-informed out of state investors buying into a ‘guaranteed rental return’, she said.”
‘Why Japan just can’t quit the ‘Deflationary Mindset’
But I thought falling prices make the economy go vavavoom? Why would Japan want to change that?
Falling prices accelerates the economy like nothing else can. It so happens that prices in Japan are still grossly inflated with a very long way to fall.
27 years for Japan and only 10 for us
Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke
Before the Japan Society of Monetary Economics, Tokyo, Japan
May 31, 2003.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2003/20030531/default.htm
Interesting read. Gives one insight into how little has changed, for the good, economically in Japan over the last 14 years and an early look into the mindset of Ben S. Bernanke, “The man who saved the global economy” while murdering the US economy.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Atlantic_Magazine_Cover_Proclaims_Ben_Bernanke_%22THE_HERO%22/18594/0/38/38/Y/M.html
http://www.newsweek.com/ben-bernanke-man-who-saved-economy-78769
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1946375_1947251,00.html
‘Our economy actually relies more on the fees associated with buying and selling houses than it does on agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting combined.’
‘Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan has certainly cooled Toronto’s market, but will it last? The average Toronto home price fell from $920,791 in April to $869,910 in May. It fell even further in June to $793,915.’
“Overall, you could probably say the intention of the plan was to cool the market and it did that,” Christopher Alexander, regional director at RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But … there is still growth (in certain segments). I personally think it might not be the plan itself, but the fact that they implemented a plan.”
‘According to Alexander, now is the best time since 2012 to buy a home in Toronto.’
“We’re going to expect for Q3 to be soft because summer months are typically soft but the fall is going to be pretty good,” he said. “There are still really good fundamentals, still a lot of buyers that held off but still want to buy, and there is a lot to choose from.”
“There are still really good fundamentals, still a lot of buyers that held off but still want to buy, and there is a lot to choose from.”
“… a lot of buyers that held off but still want to buy.”
Bahahahahahahaha … at what price?
Buyers held off and will continue to hold off if the perception is that prices will be lower tomorrow.
The reverse of a boom that was driven by the perception of “Buy now or be priced out forever” morphs into what when prices top out and begin to decline?
Remind me of the word or the phrase, my attention span is a bit short.
Lower tomorrow and lower forever. It’s the new reality.
‘Our economy actually relies more on the fees associated with buying and selling houses than it does on agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting combined.’
Hehe… and the capital has been borrowed from future generations. Washington DC has about as much fiber as a loaf of Wonder Enriched White Bread.
June pending home sales edge up 1.5%, but spring market stalled
After falling throughout the usually busy spring season, a monthly index of signed contracts to purchase existing homes increased 1.5 percent in June compared with May.
The competition may have eased slightly in June, as the Realtors measured sales to investors at the lowest of the year (13 percent).
Spring sales overall have been weaker than expected, hitting a high in March and falling from there due to the lack of affordable listings in local housing markets.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/31/june-pending-home-sales-edge-up-1-point-5-percent-but-spring-market-stalled.html
‘Housing Market: How Do You Explain This?’
‘The price of New Home Sales dropped and is now (-3.4%) lower than a year ago. The trend in New Home Sales prices is dropping rapidly while the price of Existing Home Sales are rising rapidly (-3.4% vs. +6.5%).’
‘How can these two markets be moving in such different directions? The last time these two markets diverged, it did not end well.’
https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2017/7/28/48075864-15012609080565624_origin.png
Could it be that builders are trying to build cheaper homes to meet the strongest part of the market, but having a hard time making it pencil (which is keeping supply lower than it should be)?
https://www.newhomesource.com/resourcecenter/articles/new-construction-starter-homes-may-be-answer
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/16/home-builders-target-millennials-and-it-will-hit-their-margins.html
‘builders are trying to build cheaper homes’
May be. But that would mean someone’s been a lion about all these shortages and such.
My guess is that it can be attributed to the lag time between those “in the know” participating in a given marketplace versus the common man (ie, those not “in the know”).
Those in the know build and sell the new properties.
Those not in the know are Joe Six pack. The don’t sell new properties. They sell used properties.
Same phenomenon/idea you see in the stock market.
