Bits Bucket for April 24, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
May 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
Never trust a realtor.
..or for that matter, never trust a blogger!
Good point, as at least around here, many bloggers are Realtors®.
And realtors are liars
“Never trust a realtor.”
Love your realtor. Your realtor, along with your banker, will allow all your dreams to come true.
“Your realtor, along with your banker, will allow all your banker’s dreams to come true.”
Never take advice from an antonymous blogger.
anonymous bloggers can usually be identified, anonymous commenters not so much.
25 MILLION excess, empty and defaulted houses CHECK
Falling Housing prices CHECK
Housing demand at 19 year lows and falling CHECK
Housing prices inflated by 250% CHECK
Household formation at multi decade lows CHECK
Rampant housing fraud CHECK
Public denial formed and supported by a corrupt media CHECK
Population growth the lowest in US history CHECK
Immigration flat to slightly negative CHECK
And you wonder why housing demand is collapsing?
Nope.
I’m wondering why so few have figured it out (so far)…
The sad part is I would actually like to own a house outright. But at these prices forget it.
“25 MILLION excess, empty and defaulted houses CHECK”
“Baby Boomers Retire” (December 29, 2010)
“As the year 2011 began on Jan. 1, the oldest members of the Baby Boom generation celebrated their 65th birthday. In fact, on that day, today, and for every day for the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach age 65. The aging of this huge cohort of Americans (26% of the total U.S. population are Baby Boomers) will dramatically change the composition of the country. Currently, just 13% of Americans are ages 65 and older. By 2030, when all members of the Baby Boom generation have reached that age, fully 18% of the nation will be at least that age, according to Pew Research Center population projections.”
“.pewresearch.org/daily-number/baby-boomers-retire/”
Precisely. They drove the demand of the bubble years 1998-2006 and it’s been well documented. Of course the competition for those dollars was fierce and resulted in massive overbuilding coast to coast. Not only do we have 25 MILLION excess empty houses, an additional 35 million have already started to empty as boomers expire.
And here’s the thing…… the “loaded boomer” narrative ended years ago. It was overstated to begin with and ended quicker than anyone anticipated.
“…an additional 35 million have already started to empty as boomers expire.”
Sadly, the student loan burden and shaky employment prospects facing the young generation bodes poorly for Boomers being able to cash out their accumulated equity.
Wow, check out the article and then check out the comments.
When squatters move in it’s tough to get them out. Possession is - what? - nine-tenths of the law? More than nine-tenths?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/soldier-in-battle-to-rid-home-of-squatters–florida-sheriff%E2%80%99s-office-says-it-can%E2%80%99t-do-anything-210607842.html
What’s amazing about the comments that I read (first couple of pages) is how many people have had this happen to them or to friends and family members. I hope the owners dump that “friend” of theirs. Yep, she did a great job of watching that home, NOT!
Port Richey and New Port Richey are kind of scaggy, at least the older parts, which this house looks to be located in. OTOH, check out the mega power line in the back yard. Maybe they should let the squatters have it.
Maybe there’s a bit of a karmic aspect to this as well. After all, Washington’s forces have been known to dispossess innocent people of their lives, their homes, their livelihoods, their villages, etc. In the name of “defending America”, understand.
I’m wondering at what point the term “trespasser” morphs into the term “legitimate occupant”.
Someone once told me that if a person establishes his/her address via the U.S. post office at a residence then the residence is where that person lives and the only way to get this person out is to evict him/her.
Which suggests (if this is true) that someone can move into somebody else’s second home while the owners are away, establish residency via the U.S. post office and - presto! - he has a nifty place to live.
’someone’ is full of shyt.
Don’t you need a utility bill on your name to establish residence even at the PO?
“Don’t you need a utility bill on your name to establish residence even at the PO?”
This goes with my question, which is: “I’m wondering at what point does the term ‘trespasser’ morph into the term ‘legitimate occupant’?”.
By what criteria does one morph into the other? If the landlord pays for all the utilities then having a utility bill wouldn’t be proof of residency because the occupant wouldn’t have any utility bills.
I’ve heard of cases where a guy has a live-in girlfriend and it is understood by everyone that this girlfriend lives with the guy and gets all her mail at the guy’s address and then the guy wants to break up with her and move her out of his place but he can’t because his place is her residence and proof of this fact is the guys house is where a branch of the U.S. government - the post office - delivers her mail.
Combotechie:
In your example, however, the GF is actually a legitimate resident. She didn’t break in. The BF can’t just kick her out in the middle of the night. He has to give her 30 days.
In the case of the squatter, however, the owner of the house never let the people in. I’m too lazy to read the article, but it seems to me that the squatters would have to produce a fake lease in order to gain the right to stay for 30 days during the eviction process.
Adverse possession varies by state, however at common law it required seven years of open and notorious occupation. In other words you were using the property as if you owned the property. Most states have a similar time period with many requiring that you paid taxes on the property. However, various acts while not establishing your right to the property can move the occupation from being a criminal act to being a civil dispute. Even that creates a potential expensive eviction process.
“…notorious occupation…”
The lawyers nailed it with that word choice.
Slightly off topic but doctrine of adverse possession is indirectly related to the Catholic church’s prohibition of priests marrying. In a time period when most people could not write, the actual working of the land was as good as title. Land was not to be wasted by non-use, the common sense belief was that all land should be used to produce food since food was scarce. This is the basis of the doctrine of adverse possession and other related doctrines. When priests had children and the children worked the church land, they would often then claim the land as their own. The prohibition against priests marrying has more due to the practical problem than a theological prohibition since married priests were common for hundreds of years.
“…since married priests were common for hundreds of years.”
I came across a more pragmatic solution to the problem of the prohibition against priests marrying, when I once visited the man who made one of my violin bows, Geza Balint, at his home in Cleveland. He lived in a somewhat run-down part of town, where he led a simple life making string instrument bows for a livelihood. Since there were not enough Catholic priests around to serve the local diocese, he also served one of the local parishes as a Catholic ‘deacon’ — essentially a married priest.
I still own and treasure his bow I bought three decades ago.
he also served one of the local parishes as a Catholic ‘deacon’ — essentially a married priest.
Not really. Deacons cannot confect the Eucharist nor can they grant absolution.
But what was said above is correct, priests are not celibate for theological reasons. And to this day they are allowed to be married in the Eastern Rite branches of the church. And special dispensations are granted in the Latin rite, mostly to married Anglican and Lutheran clergy who convert.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Francis removed that requirement in the Latin Rite.
Not really. Deacons cannot confect the Eucharist nor can they grant absolution.
They can’t perform the sacrificial rites to the old gods either. but I think they can for the new. It must still be done before a tree with the face carved on it though, and only during a vernal equinox. Wildlings are not permitted.
What a bunch of hocus pocus mumbo jumbo.
Newton was a devout Christian and Einstein went back and forth about the existence of God. I am so glad you were able to determine this religious question with such authority. I guess they lacked your intellect.
From Wikipedia on Einstein far from a bible thumper but not from those that talk about intelligent design:
Einstein rejected the label atheist. Einstein stated: “I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.”[1] According to Prince Hubertus, Einstein said, “In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.”[
Al and I are both agnostic. Why do you feel the need to inject agnostics into your doomed argument in favor of the sky fairy?
“More than nine-tenths?”
When squatter’s rights are aided and abetted by top-down measures to allow so-called owners in mortgage default to continue living in their homes rent-free forever, yes.
“When squatter’s rights are aided and abetted by top-down measures to allow so-called owners in mortgage default to continue living in their homes rent-free forever, yes.”
“… continue to live rent-free forever OR continue to live there for as long as it suits the lender.
The choice to evict or not evict lies with whom?
The choice to evict or not evict lies with whom?
Mr. Banker you know that all rights rest with the bankers. It is not like you misspent all that lobbyist money that earned because “people are smart”.
“… all rights rest with the bankers.”
All the money should follow - all the money should rest with the bankers.
Maybe the guy saw himself as port of the ‘Occupy’ movement, but wasn’t clear on the details.
Walnut Creek, CA Housing Prices Plunge 17% YoY; Housing Inventory Balloons 22%
http://www.movoto.com/walnut-creek-ca/market-trends/
You are HA larious. Look at the home sizes. Smaller houses sell for less money. Price/SF up 8%. Your name should be Housing Idiot.
Abusive language will not mitigate your losses.
‘You are HA larious’
What’s funny about this is the market is going over the falls in California. Demand, supply, foreclosures, loan limits. All you read about is the median, the median! But that is following the same old path as before. JM should have sold, but it’s too late now. We’ll see who the idiot is soon enough.
“What’s funny about this is the market is going over the falls in California.”
I suspect that helps explain the increasingly vitriolic ad hominem attacks we are seeing by the day.
If I were looking down the barrel at JingleFrauds losses I’d be lashing out and angry too.
La Mesa, CA Housing Prices Crumble 9% YoY; Housing Inventory Explodes 43%
http://www.movoto.com/la-mesa-ca/market-trends/
Broken record. Look at the home sizes. Smaller houses sell for less money. Price/SF up 8%. Your name should be Housing Idiot.
You should have sold that stinky shack while you had a chance.
Smaller houses sell for more money per square foot, all else being equal.
Santa Rosa, CA Housing Prices Tank 15% YoY As Excess Housing Inventory Grows
http://www.movoto.com/santa-rosa-ca/market-trends/
Another Broken record. Look at the home sizes. Smaller houses sell for less money. Price/SF up 7%. Your name should be Housing Idiot.
And now you can’t discharge that depreciating dump.
