September 8, 2018

Requests They Wouldn’t Have Dared To Offer

A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. “The number of homes for sale across King County surged up 66 percent in the past year — and 86 percent just in the city of Seattle — the biggest rise in more than a decade. During that same period the inventory of Seattle condos skyrocketed 161 percent. Prices are continuing to fall across an unseasonably cool Seattle real estate market, with homes that would have been snapped up in an instant just several months ago now sitting unsold. New monthly data out Friday shows median home prices across King County fell $30,000 in August from the month prior, the third straight month of declines. Countywide the median cost of a single-family house, now $669,000, is down by $57,000 since May, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.”

“The drop runs counter to normal seasonal patterns: During the same three-month period last year, prices actually went up by $16,000. Looking just at the city of Seattle, the change is even more pronounced: The median house last month sold for $760,000, a drop of $45,000 in just one month and $70,000 in three months.”

“The surge in listings is not the result of new homes coming on the market, but rather because houses are sitting unsold for longer. In turn, that has prompted a jump in the number of sellers cutting their list price, which would have been unheard of earlier in the year.”

“The drop in demand is part of a national trend as home prices – combined with higher mortgage rates – hit a point where fewer and fewer people can afford them. The fact that Seattle-area rents have stopped growing this year has put less pressure on buyers, as well. Local population and job growth has also slowed in recent months. And reports indicate buyers from China, who have a strong presence in the Seattle market, have had trouble getting their money out of the country amid growing restrictions there, leading to fewer home bids here.”

“‘Things have certainly changed,’ said John Manning, owner of a RE/MAX brokerage in Ballard. Some buyers are making requests for concessions that they ‘wouldn’t have dared to offer’ just a few months ago.”

“Neighborhood-level data is more volatile, but in the past three months, median prices have dropped $397,000 in Kirkland-Bridle Trails, $125,000 in East Bellevue and $87,000 in Southeast Seattle. And they’re down more than $70,000 in the past three months in Queen Anne/Magnolia, Ballard/Green Lake, and Shoreline/Richmond Beach. Brokers quoted in a release from the listing service noted that in recent months, there have been fewer bidding wars, while buyers are taking more time in deciding what to purchase. Even some new-home construction builders are dropping list prices.”

From Seattle PI. “There have been several recent announcements about new condominium buildings being constructed in Seattle. For the last few years, the only residential developments being built in Seattle were apartments, minus a few outliers like Insignia and Gridiron, but we are starting to see a flood of new condominium projects hitting the scene again.”

“Why the switch from apartments to condos? Well, we think it is due to apartment buildings not being as profitable as they once were. Major investment groups who were once willing to buy apartment buildings at high price/unit price tags are not as bullish right due to the softening of the rental market. That softening is likely due to an oversupply of apartments entering the market, around 6600 rental units are coming just to the South Lake Union neighborhood by 2019.”

“It is now more profitable to build and sell condos. Developers are very market driven so they will make these decisions based on what is happening right now in the apartment and condo markets, but it seems to us that they don’t put onus on the future market conditions that their developments might cause. For instance, if we had built a mix of condos and apartments over the last few years perhaps we wouldn’t have an apartment building glut right now and be starved for condos, we might just have balance. Instead it appears that their decisions are reactionary, if apartments are profitable then they build a ton of apartments, flood the market, the apartment market softens, then they switch to building condos and so forth and so on.”

From Bisnow. “Relentless multifamily construction across the country has finally hit landlords in the pocketbook. Rent growth has slowed nationwide for the fourth straight year ending in July 2018, and the fast-growing cities of the past few years that propped up those numbers have fallen back down to earth, according to a Zillow study as reported by Bloomberg.”

“The drop was most pronounced in Seattle. Seattle’s explosive growth thanks to Amazon and the industries that grew around it launched it closer to the upper echelon of rent prices that cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., occupy, but those cities saw rents stop growing in the past two years, a Zillow economist told Bloomberg.”

