April 5, 2018

Properties Priced Too High Languish On The Market

A report from the Bloomberg. “The Federal Reserve is steadily hiking rates, most recently on March 21 when the federal funds rate rose a quarter point to a target range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. Libor, a benchmark rate the world’s biggest banks charge each other, is also on the rise. Adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, are often tied to Libor, typically resetting once a year. ARMs proved to be a big problem during the housing bust, when it became clear that many Americans were using them to buy houses that they otherwise couldn’t afford.”

“‘People aren’t using them as the crutch of affordability like they did before the housing crisis,’ said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. Thanks to tighter lending standards, homeowners with ARMs now tend to be affluent, he said. ‘They either plan to sell the home before the first adjustment comes, or it’s a product that works with their cash flow.’”

From National Mortgage Professional. “Here is a data survey that hasn’t been tapped recently: An analysis of housing markets based on cash-out refinancing activity. According to LendingTree, Albany, N.Y., leads the nation’s major metro markets with the greatest share of refinance mortgages funded with cash-out portion: 73 percent, with an average loan amount of $166,504. Portland placed second with a 72 percent share and an average loan amount of $266,152, followed by Cape Coral, Fla., with a 72 percent share and an average loan amount of $162,975. Rounding out the top five are Boise City, Idaho, with a 72 percent share and an average loan amount of $209,033, and Scranton, Pa., with a 71 percent share and a $142,666 average loan amount.”

“As for the cities with the highest loan amounts for refinance cash-outs, the national leader was a city that rarely shows up at the top of housing data charts: Bridgeport, Conn., where the average loan amount is $453,307. Second and third places were taken up by a pair of Bay Area metros: San Jose, with an average loan amount of $451,777, and San Francisco, with an average loan amount of $442,099. Honolulu placed fourth with an average loan amount of $415,224 and San Diego came in fifth with an average loan amount of $373,039.”

“‘Cash-out refinance loans have risen to 62 percent of all refinances in first quarter of 2018, up from 54 percent in the first quarter of 2017,’ said LendingTree Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze.”

From the Washington Post. “Something a little unusual is happening in the nation’s capital. Instead of following the typical rules of supply and demand, which indicate that prices rise when demand is high and supply is short, home values in the city are staying relatively flat. The spring market, which essentially starts in early February, says Timur Loynab, principal of Condo Nest with McWilliams Ballard in Washington, has been robust but also a bit strange.”

“‘For several years, the D.C. market has favored sellers because of demand and the lack of inventory, but this spring we’re finally seeing buyers pushing back,’ Loynab said. ‘Buyers are turned off by aggressive pricing, and we’re seeing properties that are priced too high languish on the market.’”

From the Jacksonville Daily News in North Carolina. “Ten years after the housing market collapse Eastern North Carolina seems to be healing, but it appears the military hasn’t fully recovered. According to Onslow County GIS mapping, 27 properties underwent foreclosure in the first two months of 2018. While only one of those properties was taken over by Veteran’s Affairs, which indicates it was military-related, the peak time for PCS moves is May 1 to Aug. 31, said Maj. Lori Miller, Camp Lejeune Public Affairs Officer.”

“Selling a home can be difficult when the family is uprooted on PCS orders and only has a few weeks to relocate, said Gary Long, real estate agent for Military Relocator. ‘The issue for this market is if you’re in the military, you buy a house and all a sudden you get orders — it’s not like you can you’re a normal seller and take your time,’ Long said.”

“Tonia Vary, real estate agent with Keller Real Estate, Team Vary, said the housing market crash of 2008 has been a factor in foreclosures. ‘People go into foreclosure, often in the military market, in particular because they finance the funding fee on top of their loan, often with the VA loan,’ Vary said. In general, though, paying more than the minimum, even if it’s just a $10 difference, can help, Vary said. ‘My advice would be if you have to quit going out once a week to pay your mortgage, then that’s what you have to do,’ Vary said.”

From the New York Post. “Apartment sales prices are plunging as new luxury construction floods the market, according to a new report. The median sales price for a New York apartment for the first quarter of 2018 was $1.0 million, down 1.3 percent from the first quarter of 2017. The average sales price was $2.02 million, down from $2.21 million, according to a report by Stribling & Associates. That’s an 8.3 percent drop from the same time last year.”

“The average sales price for a Manhattan apartment per square foot was also down 6 percent, from $1,585 per square foot during the first quarter of 2017 to $1,490 per square foot during the first quarter of 2018. ‘Buyers currently have many options to choose from, especially when looking at properties priced above $3 million. More than one third of all inventory — 32 percent — is priced above $3 million. In many cases, developers are offering additional incentives to lure would-be buyers to their projects,’ said Garrett Derderian, Stribling’s director of data and reporting.”

“‘This is the best buyers’ market ever,’ said Leonard Steinberg, the president of Compass Real Estate. ‘Asking prices have come down remarkably, far more than during the economic crisis. People who buy now will be laughing in a few years.’”

“But even attractive incentives aren’t always enough. ‘We are now seeing sellers reduce their resale listing prices, often more than once, to compete with the amount of product on the market,’ Derderian said. The Financial District and Battery Park City were the biggest losers. The median price plunged 20 percent to $1.2 million, and the average price sunk 19 percent to $1.47 million.”




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149 Comments »

Comment by Apartment 401
2018-04-05 08:03:18

Realtors are liars.

 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 08:05:39

my signing date is on the 19th. Then the cash starts to roll in.

Comment by Apartment 401
2018-04-05 09:15:29

B A N K R U P T

 
Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 09:20:51

The cash will definitely roll in, into Mr. Banker’s coffers.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2018-04-05 10:05:49

For as long as possible.

 
 
Comment by BlueSkye
2018-04-05 10:53:40

“People who buy now will be laughing in a few years.”

I am laughing already!

 
 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 08:10:47

all the chinese have to do is let their treasuries mature and we are screwed.

What is the structure of the chinese treasury portfolio?

I can guarantee its not a bunch of 30 year bonds.

I would bet it is shorter term stuff like bills.

If they dont roll them over they are gonna get the principal back. There is no money to pay them so more treasuries would have to be sold.