San Francisco Bay Area Housing Demand Craters 12% YoY; Plunges To 5-Year Low
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-San-Francisco-Metro-home-value/r_395057/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D5%26rt%3D6%26r%3D395057%26el%3D0
Sure. HA, Ha, ha, haaaaa. That is why Zillow says the home values are up 16% last year. Shirley….you’re joking….
The two facts are not contradictory. Falling demand is a precursor of falling prices. The post does not claim that prices have already fallen just that demand is falling.
Month over month change:
San Francisco $902,540 $964,670 -6.4%
http://www.car.org/marketdata/data/countysalesactivity/
So, my data is bad because it’s from servicers and Property Radar, and you try to make a point by picking a single data point from a CAR website?
Seriously?
How about the rest of the CAR data?
Statewide, median prices up 14.9% on the year for SFH overall, and also up year on year in pretty much all market areas, with 3 exceptions (Contra Costa, Butte, and Del Norte).
Please don’t tell me that the entire page is garbage except the M-o-M data for SF.
‘median prices up 14.9% on the year’
Besides the flawed statistic of medians and housing mix, you don’t see anything wrong with that? Did incomes increase that amount?
Here’s what’s happening in California, and I say this having watched the exact same thing play out just a few years ago. The median is shooting up because more expensive houses are selling and the low end is not. Entry level buyers no longer qualify or aren’t interested. Speculators however, continue to gamble. They will waste their previous gains, and/or hold onto houses hoping trees grow to the sky.
Median prices will not show a decline until after the market has turned downward. The median is a lagging indicator. If you are following the YOY number, it will be a more than a year before the median shows this decline.
When it dawns on speculators that prices are headed down they will try to get out. We are in some part of that stage now. That’s why inventory is increasing while sales are dropping. The smarter speculator would have sold last year. But speculators are greedy, and think they can time the sale better than anyone.
It’s amusing that we now read reports like “1,000 metro above or near all time highs.” There have been indications of a bubble formation for almost 2 years, and only now, near the blow-off point does it occur to the MSM that trouble might be brewing. Another classic sign of a mania.
There’s really only one question here; is this a bubble? If it is, we already know what’s going to happen later.
The median is shooting up because in large part there are fewer low-end homes available to be sold (distress has largely dried up–which to my understanding was disproportionately lower priced homes). See the data that I post below from Property Radar that shows how fewer and fewer homes are of the distressed variety.
The homes we are selling in So Cal are mainly lower end (for CA) in the $250k-$400k range. They are selling pretty quickly actually (the first batch were all in contract within 2-3 weeks).
From my direct experience, the problem isn’t demand for these lower priced homes, the problem is that there is no supply of these lower priced homes.
And YES, there is a problem with home prices going up 15% annually.
A big problem. The f’ing legislators in Sacramento don’t get it. CEQA is in need of reform.
People can’t afford to live here, businesses can’t find employees, and go elsewhere.
Here is the crux of our disagreement. We BOTH see prices going up at unsustainable rates, and we BOTH see prices as being higher than they should be.
However, it seems like you think the current situation of high prices is analogous to 2005-2007. I think the current situation high home prices is driven by different dynamics at the moment (”last concert ticket” issues).
In my opinion, the bubble event of 2005-2007 was driven pretty much entirely by loose credit. The Casey Serin’s of the world were buying 10 homes with debt and no balance sheet, we were building too many homes, Option ARMs became an affordability loan for high end homes, etc. This was in the market environment of lots of development occurring, and despite lots of additional supply being built, prices kept going higher and higher and higher.
Now however, the dynamics are different. Credit standards have not loosened to nearly the same level. Yes, rates are low, but you can’t get a loan with just a pulse. At the same time, development is limited (at least in CA), and vacancy rates are low (pushing people to double-up/live at home, etc.).
IMHO, prices in CA are clearly above the trend line currently, but will fall in CA in response to significantly more development and/or an economic shock (the next recession).
Will prices fall from current levels in CA, where it will be a better time to buy than now? Yes.
When will that be? I don’t know, but absent lots of additional development, or an economic shock, I don’t see what pushes prices down.
Fraudster….
Who cares what median prices are doing when housing demand is collapsing in California?
Remember…… There are still 4.4 MILLION excess empty and defaulted houses in California that still have to be deposed.
I can’t speak to CA, but in my zip code, almost all the “under contract” houses are on the low end. Brandon Boise is seeing the same in Idaho.
RW:
The only difference is that this the dead-cat bounce phase, rather than the peak of the bubble.
Tap dance donkey tap dance.
Uncle Fed, the dead cat bounce was in 2010 (prompted by the homebuyer tax credit). We are in the next cycle at this point (almost 7-8 years from the prior peak).
Collapsing housing demand to 20 year lows and 25 MILLION excess empty houses translates into major losses for you.
Embrace them.
The homemoaner tax debacle wasn’t a dead-cat bounce. It was a predictable reaction to government intervention. The infestor feeding frenzy was the classic dead-cat bounce. Too many bottom feeders losing their money all at once.
There is a lot more nuance to the market that is being ignored when you look at one number (home sales) as an indicator of “demand”.
How many homes are available for sale?
What has been happening from with distress inventory?
Remember, a BIG part of the market for the past few years has been homes getting bought and sold out of distressed situations.
There is some interesting data that Property Radar shows, which is the number of distressed sales vs. non-distressed over time. What is shows is that the reduction in sales from March-2013 to March 2014 is due entirely to a reduction in distressed sales (which are short sales combined with REO sales).
While they don’t do the math for you, if you measure the length of each color bar, the same story was in place for the Jan to Jan and Feb to Feb comparisons.
https://www.propertyradar.com/reports/real-property-report-california-march-2014
I don’t read much into the commentary here, but look mainly at the graphs.
See the very first chart, they show monthly distressed and non-distressed sales in the first two charts.
Overall, sales are DOWN 13.3% year on year.
This is comprised of non-distressed sales being UP 6.4% year on year, and distressed sales being DOWN 48.5% year on year.
The second chart shows only the March data from each year. You can see that there is much less distress being sold, and the blue bars (non-distressed sales) are growing year over year.
If you don’t like the data source, fine. Ignore it.
There is a lot more than one number to consider when painting the picture of a housing market.
BTW, my suspicion is that total March 2015 will be above total March 2014 in total number of sales. There isn’t much farther down for distressed to fall, so this increase will be because of non-distressed sales increases.
‘There are three signs there are still some old, rotten and fermented foreclosures festering in the California foreclosure pipeline that eventually will be completing the foreclosure process and hitting the market — in 2014 if the market is lucky.’
‘RealtyTrac predicted this rebound about six months ago after foreclosure starts dropped precipitously in the beginning of January 2013, when a new law called the Homeowner Bill of Rights took effect.’
(Here at the HBB, we knew this the day it was passed).
‘The average default amount on the first quarter batch of foreclosure starts is the highest average default amount RealtyTrac has documented in a single quarter since it began tracking this metric in the first quarter of 2011.’
‘The default amount is the amount a homeowner is behind on payments when the mortgage servicer files a public notice starting the foreclosure process. The average default amount on California foreclosure starts in the first quarter of 2014 was $56,415, up 53 percent from the average default amount of $36,839 in the first quarter of 2013. Assuming a monthly mortgage payment of roughly $3,000 — which is likely on the high side — that average default amount represents homeowners who have been missing their mortgage payments an average of 18 months before the bank starts the foreclosure process. On top of that, the average time to complete a foreclosure once it starts in California is now at 429 days.’
‘That leaves the California foreclosure process at an average of 993 days — more than two and a half years — from the first missed mortgage payment to bank repossession. But the process to completely resolve that distressed property situation takes even longer because it’s taking longer for banks to sell foreclosed properties even after the foreclosure process is complete.’
‘Bank-owned properties sold in the first quarter of 2014 took an average of 220 days to sell from the time they completed the foreclosure process. That’s actually down from 247 days in the fourth quarter of 2013, but it’s up 28 percent from an average of 172 days in the first quarter of 2013.’
‘That now puts the entire distressed property disposition process at an average of 1,213 days from delinquency to REO sale — well over three years.’
‘I recently encountered one of these well-aged foreclosures in my neighborhood. I knew it was in foreclosure several years ago, but I assumed the situation had been resolved because the homeowner continued to occupy the home.’
‘But then one day I was walking by and noticed furniture strewn about the lawn and several signs posted in the front window. One of those signs announced the property owner had been evicted by the Orange County Sheriff. Another announced the property was not yet listed for sale, but provided the name and phone number of a real estate agent who will be listing the property for sale eventually.’
‘I looked the property up on RealtyTrac and discovered it had started the foreclosure process in September 2010, but did not complete the foreclosure process and become bank-owned until January 2013. Then it took more than a year before the bank evicted the homeowner, and it will likely be at least another couple months before the property is listed for sale.’
‘For the last few years it showed no visible signs of being in distress, but now it certainly is, and the longer it sits vacant the more it could negatively impact the values of surrounding homes in the neighborhood — including mine.’
These lenders have people thinking there is a shortage, lining up to outbid each other for houses they are sitting on in the millions. And yet we see here that posters will argue until they are blue in the face defending these bastards.
Nice article. Thanks.
Where do you get the number from this statement:
“These lenders have people thinking there is a shortage, lining up to outbid each other for houses they are sitting on in the millions.”
Sitting on in the millions? I’m assuming you mean nationally, and not in CA.
You know I discount point number 1, as discussed yesterday. Q2 will be down year on year and we’ll all be reading about how this “critical” measure has reversed itself.
The average defaulted amount is interesting…consistent with the cheapest distressed homes already being dealt with. The fist time I’ve seen this data.