Come for the weed, stay for the mold:
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/31/marijuana-leaving-colorado-homes-mold/
LOLZ
Meth does have some positives…
+++
But remediation of damage from meth is often cheaper than the cost of repairs needed to a home where pot is grown, said Timothy Gablehouse, a lawyer who handles environmental contamination cases.
“But remediation of damage from meth is often cheaper than the cost of repairs needed to a home where pot is grown …”
Er, here’s some images of meth houses …
https://www.google.com/search?q=meth+houses&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNjOTjirTVAhVnsFQKHcCABRIQsAQIRA&biw=1360&bih=651
Still far better than black mold behind every wall,floor and ceiling on all floors of the house…
Nothing that a little KILZ paint and some Febreeze can’t fix . . .
Here in Silicon Valley, I’m having flashbacks to 2000, triggered by radio ads for Wag!, an “app for dog walking”. I think we’re past peak app-insanity
Heck, even the ! in Wag! triggers flashbacks…
P.S. for youngsters, look up famous dot-bombs such as pets.com and WebVan
Webvan.
Says Wikipedia…
“At its peak in 2000, Webvan had $178.5 million in sales but it also had $525.4 million in expenses.”
Other than that Webvan was an astonishing success story.
Why does that remind me of Uber…?
+++++
Uber Loses at Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016
Eric Newcomer - August 25, 2016 - Bloomberg
In the first quarter of this year, Uber lost about $520 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to people familiar with the matter. In the second quarter the losses significantly exceeded $750 million, including a roughly $100 million shortfall in the U.S., those people said. That means Uber’s losses in the first half of 2016 totaled at least $1.27 billion.
Is it still worth 60 😈 billion ?
Get your house, barn, shed or tent ready as an AirBnB…
And why is Reuters reporting unconfirmed reports?
+++++
Los Angeles to host 2028 Summer Olympics: L.A. Times
Reuters | 07/31/2016
Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics after reaching a deal with Olympic organizers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday, citing an unnamed source close to the negotiation.
The agreement also paves the way for the 2024 Summer Games to be awarded to Paris. An announcement from the International Olympic Committee was expected later on Monday.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Hooker apps!
‘Official inventory data only counts completed homes, while private estimates include homes that are being built but not completed yet. Official data showed nationwide inventories stood at 646 million sq m as of end-June. Private estimates, which tend to lag official data, can be several times bigger than that.’
‘A Bank of China estimate that includes not-yet-built projects shows China’s real estate inventories stood at 8.28 billion sq m at end-2016, most of which - 5.8 billion - in tier-three and four cities’
IIRC 90% of people in China already own a shack or air box. I’ve posted this before:
GHOST CITY - Inside the Chinese Housing Bubble
Published on Oct 16, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcyYyyaPz84
You can skip through to minute 7:00. At minute 9:00 they start talking about why most are left unfinished.
All fake. Even down to the fake farmhouses that are built only to be torn down after the developers “buy” the land.
Shanghai Dan, holding the bag.
LOL Ben.
646 million sq m vs. 8.28 billion sq m.
The depth and breadth of the lying is astonishing
Another Great video….been a fan of their videos for years.
great video…nothing like video to get a feel for the full magnitude of this global bubble
Ever notice that Real Estate, fraud, money laundering and moving money overseas without attaracting too much attention always seem to go together….?
Although getting almost no coverage in the fake legacy media we have:
+++++
Wasserman Schultz IT Staffer “Frantically” Liquidating $2 Million In Real Jul 31, 2017 - ZeroHedge
As the mainstream media continues to report 24×7 on their Russian collusion narrative in a shameless attempt to take down a Republican administration without any actual evidence of wrongdoing, the Democrats find themselves embroiled in yet another actual scandal, with actual crimes, where people have actually been arrested by the FBI while actually trying to flee the country.
Be that as it may, the rather curious case of Imran Awan continues with the latest development coming courtesy of the Daily Caller who notes that Imran was frantically liquidating nearly $2 million in real estate holdings right up until the day has was arrested at Dulles airport.
Imran Awan, a congressional aide arrested by the FBI after wiring $300,000 to Pakistan and misrepresenting the purpose, had previously wired money to the country and was frantically liquidating multiple real estate properties on the day he was arrested, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.