 
Comment by Professor 🐻
2018-04-05 08:33:09

Is DJIA = 23,600 the Fed put strike price?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-05 11:13:22

Until trump replaces the majority of the Obama voters on the fed there is no put, hence the volatility

Comment by Professor 🐻
2018-04-06 17:23:20

Yep… volatility is definitely Obama’s fault. Oh wait…

The Financial Times
US-China trade dispute
US stocks fall sharply on rising trade war fears
Chinese officials and US Treasury secretary stir anxieties about tit-for-tat tariffs
4 hours ago

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-04-05 08:40:27

‘As for the cities with the highest loan amounts for refinance cash-outs, the national leader was a city that rarely shows up at the top of housing data charts: Bridgeport, Conn., where the average loan amount is $453,307. Second and third places were taken up by a pair of Bay Area metros: San Jose, with an average loan amount of $451,777, and San Francisco, with an average loan amount of $442,099. Honolulu placed fourth with an average loan amount of $415,224 and San Diego came in fifth with an average loan amount of $373,039.’

Of course, these amounts can’t be repaid. These loanowners are counting on continued appreciation. They are speculating.

Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 08:55:36

Most are probably using the cash out to buy a luxury car/SUV or a decked out pickup truck, and maybe throw in a fancy vacation while they’re at it. It’s mind boggling how many people book rooms at Disney’s pricey “resorts”, were prices for an ordinary room can be as high as $500 a night. A family Disneyworld vacation can easily cost $5000 for a week’s visit. How many people can save that much cash?

Comment by snake charmer
2018-04-05 11:02:12

I don’t know how most families can afford a day at Disney, much less a vacation. A one-day ticket now is over $100. Once parking and food are included, I can see a family of four easily spending $500.

We included a Disney stop on a family vacation when I was a boy. I recall a one-day ticket being around $15. I will admit to having a good time, I thought Space Mountain was awesome.

Comment by tresho
2018-04-05 11:59:38

I thought Space Mountain was awesome.
It was so awesome, a lens from my eyeglass popped out of the frame during the ride. I found it on the rubber floor between my feet at the end.

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Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-05 11:51:34

$500 a night for a room that sits vacant most of the day while you’re paying hundreds of dollars for their theme park. Gee, where does one sign up?

Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 12:38:21

Gee, where does one sign up?

Right here, pal:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

Now, Disney does have cheaper “resorts”, where the rooms are basically Motel 6 level, and start in the low 100’s per day,

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Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 12:00:34

For giggles I looked up “Disneyworld March 2018) for any crowd picture. Yup, the place is mobbed. Even when I went in the mid-80s, the lines were legendary; it must be much worse now. So you’re paying $500 for the priviledge of standing in line. No thanks.

For reference, a day at the beach for one person costs ~$75 for gas, parking, and junk food.

Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 12:39:53

It’s always mobbed. I have to hand it to them, they are marketing geniuses.

People also pay a premium for Disney’s cruise ships.

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Comment by snake charmer
2018-04-05 12:49:15

I haven’t been there for over 20 years, other than to participate in a distance running event, but if it’s like other large amusement parks, patrons now can pay to exempt themselves from waiting in line.

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Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-05 13:06:31

I recall reading about some scam where you could rent out a disabled person in a wheelchair to attend Disney with you for the day. They go to the front of the line.

 
Comment by Patrick
2018-04-05 14:30:23

I was last at Disneyworld in 1996 and enjoyed it with my matured family. The prices you are talking about are mind boggling.

And the prices we paid when they were younger were even less - in real terms.

Btw, I preferred Disneyland over Disneyworld - especially Small World ride.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2018-04-05 17:43:15

They go to the front of the line.

Nope.

We were at Disneyworld last year–one in our party was in a wheel chair (broken leg).

If the line is 2 hours, at the entrance to the line, they scan your “magic band” (your wristband/ticket), and tell you to come back in 2 hours. In two hours, when you come back, THEN they let you go to the front of the line.

Their system only allows you to have one such reservation at a time.

 
Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-05 18:31:53

I did not know that. Things must have changed. Probably too many people looking for creative ways to game the system.

 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2018-04-05 17:39:42

priviledge of standing in line.

You can now effectively have a reservation for rides…so you don’t spend as much time waiting. “Fast Passes” are genius.

As a kid, I remember waiting in line for 2+ hours for the best rides. Now, when we go with our kids, if the line is over 30 minutes, we don’t bother.

Folks do wait in line still though, which I don’t understand.

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Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 08:57:52

your right it seems everyone is catching on that there is basically a real estate put cause of all the taxes and economic activity rising home prices brings.

Do u think the insiders want less tax revenue from lower prices?

 
Comment by David Lereah
2018-04-05 09:03:27

If you paid your mortgage off, it means you probably did not manage your funds efficiently over the years,

The steady improvement in [home] sales will support price appreciation…[despite] all the wild projections by academics, Wall Street analysts, and others in the media.

Real estate is still a great investment opportunity for households. Price appreciation will continue. It may not be at 20%. It may … even go down to 5%.

Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 09:24:38

So how’s it going down on Vero Beach?

Comment by David Lereah
2018-04-05 10:16:00

I live in Fairfax, Virginia. I’m doing so well and I am so important that even Wikipedia has taken notice of my existence, so eat your heart out.

From Wikipedia …

“David Lereah is the President of Reecon Advisors, Inc., a real estate advisory and information company located in the Washington, DC area. Lereah was previously an Executive Vice President at Move, Inc. and before that, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Lereah served as the NAR’s spokesman on economic forecasts, interest rates, home sales, mortgage rates, as well as other policy issues and trends affecting the United States real estate industry.[1] Lereah was also the Chief Economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association during the 1990s and has testified before Congress on economic and real estate matters.”

There’s more if you can withstand the extreme feeling of envy you are somehow managing to endure.

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Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 12:03:48

Darnit, I’m pretty sure I found a webpage with a Vero Beach address on it, but I can’t find it now.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-05 09:11:09

At least San Jose has the lucky 777 in its amounts. If you are going to gamble like you are at a casino, you want the lucky numbers. Seriously this is what is supporting the California economy, bubble inflated tech stocks and inflated housing prices. Yet Gov. Brown acts like california has the answers for all of the United States. Yes, the spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars of home equity creates jobs and produced tax revenue. However, a bear market in tech stocks and a housing collapse is going to leave the state broke Azz.

Comment by cactus
2018-04-05 11:01:26

“lucky 777 ” I thought it was 888 ??

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-05 11:15:15

888 for the Chinese, 777 for Americans

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-05 11:22:25

If you look at casino phone numbers you can actually tell if they are catering to a westerner or Chinese clientele

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Comment by whirlyite
2018-04-05 14:50:04

It might as well be “666″.