The third point…bank owned homes lingering…this doesn’t seem like a length of time that is changing…not sure what this piece of data tells us.
Here is one critically important question that is not answered by the article:
How many homes are in default that still need to be pushed through the screwed up foreclosure process?
How does the current number compare to a year ago?
The year before that?
If you get THAT data, you can see whether the overall problem is being dealt with, or if indeed, the distress is simply fermenting.
And THIS is why the state-by-state data is so important from LPS. They show that there are lots of states that have NOT been dealing with their distress…but CA is NOT one of those. If RealtyTrac did a timeline for THOSE states, they would look incredibly ugly.
LPS is fully aware of the 4.4 million excess empty and defaulted houses in California.
How come you’re not?
And that’s because they have access to your “source”. What was that data source again?
“old’
“rotten”
“fermented”
“festering”
“well-aged”
“vacant”
Does anyone really think that end-user families are lining up to overbid (or underbid) on houses like this? No, families can’t afford these houses, even at a huge discount. They will be bought non-arms length by investors, probably at a $100K-$150K discount, fixed up, and resold at market price.
About half of these REO are occupied. They’re not necessarily in THAT bad shape (ie. destroyed on the way out). I was shocked to see so many REO rented back to the occupants…I wonder if it was done for strategy, or litigation avoidance (sign this release regarding the foreclosure, and we’ll rent back to you for a year).
In any event, I think you overstate the properties being that bad…some are, sure, but a lot them need a very light rehab (paint/carpet) before going back on the market.
Inventory has doubled in Phoenix over the last twelve months. I doubt that other American cities will go unscathed. If the infestors were responsible for the run-up in San Francisco (and they were), then there will be another leg down. And that goes double for places with a lot of Asian infestors (such as San Francisco).
And you have access too. It just doesn’t align with your narrative.
Enjoy your losses.
Seriously? Can you give me the friggin’ source? Can you even tell me the name of the source?
It’s laughable. When I’ve scanned through your 4.4MM comments going back in time, you’ve been avoiding sharing your source for at least a year…what’s the secret? Why won’t you provide the raw data?
Why? The source has been cited over and over again. It just doesn’t align with your wallet and corrupt mind.
RW, I know he posted a source once, but I forgot enough that I can’t find it again. However, this source’s criteria for a “distressed” house it this: if you can’t sell the house, cover the closing costs, AND put 20% down to buy and equivalent house, (with closing costs, I think), then you are distressed. HA counts all these distressed houses and empty and abandoned. By this reasoning, any house bought or sold in the past 15 years is empty and abandoned, including my house.
No Mz. Craterton…. Empty. M. T.
It’s nuanced ….classic.
Poway, CA Housing Prices Plunge 14% As Buyers Disappear
http://www.movoto.com/poway-ca/market-trends/
Temecula, CA Housing Prices Plunge 10% As Housing Inventory Explodes 148%
http://www.movoto.com/temecula-ca/market-trends/
Santa Monica, CA Housing Prices Crater 14% YoY; Inventory Balloons 64%
http://www.movoto.com/santa-monica-ca/market-trends/
Have you noticed a prolonged weakness in the U.S. housing market?
U.S. new home sales hint at prolonged housing weakness
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:26pm EDT
A new home is being built next to a home with a for sale sign on a street in Vienna, on the morning the National Association of Realtors issues its Pending Home Sales for February report, in Virginia March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing
(Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. single-family homes tumbled to their lowest level in eight months in March, dashing hopes for a quick turnaround for a sector that fell into a soft patch last summer.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales dropped 14.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units. It was the second consecutive monthly decline and the biggest since July, which was also the last time sales were so slow.
Sales were down 13.3 percent from a year ago, marking the largest year-on-year decline since April 2011.
Economists, who had expected sales to increase, said the drop suggested some fundamental weakness in the market, although unusually cold weather had also dampened activity.
“The weak tone of this report is a bitter pill for those, including ourselves, who have been looking for signs of a spring thaw in the housing recovery,” said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York.
U.S. housing stocks took a beating on the dour report, with the S&P 500 Homebuilding Index ending down about 1.1 percent. An index of smaller builders closed about 4.0 percent lower.
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers fell 1.8 percent and DR Horton, the largest U.S. homebuilder, dropped 2.4 percent. The broad U.S. stock market ended marginally lower after six sessions of gains.
The housing market was slammed by the unusually cold and snowy winter, but higher mortgage rates, a run-up in prices and a shortage of properties that limited options for buyers have also cut into activity.
New home sales last month dived in the Midwest and the South, where unusually cold weather lingered early in the month. They also fell in the West. While sales in the Northeast rose, they failed to recoup even half of the prior month’s 33.3-percent plunge.
“The rise in interest rates and prices of new homes is leaving some potential buyers with sticker shock,” said Bill Banfield, vice president at mortgage lender Quicken Loans in Detroit.
…
Spring thaw in the housing recovery.
A thaw in the recovery? Wait, what? Thaw, recovery?
I thawed I thaw a putty tat.
Was it Lola in a tigerprint mini-skirt?
He is bad, he is nation-wide he be sportin a short skirt and wearing spike heels.
Lola has not noticed a prolonged weakness, but ever since Joey kicked him to the curb he has noticed a weakened prolongedness.
Yes I have. Housing demand is near 20 year lows because prices are grossly inflated 300%.
Mortgage Purchase Applications Fall To 19 Year Lows
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2014/02/26/mortgage-applications-fall-to-19-year.html
Of course as demand continues to fall, the inventory continues to grow.
I can’t stand it. Hand me a barf bag.
http://tbo.com/south-tampa/hillsborough-realtors-celebrate-return-of-sellers-market-20140422/
“Flo Vachon, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty SouthShore, said she is telling her buyers to make a “good, clean, uncomplicated offer” the first time because they may not get a second chance.
“I feel that it is starting to lean toward being a seller’s market,” she said. “Buyers are often in multiple offer situations and lose out on offers because they don’t offer a high enough price or good enough terms. Sometimes they lose out on one or two good listings before they make an offer that is accepted.”
She said buyers with mortgages could be at a disadvantage, especially if they don’t have a preapproval letter to present with the offer.”
Vachon attributes the unusually successful seller’s market to housing recovery in other parts of the country. She said more people are able to quickly sell their homes elsewhere so they can purchase in Florida. Weather is also a contributing factor, as always.
“We’re also getting calls now from northern buyers who said that this winter has beaten them down and they don’t want to go through another winter like this. They are selling out and moving to Florida,” Vachon said.
Vachon said she has seen no signs of a slow down in April with a steady stream of buyers coming in to look at homes in the area.
“Sellers are so encouraged with the increasing prices and increased sales that they are selling properties that they have held on to and rented during the depressed market,” she said. “We have more homes coming on the market every day. We are loving this market.”
Well, there you have it. They’re getting all giddy again in this neck of the woods. For those not familiar, Hillsborough County contains Tampa.
“getting calls now from northern buyers”
The Yankees are coming! The Yankees are coming!
Yeah, thanks a pantload. It’s depressing to read City Data and see all the Nawthern “We’re moving to Florida!” threads. Even worse is the tone of some of the posters, like they’re so awesome they should be met with a marching band as soon as they cross the state line.
The irony is most of those Yankees would say the believe in AGW. According to that very theory most of Florida should soon be literally underwater. So they go down there and buy a house? People are smart.
http://geology.com/sea-level-rise/florida.shtml
he irony is most of those Yankees would say the believe in AGW. According to that very theory most of Florida should soon be literally underwater. So they go down there and buy a house? People are smart.
If it happens, they’ll be dead by that time.
If it happens it will be a slow process and your property will depreciate due to the event being priced in, additionally your flood insurance and hurricane insurance will be rising every year, if you believe in the AGW models and you are buying property in FL, you are not being very smart.
And “South Shore” is the rebranded name for your neck of the woods. What used to be tomato fields is now subdivisions of homes so nondescript and charmless that it feels like the residential version of fast food.
Tomato fields and orange groves, most of which are gone now, replaced by those soulless subdivisions.
You want to see soulless, check out the new Amazon warehouse facility going up in Ruskin. Even creepier, the fairly recent Lennard High School nearby, designed to mimic Soviet bloc type construction. With the similarities between the construction of the high school and the Amazon facility, it’s like sending a clear message that Lennard is a feeder school for Amazon. Weird.
Once upon a time, during the spring and even a little bit during the fall, the air was full of the smell of orange blossoms. Which is lovely in small to moderate doses, not so much when it gets thick and pungent. However, it’s sad that for the last three or four years, not even a whiff.
Remember back in 2005-2006, HBB posted articles about orchard owners selling out their land for the developers? They said they were in it for the money and Americans can get their orange juice from Brazil.
Higher prices ‘choke’ housing
Diana Olick | @diana_olick
Tuesday, 22 Apr 2014 | 11:53 AM ET
CNBC.com
It may seem counterintuitive, but fast-rising home values are the biggest negative in today’s housing recovery. After an epic plunge in prices following the financial crisis, the thought was that rising home prices were a sign that all would be well again soon. Now, two new reports point to weakened affordability as the primary barrier to more robust home sales.
Sales of existing homes across the nation barely moved from February to March, with analysts still blaming rough winter weather for the 7.5 percent drop in the numbers from a year ago. A closer look regionally, however, offers a more telling story.
Home sales rose over 9 percent month to month in the Northeast and 4 percent in the Midwest, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is not a bounce from a warmer March because these numbers represent closings of sales contracts signed in January and February, when the weather was at its worst in those regions.
Sales of homes dropped in the South and West, where home prices have jumped higher and faster.