“Smaller cities like Nashville, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon, went from healthy year-over-year growth around 3% last July to slightly dropping prices a year later as the same story plays out as it did for those metros listed above. Much of the construction that chased those growing rents has delivered, giving tenants an unprecedented number of choices and pressuring landlords into greater and greater concessions just to keep rent from falling into the basement.”

“Due to high construction costs, virtually all new construction has been in the Class-A sector of the multifamily market, which has a shallower pool of potential tenants to draw from than older, cheaper supply. Philadelphia, for example, has established itself as a value option relative to New York and D.C., but its new construction in the past two years has targeted rents at $3.50/SF, according to JLL Research Director Lauren Gilchrist — not exactly a bargain.”

“‘You can go to tons of places in nice areas that are considerably cheaper than that, so I’m not sure who will be paying those rents besides professionals landing in Philadelphia for the first time or empty nesters coming into the city,’ Gilchrist said at a Philadelphia Bisnow event late last year.”




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76 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 05:44:30

‘Relentless multifamily construction across the country has finally hit landlords in the pocketbook. Rent growth has slowed nationwide for the fourth straight year ending in July 2018, and the fast-growing cities of the past few years that propped up those numbers have fallen back down to earth’

But, I’ve been told we aren’t building anything? We have a shortage of millions of shacks and airboxes! Cardboard boxes!

Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 06:49:41

Housing price growth slows dramatically across the Puget Sound region
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)-13 hours ago
Even so, experts do not anticipate a quick shift to a buyers’ market. Inventory increased significantly while buying activity declined. The number of King County ..

 
 
Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 05:45:15

Cupertino, CA Housing Prices Crater 14% YOY As Bay Area Market Implodes Under The Weight Of Rampant Mortgage Fraud

https://www.movoto.com/cupertino-ca/market-trends/

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 05:47:15

‘in the past three months, median prices have dropped $397,000 in Kirkland-Bridle Trails, $125,000 in East Bellevue and $87,000 in Southeast Seattle. And they’re down more than $70,000 in the past three months in Queen Anne/Magnolia, Ballard/Green Lake, and Shoreline/Richmond Beach’

Where is Outlier Man? Caw!

‘Brokers quoted in a release from the listing service noted that in recent months, there have been fewer bidding wars’

I’d bet there aren’t any bidding wars.

‘Even some new-home construction builders are dropping list prices’

Even? These guys will undercut recent buyers to put food on the table and then it really starts sliding down.

Comment by b
2018-09-08 08:30:15

Queen Ann / Magnolia, and Ballard are very big news for Seattle. These are well know neighbourhoods where people have spent lots and lots of money on remodeling and upgrading.

Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 08:38:04

These are well know neighbourhoods where people have spent lots and lots of money on remodeling and upgrading.

Yes, and greedhead sellers in these ‘hoods need to stick to their guns and refuse to sell for a penny less than what their shack is worth, including all money spent on upgrades.

C’mon greedheads. Some of the RE trolls showing up here say there’s a current stand-off between buyers and sellers, so don’t you give an inch. Suzanne will be along any day now with some mouse man in tow to take your shack off your hands at your wish price. So hold firm, while I settle into my lawn chair and enjoy me some popcorn.

 
 
 
Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 05:49:23

Kirkland, WA Housing Prices Collapse 20% YOY As Seattle Area Homeowners Default In Record Numbers

https://www.movoto.com/kirkland-wa/market-trends/

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 05:59:15

‘The Marriott San Antonio Northwest hotel that overlooks the intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 410 was sold at foreclosure auction earlier this week, four years after Los Angeles company Laurus Corp. bought it and announced ambitious renovation plans.’

‘Latitude Real Estate Investors, a company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, foreclosed on the 296-room hotel at the Bexar County Courthouse. Laurus Corp. defaulted on a $21.3 million mortgage loan that it took from Latitude in 2014, county property records show. The trustee for the foreclosure sale opened the bidding at $18 million, and no one submitted any bids, so Latitude automatically took ownership of the property.’

No bids? But it overlooks the intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 410!

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:11:15

Suckers…

They should have had their loan guaranteed by the taxpayers.