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Comment by rms
2018-04-05 14:56:38

Hehe… I was waiting for that. :)

 
 
 
Comment by Carl Morris
2018-04-05 14:34:02

Yet Gov. Brown acts like california has the answers for all of the United States.

I was going to say “since I’ve been alive CA has always thought it had the answers for everyone”. But I realized it’s worse than that. They have the answers for themselves and simply want to force them on everyone else regardless of what the best answer is for everyone else.

The founding fathers knew what they were doing with the Senate and electoral college. If CA had enough power to force anything they wanted through, the country would have already broken in pieces.

 
 
Comment by octal77
2018-04-05 10:51:06

“…San Jose, with an average loan amount of $451,777, and San Francisco, with an average loan amount of $442,099…”

I’m shocked I tell you, shocked.

How can that be when the real-estate industrial complex will tell you that real estate prices are ultra-high because the bay area has a unlimited supply of techno billionaires who just keep on buying with all cash deals?

We are told they can’t get rid of all that IPO cash fast enough.

Today’s Hot property for sale: The Bay Bridge

Comment by rms
2018-04-05 14:47:57

“Today’s Hot property for sale: The Bay Bridge”

The old one?

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 15:39:54

“Of course, these amounts can’t be repaid. These loanowners are counting on continued appreciation. They are speculating.”

Precisely. Not only that but the #1 reason for these $400k cash out refis? To pay mortgage debt.

Now this….

San Francisco, CA Housing Prices Crater 16% YOY As Homeowners Borrow To Meet Mortgage Payments

https://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-ca-94109/home-values/

 
 
Comment by ibbots
2018-04-05 08:42:26

NY’s 2019 budget contains two provisions to lessen the impact of limited SALT deductions for its residents.

“We went from an income tax primarily to a payroll tax,” said Cuomo. “Property taxes move to a charitable donation tax. Again, it’s optional. Some employers will do it, some local governments will do it, but it’s our best attempt to avoid the federal assault.

Under the changes, employers in New York State would be able to opt-in to a new voluntary payroll tax system, known as the Employer Compensation Expense Program, or ECEP. Businesses that opt in would be subject to a 5 percent tax on all annual payroll expenses in excess of $40,000 per employee, phased in over three years beginning on Jan. 1, 2019. The current personal income tax system would remain in place, and a new tax credit corresponding in value to the ECEP would cut the personal income tax on wages and ensure that state filers subject to the ECEP would not experience a decline in take-home pay.

The budget also sets up two new state-run charitable contribution funds to replace property taxes where taxpayers can pay money to support health care and education. Donations to these funds would provide a reduction in local property taxes via a local credit equal to a percentage of the donation.

NYSSCPA’s has a good write up on it.

Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 09:18:14

So if I understand this correctly:

1) You can pay the old tax, and not be able to fully deduct it

or

2) You can make a “charitable” contribution to the state and get a tax credit to offset taxes owed in option #1

#2 sounds an awful lot like a tax to me. We’ll see how these hold up in court, especially if the IRS disallows them.

Comment by BlueSkye
2018-04-05 11:08:29

I think the IRS can easily disallow these so-called Charitable Deductions. Such a contribution must not benefit a specific individual, such as yourself. Let them quietly reject these claims after tax returns are filed, and add penalties and interest. NYers deserve this for having Cuomo in the first place.

Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-05 13:09:58

Will IRS be able to catch these in any case? IRS funding has been reduced dramatically. Enforcement and audits are at an all-time low.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-06 06:51:01

Pretty easy to flag a massive increase of charitable giving from high income taxpayers in New York. Simple programing should be able to spot that. If your income stays the same but your charitable giving triples, I think it would be very easy to flag. Particularly, Since I am sure the IRS is going to provide guidance that it is not a charitable deduction prior to the tax season. Then, they will make examples of anyone that tries to deduct with maximum fines and penalties.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2018-04-05 09:12:52

Another Globalist telling us that unless we give Dreamers full amnesty and give anyone with an advanced degree a green card, that the SWHTF:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/05/news/companies/jamie-dimon-jp-morgan-wall-street-trump/index.html

Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 09:46:58

Something has been nagging at me for months on this. What is driving this push for massive amnesty? It’s just not as simple as individual Americans needing someone to mow their lawns, or companies needing the “cheap labor” we’re always hearing about. (especially with automation). From what I can tell, we have enough private housekeepers already. There’s already enough “cheap labor” to do this low-skilled work that immigrants generally do.

I’m not usually tin-foily, but something feels centrally planned about this. Almost as if somebody wants the US to become a second-world country, through border jumpers, visa overstays, and later on chain migration. Similar for Europe, especially Sweden. But WHY? Why do they want this country to fill up with poor people (of all colors)? Why do they want Europe to be taken over? It’s like there’s some central committee intent on destroying western society as a whole. I don’t get it.

Comment by BottomFisher
2018-04-05 09:59:39

Google George Soros

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2018-04-05 10:04:05

(((They))) want this.

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 10:59:29

“It’s like there’s some central committee intent on destroying western society as a whole. I don’t get it.”

Begs the question: what might the perspective of the Native American Indigenous folks think about social destruction generally.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested Thursday that Americans need to have more babies or risk a collapse of popular entitlements like Medicare and Social Security.

In 2016, the United States saw a record low fertility rate.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/364920-ryan-americans-need-to-have-more-babies

Comment by tresho
2018-04-05 12:02:25

what might the perspective of the Native American Indigenous folks I know quite a few and the vast majority are rabid Democrats.

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Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 14:46:33

Where they Democrats 250 years ago?

 
Comment by tresho
2018-04-05 14:54:50

Where they Democrats 250 years ago?
They hadn’t been born yet. However, some of their ancestors were cannibals at the time.

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 15:28:02

” some of their ancestors were cannibals at the time.”

So were these English folks sailing boats to the North Pole.

Found at last: The lost British Arctic expedition that ended in cannibalism

https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/509502/Found-at-last-The-lost-expedition

 
 
Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 12:15:08

On this topic, Paul Ryan is full of crap. They are all caught up in this idea that “workers” are paying the SS and Medicare benefits of today’s elderly. And therefore, we need more “workers.” (which is why we’re supposed to need all those immigrants.”

Not true. It’s not the workers who are funding SS and Medicare. The paychecks are funding SS and Medicare. Bear with me here. For example, if an illegal immigrant works for half the market wage (assuming he’s paying taxes on the wages), then he is effectively half a worker and only funding half what is needed. What if that job is automated? Then the machine is a “worker,” but *nobody* is funding into SS and Medicare.