…
Smart Denver buyers should pay $250 a square foot now so they don’t have to pay $400 a square foot next year.
They aren’t making anymore Washington Park and other places where the young pretty things want to live.
“…places where the young pretty things want to live.”
+1 Good to see you have your priorities in order.
see also colorado article pending to post below
+1 Good to see you have your priorities in order.
I didn’t say I want to live there.
I didn’t say I want to live there.
That is only because you are worried that your wife might be monitoring the blog.
My Sis, the one who lives near the Governor’s Mansion, claimed on our call last night that she could list her home at a lofty price and expect multiple offers within a matter of days.
My Sis, the one who lives near the Governor’s Mansion, claimed on our call last night that she could list her home at a lofty price and expect multiple offers within a matter of days.
Does she rock on the balls of her feet while walking?
But prices can’t go back down, they’ll just stay on a flat line according to all the realtor shills here. Even though we are seeing price reductions already, and the FHA limits have dropped! and the investors are gone. Mark well the lesson in tortured logic from those who aren’t realtors also. The human mind’s capacity for rationalization is endless.
And on that point about investors and the thought that they’ll come right back if prices start to drop again, 1) the big guys’ supposed model of buying to rent out has been shown to be a loser; 2) the flippers are going to take an ass pounding; and 3) QE is ending.
If it drops back to the prices that originally attracted investors I’m happy anyway. Will it be a permanently low plateau?
“3) QE is ending.”
That was the big factor in driving prices up. Unless interest rates remain at generational lows forever from here on out, you can expect the reversal of QE to have the opposite effect.
Why would anyone find that counterintuitive? Has the nature of intuition changed? Figuratively speaking, have we outsourced our intuition to economists?
Speaking of which, I see that Bernanke came out with a big pity party at a speech in Canada this week where he received yet another $250,000. Americans still think the Fed favored Wall Street when it bailed out the financial sector! You don’t say! I guess our intuition was wrong on that one. Maybe our discontent would have been stillborn, had only the Fed picked a better public relations firm.
http://tinyurl.com/l6llmlz
11:48 am ET
Apr 23, 2014
Why the Housing Market Has Slowed
By Nick Timiraos
Economists have been disappointed by a string of weaker-than-expected home-sales reports. Sales of existing homes dropped in March, including in parts of the country that weren’t hit by cold weather this winter. Sales of new homes, reported Wednesday, were down 13.3% from a year earlier to their lowest level since last July . Is the housing recovery faltering, and if so, why?
First, the good news: The share of homes selling out of foreclosure continues to decline, according to a monthly survey of real-estate agents by the National Association of Realtors.
Foreclosures have usually sold at a discount to traditional homes because lenders are highly motivated to cut the price and sell fast. These homes also aren’t as well maintained. That means a foreclosed-property sale can pull down the “comps” used to appraise the value of other homes selling in a neighborhood.
Sales of previously owned homes have fallen in seven of the last eight months. They were down 7.5% from a year earlier in March, the fifth straight month in which sales have fallen below the year-earlier level.
…
Housing has decoupled from the economy. It’s all about tweeties and selfies now.
To me, the current boom in technology stocks is very reminiscent of the late 1990s, with smart phone apps substituting for the internet. We’ve also taken what’s left of our privacy and put a great big dollar sign on it.
Heard on the Street
Housing Market’s Foiled Spring
By Justin Lahart
Updated April 23, 2014 7:11 p.m. ET
It is getting harder to maintain a belief that the recent softness in the housing market is mostly due to the tough winter. But the chill on home sales may not be as bad as it seems.
Wednesday brought another batch of bad news on housing’s health: The Commerce Department reported seasonally adjusted new-home sales hit an annual rate of 384,000 in March, down from 443,000 a year earlier and well below economists’ median estimate of 450,000. Worse, the weakness was broadly based, with sales in the South and West—where weather doesn’t provide much of an excuse—falling.
Also Wednesday, Meritage Homes MTH +0.57% reported first-quarter results that fell short of estimates. That is significant because unlike NVR, NVR +2.47% which badly missed estimates on Monday, Meritage mainly builds homes in areas including Texas and Arizona. Coupled with a disappointing report on sales of previously owned homes in March from the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday, and reports of weak buyer traffic, it looks like the spring selling season is off to a slow start.
Several related factors are weighing on housing. Among them, homes have gotten more expensive: CoreLogic’s latest reading showed prices in February 12% above their year-earlier level. Qualifying for a loan remains difficult for many would-be buyers. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of mortgage applications for home purchases is stuck in the rut it has been in since 2010. Finally, weak income growth is making it hard for many people to afford a first home.
For builders, the weakness is particularly troubling. As Pantheon Macroeconomics economist Ian Shepherdson points out, they are typically more motivated sellers than private homeowners. So they cannot easily raise prices, and may even have to trim them, despite rising costs for land, materials and construction labor. Not the stuff of profit-margin expansion.
Yet there are some quirks that suggest housing’s weakness may have been overstated. First, housing data is notoriously volatile—particularly in the first quarter when, regardless of the weather, not many homes get sold. Second, high home prices are mostly problems in the South and West, home to the 16 large housing markets real-estate firm Trulia rates as overvalued. The more reasonably valued Midwest and Northeast, which were more affected by the weather, could be due for a sharp snapback.
…
Apr 23, 2014 7:14 PM EDT“Realtor Charged With Child Molestation”
http://www.newson6.com/story/25325012/grove-realtor-charged-with-child-molestation
There’s that National Association of Realtors family values for ya.
After he gets acquitted, he should run for Congress.
Keep the other dude supplied with ammo. Enjoy the marksmanship.
My favorite bumper sticker:
“I owe, I owe, so its off to work I go”.
The bumper sticker I hate the most:
“Don’t laugh, it’s paid for.”
Retirement party in my office this week. This dude is 70 years old and just paid off his mortgage last month. Should I give him a thank you card from you, Mr. Banker, for all his years of toil?
And now he’s gonna dump it to head for an assisted living community.
Decades of toil to service a huge amount of debt when he could have had a massive bank account by renting.
Happiness, at his age, is a reverse mortgage.
The interest payments to you must continue.
But don’t worry, there are several other people here above age 65 that still have mortgages, two that I know of are fond patrons of the “gaming” industry (the obese one claims she has a “system” at playing the slot machines) who will not be paying off mortgages or retiring anytime soon.
“(the obese one claims she has a ’system’ at playing the slot machines)”
Probability Theory can be fun and soooooo very unprofitable for those who do not understand it.
Regarding slot machines, the best system to use is to own one.
“… who will not be paying off mortgages or retiring anytime soon.”
My bread and butter. Prosperity means dumb ‘em down and keep ‘em dumbed down.
I just hit the buffets at the casinos but there are ways to improve one’s odds if you play the one-armed bandits. The machines at the front of casino usually have better odds since they want people coming into a casino to see people winning. Similarly, the machines next to the buffets also are often set to pay off more often so people will see people winning and stop eating and go to the machines. Of course, many people watch other people play and lose and when they leave go that machine since they are set to let people win just often enough to continue to play. Having said all that, I will never play any game that is entirely luck, and I tell people look at the facilities do you think that these could have been built if the odds are not heavily set for casino. It is virtual certainly if you stay at the machine long enough, you will lose all your money.
virtually certain or a virtual certainty but not what I said.
Some years ago I finally allowed relatives to take me to the slots at the local track. Bottom line: we played slots for upwards of three hours and maybe lost $20 each, net. ISTM that the machines are set to take money, yes, but not that much. $20 is what, a couple of movies? A few beers? I admit I didn’t really like it, but if someone uses slots for entertainment and to meet with friends, there are worse things out there. IMO the real problems arise with the addictions and the table games.
I spent a night in a s__thole town in Nevada recently and was extremely disconcerted by the hotel casino. The “town” was on the border with another state and didn’t seem to have anyone actually living there. I had to walk through the hotel casino to get to the elevator. I saw glassy-eyed older people, some disabled, sitting transfixed in front of slot machines. Of course, there were no windows and it was chilly. It was like a hypnosis. Is that what old age holds for some of us?
You sat there for three hours and you left twenty dollars in the slot machine. At this rate the revenue the slot machine will generate for the owner is six-dollars-and-sixty-six cent per hour.
Note: The owner of the slot machine doesn’t have to be present for this to happen, only you and people like you have to be present for this to happen. The owner can be anywhere, maybe out playing golf somewhere.
I like it.
“Is that what old age holds for some of us?”
Not for you, charmer. A little birdie tells me you’ll be sitting pretty in your mountain hacienda outside of Bogota, laughing at the retirees rotting away in the states.
Me, I hope to see Cartagena one day.
That is a waste of $20 AND three hours. I would rather wander aimlessly through the streets.
I rather spend the money on the seafood buffet and eat for three hours.
I rather spend the money on the seafood buffet and eat for three hours.
And don’t fill up on any of that salad, rice or pasta salad or even the cheapo desserts. Just go for the high cost seafood, crab, shrimp, lobster if they have it. Otherwise the house wins.
Goon, did his nabe slide into being a ghetto all during his years of staying in same house? That is normal.
I don’t know where this week’s retiree lives but the “woman of size” I mentioned in this thread was (is?) definitely surrounded by underwater shacks in her Aurora neighborhood. She had some flooding last year and was afraid to leave her basement windows open during the day to air it out because of burglaries.
Aurora is the Inland Empire of metro Denver.
What is your position on the sticker “gas, grass or ass, nobody rides for free.”
If only Lola had seen it years ago, and not gotten on the back of that motorcycle, things would be different today.
What is your position on the sticker “gas, grass or ass, nobody rides for free.”