It is the Mel Watt way!

 
 
Comment by Patrick
2018-09-08 06:06:03

“The number of homes for sale across King County surged up 66 percent in the past year — and 86 percent just in the city of Seattle — the biggest rise in more than a decade.”

“Inventory has grown in a big way for several months in a row now and has returned to 2014 levels, wiping out four years of declines.”

4 year of inventory shortage wiped out in a few months.

Those inventory growth numbers are leading the pack, but Denver, San Diego, and Vegas saw big jumps too.

http://www.worldpropertyjournal.com/real-estate-news/united-states/las-vegas/greater-las-vegas-association-of-realtors-glvar-las-vegas-home-prices-in-2018-real-estate-news-11038.php

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/09/06/metro-denvers-housing-market-cooling-off/

https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2018/09/07/san-diego-county-home-sales-dip-in-august/

Comment by aNYCdj
2018-09-08 07:02:27

4 year of inventory shortage wiped out in a few months.

I have always been fascinated how this happens with expensive houses.

I see it on ebay all the time. a rapper uses some obscure sample then BOOM a $2 record goes to $50-100 bid up by wannabe kid dj’s with mommies credit card,( usually a low feedback 0-5) then in a few weeks after the song peaked its back to $5.

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:12:16

Hmmmm…

Kinda like Beenie Babies.

 
 
Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 08:24:07

“The number of homes for sale across King County surged up 66 percent in the past year — and 86 percent just in the city of Seattle — the biggest rise in more than a decade.”

El Señor Woodrow just paid me a visit.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 06:06:47

‘Some buyers are making requests for concessions that they ‘wouldn’t have dared to offer’ just a few months ago’

It’s an interesting psychological change. (And mania’s are all psychology). In an ordinary market, concessions would just be part of the landscape. Some houses need work, some don’t. Expectations would be out of whack or not. But in a bubble, asking for the ordinary would result in Gasps! It looks like we are post bubble peak in Seattle.

Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 08:26:00

What do we call a post-bubble peak? Oh right, a bursting bubble.

 
Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:14:53

But…but…love letters to the sellers are still required

And you still got to take care of the squirrels

And you are still not going to sell to Trump voters…

Right…

Right?????

Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 09:36:55

Squirrels are probably going to be a significant protein source for FBs going forward.

Comment by b
2018-09-08 11:25:36

which is the most tasty when roasted on a open fire spit.

Squirrel, raccoon, passim, pigeon,

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Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 06:07:01

Marco Island, FL Housing Prices Crater 6% YOY As Hard Landing Housing Bust Escalates

https://www.movoto.com/marco-island-fl/market-trends/

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 06:11:52

‘Major investment groups who were once willing to buy apartment buildings at high price/unit price tags are not as bullish right due to the softening of the rental market. That softening is likely due to an oversupply of apartments entering the market, around 6600 rental units are coming just to the South Lake Union neighborhood by 2019′

‘It is now more profitable to build and sell condos. Developers are very market driven so they will make these decisions based on what is happening right now in the apartment and condo markets, but it seems to us that they don’t put onus on the future market conditions that their developments might cause’

I got news for you Seattle PI. They are all losing money now. Buckle up.

Comment by b
2018-09-08 08:57:02

Vulcan (owned by Paul Allen) and which built most of the Amazon, Google and other commercial buildings. They are also branching away from apts to condos (i have copied a few on this blog). It is stunning to me that the most prestigious co is making a big mistake . Perhaps they think the downturn will only be 2 or so years.

https://news.theregistryps.com/vulcans-463-unit-5th-and-lenora-project-in-belltown-approved-at-third-drg-meeting/

 
Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 12:25:13

Ahem…

What have I been saying…? that turning unfinished apartments in to condos is plan B to distract from the fact they are heading to the exits…

Comment by b
2018-09-08 15:23:56
Comment by drumminj
2018-09-08 15:34:27

super fancy in Bellevue (E side of Seattle)

Didn’t realize they were re-developing that.

Apparently between the Westin, Hyatt, and W hotel there’s not enough ‘luxury hotel’ in that area?