Imran was arrested July 24 — four months after the FBI says his wife Hina Alvi moved to Pakistan after learning the family was the subject of a criminal investigation into their work as IT administrators for House Democrats. On the day of Imran’s arrest, the couple accepted a buyer for one house owned by Hina with an asking price of $618,000 (Hawkshead Dr.) and listed another property for sale at $200,000 (Pembrook Village), real estate records show.
On June 20, a third house his wife owned was “sold” to his brother-in-law for $360,000 (Sprayer St.). In November 2016, a fourth home his wife owned was “sold” to his brother Jamal for $620,000 (Linnett Hill Dr.). In both cases, the bank financed nearly all of the purchase.
So why real estate? As the Daily Caller notes, title companies, unlike individuals, can wire large sums of money to international bank accounts without arousing the suspicions of federal investigators.
While details are scarce, media reports have alleged that Awan and his brothers potentially ran a procurement scheme in which they bought equipment, then overcharged various House members that employed their IT firm. Meanwhile, some congressional technology aides have alleged that the Awan’s were blackmailing representatives based on the contents of their emails and files, due to the fact that these representatives have displayed unwavering and intense loyalty towards the former aides.
Also not getting any coverage in the fake legacy media (or any effects in the stock market) - Russian sanctions and how Russia will respond.
Kicking out 775+ Americans was only the start.
We totally depend on Russia for our manned space launches ever since obama shut down the Space Shuttle with no viable replacement for at least 10 years (The Orion Program).
Russia stops selling Uranium to the America.
Or Russia could just do a “Ukraine” in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Or let Europe freeze in the dark this winter.
But, it will most likely be a tit for tat in this exchange. And that is too bad.
We could actually use allies in Syria right now. Not to mention Russia controls all of the Northern Afghan border. Just a few sophisticated SAMs to the Taliban REALLY complicates Afghanistan for the American military…
‘The Tweet That Is Shaking the War Party’
‘Media Mourn End of CIA Killing Syrians and Strengthening Al Qaeda’
It’s insane, isn’t it?
And the “is it ok to kill 500,000 iraqi babies” press, the “give peace of chance” liberals, the Cindy “body count” Sheehans, the “hell no, we won’t go” college professors all viciously attack DJT.
To the point of violence. To the point of madness.
And would gave war monger Hillary a pass. With a yawn.
++++
The US government has finally announced an end to its years-long program to arm and train Syrian rebels. The initiative, one of the CIA’s largest covert operations, with billions of dollars of funding, fueled mass killing in Syria and significantly prolonged the country’s horrific war. Widely respected experts have also acknowledged that it greatly strengthened murderous extremist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda.
And Tulsi Gabbard, a liberal Dem and bernie supporter came out against the funding and funny business in Syria and was immediately ostracized from the party. I remember when the code pink clowns used to follow Bush Jr around and plant all these crosses for every dead soldier in Iraq - mostly silent under Ozero. Guess they were afraid of getting droned too.
http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/31/white-house-looks-at-afghanistan-pullout-as-an-option/
It’s about time. Enough American blood and treasure has been squandered there with no end in sight.
Pull out of Afghanistan?
Here’s some interesting trivia …
“Afghanistan’s opium poppy production goes into more than 90% of heroin worldwide” - Wikipedia
Connect some of the dots.
So instead of dumb ‘em down and profit, it’s drug them up and profit.
Which President ended the Space Shuttle program?
It was Dubya, IIRC. Like a mining town the Cape and Coco Beach tanked and haven’t recovered according to a friend from Patrick, AFB.
We totally depend on Russia for our manned space launches ever since obama shut down the Space Shuttle with no viable replacement for at least 10 years (The Orion Program).
If I’m not mistaken, SpaceX is planning on launching manned Dragon capsules to the ISS next year, and once their heavy booster is deemed safe they will launch lunar fly bys. Orion isn’t scheduled for a manned launch until 2023, and few believe it will be ready at that time.
Russia stops selling Uranium to the America.
Or Russia could just do a “Ukraine” in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Or let Europe freeze in the dark this winter.