I think Colorado is about to make that the official state motto. New Hampshire can keep its “live free or die”, that motto is a better reflection of its citizens views. Had Lola not gotten on the back of the motorcycle, he would not have become “good friends” with Obama so I doubt he would change a thing. After all he can honestly say “been there done that when” we complain about what Obama is doing, now, to taxpayers.
For how much longer with the twin U.S.-Chinese housing bubbles continue in their symbiotic hyperinflated state before the final collapse?
Read This, Spike That
A Dim View of U.S. Houses, China Real Estate
Americans have a distorted view of their homes. And “China’s Warren Buffett” is on a selling spree.
By John Kimelman
April 22, 2014
Though this column is normally devoted to articles about stocks and bonds, there is an asset class that many still believe is a bona fide solid investment – a home.
As the Washington Post tells us, Americans, in a recent Gallup poll, view real estate as the best long-term investment.
But the Post’s Catherine Rampell makes the case that Americans have allowed their love of hearth and home to cloud their judgment. “Over the past century, housing prices have grown at a compound annual rate of just 0.3 percent once one adjusts for inflation,” she writes. “Over that period, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has had comparable annual returns of about 6.5%.”
A House Is Not a Great Investment
So why is it that Americans still think it’s financially smart to dump most of their savings into a single, large, highly illiquid asset?
“Perhaps Americans just want to invest in something tangible. Real estate is, after all, real: bricks, mortar, wood, tile,” she writes. “Other kinds of assets seem more abstract, almost imaginary, by comparison. You just have to trust your financial adviser, bank or never-ending, entire-rainforest-killing Vanguard mailings that your other investments actually exist.”
Rampell concludes: “As senators mark up legislation next week that would wind down [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,] expect great hue and cry about whether an overhaul of the mortgage system would make homeownership less affordable. But given the many other subsidies that exist, and Americans’ persistent misperceptions about the financial benefits of buying a house, maybe we can afford to make homeownership slightly less affordable.”
The Post piece is a refreshing dose of common sense. I would argue that it doesn’t even tell the full story of just how poor an investment a house can be, especially after one factors in the renovation costs that people pour into homes – costs that are rarely full passed on to the next buyer.
No one spends money to renovate their stock and bond portfolio. An investment is supposed to pay you periodically, in the form of income, not bleed you periodically.
I’m not suggesting that people should rent for the rest of their lives. There are many psychological advantages to homeownership. Just don’t confuse a home for a bona fide investment.
Investors, of course, can make money off of commercial real estate, which, unlike your house, can pay you a cash dividend.
But a Forbes article is concerned about Chinese commercial real estate right now since a man it regards as “China’s Warren Buffett” is selling, not buying, right now.
Forbes
“China’s Warren Buffett” Is Selling Chinese Real Estate
“The disposal of a landmark project in the center of Beijing—two office buildings, two blocks of serviced apartments, and a mall—confirmed that Li Ka-shing and son Richard have turned bearish on Chinese real estate,” writes Forbes. “Li, reputed to be the richest man in Asia, and his family have been on a selling spree in Mainland China since last August.”
…
dump most of their savings
Americans aren’t all stock investors with hundreds of thousands of dollars lying around gathering dust, deciding what to “invest” in. In general, Americans don’t HAVE any savings. The house is their savings. And they will need it when they retire.
I’m not suggesting that people should rent for the rest of their lives.
So you’re suggesting that we buy “eventually.” Ok, when? After 20 years of paying rent which increases faster than our salaries, rising prices sap our savings, while house prices rise with inflation just in time for our income to fall to almost nothing? Or are we supposed to trust Barron’s to invest that little down payment so we can buy our dream home when we turn 59 1/2?
You’re begging for vindication again.
Now are you going to do the simple math and make a relative comparison of the price you paid against construction cost?
or?
Are you going to beg and tapdance?
“The house is their savings.”
Yes! And the higher the cost of the house the greater is the savings! The more house you commit to the greater the reward.
Visit your lender today and make it happen.
“And the higher the cost of the house the greater is the savings!”
Also, don’t forget that the more money you borrow, the higher the interest payment you make to the bank. And everyone knows that a larger interest payment means they get to claim a bigger mortgage interest tax deduction.
The way to riches is to leverage other people’s money!
It works for me and it can work for you too!
That’s all well and good, Mr. Banker, until I hang a sign on the door that says “Don’t laugh, it’s paid for.”
Until then you will not only get to pay for your house you will also get to pay for mine.
“Americans aren’t all stock investors with hundreds of thousands of dollars lying around gathering dust…”
The right comparison is between severely straining your finances to pay the steep price of home ownership, or paying a much lower amount in rent and investing the proceeds in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate investment trusts, hard assets in small denominations, etc etc etc.
In short, buying a home is one of the worst diversification moves a household can make, and two thirds of Americans are clueless about this plain and obvious corollary of a basic tenet of modern finance.
Are you saving money by living in your own home rather than renting?
By Catherine Rampell
April 22 at 6:24 pm
Home price index and construction costs are adjusted for inflation. Source: Robert J. Shiller.
My column Tuesday argued that Americans overstate how good of a financial investment homeownership is, relative to lots of other places they could invest their money. Once you adjust for inflation, home prices on average have not actually grown very much over the last few decades or even the last century, whereas the S&P 500 has grown a ton.
I received a lot of questions from readers, including many pointing out that an obvious benefit of owning a house — mentioned in the column, but not explicitly accounted for in my annual return calculations — is that you get to live in the house you buy! Don’t you save a lot by not having to pay rent somewhere else?
Maybe in some places, but probably not on average when you think about the opportunity costs of tying up all that capital in a single house. That is, if you rented, you could use the money you would have spent on purchasing a home to invest in another asset that earned a higher return.
The exact numbers will depend on what assumptions you make and what market you’re in, but here’s a simplified, back-of-the-envelope example using nominal dollars (that is, not adjusting for inflation).
Let’s imagine you bought the country’s median-priced house in 1982 for $69,000. I, on the other hand, rented a home for $400 (that’s actually much higher than what the Labor Department estimates the monthly rental value of an owned home was around that time, but I’m trying to be conservative about how expensive it is to rent vs. buy). I also invested $69,000 in the S&P 500.
To keep the example simple, let’s also assume you paid cash for the house –interest rates were about 16% in 1982, after all — and I am paying my rent out of my stock market account each year. Thirty years later, given national housing price changes, you’d be left with a house worth about $213,000, which is a little bit less than today’s national median new home sales price. (Your house is 30 years old after all, and today’s homes are bigger.) On the other hand, looking at how much rents have risen over the same period nationwide and how much the S&P 500 has grown, I’d have about $719,000 in my Vanguard account. And we both had somewhere to live.
This calculation probably understates the financial returns to renting, since it ignores some of the other expenses of homeownership. If you hadn’t done any maintenance or paid taxes on your house for the last 30 years, for example, you’d probably be homeless. If each year you paid 1% in property taxes, and invested 1% in maintenance of the house, you could have spent more than $90,000 (not adjusted for inflation — so even more than that in today’s dollars!) protecting your “investment.”
…
So, buying with cash leaves you about 10 times the price of the house less well off after 30 years. What if you buy the house not actually having any money of your own?
The right comparison is between severely straining your finances to pay the steep price of home ownership, or paying a much lower amount in rent and investing the proceeds in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate investment trusts, hard assets in small denominations, etc etc etc.
This is true. But for the average person the house plan works with human nature and the saving plan works against it. They can scrape by enough to make the house payment but will not make the same sacrifice to save the same amount for the future. Which is too bad. Because they’d be much better off.
It is like putting a chocolate cake on your credit card.
” After 20 years of paying rent which increases faster than our salaries…”
Until they don’t. The DC area had a rental boom around 2010. Rent increases have been in steady decline since then, 3 % in 2013 and only 2% on average in 2014. The trajectory is clear.
Locking in lifelong losses on a mortgaged house at north of 200% of replacement cost to avoid paying half as much in rent looks silly in the rear view mirror. You can’t retire or lose your job until you have that debt paid off in 2040, so do what ever it takes to keep pulling that wagon.
I think the idea is to buy things when they are underpriced. This typically happens shortly after a state of overpricedness.
You had to be the first ever boomer to profit from real estate and sell when the tail end boomers start buying.
That is the secret.
Houses, stocks, gold, lots of sex without diseases, treasuries, Monet’s Warhol’s, whatever. But then if we tail end boomers can now sell to the 100 million Chinese upper middle class, we tail enders have an escape route, …finally!
“Over the past century, housing prices have grown at a compound annual rate of just 0.3 percent once one adjusts for inflation,” she writes. “Over that period, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has had comparable annual returns of about 6.5%.”
During a 30-yr career there’s only 20-yrs where stock purchases are feasible.
That’s what I want to know, Whac. In fact, I was thinking of proposing a weekend topic on this subject. I’m wondering if we’ve entered a more or less long term (I’d say permanent, but nothing’s permanent) manipulated market. Sort of like the stock market, with some drops here and there, but then onward and upward again.
I responded but it has not posted yet. However, to add to the post, gold has just moved from being down ten dollars an ounce to being up $7. It is trench warfare between fiat currency and real money. If fiat currency loses, the central banks will not be able to set interest rates below the inflation rate and all bubble will burst including the housing bubbles.
The shills are continually trying to manipulate the market, but the market eventually proves too complex. The dotcom bubble burst, the housing bubble burst and martial law was essentially declared in the banking regulation to protect the bankers. Everybody is so smart and they can engineer free money forever. Brilliant wonders of finance, like Enron, like Madoff. Yielders gotta yield. The return has to come from somewhere, cause without those 8 percent returns from here to eternity they are all broke.