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Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 16:01:04

The 308-foot-tall south tower will house the hotel and some residences, and the 284-foot-tall west tower will have the rest of the homes, a spokeswoman for the city’s Development Services Office said.

Just what I want - to share my home with the daily crowd of hotel staff and visitors…. not.

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Comment by BubblevilleCA
2018-09-08 06:16:32

“reports indicate buyers from China, who have a strong presence in the Seattle market, have had trouble getting their money out of the country amid growing restrictions there, leading to fewer home bids here.”

Tell me more, how is this possible??

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/07/30/eb-5-investors-worry-us-visas-to-millionaires-may-soon-be-overhauled.html

“The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — under which foreigners have invested billions of dollars in the U.S. to obtain American green cards — is set to expire in September.”

Oh it’s september!

Comment by Next Shoe to Drop
2018-09-08 10:48:13

I’m sure it’s a big reason why RE values in the SF bay area have gotten so bubbly too. Traffic is right back to the insane levels seen during the last bubble peak. Everywhere I look I see expensive houses and Chindians driving badly.

Curb the amount of both legal and illegal immigration and cash pouring into the country and maybe we’ll decrease the amount of inflation of our assets without the corresponding increase in our paychecks. I’m tired of getting priced out of everything at this point.

Comment by rms
2018-09-08 16:20:07

“Traffic is right back to the insane levels seen during the last bubble peak.”

No spinner wheels this time. :)

 
 
Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 12:27:10

Plenty of people locally still insisting that foreign investors, much less the Chinese specifically, were never a factor in the local housing market.

/notices that over 50% of the kids at the corner bus stop are Chinese…

Comment by BubblevilleCA
2018-09-08 12:42:01

MSM has been less than transparent about what factors have driven up RE. Realtors also go along with the hype of rainbows and unicorns or whatever helps them yield the fastest highest payout. I know from personal experience that in California foreign investors have been a major driver in the “shortage” of available homes. Now that we are seeing them back off we seem to have a abundant supply. Between simple math (may be tough for realtors) and the unfabricated knowledge I have been getting here, I would not be surprised if foreign investments start popping up as one of the leading causes of bubble 2.0

Back to my personal experience: sold my home end of 2016 (closed in 2017). Had multiple cash offers from “foreign” investors that said they are moving there families to California. I went with a offer to a local retired couple. A friend whom sold his golf course home in the beginning of June 2018 (I suspect this was our peak here) received many offers from foreign investors and took one for 250k over asking price

Comment by Next Shoe to Drop
2018-09-08 13:31:16

I think I mentioned this recently, but a trip to the new homes being built in Mountain House a few months ago saw 99% foreign boots on the ground at all the model homes my wife and I visited. I was the sole angry white man there. No way would I pay the massively inflated prices being seen there, but apparently 75% of the buyers out there are renting their places out thinking they can cover the monthly nut. Maybe those who got in early, but the late-comers are likely already saddened by the disparity between the mortgage and what the joint rents for now.

Our recent search for rental houses saw us come across an older Chinese couple who barely spoke the language that had purchased a 3/2 SFH for 1.1 Million a month before it was put up for rent. I’d already seen the sale on Zillow, but he also confirmed the price like he was proud he got it so cheap. It was an absolute 40yr old crapshack that hadn’t ever been remodeled, and had a kitchen so small 2 people couldn’t occupy it simultaneously. Back yard was overgrown junipers and old workshop sheds.

I doubt very much the rent was covering the mortgage on it.

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Comment by BubblevilleCA
2018-09-08 13:48:20

“Our recent search for rental houses saw us come across an older Chinese couple who barely spoke the language that had purchased a 3/2 SFH for 1.1 Million a month before it was put up for rent. I’d already seen the sale on Zillow, but he also confirmed the price like he was proud he got it so cheap.”

When your only source of a homes value comes from a realtor, your fooked!!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/04/foreign-buyers-no-longer-finding-deals-in-california-real-estate/amp/

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by azdude
2018-09-08 06:22:19

how did wall street manage to turn housing into a casino like the stock market?