So basically, Paul Ryan is wrong that we need to have more babies (or import more workers). We need more jobs with market-rate paychecks for the existing population. *OR* we need to borrow until the baby boomers leave this mortal coil, and then when the population stabilizes for lack of babies, the pay-go system will have a more solid footing.

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Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-05 13:15:24

As it is set up now, we do need more babies (or immigrants) to fund entitlements. That is because the net payout is greater than the net contribution. The main reason that birthrates have plummeted so dramatically is the cost to raise a child, including childcare. Student debt is crushing, and so are house prices. Marriage age is at an all-time high. By the time people couple up, the fertility window is closing quickly.

One of the comments from this article hit the nail squarely on the head:

Why Outer Suburbs in the East and Midwest Have Stopped Booming

The New York Times

“I’m not sure why this is so puzzling. Maybe if he spoke to young people, he would get the answer. Birth control is cheap and accessible for just about everyone. Student loans and housing costs are at an all time high. People have to work and/or commute ever longer hours. By the time you’ve dug yourself out of the financial hole and created some stability you’re at the end of your 30s, which is very close to the end of your fertility (for women). If you’re lucky, you might get one kid. More likely, you get a pet and call it a day, because even if you do have a kid, what world are you bringing them into? Mass shooting, environmental decline, a lifetime of debt? Until we put people first, and Capital last, the trend of declining birth will only accelerate.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/upshot/the-population-slowdown-in-the-outer-suburbs-of-the-east-and-midwest.html

 
Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-05 15:51:49

I’m starting to think it’s time to start making companies pay into Social Security for permanently displaced workers. Example: For every self-checkout lane, you owe the equivalent in SS for one worker. And, perhaps it’s time for them to pay the equivalent in payroll taxes, too.

Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. The lower income and middle class people in this country have been getting crucified. Time to make the people responsible for the job destruction pay for it.

 
Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-05 17:23:30

Implement a wealth tax.

 
Comment by oxide
2018-04-06 04:30:30

Black Swan dive, didn’t Bill Gates suggest that same thing?

I expect companies to fight back. They will argue that getting rid of employees keeps prices down, so companies are already putting money into the pockets of customers. It’s a BS idea, but that’s what they’ll do.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-06 05:14:52

Housing Donk

Oakton, VA Housing Prices Crater 10% YOY

https://www.zillow.com/oakton-va/home-values/

https://snag.gy/m5EzRB.jpg

 
Comment by drumminj
2018-04-06 06:59:38

Implement a wealth tax.

So..I’ve paid payroll taxes since I was 14, and deferred gratification to save and try to build a stable life/future, and now you want to punish me for saving(=acquiring wealth) on top of that??

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-06 07:01:40

Exactly my good friend. Exactly.

 
Comment by tresho
2018-04-06 13:09:30

punish me for saving(=acquiring wealth)
The Fed has been doing just that since I retired 20 years ago by debasing the currency.

 
Comment by OneAgainstMany
2018-04-06 14:06:53

So..I’ve paid payroll taxes since I was 14, and deferred gratification to save and try to build a stable life/future, and now you want to punish me for saving(=acquiring wealth) on top of that??

Exactly what I’ve done, too. Not sure how wealthy you are but if you’re in the top 5% then it wouldn’t meaningfully punish you. Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society. Cut spending, increase taxes, or some combination of the two. One way or the other, we need to match spending to tax revenue. The poor and middle class don’t have much more they can contribute, so taxes have to come from somewhere.

Wealth tax on wealth at levels greater than $5 million. Make it small as a percentage basis.

 
Comment by rms
2018-04-06 15:53:32

“Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society.”

Those who live in dependency have a responsibility to minimize their burden on society. That means fewer babies, less brutality and theft, etc., but so far this appears to be a distant expectation.

 
Comment by drumminj
2018-04-06 18:10:24

Those who live in dependency have a responsibility to minimize their burden on society. That means fewer babies, less brutality and theft, etc.

+1. Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society, but apparently I’m never done paying — it’s never enough, and my hard work, good decisions, and living within my means will continue to be abused over and over.

F that. I’m sick of pulling the cart for the freeloaders. I’m by far a net payer into the system. I don’t vote for increased services. I use incredibly little.

Without the cart-pullers, the system utterly fails. Good luck with that.

 
 
Comment by Neuromance
2018-04-05 19:04:19

hwy50ina49dodge: Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested Thursday that Americans need to have more babies or risk a collapse of popular entitlements like Medicare and Social Security.

Ah yes, the population fetishists.

It’s not merely population that brings prosperity. Else the most populous places in the world would be the most prosperous. Obviously, this is not the case. In fact, quite the opposite.

What the population fetishists here are worried about are the retirement entitlement programs. “It used to take one worker to support a retiree, now it takes ten”, that sort of thing. BUT - if productivity rises, say via automation, and robots and AI can take care of retirees, the population fetishists will have much less of a concern in this area.

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Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 20:11:00

pro$perity … ver$es … $upport

baby boomer$ … When were they created? Before or after a World War?

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 20:18:01

The return rate was 450,000 soldiers per month … 1.5 years … Then, lots & lots of $uce$$ful sex reproduction$.

The United States had more than 12 million men and women in the armed forces at the end of World War II of whom 7.6 million were stationed abroad

Military personnel were returned to the United States in Operation Magic Carpet. By June 30, 1947, the number of active duty soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen in the armed forces had been reduced to 1,566,000

 
Comment by Karen
2018-04-06 09:16:43

Ponzi schemes (housing, stocks, social security, medicare/medicaid) cannot be kept going forever. It doesn’t matter what you try to do (exhort Americans to buy more stuff, have more babies, import a bunch of foreigners) it will collapse of its own weight.

 
 
 
Comment by cactus
2018-04-05 11:08:30

Engineers stuck in China Canadians turned back and even the IRS is in on the new game. Cryptic but I don’t think I should say more..

Its a new game that’s for sure I can see real fear where under Obama it was ” different” more of a mocking kinda thing

Comment by Montana
2018-04-05 18:27:51

Punctuation. Try it.

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Comment by snake charmer
2018-04-05 11:18:39

The idea is to take down the nation-state, which after the collapse of the Soviet Union was the only remaining ideological obstacle to unrestrained capitalism. I don’t see any other way to read something like the TPP.