We are still under that martial law. Grandma ain’t buying it.
Housing projects in China in limbo due to debt-ridden developers
Staff Reporter
2014-04-23
15:29 (GMT+8)
Residential buildings under construction in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. (Photo/CNS)
A number of residential apartment projects across China are in jeopardy as property developers face rising debts and bankruptcy, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.
Earlier this month, seventeen house owners in Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province recently threatened to jump off the top of an unfinished eight-story apartment building in protest against work stopping at the site.
The protesters took to the roof of the construction, holding placards reading “Ready to jump off building to safeguard rights.” The new building was set for completion last year but work stopped in May.
The apartment building project was developed by local firm Yingjia Real Estate, which is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy. One of the company’s other projects has already been taken over by the city government after it failed to pay construction bills.
The Yingjia case is part of a growing bankruptcy trend seen in the real estate sector in China. Over ten housing construction projects have been suspended because of funding problems since March alone. They were located in many provinces across the country, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Hainan.
…
Asia News
China’s Wuxi City Eases Some Property Rules as Home Sales Slip
Move Comes Amid Fears Drop Could Hurt Local Economic Growth
By Esther Fung
April 24, 2014 8:21 a.m. ET
SHANGHAI—The east China city of Wuxi has eased some of its property-market regulations amid sluggish home sales and fears this could hurt local economic growth.
Authorities in the east China city have loosened eligibility for gaining an urban household registration, making it easier for rural migrants to get social benefits if they buy an apartment in the city.
Since 2010, China’s policy makers have tried to keep a tight grip on the overheated property sector, imposing limits on housing prices and on purchases of multiple homes.
Requirements for mortgage and down payment also have been raised.
While those measures only had a modest effect on prices in the past, China’s real-estate market has slowed considerably since the start of the year. Home prices in more cities weakened and housing sales fell 7.7% in the first quarter of 2014 from a year earlier.
Housing sales in Wuxi slumped 25% year-over-year in terms of volume to 890,000 square meters, according to data from China Real Estate Information Corp.
In some cities, angry homeowners have demonstrated outside offices of developers that cut prices of their property projects demanding compensation.
The relaxed restriction wasn’t the first such move in Wuxi, an analyst said.
“In 2012, Wuxi relaxed the eligibility requirement from 100 square meters to 70 square meters and that led to a spike in sales of small-sized apartments, but it is hard to tell whether the latest change would lead to another sales jump,” said analysts at CRIC in a written note to clients.
In the past, Beijing has sometimes forced local authorities to rescind measures that were seen as encouraging property sales a little too much.
In 2011, Beijing compelled Foshan in southern Guangdong province to reverse an earlier decision to partially ease the city’s property purchase restrictions.
But property developers have become increasingly vocal over their expectations that local governments unveil fine-tuning measures to boost the housing market.
The central government has indicated that it would allow local governments to adopt their own market regulations rather than impose strict uniform policies.
Analysts and developers said that since late last year, lenders have been treating the sector with increasing caution amid worries about possible bad loans, which are also hurting housing sales.
…
“In some cities, angry homeowners have demonstrated outside offices of developers that cut prices of their property projects demanding compensation.”
Oh, this isn’t going to end well.
And just for something to muse over, a few weeks after I had just moved into my current apartment, I shared a seat on the bus to NYC with a woman from China who was working for the World Bank, but whose regular job was for the Chinese Fed. In other words, the elite at least in terms of education and with some connection to the powerful. I showed her the floor plan of my new place which had the size clearly marked. It is a bit less than 100 square meters (I’m sure she could to the square feet to square meter conversion in her head). It is also a one bedroom. Her first comment was to ask if my parents were going to move in with me.
She was probably implying (in her Asian way) that you made a mistake by not purchasing a house that is large enough for the inevitable parental move-in. She might not be aware that Americans don’t do it that way, despite her education and career in the world banking industry.
Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer rents out his clothing drawers as sleepers some Japanese folks.
—to some Japanese folks
“…will the twin…” (need coffee!)
For how much longer with the twin U.S.-Chinese housing bubbles continue in their symbiotic hyperinflated state before the final collapse?
How long with central banks be allowed to set interest rates below the inflation rate? If you can answer that question, you can answer the above question. Bubbles of all types are presently caused by the manipulation of the cost of money. To have a free market you need the price of goods set by market forces not government. When government sets the “price” of money is really sets the price of all other goods, so a free markets do not exist.
That truly is the ten-trillion dollar question!
“When government sets the “price” of money is really sets the price of all other goods…”
Temporary distortions yes, but at the price of instability. It works to the extent that people want to borrow and lend. The breakdown comes when defaults start cascading through the system. Hard impact is a mania spoiler.
But the price of “all other goods” is not going up. It’s only the price of certain goods, which may be purchased with certain types of loans, and mainly backed by an implicit or explicit government guarantee. The beef prices are a result of global warming, btw.
“beef prices are a result of global warming, btw.”
Not sure how you come up with that, since the warming is supposed to happen in the future. I heard it was because of a drought. Either way, we can enjoy a ribeye steak for $1 more just as well. We can afford to do this because we have avoided government guaranteed debt. I do think that the doubling of oil and grains over the past few years is because of the Fed’s easy money going into speculation.
“beef prices are a result of global warming, btw.”
Yes, if we were still in an ice age it would be much higher. But due to natural causes we started to warm up about 11,000 years ago and we are still in an interglacial period but are still 2 Celsius cooler than the normal natural warming in such a period. Unfortunately, we probably do not have much longer in this interglacial but I am hoping I do not have to worry about it.
No, global warming already started. That’s how people noticed it. Where have you been anyway? The “thirty-year drought” is a sign of the global warming that has been happening for more than thirty years. Hot and wet or hot and dry, depending on your location relative to air and water currents.
Don’t worry too much about the next glacier period, the next significant asteroid bombardment is a nearer threat. Once or twice a millennium an event fills the atmosphere with so much dust that summer and harvest do not come, maybe for a couple of years. This results in massive human die-offs, migrations, plagues and the collapse of societies. In Europe they called the aftermath “dark ages”. There are quite a few on record and they take centuries to recover from. We are actually overdue for this kind of game changer.
“thirty-year drought”
I think you left a word out there. It is “cycle”.
No, global warming already started.
Yes read above uncle Fed it started 11,000 years ago, nice of you to notice. The people pushing AGW have to show two things: first that there is warming, which was not a problem about twenty years ago but is now since we have not warmed in almost twenty years. However, the second thing they must show is that the warming was primarily caused by man thus man can really do something about it. This too is now a problem since while co2 emissions are going to the sky, there has not been any warming. Kind of dents the theory that co2 is the primary driver of gobal warming. If GW is caused primary by natural factors like sunspots then the proper remedy is adaption not restricting co2 emissions at great cost when that money can be used to build sea walls etc. These will work even if GW is caused by man.
Don’t worry too much about the next glacier period, the next significant asteroid bombardment is a nearer threat
Actually the Sun taking out the power grid is even closer. I listened to an expert on Lou Dobbs. He talked about both the Sun and a EMP event caused by a nuclear explosion and what it would do to our electric grid. I knew about both but I did not know this fact: China and Russia have already hardened their grids and would do quite fine since they prepared for EMP warfare. Here is the kicker, the electric grid could be hardened for just $2 billion dollars and most other electric related device hardened for just $20 billion dollars. With all the money we wasted on the stimulus we did not protect our electric grid. So enjoy that Las Vegas gangster museum in the dark, if the Sun acts up but make sure you have plenty of canned food since anything that needs to be refrigerated will spoil.
I consider the Rocky Mountains an adequate seawall.
Nope, droughts don’t happen in cycles. Neither does climate change. And the dark ages had nothing to do with physical geography either.
I would say more than adequate. Don’t say it too loud because Realtor’s will start using it as a selling point.
Realtors. Did not mean to make it possessive. It might be ok to say banker’s since they really do own everything.
Climate does not happen in cycles? I think you need to look at the data before you make that statement:
http://climate4you.com/
“droughts don’t happen in cycles…”
That right there is an excellent conversation stopper!
You guys need to go to college or something.
Maybe we need to be sent to the unlearn institute for the politically incorrect.
This too is now a problem since while co2 emissions are going to the sky, there has not been any warming.
Wow. You’re really good at long-term trends and math and science stuff.
Email NASA. They’re not smart like you.
He’s just thinking troll. Not being paid for a conclusion like you.
So now you guys are lumping global warming in with political correctness, huh? It’s guilt by association (and probably gay).
Message to RealTrolls;
Good luck offloading your run down stinky shacks with housing demand collapsing, prices falling with a sea of excess, empty houses. And the funniest part about it?
We’re supplying the market with brand new material at a prices far under yours.
Have fun
We’re supplying the market with brand new material at a prices far under yours.
That is what causes most cartels to fail. Price anything above its marginal costs for very long and a flood of supply will cause the price to collapse. Opec tried to keep the price of oil elevated in the late 70s when there was still plenty of cheap oil outside of Opec and failed. As the numbers showed just a few days ago we are adding north of 500,000 houses a year to the glut. However, if you take away people buying vehicles that they cannot afford but can buy due to lower credit standards and construction of houses that no one needs, we will be right back into a recession since we have not taken any real action to promote U.S. industries.
“…promote U.S. industries.”
All resources have been turned on promoting the banking “industry”. Every debtor in the country is a co-conspirator.
God’s plan.
“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be much less tomorrow for decades to come.”