What was the underpinning that kept housing a relatively stable, boring market for years?

Comment by Mr. Banker
2018-09-08 08:09:25

“how did wall street manage to turn housing into a casino like the stock market?”

I immensely enjoy crediting our wonderful dumb-’em-down educational system.

 
Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:20:29

No taxpayer guarantees for mortgages

Banks ate their bad loans

GAAP rules followed or jail

Fraud rules followed or jail

20% down

Folks like Mel Watt laughed at and ridiculed

But then the democrats found they could buy mucho FSA votes weaponizing the housing market.

Comment by Anonymous
2018-09-08 13:37:17

^ Seems to sum it up quite nicely.

 
 
Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 12:28:48

how did wall street manage to turn housing into a casino like the stock market?

If wall street could figure out a way to turn hot dog buns and potato chips into a pump ‘n dump casino in the financial markets, they would do it in a heartbeat.

 
 
Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 06:26:50

Denver, CO Housing Prices Crater 10% YOY As Price Declines Appear In Every Major US City

https://www.zillow.com/denver-co-80230/home-values/

*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2018-09-08 06:43:51

$5.3 million home in San Francisco wrecked after Airbnb rental

https://www.yahoo.com/news/5-3-million-home-san-004458493.html

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:37:03

Renting a $5.3M house for $100 a night?

So much more to this story.

Like a FB trying to scratch just one mortgage payment together…

Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 12:29:54

Apparently it was just a single room that was rented? And others elsewhere are piling on to insurance fraud theories.

In any event, the story is not adding up…

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 07:03:49

‘Home prices are continuing to fall across an unseasonably cool Seattle-area real estate market, with homes that would have been snapped up in an instant just several months ago now sitting unsold, our online news partner The Seattle Times reported Friday.’

‘The cost of the median single-family house in Snohomish County last month was $492,000, up 8.2 percent from a year ago but down from the record high of $511,000 two months prior.’

Eeee-bola!

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:22:46

No. Not this time.

It is the fault of global warming or global cooling or something.

Couldn’t be the fault of an insane housing bubble…

 
Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 12:36:38

How cool is it? I’ve had a portable space heater running under my desk for a week now. :P

The data will swirl around for a while, with individual items up and down, and people will get different interpretations depending on which details they look at. Everyone though… is waking up to the fact that *something* is happening. Not everyone has figured out that the question has changed from “if it will even happen” to “how much/soon/fast will it go”

Any bets on what sort of statements the realtors will be making come spring 2019?

Comment by Anonymous
2018-09-08 13:39:46

Space heater? Still 100+ here.

Comment by MGSpiffy
2018-09-08 20:31:48

Only been topping out in the mid-60s usually around here since the beginning of the month.

My work-from-home office has a huge amount of open space and I like having the windows open a bit so the air doesn’t get stale. Something I could never do in the heat of Texas.

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Comment by rms
2018-09-08 16:24:50

“I’ve had a portable space heater running under my desk for a week now.”

So many obese gov workers have these heaters blazing away all day under their desks… sometimes left on overnight too.

Comment by Carl Morris
2018-09-08 17:49:11

In my software offices it was never the obese ones, they were always plenty warm. It was the skinny fat ones who lived in their cube and never had time to get to the gym who didn’t make any heat of their own.

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-09-09 04:22:20

“Any bets on what sort of statements the realtors will be making come spring 2019?”

I’m sure they’ll lie then just like they lie now.

Realtors are liars. You know this.

 
 
 
Comment by Patrick
2018-09-08 07:11:24

I thought we were told increasing mortgage rates would exasperate shortage issue because people wouldn’t list their homes knowing they would have to buy another house with a higher mortgage rate. I guess that prediction was wrong.

I thought we were told low inventory was holding back home sales. So why are home sales in Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Denver all down with large increases in for sale inventory. I guess that prediction was wrong too.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-09-08 07:53:40

All those cities had housing prices too high compared to rents and income. To me that is all you need to know, anything else is noise. Unfortunately, people do not just focus on those factors. Hence the fact that knife catchers have managed to stabilize, temporary, housing prices in Toronto and London according to recent news stories. Two of the biggest bubble cities on earth. People are truly trained to buy the dips.

Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 07:57:42

But, dips?

September 7, 2018

“A real estate broker north of Toronto is suing a consumer for commission even though a $900,000 home sale arranged by his company fell through. Marlene Nemeth Nemeth said she can’t understand how a real estate broker can bill her tens of thousands of dollars when the sale didn’t close and she didn’t do anything to interfere with the deal. In May 2017, she agreed to accept a $900,000 offer from Sayed Moussavi, the buyer. But on closing day, the buyer didn’t produce the funds to complete the deal, apparently because HomeLife hadn’t sold Moussavi’s home, according to Nemeth’s defence.”

“At that point, Moussavi agreed to forfeit his $40,000 deposit, plus $2500 in damages, in exchange for a mutual release from any future legal action. Nemeth said she decided to take the money and grant the release because she needed the cash. By now she had moved into her new home in East Gwillimbury and had to carry two mortgages, plus utility bills and taxes, all because the deal had fallen through. Her listing agent, Nina Bonakdar, asked Nemeth to give the buyer more time.”

“In a text message from Bonakdar to Nemeth, shown to Global News, the agent wrote: ‘I get Hans involved. As per Hans, buyer has no money. He is in max on all his financial mean (sic). But he is waiting to receive wire transfers from overseas so he will close end of November even if his house doesn’t close.’ By the time Nemeth finally sold her home on April 29, using a different real estate broker, the housing market had tumbled: The selling price was a disappointing $699,800.”

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=10607

Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 08:41:09

By the time Nemeth finally sold her home on April 29, using a different real estate broker, the housing market had tumbled: The selling price was a disappointing $699,800.”

If it’s any consolation, Nemeth, the buyer is going to get schlonged far worse than you did.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-09-08 11:04:43

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/toronto-s-housing-market-stabilizes-as-sales-rise-prices-steady

Toronto is one of the epicenters of the global housing bubble. The prices are ridiculous and I have been saying it for years. However, stories like above show how long it some time takes for a market to rationalize. Still too much fiat currency floating around and still is too easy to get a loan for these overpriced houses.

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Comment by Tim
2018-09-08 08:11:02

All of these areas were filled with speculators who bought rental properties. There never was a shortage if you assume one house for one person, with the owner actually living in the house. Now that prices have hit a wall, and renting quickly is much harder as these cities also saw apartment building over-construction causing developers to offer huge concessions luring people away from individual landlords that really cant afford to be cash flow negative, renters are trying to sell their properties in droves and it will only get worse for them. They are still building apartments like crazy as rents are plummeting. People can only cash flow negative for so long before they are broke. When buyers see what is going on, the urgency to buy anything now evaporates. Also, once you hit an affordability wall and interests rates rise, the market begins to compress, such that the pool of buyers that can afford $1,000,000 price homes shrinks drastically. Thus, the luxury market stagnates and dies slowly. Very few people make over $200k in Denver. Thus, tons of million dollar properties really doesn’t make sense.

Also, I am sure each city has its individual story. In Denver we had the Great American Green Rush as we became one of the first States to adopt recreational drug use laws. This caused massive migration into the city. Now California and other States have followed suit, so the novelty has worn off. Maybe others can speak to more local issues in their particular cities.

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:28:52

The irony….

But…but…if we make weed legal, we can collect all those taxes to pay public union pensions.

It will come to the point of the police choking out sellers of “loosies”

*****

Over 500 charged in LA crackdown on illegal pot businesses
The Sacramento Bee - September 07, 2018

Los Angeles prosecutors say they have charged more than 500 people with misdemeanors for illegal marijuana operations.

City Attorney Mike Feuer said Friday that police and his office continue to target the hundreds of businesses that aren’t complying with local and state rules since recreational pot sales became legal in California this year.

Feuer says his office has filed 120 marijuana cases against 515 people. The 105 businesses targeted include pot shops, delivery services and growing operations.