Ironically, the Democratic Party has taken the lead on this.

 
Comment by redmondjp
2018-04-05 13:01:24

Back in the 1950s, the globalist banking elites (Rothchilds/CFR/Rockerfellers et. al.) correctly identified America’s nationalism as the biggest obstacle to global government, and they have been working to tear it down ever since.

I go to my local park, and 90% of the people are from some other country. They don’t give a frack about America - they are just here for the jobs and the money.

Hence open borders, unlimited immigration, “diversity” and so on. It’s all part of the plan, and George Soros is one of the main players in making it happen. Kissinger as well.

Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 16:14:38

Awesome that everything in America was created bye only immigrant White dudes from England. Everything!

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Comment by redmondjp
2018-04-05 21:13:27

You don’t get it. So you are advancing the globalist agenda, whether you realize it or not.

If you overwhelm a country, oh never mind, just see what is happening to Europe right now. And it’s happening here too now, and our diversity-loving white liberals are all for it.

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 05:02:06

You offer rhetoric …

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, wherein a writer or speaker strives to inform, persuade or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.

A white list of everything created in America, sans any types of foreign immigrants ,is better proof of your position.

 
Comment by Young Deezy
2018-04-06 07:57:06

Hwy50, (if you are the real Hwy50, not just someone recycling his screen name and gimmick) JP is correct. Look at the men who shaped the cultural, political, and social landscape of the US: mostly white, mostly anglo. In fact this country was mostly anglo-german until things really began to shift after Hart-Celler was passed (possibly the death knell of the US).

Also save the lefty rhetoric about how this nation was built by slaves etc. For someone who’ll fall for it. This country was built by slaves like my house was built by hammers.

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 08:31:51

#@therealhwy50ina49dodge

What’s wrong with lefties?

Their Americans, Patriotic, & are just as capable of obtaining $1,000,000.00+ home loan$ as “eye’m Right!, you’re wrong” rightie$

Geez …

 
 
 
 
Comment by Patrick
2018-04-05 14:37:42

What a great post. Never thought this way before. Central planning for dreamers or the like.

Who benefits the most? What do they benefit? How could they realize on these benefits?

I know there are obvious answers, but what lies beneath? Why is there so much inordinate pressure to deal with this?

Comment by BlueSkye
2018-04-06 03:32:35

It’s a moral failure. Spend what you don’t have and give away what is not yours to give.

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Comment by rms
2018-04-05 10:07:53

They are looking at the demographic trends, e.g., fewer babies and an ageing population, but in the mean time they’ll plunder the treasury via guaranteed debt.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 13:19:14

Housing my friends.

Lone Tree, CO Housing Prices Crater 20% YOY As Mortgage Defaults Ravage Denver Area

https://www.zillow.com/lone-tree-co/home-values/

https://snag.gy/m5EzRB.jpg

 
 
Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 09:30:41

Here’s the first (and only, for now) comment to the Washington Post article. It’s a very astute comment:

—————-
“With 800,000 area federal workers all being paid according to the same fixed pay scale, there isn’t a lot of room for growth in housing prices. We’ve been looking for housing and it’s the same case again and again. Any single family home that is well priced for federal workers, such as the married GS 13’s price range of $450,000-$600,000 range receives 10 offers after a day on the market, while a perfectly nice house for $650,000 will languish for weeks as the higher earners overlook it for something more luxurious and the aforementioned GS13s wait until the price falls.”
—————-

FYI, a GS-13 income is about $110K. Fed workers are pretty conservative (philosophically, not always politically). The married 13s are refusing to buy above 3x income. Meanwhile, two married 15s (unusual), or private sector lawyers at ~$165K, would think that a $650K house is beneath them. So those upper middle houses are stuck for now.

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 09:34:04

Hey Donk

Comment by oxide
2018-04-05 09:48:30

hi hon

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 09:56:13

Housing Donk.

Herndon, VA Housing Prices Crater 8% YOY

https://www.movoto.com/herndon-va/market-trends/

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Comment by Jessica
2018-04-05 17:28:01

Herndon is fast becoming a sh*th*le.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
 
Comment by mdmortgageguy
2018-04-05 10:39:17

Any of you smart bond guys want to explain to me what this means for NewDay financial?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/u-s-is-said-to-restrict-lenders-in-veterans-mortgage-crackdown

Comment by Mr. Banker
2018-04-05 11:39:35

“Any of you smart bond guys want to explain to me what this means for NewDay financial?”

Probably nuthin’. They got pounced on in 2015 and apparently they are still up to their old tricks.

Go here …

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-newday-financial-for-deceptive-mortgage-advertising-and-kickbacks/

The beat goes on …

Comment by mdmortgageguy
2018-04-05 12:02:20

Thanks- i was aware of that. I actually have somewhat intimate knowledge of these folks. I worked for these scoundrels in 2000 under a different name. Quit. Then 6 years later they bought the company i was working for and had to quit again. The first time around they were charging 15 point loans on 125ltv. The second time around they were forcing folks to refinance their low interest rate first to 10+% in order to get said loan above. Keep in mind, their clients all have heavy cc debt so that was the appeal. Their current model is overcharging veterans BY A LOT on VA loans. They had to find their next victims when the housing market crashed and the 125LTV loan went with it.

Since the VA loans were on average .75-1% higher than what the rest of the market was charging, these loans were ripe for a rate and term refi 6 months later. This crushed the bond yields and bond prices dropped which effectively raises rates on VA loans, hurting our veterans. So now the VA has kicked them out of the general pool and they have to do a custom pool. I am just curious if anyone will want to buy these bonds? I dont understand the bond market well enough. My thinking is that these loans will no longer be able to be sold for the yield they used to get and thus might force these toads out of biz.

Comment by rms
2018-04-05 14:55:37

“Their current model is overcharging veterans BY A LOT on VA loans.”

Reminds me of every small town used car dealer or pawn shop near a military base, “Bad credit, no credit, military…”

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Comment by Dave
2018-04-05 11:31:48

CNN Money 4/5/18
“The Bay Area is one of the hottest markets in the country. It’s common for homes to go into contract within days of hitting the market, with some not even making it to market before bids come rolling in.

Masching said the market has been “crazy” for the last few years.

She recently had a client win a bid after putting in five offers. His winning offer was $500,000 over asking price with no contingencies. He also presented a letter from his parents that detailed all their assets along with their willingness to help him out.”

Facepalm.

Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-05 12:03:52

Same sitch around here. I guess it’s another year of stupid.

