It’s A Madness
It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “In 2005. Peter Fields, the president of Fields Construction, began work on a 100-house subdivision called North Oaks, in neighboring Salem, Virginia. Now those houses have owners, and new houses are rising. But things aren’t good enough to lead a builder like Mr. Fields to crank up the pace of production. What is keeping Peter Fields from building more houses isn’t too much competition from foreclosures or excess houses from the boom years (inventories are fairly tight by historical standards) or a shortage of land (he has 30 more lots graded and ready to build upon) or a shortage of capital (his bankers are eager for him to continue building).”
“It’s simple as can be: ‘We’ll build more houses as soon as we see some people ready to buy them,’ he said.”
“Continually sagging permit volume for single-family homes means demand for newly built homes in the Tucson area is waning — and maybe their prices aren’t helping. Ginger Kneup, who publishes the monthly Southern Arizona Housing Market Letter, suggests looking at new-home pricing to see how competitive the local industry truly is with its resale counterpart. The current median resale home goes for about $160,000. The current median new home sells for about $248,000.”
“Roughly a quarter of a million dollars may be too high now that pent-up demand has been relieved in the recession-stalled move-up market, Kneup submits. And really, what can Tucson afford? Pairing that with another question: ‘With income barely keeping up with inflation,’ she asks, ’should we really be so surprised that demand is weakening?’”
“What is going on here in East Idaho? The newest numbers from Greg Johnston at Keller Williams Realty show over 500 houses on the market in Bannock County alone. ‘At the end of March of 2014, we had 523 homes on the MLS listed for sale,’ said Johnston. ‘At the same time a year before we only had 463 homes for sale. ‘What’s happening is now we’re getting too many homes on the market where it is going to prevent homes from appreciating like they have in the last year.’”
“A dominant force at play in South Florida’s market is the dramatic increase in residences for sale. In Miami-Dade, 6,074 single-family homes were for sale in the MLS in March, up 23 percent from a year earlier. Miami-Dade’s rising inventory of existing condos comes in the midst of a major boom in the development of a new generation of towers. Condo expert Peter Zalewski said a build-up in condo inventory east of I-95 — where according to his analysis there is currently 9.9 months of supply — warrants watching. ‘It’s not dangerous yet, but if that number continues to grow, it could be an early sign of recalibration occurring,’ he said.”
“Activity seems particularly brisk in Shore counties hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, where ‘there’s a lot of rebuilding and renovations taking place’ and delayed projects coming on line, said Cindy Marsh-Tichy, president of the New Jersey Realtors Association. That has not been enough to prevent New Jersey’s real-estate market from shrinking. Even more than underwater mortgages, Marsh-Tichy said real-estate spending prior to the bust is keeping people out of the New Jersey market now.”
“‘People tell me they bought at the top of the market and then put money into the home,’ she said. ‘They’re worried that they’re not going to get their equity back.’”
“Mum and Dad property investors could be hit by the next raft of clampdowns on mortgage lending from the Reserve Bank. Wellington Property Investors Association president Jackie Thomas-Teague said the change would have an impact on smaller investors, as commercial rates would be unaffordable for them. While anyone who had five rental properties should be taking it seriously as a business, it would be wrong to treat them all as if they were major property investors.”
“‘I would be losing money hand over fist’ paying commercial rates, she said. ‘If they do this, rents would [have to] rise to make investments worthwhile, or the bottom would drop out of the investment market and, by extension, the property market.’”
“Luxury property developers in Singapore are facing their worst sales outlook in six years as a raft of government measures to cool one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets bite. The dearth of buyers has created a supply glut which is only likely to worsen within the next four years. Government data shows 82,575 new, private residential units are expected to be built between 2014 and 2018. That means an annual rise in the supply of property of around 20,000 units, around twice the average of the last 10 years.”
“‘Either the population will need to increase tremendously in the next few years or else there will be a lot of vacant units,’ said Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International Property Consultants.”
“Over 100 villas here have stood empty six years after they were built for locals in the Chinese city of Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Some of the homes cost over three million RMB (285,900 GBP) and it was thought that a new rising class of wealthy people would snap them up. Entire cities have been built complete with skyscrapers, shopping malls, highways, parks and other facilities. But like in Beihai, they are empty of people and have morphed into soulless dead zones.”
“The construction industry not only employs hundreds of thousands of Chinese, but it has displaced hundreds of thousands of others who have been forced off their land and homes to make way for construction projects. ‘It’s a madness – homes built to stand empty!’ said one local who lives in a wooden shack.”
“Recently, the International Monetary Fund warned that China’s economy is likely to face a hard landing. Many economists believe that the Chinese regime needs to move quickly, in order to wean its economy from runaway credit, over-investment and excess capacity. Booming credit growth has swollen debt in China to roughly double the GDP. ‘The risk is not slower growth,’ said Markus Rodlauer, Head of IMF’s China mission. ‘The risk is that growth is not allowed to slow.’”
“Our central bank is essentially taking billions of dollars a year from average Americans, who are still struggling to get by in a bombed-out economy, and it is giving it — yes, giving it — to the very banks that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the first place. Analyst Richard Barrington estimates the Fed’s policies have cost savers $757.9 billion since the crisis. ‘It’s a stealth bailout,’ Barrington said. ‘Low-interest-rate policies have helped bail out banks, the stock market and real estate, but the Fed has not publicly acknowledged the cost of those policies. Unlike the other bailouts we’ve seen, this one has become open-ended.’”