Comment by Equity Locust
2018-09-08 16:18:25

But legal pot was gonna end the War on Drugs!

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Comment by Matt P
2018-09-08 18:19:36

It’s not like they’re putting people in jail, just fining them as it should be.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Get Stucco
2018-09-08 07:30:03

Greets from ground zero in Seattle. I will try to to get an anecdotal report out of the locals before I go home.

Comment by drumminj
2018-09-08 07:43:23

What part of Seattle are you visiting, Bear?

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2018-09-08 08:02:18

These had started appearing in my inbox, and this morning:

14 New Foreclosure Listings in COCONINO County, AZ

 
Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 08:11:00

94,785,000 Not in Labor Force; At 62.9%, Labor Force Participation Stuck Near 38-Year Low As Housing Bust Accelerates

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/no-records-set-august-number-employed-americans-drops-participation-rate

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-09-08 11:50:53

One year old news, Trump is changing it. MAGA

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-09-08 12:21:24

62.9% v. 62.5% is a distinction without a difference with 100 million unemployed adults in the US.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-09-08 13:19:44

Retired is not unemployed, the baby boomers continue to retire. Took a while to undo the Obama damage but since Jan. 2018, it has been off the races as the Trump take cuts were first anticipated and then enjoyed, Sept of 2017 was the bottom, MAGA:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/192361/unadjusted-monthly-number-of-full-time-employees-in-the-us/

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2018-09-08 14:54:03

Unemployed is not retired. crow.eat.now.

Eeeeeebola!

Provo, UT Housing Prices Crater 9% YOY

https://www.movoto.com/provo-ut/market-trends/

 
Comment by Equity Locust
2018-09-08 16:20:15

Yup, I retired this year.

Q.E.D.

 
Comment by rms
2018-09-08 16:28:25

“Yup, I retired this year.”

Ditto.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Tim
2018-09-08 08:20:49

“The surge in listings is not the result of new homes coming on the market, but rather because houses are sitting unsold for longer. In turn, that has prompted a jump in the number of sellers cutting their list price, which would have been unheard of earlier in the year.”

If true, these would mean the pain hasn’t even begun yet. What do you think over-leveraged speculators are going to do with properties that are falling in value and can no longer be rented in a positive cash flow manner? Also, what about those that took all their equity out and need to move? Sounds like the banks are going to need another bailout.

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:32:58

1. These properties never were positive cash flow

2. They are going to learn they will have to bring cash to the table to sell

3. The alligator eats every month

4. Jingle mail

 
 
Comment by Boo Randy
2018-09-08 09:22:21

When the Everything Bubble reached its zenith, the super-rich who were the sole beneficiaries of QE were “investing” ludicrous amounts of Yellen Bux on things like vintage cars, many of them junk. Now it looks like those prices are coming back to earth as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-6138267/A-1979-Lada-Niva-estimated-sell-75-000-goes-just-4K.html

Comment by 2banana
2018-09-08 09:40:51

Yellen Bucks will find many places to die.

The dot.comV2 is just starting its implosion

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2018-09-08 11:09:21

Yes. Amazon is my next guess for a massive correct. It is barely profitable despite shafting its workers and the U.S. Postal service. Raise delivery rates and the wages of its underpaid workers and down the bowl it goes.

Comment by Itchyban
2018-09-08 13:17:22

You may be right, or it could just be a reduction in the need for cloud services that kills it as that’s probably the only thing keeping it afloat. The free shipping on orders over $25 makes no sense at all.

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Comment by Mortgage Watch
2018-09-08 09:41:17

Las Vegas, NV Housing Prices Crater 18% YOY As Record Low Demand Crushes Sellers

https://www.zillow.com/las-vegas-nv-89124/home-values/

*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

 
Comment by Tim
2018-09-08 14:01:32

“Seattle home prices drop by $70,000 in three months as market continues to cool”

Most satisfying headline of the year so far for all this that easily saw it coming years ago, and have been waiting for judgment day. The day of reckoning is near.

 
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