 
Comment by Neuromance
2018-04-05 19:47:08

The Baby Boomers only ever experienced rising home prices. Children listen to their parents’ wisdom, many times, and thus see a house as a must-have/can’t lose proposition. Housing has a great narrative, ever rising population driving up demand, so many people are very enamored of houses and land.

It’s built into a mania IMO. A mania being heralded by the appearance of a magic asset that has no credible chance of going down in price. A financial ecosystem has built up around that belief, here and around the world. Even in remote locations.

The last time the market reset, the government borrowed and printed money to bail it all out. And reinflate asset bubbles. And personally experiencing no downside from printing money, it has continued here and around the world, at all the major central banks, as there has been no mass rejection of politicians and the financial sectors have grown dramatically wealthier.

However, printing money is covertly extracting purchasing power from the many, and giving it to the few.

All the indicators look good. The economy is booming, unemployment is ultra low. If you ignore the labor participation rate, but that’s probably just retirees according to the pundits. But these same pundits cheer when the labor force participation rate ticked up recently so maybe they’re not entirely sure. Plus quite a coincidence the participation rate dropped exactly when the 2008 financial crisis started. Plus such a tight job market should surely cause wage growth, which it has not.

Targeting the indicators - gaming the indicators - then looking at the indicators to say everything is going well is self-deluding. “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” - Richard P. Feynman

But… continuously extracting purchasing power (even more subtle that overt taxation - this is covert extraction and redistribution, the “expert redistribution”) does have curious (not really) consequences. It causes stagnation (by having the economy grow around the government instead of seeking to produce things that people value) and degrades the standard of living of the masses. Thus, even though things are purportedly booming here and purportedly improving in Europe, you have the rise of nontraditional - populist/nationalist - candidates, who are winning. People are overtly rejecting media narratives and becoming more tribal, as that is an instinctual way to respond to hardship and threat.

That, to me, is the clearest indicator that perhaps all is not as rosy at it seems to those receiving the largesse from the redistribution of monetary policy.

When the next debt crisis strikes - and none of the post Depression-era policies to firewall against a debt crisis were re-installed, in fact they’ve been continuously degraded - I’m not sure that any response will prevent social unrest. They could allow banks to fail, people to lose life savings, avoid bailing out failing companies. Or they could again extract a vast amount of money from from the population and again redistribute it to Wall Street. Either way I think there will be social unrest. This explains the very curious (to me) and more insistent calls from central bankers and financiers that debt, the thing they believe is the source of economic growth, is becoming a problem.

The Federal Reserve publishes a “Financial Obligation Ratio.” But even they admit it’s a very limited, likely flawed, view (“The limitations of current sources of data make the calculation of the ratio especially difficult”). It is significantly lower than it was prior to the mid-2000s. In absolute terms, per the New York Fed’s “Report on Household Debt and Credit”, household debt is even higher now than what we thought was “Peak Debt” (maximum serviceable debt) in the mid-2000s, which precipitated the first debt crisis.

The central bankers believe debt is the source of economic growth. The theory is that corporations invest, provide jobs and a virtuous circle ensues. The problem is that if there no demand for the corporations wares because purchasing power is just being sucked out of the demand base and consistently given to corporations, you get corporations with huge cash hoards, and massive debt and stock buybacks and various other shenanigans to take advantage of low interest rates and copious available money.

Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 05:20:33

There are many intere$ting elaboration$ in your post. You had me @: “I’m not sure …”

Globally, & historically, homes where used for shelter & security. Once inside you & yearns were nominally protected from outside dangers, including unrepentant weather goblins.

Now, $o it seem$, home$ are used for $helter & $ecurity. Once you $ign on the dotted x30 page$ of line$, you’re able to begin poli$hing you own ATM a$$et.

A modern added feature is “gated communitie$”, which basically is to offer privileged acce$$ to the larger ATM’$ which contain larger potential amount$ of ca$h withdrawal.

That’s my acorn.

 
 
 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 11:49:36

Here is a quick breakdown on what’s needed to qualify:

Must be self-employed for over 2 years
Use a CPA letter from a licensed CPA or Tax Prepare (with license #)
Must have 6 months of PITI in reserves
Max LTV is 70%-80%, depending on loan amounts
Loan amounts to $2.5M (Stated Income)
Loan amounts to $7M (Bank Statements)
Primary Residence, OK!
Minimum FICO 660
Cash out, OK!

 
Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-05 12:06:02

Where does one get a return on cash this year? Stocks topped out, housing topped out, businesses priced ludicrously…mattress?

Comment by Mr. Banker
2018-04-05 12:08:56

Take out a HELOC and go all-in on Bitcoin.

 
Comment by Dave
2018-04-05 12:24:56

Precious metals?

 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 15:08:51

go long any commodity we import.

Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 16:39:33

Including Russian oil?

Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 17:20:50

do we even import russian oil? commodities we import are going up. u can bank on it. Its money in the bank.

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Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 17:52:34

Russian collu$ion!

In late March, Saudi Arabia and Russia were reportedly preparing a move to further their influence over world crude supplies by actively managing markets for potentially the next 20 years. OPEC and Russia were thought to be turning their production-cutting deal into a longer-term relationship in a bid to help fend off the next downturn and make the oil market less volatile. Nonetheless, a 10 to 20-year pact would be an unprecedented move.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have led an ongoing effort by OPEC and other allied oil producers outside the cartel to try to clear a global supply overhang.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/saudi-arabia-and-irans-intensifying-feud-could-soon-end-opec-led-supply-cuts-strategist-says.html?recirc=taboolainternal

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/PET_MOVE_IMPCUS_D_NUS_NRS_MBBL_M.htm

 
 
 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 19:39:21

Are the$e on your list to go long?

USA’s Top 5 Commodity Imports Commodity Annual Amount

Refined and Crude Petroleum $149.2 billion
Lumber $20.3 billion
Gold $16.5 billion
Aluminium $8.2 billion
Coffee $5.75 billion

Read more at: https://commodity.com/country-profiles/usa/

 
 
 
Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-04-05 12:10:47

Santa Cruz, CA Housing Prices Crater 10% YOY On Deteriorating Economic Conditions

https://www.movoto.com/santa-cruz-ca/market-trends/

 
Comment by Norma
2018-04-05 12:56:29

Chinese crime syndicate’s alleged pot grows lead to seizure of 100 homes in Sacramento area

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article207911324.html#storylink=cpy

Comment by Carl Morris
2018-04-05 14:44:27

Interesting. Sounds like maybe there’s not as big of a housing shortage as we’ve been told.