That’s quite the list. You forget to mention that Russia could rain down hundreds of atomic bombs all over the USA.
There’s also the fact that Trump is planning to sign the sanctions bill.
I just got an email pitching VR something. It included this:
“Soon Virtual Reality will allow aspiring homeowners to experience house hunting like never before. Allowing users to experience the floor plan, dimensions and condition of a home without ever stepping foot inside…on the heels of the National Association of REALTORS article that confirmed that 1 in 3 home buyers are now purchasing their properties sight unseen.”
Can they do a VR remake of this classic (to help seal the deal)?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20n-cD8ERgs
Suzanne: “This listing is special, John. You guys can do this.”
John? Isn’t a john something you empty your bowels into?
Orange County is lost already- too many illegals packed like sardines into cramped apartments, Chinese nationals hiding their money in real estate, and leftist moonbats voting for regressive policies that destroy the quality of life in CA just for the sake of politically correct virtue signalling.
Endless immigration and birthright citizenship is turning CA bluer every day, yet because of geography, weather, and existing industry/infrastructure, CA has been succeeding overall in spite of all these factors… but it won’t last forever; eventually the leftist morons of CA will realize their “everyone can come to CA, and we’ll pay for it!” stance was a mistake but by then it will be too late… SAD!
The democrats/progressives expect the illegals to be useful idiots.
They expect them to vote correctly every two years and then shut up and take the free handouts.
More and more taxes and debt will be needed to keep the power play working.
Forcing the productive out.
It will end in misery, ruin and bankruptcy.
Ca
could have had Free.ers hc. It was only a 60% tax increase awaaayyy
SAD ! ?
Trump parrot ??
Silverton, OR Housing Prices Crater 18%YOY
http://www.movoto.com/silverton-or/market-trends/
But…but…Paul Krugman and our Keynesian central planners assure us that debt-fueled “growth” is the key to permanent economic prosperity.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/07/31/growing-risk-uk-household-debts-warns-moodys-amid-lending-boom/
Every once in a while the porn-watchers at the SEC have to pretend they’re protecting the public interest instead of providing a veneer of legitimacy to the Wall Street-Federal Reserve Looting Syndicate.
http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2104822/sfc-vows-tough-action-private-equity-funds-and-discretionary
The “worst since Lehman” red flags are proliferating.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-31/hong-kong-interbank-rates-spike-highest-lehman
Another WTF america….new tech vs Old tech
UCF kicker Donald De La Haye ruled ineligible for taking YouTube revenue
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/knights-notepad/os-sp-ucf-kicker-ineligible-20170731-story.html
Lanai City, Hawaii Housing Prices Crater 20% YOY
http://www.zillow.com/hi/home-values/
Paris tax on vacant homes is 20% of rent value….now going to 60%!
Paris’ 107,000 empty homes might seem like a lot, but it’s becoming strangely normal around the world. New York City had a whopping 318,831 vacant units in 2015. It’s a hot topic in Sydney, where 118,499 vacant units were counted in 2013. Heck, London considers it a critical issue, and they “only” have 22,000 empty homes. There’s a massive numbers of vacant homes across the globe, but only Paris has decided to take aggressive action to tackle it.
https://betterdwelling.com/vacant-homes-global-epidemic-paris-fighting-60-tax/
Here is the link. Fascinating. HBB readers have been calling for a tax on vacant homes for over a year.
wow, the state owns your home
vacant houses are good as they don’t have kids going to school
schools=55% of re taxes
“wow, the state owns your home”
That’s the case everywhere if you don’t pay your property taxes.
How will the government exactly determine a vacant house? Especially for yuuuuge tax implications…
If you live in it one day a week, month, half year, etc.?
If you have a “renter” in it one day a week, month, half year, etc.?
I see new businesses popping up - highly paid “house sitters” - guaranteed to make your house looked “lived in” to fool the government monitors.
Hell, at a 60% tax on the value of the house, I can see homeowner PAYING people (the right people) to just live in their house.
The right people? Folks like engineers who like to do plumbing and electrical work. People who won’t cause a mess and actually fix things as they go…
Hell, at a 60% tax on the value of the house, I can see homeowner PAYING people (the right people) to just live in their house.