You can say that again.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/23/over-40000-voters-are-registered-in-both-virginia-and-maryland-group-finds/
You know if Burlington, Vermont, we actually had people move in for elections and then leave after the elections. There were a number of leftists that seem to travel the country just voting in key elections. This is slightly different but is a good example why showing IDs is necessary for the integrity of elections.
it’s good to be the king
hamptons median price up 19 percent to $880,000
median sales price of top 10 percent of hamptons market up 54 percent to $5.65M
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-24/hamptons-home-sales-surge-as-wall-street-fuels-price-gain.html
because everybody wants to live here
‘real estate and mortgage experts in denver say houses across the state are selling in days, leaving few options for potential buyers to choose from.
for buyers who find something, experts say keep your eyes on it and make a move quickly, because if you don’t someone else will.’
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/experts-say-colorado-homes-selling-within-days-in-hot-real-estate-market04232014
And because everyone wants to retire here
Article profiles Durango, Colorado Springs, Greeley (WTF?), and Grand Junction
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retire-here-not-there-colorado-2014-04-24
Greeley is priced well below the national and state averages.
And there’s a reason why.
The Realtors in Greeley say that your comment stinks. However, so does Greeley so I guess you win.
Actually, most of the stock yards have moved a bit east of Greeley, so the “smell of money” isn’t quite an issue anymore.
Let’s just say that Greeley has other issues (like crime) which make it undesirable. Of course compared to most nabes in places like SoCal it’s not bad.
Reduced but not forgotten:
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/03/207645081/colorado-city-tries-to-cleanse-its-reputation-for-cow-odor
Hick town? Honestly the state of CO is a hick state, isn’t it?
We can’t be hicks! We have our own Comic Con!
http://denvercomiccon.com/
Then again, the Stock Show has an attendence of 600,000 vs. 60K for the local Comic Con.
Every state is a hick state. High-density cities take up a surprisingly small amount of land, and it doesn’t take many miles to get to cow. Even most of Maryland is hick.
NJ, CT, MD… the most densely populated states are still mostly empty land.
Joe, Lola untied you. That was a long stay at paddles.
Liberace!
We don’t have the biggest comic con but we do have a fur con for the Bronies:
http://rockymountainfurcon.org/
Even most of Maryland is hick.
Joe will not travel more than twenty miles from the I-95 corridor. I am not sure why since if he likes Lola he should be looking for some “Deliverance” action.
Face it….. Liberace isn’t much of an attorney, contractor or autotech but he sure can go to town on a harpsichord and flutes.
real estate and mortgage experts in denver say houses across the state are selling in days,
Not in Loveland. And from what I’m seeing, anything above 300K simply won’t sell at all. Under 200K will sell, but not in “days”. And I’m seeing very little new construction
From an article I posted recently, 16% of Aurora houses are still underwater.
From Goldseek.com:
Russia: Putin Silver One Kilo Coins Launched
Silver coins with the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin are being minted in Russia. The coins weigh one kilogram (1kg - 2.2lb) and are being launched by the Art Grani foundry to mark Crimea’s reincorporation into Russia.
The private mint that produces the coins said it is planning to present some of them to the Russian leadership. The coins are commemorative in nature and are a limited edition of 500 silver coins initially. The factory states that some of the coins may be sold, but they won’t be used as currency.
Putin’s face is on one side of the coin while the other shows a map of the Crimean Peninsula, Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reports. Factory director Vladimir Vasyuhin explains that by bringing the Crimean peninsula “back home”, Putin had “demonstrated the qualities of a wise strategist and politician”.
“Crimea’s reunification with Russia was a historic event which we decided to embody in a souvenir collection of coins,” Vasyukhin told the Itar-Tass news agency.
The peninsula that has hosted Russia’s Black Sea fleet throughout its history was part of Russia for centuries before Ukrainian-born Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev transferred it to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954.
It made little difference to which republic the peninsula belonged when all 15 were united within the Soviet Union. But after the Soviet breakup in 1991, Russia was forced to lease back its military bases from Ukraine and lost governing authority over the predominantly ethnic Russian population of 2 million.
The first issue of 25 of the commemorative coins, which are the size of a hockey puck and weigh 1 kilo each, will be given to Kremlin officials, Itar-Tass said.
Neither the foundry nor the Russian news sources that wrote about the special “Crimea 2014 Collection” said how much the coins will cost or when a broader quantity will be available to collectors and the general public.
Each coin has 120 millimeters in diameter and is 11 millimeters thick. The embossed images are 4 millimeters high. Each coin will have its own number and will be made of 925 grade silver or 92.5% purity.
Silver at less than $20/oz remains very undervalued. It remains undervalued versus stocks, bonds and indeed gold. An allocation to silver in a portfolio will help protect and grow wealth in the coming years.
‘The price softening is good news for first-home buyers in capital cities who have been locked out of the market by cashed-up investors, who are prepared to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars above reserve.’
‘In an extreme case of desperate buyers with big budgets, a plain house in an unremarkable Sydney suburb sold for $1 million above reserve late last year during the property peak.’
Check out the photo above this line:
‘More than 250 people attended the auction of a home at Eastwood in Sydney which sold for $1 million above its reserve.’
After years and years of quantitative easing, there is a phenomenal amount of free cash sloshing around the global economy. Lots of it sloshed into real estate investment over the post-2008 period. The question seems to be whether it will continue to slosh the same direction forever, or do tsunami tides of cash flows eventually reverse and go back out to sea?
When the tsunami tide goes out how many naked people will we see?
When the tsunami tide goes out how many naked people will we see?
When you’re alone, (which is most all the time I’m sure) you think about seeing me naked.
Now dim the lights and grab a beer.
“I was always on your mind, I was always on your mind”
So is it racist to notice that virtually everyone appeared to be Chinese?
You misspelled “racis”.
You’re a racis.
“the photo…”
US home debtors are pikers!
Obama’s supporters have tried to claim that the Russian stock market is being killed by Russia’s action in the Crimea. Appears to me that the elites are doing quite well in Russia. J.P. Morgan raising its ranking of Russian stock market is particularly interesting:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-23/beach-vacation-trading-shows-russia-crisis-aiding-brokers.html
Living debt free is like winning the lottery EVERYDAY!
Right on the money!
“If you paid your mortgage off, it means you probably did not manage your funds efficiently over the years,” said David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors and author of “Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?” “It’s as if you had 500,000 dollar bills stuffed in your mattress.”
What about those of us who rent and have 500,000 dollar bills stuffed in our mattress?
It’s about 499,999 more dollar bills than most of the “homeowners” I know have stuffed in theirs.
If that mattress burns, however, that stuffed money burns with it. Contact Mr Banker to discuss options for his safekeeping of your “saved money.”
Also, all your photos and important files (especially financial records) should be uploaded to the Cloud post-haste.
Be sure to include your mother’s maiden name, birthdate and your SS number along with the financial records.
Debt free and lots of cash, T-bills, Savings bonds, and some ten year notes and 10 year TIPs, and then Arizona municipal bonds - what a mix. But it’s enough to draw from for many years with out a J-O-B. Seems the mix has done moderately well, despite stock market going up, and does very well in the stock corrections I have seen.
California dreaming about a pension.
http://calwatchdog.com/2014/04/23/san-bernardino-bankruptcy-shows-pensions-crowding-out-services/
According to the Committee for Pension Fairness, four fifths of county retirees who receive pension payments of over $100,000 per year are getting a larger salary than the one they earned while actually working. The Committee says this is caused by pension spiking, the practice of including unused vacation time, sick pay and other saved benefits in the final salary figures used to determine the amount of a pension. The Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Plan was established in 1947 and gives benefit services to about 15,000 members.[3]
Efforts to overhaul California’s public pension system are getting a boost as taxpayers voice outrage over a former sheriff who asked a court for $75,000 more a year in retirement pay — on top of his current annual pension of $276,000.
The latest battle in Ventura County is being fueled by the case of former Sheriff Robert Brooks. He retired in 2011 with a salary of $227,000. Today, he collects $50,000 a year more than that, with guaranteed cost-of-living increases. But that wasn’t enough. Now he’s suing for $75,000 more, claiming it’s allowed under the law.
But voters may have the final say going forward. Ventura County voters will consider an initiative in November, similar to a possible statewide measure, that would funnel all new employees into a 401k savings plan rather than a pension. It would also, like an initiative passed in San Jose, give current employees a choice — either increase their contributions or cut future benefits.
“People are so excited that finally somebody is going to do something about this problem,” said Jim McDermott, of Ventura County Taxpayers Association. “I’m pretty confident that we are going to follow in the success that we’ve seen in San Diego and San Jose. We’re going to be successful without question.”
Unions, as might be expected, oppose the measures.
“I think it’s ideologically driven by people who simply don’t believe that there should be a pension system for public employees, period,” said union activist Rick Shimmel. “We don’t see the 401k as a pension plan. We see it as a savings vehicle to help people during their retirement years. 401ks carry no guarantee, and that’s the distinction between a defined-contribution system and defined-benefit system.”
True or not, 73 percent of California voters favor moving new public employees into 401ks, according to the nonpartisan California Public Policy poll last year.
If I was the sheriff, I wouldn’t being saying one word about my pension. I would be afraid of being thrown in jail for such an obscene amount of pay in retirement. I am more jealous than angry
My father used to work with a guy who had a saying that expressed those sentiments - I don’t want to stop it; I want to get in on it!