Comment by Young Deezy
2018-04-06 08:26:18

If you removed “investor” purchases, such as these from the market, the market would collapse.

 
 
Comment by redmondjp
2018-04-05 21:15:54

It’s happening here in WA state as well - they just busted a bunch of Chinese grow houses in rural Lewis County.

Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-06 08:30:28

Not only are they all over Thurston and Lewis counties, they’re all the way out in Hoquiam, Aberdeen, even Grayland. This stuff is really troubling.

 
 
 
Comment by rms
2018-04-05 15:29:44

What did these two moms who drove off a cliff with the flock of interracial kids do for a living?

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 16:04:27

I’m betting there’s going to be a whole bunch more Californicans driving their cars off a cliff.

Comment by azdude
2018-04-05 17:26:10

drive with me bro! the escrow has me in the dumps.

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-05 17:49:50

DumpsterFire

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Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 06:32:48

that should b your new handle.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-06 06:41:25

You took it already.

 
 
 
 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 16:22:43

Cliff, lake … potatetoe, tomatoe

Maybe the same work as this woman from South Carolina:

Susan Smith: Child killer mum reveals why she drowned her sons then made up ‘black man’ kidnap story

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Smith

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2018-04-05 17:10:49

National sovereignty, borders, etc, is racis.

If you oppose globalism, you are a racis, and AntiFa should dox you and get you fired from your job.

#NewYorkTimes
#WashingtonPost

Comment by jeff
2018-04-05 18:09:59

Globalists: Give me back my 30 round Mags and rifles with pistol grips. I’m the only one that knows how to use them. They’re no use to you. Give them back to me. Give them back!

Glinda: Keep a tight hold of them. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them so badly.

 
Comment by jeff
2018-04-05 20:12:18

Illinois town bans assault weapons, will fine those who keep them

USA TODAY NETWORKSean Rossman, USA TODAY Published 1:14 p.m. ET April 5, 2018 | Updated 3:15 p.m. ET April 5, 2018

The town of Deerfield, Ill., has moved to ban assault weapons, including the AR-15 used in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, claiming the measure will make the town more safe from mass shootings.

The ordinance was passed unanimously Monday by the Deerfield Village Board. It states the move is in the best interest of public health and will spur a culture change toward “the normative value that assault weapons should have no role or purpose in civil society.”

It also takes a swing at a popular reading of the Second Amendment, stating the weapons are “not reasonably necessary to protect an individual’s right of self-defense” or to preserve a well-regulated militia.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/05/illinois-town-bans-assault-weapons-fine-those-who-keep-them/488987002/

Comment by Carl Morris
2018-04-06 09:34:21

I’m a big 2A supporter but individual communities doing this don’t bother me so much because people who don’t like it can move out and people who do like it can move in.

It’s the attempts to control the whole nation that really bother me.

Comment by jeff
2018-04-06 11:28:09

Scares the Hell out of me.

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Comment by drumminj
2018-04-06 18:14:49

I’m a big 2A supporter but individual communities doing this don’t bother me so much because people who don’t like it can move out and people who do like it can move in.

Plus the community next door without such ridiculous laws can easily conquer them when the time comes :)

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Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 17:25:20

Landlord$ are $uffering, poor babie$, $queal $queal, oink onik

Here’s a map of the big-box stores closing in 2018

More than 70 million square feet of retail space is already slated to close in 2018, CNBC has reported, largely attributable to the fact that retailers with massive floor plans are the ones shuttering stores.

Walmart’s Sam’s Club, Sears Holdings and Bon-Ton, for example, operate stores that take up at least 100,000 square feet. Toys R Us’ shops are closer to 50,000 square feet, on average, which is still large by retail standards. The big-box losses are leaving landlords scrambling for replacements, and there aren’t many companies growing at that same scale.

At many of these properties, landlords will opt to divide the bigger spaces among a handful of smaller tenants. Retailers including Target, Kohl’s, Sears and Nordstrom have been opening smaller locations of late, where they can showcase their best merchandise on the floor and market everything else online.

Already this year, Toys R Us is planning to close all of its 800-plus stores across the U.S., Sears is closing 103 stores, Walmart’s Sam’s Club division is closing 63 stores, Bon-Ton is closing 42 stores, Macy’s is closing 11 stores, J.C. Penney is closing 8 stores and Nordstrom is closing one store.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/heres-a-map-of-the-big-box-stores-closing-in-2018.html

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-05 18:18:16

Since China has a population of 1,340,000,000 + … is it po$$ible he’s knot a lone wolf roaming amongst communities that have immigrant grape pickers? Where is the National Guard?

A Chinese Scientist Stole American Rice and Will Spend Up to a Decade in Prison

The Chinese scientist, Weiqiang Zhang, 51, was a legal permanent resident living in Manhattan, Kansas. He was working as a rice breeder at Ventria Bioscience, a biopharmaceutical company that creates genetically modified rice. He stole hundreds of rice seeds from the company that had cost millions of dollars and taken years of research to develop, according to the Justice Department.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinese-scientist-stole-american-rice-184655010.html

Comment by Partially Deferred Maintenance
2018-04-05 19:32:48

“He was working as a rice breeder”

Wut?

All kidding aside, why are they not giving this guy a Medal of Honor? He’s a hero!

Seriously, this guy is exporting poison to his homeland. And they’ll grow it, too, and make everyone eat it (it comes from the US, so it must be worth ripping off) and then wonder why their population is getting so fat. Welcome to our world!

See, that’s how you defeat China. Get all these various companies to set up “top secret” labs and stuff dedicated to developing the worst, most defective products and substances and hire a bunch of Chinese to work in those labs. Oh, wait…

Comment by Partially Deferred Maintenance
2018-04-05 20:17:14

Monty Python, “I Like Chinese”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DqvweTYTI0

 
 
Comment by Carl Morris
2018-04-06 09:37:18

Inevitable. Even if there were no Chinese citizens working there.

 
 
Comment by sod
2018-04-06 04:16:48

New 1,000-home development coming to Johns Island near Charleston

“A pristine piece of Johns Island will soon be home to 1,000 houses in a part of Charleston County already reeling from development.”

“By mid-summer, the first of about 75 homes a year, starting at $500,000 each, will rise on the two-mile-wide stretch of mostly undisturbed land, where eagles guard towering nests overlooking marshy inlets, wild turkey and deer roam freely, and alligators sun themselves on the banks of brackish impoundments.”

Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 06:16:47

Oh goody, more new airbnb seed$, will they have a cement swimmin’ hole with cabannas $ jacuzzi’$? … Sounds like a loverly place to visit!

 
 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 06:36:13

should I buy the dip today? only 103k jobs added in march in a booming economy? wtf people? This is a joke.

Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-04-06 06:49:12

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Housing Prices Crater 7% YOY On Failing Subprime Mortgages

https://www.zillow.com/ponte-vedra-beach-fl/home-values/

*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 06:58:03

r u trying to rain on my parade buddy?

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-04-06 07:24:40

You know I wouldn’t extinquish the DumpsterFire.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-04-06 06:58:51

You average the Feb. numbers which were strong partially due to good weather and the March numbers which were weak partially due to bad weather and it is a very strong economy, particularly since we came out of the recession, in the Summer of 2009. I know it was hard to feel since Obama had the weakest recovery on record, but the recession ended before any of the Obama policies even took effect. Of course, his policies only impeded the recovery, thus the low hanging fruit left for Trump. Consequently, the recession in the first year of his administration never happened nor has the recession predicted for the second happened, at least so far this year.

 
 
Comment by Taxpayers
2018-04-06 06:45:35

‘For several years, the D.C. market has favored sellers because of demand and the lack of inventory, but this spring we’re finally seeing buyers pushing back,

Zillow says 0% yoy

 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 07:18:38

“Needless to say, Greenspanian money-pumping, soaring debt and wealth effects driven financialization were not merely the opposite of what a regime of sound money would have generated; they were the kiss of death for jobs, prosperity and hope in Flyover America, as the chart below so dramatically illustrates.

Under this baleful regime, statist rulers and politicians everywhere have empowered their central banks to swap the resources of their lands (the petro-states and resource countries) and the sweat of their workers brows (China, India and like EMs) for US dollar liabilities (US treasury debt and GSEs) in a misguided and futile effort to protect their export based prosperity.

The point, however, goes far beyond the truth of Herb Stein’s famous observation that unsustainable trends tend to stop.

Print they did. Buying in dollars, euros and other currencies hand-over-fist in order to peg their own money and lubricate Mr. Deng’s export factories, the PBOC expanded its balance sheet from $40 billion to $4 trillion during the course of a mere two decades.”

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/not-your-grandfathers-trade-war-the-revenge-of-bad-money-part-1/

Comment by BlackSwandive
2018-04-06 08:45:06

Which is why you have thousands of Chinese purchasing thousands of houses all around rural western Washington, using them for illegal marijuana grows.

 
 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 07:29:11

“Thus, after the October 1987 market crash Greenspan went all in for monetary central planning. At length, he flooded the world with cheap dollars in order to suppress domestic interest rates and encourage Americans to live high on the hog by tapping their home equity (yes, the Maestro bragged about MEW or mortgage equity withdrawal).

In turn, Beijing reciprocated buy running the People’s Printing Press (PBOC) still hotter.That is, it scooped-up $4 trillion of US, Japanese and Euro debt securities in about 15 years, and not because Beijing was itching to invest in greener capitalist pastures abroad, as our Friedmanite free marketers now suppose.

In order to do so, the PBOC bought dollars hand-over-fist to peg its own currency against the dollar, and then sequestered these accumulations from chronic FX intervention in a massive stash of dollar debts and other foreign securities.

Indeed, by encouraging the Chinese and other mercantilist to stock up on Treasury debt at an even more rapid rate than the Fed, Greenspan caused the central banks of the world to become a giant convoy of debt monetization and price falsification across all the financial markets of the planet.

One consequence of Greenspan’s destruction of market rates of interest was a household debt binge. The latter, in turn, temporarily supplanted the domestic jobs and incomes that were being lost to off-shoring with the proceeds of borrowing. Since the GDP accounts were devised by Keynesians way back in the 1930s and 1940s, this substitution was initially invisible.”

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/not-your-grandfathers-trade-war-the-revenge-of-bad-money-part-2/

Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 08:20:09

“China has been on a wild tear heading straight for the economic edge of the planet—-that is, monetary Terra Incognito—based on the circular principle of borrowing, building and borrowing. In essence, it is a giant re-hypothecation scheme where every man’s “debt” become the next man’s “asset”.

Need$ editing:

In e$$ence, it is a giant re-hypothecation $cheme where every man’s “ATM hou$e debt$” become the next man’s “new home ATM a$$et”.

Best eye could manage …

 
 
Comment by jeff
2018-04-06 07:33:14

BECAUSE THE NIGHT –•– 10,000 Maniacs –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKbP0L9qcE

I for one never had to be told 3 times.

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 07:58:43

“That deformation is obvious enough on the US side of the equation. Real median household income has not increased by one dime since 1999, and at barely 0.25% per year since 1989 shortly after the Greenspan era of Bubble Finance incepted.”

Why fight, piss&moan for higher wage$, when it’s far ea$ier to use ones digital camera/cell phone to apply for Ca$h from the homemoaner$ local ATM lender$, … just use the GPS function for closest location, then utilize Direct Depo$it! …EA$Y!

“The tight labor market is slowly pushing up worker pay. Hourly wages rose 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $26.82 in March. The 12-month increase in pay edged up to 2.7% from 2.6%. For much of the nearly nine-year-old expansion, wage gains averaged around 2% a year or a bit less.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-adds-103000-jobs-in-march-in-smallest-gain-since-last-fall-2018-04-06

Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 08:18:48

bubble finance! substitute jobs with credit created out of thin air.

 
 
Comment by aNYCdj
2018-04-06 08:12:22

Chelsea landlord who converted rent-stabilized units to Airbnb listings hit with lawsuit

It operated for years despite persistent complaints

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/23/16922794/new-york-airbnb-lawsuit-chelsea-landlord

 
Comment by azdude
2018-04-06 08:15:07

as I sit here and analyze this trade war between us and china it really appears one thing sticks out.

china discovered the printing press and manipulated fx exchange rates with it to keep their export machine running.

So how would you stop china from printing?

Comment by aNYCdj
2018-04-06 09:03:45

Not sure so many of essential products we use everyday come from china.

How would we get apple to make ipads in Omaha?

 
Comment by hwy50ina49dodge
2018-04-06 09:03:50

The CIA has a export plan: invi$ible ink! … Free!

 
 
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