It’s actually 60% of the “fair market rent”, not the house’s value. Still, pretty damn steep.
What I found interesting was that 40% of Paris’s empty homes don’t have an electrical service contract. That sounds like long term unoccupied.
I have a relative who owns an unoccupied house in metro London. He inherited it from his late wife (who passed away last year), who inherited it from her late parents. He claims to not have the time to deal with it, and I expect it will be empty for a long time.
He claims to not have the time to deal with it
Sounds like the thinking of a person who feels no pressure because they think it will always be worth more later when they are ready to deal with it.
Paris’ 107,000 empty homes might seem like a lot, but it’s becoming strangely normal around the world.
Global collusion (unwittingly perhaps) to squeeze money from the underhoused. They’re not going to just give it away.
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When at first we practice to deceive.
And then the recession hits…
+++++
GM Auto Sales Crash, Dealer Inventory Near All Time High
Zerohedge - Aug 1, 2017
It was expected to be a bad quarter for General Motors. It ended up being abysmal.
GM reported that July auto sales crashed by a whopping 15%, nearly double Wall Street’s already depressed expectations of a 8% drop, and with GM mothballing production across the country to catch up with lagging demand, it still sold only 226,107 vehicles as a result of double digits drops in Chevy, Build and Cadillac Sales of 15.3%, -30.5% and -21.7%, respectively. The only “good” performer was GMC, which dropped by “only” 7.3% Y/Y.
The company also reported that while the average transaction price was $36,000, or roughly $1,000 higher than a year ago, the incentive spending as a percentage of average transaction prices was 11.5%, near an all time high.
And speaking of GM’s “competitors”, it wasn’t any better there, with Chrysler reporting a July auto sales drop of -10.5%, also far below the 6.1% expected.
Fiat brand -18%
Chrysler brand -30%
Jeep brand -12%
Dodge brand -12%
Fleet sales -35%
“GM reported that July auto sales crashed by a whopping 15%…”
If they can’t stay alive selling $60k pickup trucks then bye-bye.
If they can’t stay alive selling $60k pickup trucks then bye-bye.
Those things must have 50% profit build into them.
The company also reported that while the average transaction price was $36,000
And you don’t get a lot for that 36K. Probably a 4 cylinder mid size sedan. And who buys a $36K car? I make over 100K and the first thought that crosses my mind is “sheesh, that’s expensive”.
I was telling a young, lowish income couple who were considering signing on Mr. Banker’s dotted line to buy a 400K house that not so long ago only doctors, corporate managers and other higher income folk would buy a 400K house. The same thought crosses my mind regarding cars that are close to 40K. Why are “ordinary” people spending so much on cars?
Cars are the worst investment. I drive a 2008 crossover with 166,000 miles. My annual auto cost is about $4,000/year for everything including the car.
A $40,000 car drops $12,000 in value the first year. No upside there.
“Why are “ordinary” people spending so much on cars?”
PowerStep Running Boards - phuckit, gotta have ‘em!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdHy7u-GoE
A humorous race call (caution: Strong language):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkF6EmtZmE
Think NYC Real Estate is Scary? This City Might Be Worse
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/why-is-toronto-real-estate-so-expensive-246718
Here’s my favorite quote from the comments:
“Homes are being used as safe deposit boxes the world over.
Believe it or not, Obama actually made it easier, near the height of the recent real estate run up for foreigners to buy homes in the US. https://therealdeal.com/2015/12/22/obama-signs-law-easing-taxes-on-foreign-real-estate-buyers/
That’s right. While you are struggling to find a home, Obama made it easier for foreigners escaping overseas with corruptly obtained money to buy a house. Go figure.
It’s not just foreigners that are laundering money through real estate, but also in states that have legalized pot, money made can’t be banked. They pour it into real estate.
THE Real estate is often owned by LLC’s traced back to LLC’s formed in Arizona, Delaware, Wyoming.”
Wow, you seemed to have wrongly characterized this legislation. You should know Congress makes the laws. And this one only dealt with foreign pension funds…..they are not likely to buy houses.
…but go ahead, blame Obama. It reflects more you than him.