Los Angeles Area Housing Demand Collapses 7% YoY; Sinks To 5 Year Low
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Los-Angeles-Metro-home-value/r_394806/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D5%26rt%3D6%26r%3D394806%26el%3D0
Moreno Valley, CA Housing Demand Plummets 20% YoY; Collapses To 10 Year Lows
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Moreno-Valley-home-value/r_25981/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D25981%26el%3D0
The food is to die for:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/04/24/bulletproof-subways-a-sign-of-violent-times/
They had a bullet-proof Subway in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, circa 1995.
Lola, seniors are going to die due to these Obamacare cuts!!! It just shows how heartless Democrats and Obama is going after these seniors.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/23/Senior-Home-Health-Care-Cut-by-ObamaCare
Lola, seniors are going to die due to these Obamacare cuts!
It’s funny when Right-Wing hacks criticize the ACA from the left.
It’s shows how big you lost. Huge.
Bigtime.
And make sure you’re wearing rubber gloves before you fetch my Cheetos Lola…..
I haven’t been around in a bit (traveling for work) but sometime in the coming days I am going to put Obama on blast for a few things he and his admin have done in the past 2 weeks. On HBB it usually makese more sense to go after the reptile talking points because there are more GOP partisans for debating purposes, but the battles Obama has chosen (and not chosen) for his 2nd term have been _ridiculous_. It’s too many things to do in a one-off post so we’ll have to discuss later.
RAL, don’t forget to take your Prolixin
You get battered and bruised elsewhere and you show up here?
I think you’ve got Stockholm Syndrome Liberace.
Downlow joe has (briefly) entered the building.
Seems like Housing Analyst may have correctly identified the builders’ ability to cut prices.
Largest US builder bets on ‘bargain’ homes
by Diana Olick
CNBC
March 24, 2014
After chalking up a strong quarter thanks to a focus on higher-end homes, the nation’s largest home builder turned the tables Thursday by announcing it will also move into the entry-level market.
The company’s new brand, Express Homes, offers properties at $120,000 to $150,000, well below the national median price of a new home, which in March came in at a record $290,000, according to the U.S. Census. Higher prices have been blamed for the steep drop in sales of newly built homes this winter, down 14 percent in March from a year ago.
D.R. Horton executives said while the demand for these homes exists, the supply does not. Millions of bargain-basement priced homes flooded the market after the housing crash, but the vast majority were swallowed up by all-cash investors, who rehabbed the homes as rentals. That left regular buyers out in the cold. Investor competition for distressed homes pushed prices up quickly in the hardest hit markets, adding yet another barrier to entry for lower-income or first-time buyers, who largely depend on credit.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101611100
That last paragraph was in no small part orchestrated by the government.
A number of years ago, we were looking at investing with a builder who was targeting homes under $200k in CA. It was all about getting the land inexpensively and building smaller homes.
If you can get the land cheaply enough, and the fees are cheap enough, then you can absolutely build a relatively small home for a price that will allow a profitable sale at $120k-$150k.
BTW, did you get a chance to watch Ray Dalio’s “Economic Machine” on YouTube?
I haven’t. I’ll probably check it out. However, I’ve listened/read about Dalio in the past. I think he coined the term “beautiful deleveraging.” I don’t put too much credence in folks like Dalio or Buffet’s public pronouncements because:
• They’re ferocious competitors - they’re not going to give away their secrets. They’re obviously brilliant people but I don’t expect them to be saying anything that’s going to disadvantage them and advantage competitors.
• On the other hand, they are going to be telling people things that move them in ways they wish them to move.
• Regarding the credit/debt cycles - From what I’ve seen and heard, Dalio assiduously avoids any mention of fraud or regulatory capture in debt crises. It’s like avoiding any mention of the 800lb gorilla in the room. Is the fraud and regulatory capture an unavoidable part of the cycle? Perhaps.
• I think we as a society will move away from business practices that cause externalities because the externalities are perceived to advantage the “oligarchs” and disadvantage the rest of society. It’s a drip-drip-drip process driven by the reality of the declining standard of living. Safeguards will be rebuilt. When people’s memories fade, they will be dismantled and once again we’ll move back into an age of fraud and regulatory capture. I suppose there will be an opportunity to profit for those who have some idea of history. I doubt Dalio says anything about that in his public pronouncements. I anticipate it’s more praise for policymakers who rescue and backstop crippled financial companies.
“That last paragraph was in no small part orchestrated by the government.”
My favorite part of that last paragraph is:
“That left regular buyers out in the cold. Investor competition for distressed homes pushed prices up quickly in the hardest hit markets, adding yet another barrier to entry for lower-income or first-time buyers, who largely depend on credit.”
The “who largely depend on credit” part is where I get to enter the picture in a big way.
It’s gives someone such as myself a sense of well-being to be so necessary, to be so needed.
Hey Mr. Banker:
PEEL ME A CHEETO!
Sincerely,
UFWWYLM
http://maine.craigslist.org/etc/4438462336.html
$50 million Hardest Hit program helps 8 homeowners in year, 223 more in pipeline
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 5:21 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, 2014
A $50 million foreclosure prevention program that has enrolled just eight Florida homeowners in the year since it was approved may be expanded Friday by administrators of the state’s Hardest Hit fund.
The Modification Enabling Pilot is one of five plans that draws from the more than $1 billion given to the state in federal Hardest Hit money. Since its March 2013 authorization, eight borrowers have been approved for an average of $36,380 each to reduce their mortgage balance, with 223 more homeowners in the pipeline.
This story continues on our new premium website for subscribers, MyPalmBeachPost.com.
It is clearly time for Doggy Body Armor
Ballistic Armor - K9 body armor - Ray Allen Manufacturing
http://www.rayallen.com/product/ballistic-armor/Police-Military-k9 - 35k -
Cop Responding to Burglary Kills Victim’s Dog
Officer left dog “yelping and thrashing in unbearable pain,” according to owner
Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
April 24, 2014
A Rains Co., Texas deputy sheriff recently responded to a burglary by reportedly killing the victim’s dog.
The owner of the dog, Cole Middleton, called police after realizing that someone broke into his home and stole several valuable items including firearms.
Two-and-a-half hours later, a deputy sheriff arrived at Middleton’s residence and shot his blue heeler Candy from behind, according to Middleton.
“Candy was brutally murdered in her own yard by Rains Co. Officer Jerred Dooley after her owners had been robbed,” he said to LiveLeak. “Her only crime was barking.”
Middleton added that after the officer told him “I shot your dog, sorry,” he retreated to his police car and called for back-up while warning Middleton not to approach the vehicle.
“He leaves my dog in my yard yelping and thrashing in unbearable pain,” Middleton stated. “I begged him to shoot her again since my weapons were stolen and he refused.”
“I then had to do the otherwise unthinkable and take my poor baby’s life with my own hands while praying for this to be over with.”
A few minutes later several additional officers arrived at the residence, including a state trooper and a City of Emory police officer.
“The city policeman exclaimed to my father and I to back up and step back as we are trying to explain what devastation had just happened,” Middleton said. “[Wood Co. state trooper] Hayes had his taser pulled and hand on his pistol.”
Middleton then starting filming the encounter to protect himself and his father.
“After informing the officers I had a camera and was going to film, for my own sake, Hayes begins to mock me and wave at my camera,” Middleton stated. “He then unprofessionally says ‘Hi mom! Hi Channel 8! How you doing?’”
Only after Middleton explained that it was his house that was broken into and that it was his blue heeler that was shot did the mocking stop.
“When we call on peace officers for their help and assistance we expect them to serve and protect us, especially if we are the victims,” he said. “In this instance ‘service and protection’ became an invasion and an attack that led to a life altering experience that will regrettably never be forgotten and cost my family a very precious and valuable member.”
And unfortunately dog shootings by police are becoming a disgusting trend as cops become more militarized and violent in America.
Just last month an Oklahoma cop shot and killed a family’s dog and then joked about it to a responding animal control unit.
“Did you see her collar fly off when I shot her? That was awesome,” he reportedly said.
And in February, an Idaho police officer shot and killed a family’s service dog outside a nine-year-old’s birthday party.
“I just shot your dog because it tried to bite me!” the officer told the family after disrupting the party. “I come here for a f***ing call and it tried to bite me!”
These shootings have become so frequent in the past year alone that to document all of them would be a news article in itself.
This article was posted: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 6:00 am
Crowd funding for police thuggery.
Here is how you make buckets of money in Hillsboro, OR.
Buy the house at the tail end of peak housing prices for $473,280. Then, 8 years of “ownership” ask a wishing price of $512,000, then cut it to $489,000.
HMMMM….. 489-473 = 15 - ( taxes 8 years X 5K a year) = -25k Not too mention maint, insurance, utilities, HOA, etc.
Fortunately, all of california wants to live here so they will pay any price since they show up with tons of equity
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/182-NW-Camp-Ireland-St-Hillsboro-OR-97124/70937900_zpid/
I have a relative up in that area. Visited her twice the last 7 years. Smart of her to rent a nice apartment on second floor with lots of space, all the amenities, great maintenance, and her own garage.
A southern Californian is more at home at the coast of Oregon. I was shocked to see surfers in November at Newport.
Politico - Colorado 2016 poll: Rand Paul beats Hillary Clinton
“Sen. Rand Paul appears to be the man to beat in Colorado in 2016, a new poll says.
Colorado voters would favor the Kentucky Republican over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 48 percent to 43 percent in a potential 2016 presidential race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
Paul also has a higher favorability rating than the other three possible Republican presidential contenders listed in the poll — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/colorado-2016-rand-paul-hillary-clinton-105983.html?hp=r7
I guess I’m mistaken that Colorado is mostly LIEberals.
Libertarians, yes. But Rand is not a libertarian. Not until he quits politics like his dad and goes anarchist like his dad.
If we were “lieberals” we wouldn’t have TABOR.