“It just doesn’t make sense to the average mind. The Fed has responded to a crisis caused by too much borrowing by encouraging even more borrowing. It has allowed too-big-to-fail banks to become even bigger. It has helped inflate the national debt to nearly $18 trillion with its monthly asset purchases. It has created a junkie economy that seems hopelessly addicted to historically low interest rates, ever-increasing borrowings, and a non-stop printing press rolling out dollars.”
“Boisterous cheers for rising asset prices, largely fueled with the Fed’s funny money, have shouted down the debate. Payoffs are how corruption spreads. Now some might ask, what do I mean by corruption? Let’s put it this way: Ugly people don’t always know they’re ugly. And people who’ve been completely co-opted by the wealth and power of a globalized banking system, do you think they know when they’ve become tainted by the normalized corruption all around them?”
“I’ve noticed they rarely, if ever, use the term ‘moral hazard’ anymore. They have blinded themselves even to the law of gravity with the sheer amount of brain power that they put into everything they say and do. And they’re completely trapped in this thinking that trillions for the banks will solve everything.”
Hope and Change!
Yes we can!
“Our central bank is essentially taking billions of dollars a year from average Americans, who are still struggling to get by in a bombed-out economy, and it is giving it — yes, giving it — to the very banks that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the first place. Analyst Richard Barrington estimates the Fed’s policies have cost savers $757.9 billion since the crisis. ‘It’s a stealth bailout,’ Barrington said. ‘Low-interest-rate policies have helped bail out banks, the stock market and real estate, but the Fed has not publicly acknowledged the cost of those policies. Unlike the other bailouts we’ve seen, this one has become open-ended.’”
This heads I win, tails you lose game is what we get for letting a private bank issue our national currency.
Ben conveniently leaves out the last paragraphs:
What if instead of bankers, we gave trillions of dollars to ordinary citizens running small businesses? Wouldn’t that have saved us from a financial crisis, too? Or what if instead we just let the little people earn a little interest on their savings accounts?
“Wouldn’t that three-quarters of a trillion dollars have been better off in people’s hands where they could spend it?” Barrington asks.
Silly me, that sounds like trickle up demand-side economics; at worst it’s welfare for the 47% lazy bum porch-sitters who can’t get a job.
‘conveniently leaves out’
Conveniently? What the heck does that mean? I read maybe 3 hundred articles this week, and using my lame notebook for most of them. Then I put together 3 posts during the week, and have about 36 articles and this editorial saved after that and not used. Then for this post I use 10 links, of which maybe 3% of the text makes it into this post. All in all, probably 20 hours goes into this post.
Oh, did I not include a paragraph you deem essential? That is why I provide links. And I provide the blog for you to complain on.
Agreed and thank you for providing the blog. The paragraph that was left out seems obvious to people that are paying attention. It isn’t like Ben was trying to hide that money should be going to savers and small businesses instead of a stealth bank bailout. To the contrary, I’m sure he has promoted that fact a time or two over the years.
Silly me, that sounds like trickle up demand-side economics; at worst it’s welfare for the 47% lazy bum porch-sitters who can’t get a job.
You make no sense.
The FSA does not start businesses or have money in the bank.
Silly me, that sounds like trickle up demand-side economics; at worst it’s welfare for the 47% lazy bum porch-sitters who can’t get a job.
Oxide, allowing people to keep the interest on their savings is far from being demand side economics. It is demand side economics to engage in financial repression and force the elderly and other savers to subsidize borrowers’ mortgages. Both of us have low interest rates on our mortgages due to the Fed, supported by Obama, stealing from savers. But hey hate the game not the players. Also, while it is not so clear, I think that giving money to small businesses might mean loans to businesses or could mean tax cuts as in the corporate rates. I would support both and they both are supply side economics.
My favorite part of this post:
“Boisterous cheers for rising asset prices, largely fueled with the Fed’s funny money, have shouted down the debate.”
Dumb ‘em down and keep ‘em dumbed down any you will get to enjoy a win.
Step 1: Convince homebuyers that they are homeowners.
Step 2: Convince homebuyers that they will be rescued from lower prices for the homes that they are committed for thirty-or-so-years to buying.
And “rescuing” the homebuyers rescues the banks.
It’s a win all around: Homebuyers (who make up a large chunk of voters) get to feel that they are looked after by an arm of the banks known as the Federal Reserve (aka the bank’s lender of last resort) while in fact it’s the banks that are being looked after by the Federal Reserve.
“the Fed’s policies have cost savers $757.9 billion since the crisis.”
I think this statement reflects a failure to recognize Deflation. Interest rates were extraordinarily high for decades during the credit expansion and they are going to be very low during the contraction. What I expect in Deflation is not high interest rates on my savings but rather appreciation of the saved dollars. That is what the Fed is fighting.
If the Fed got the heck out of the way, your dollars would be worth considerably more.
Again, we now live in a land where interest in the preservation of wealth via outdated policies trumps generation of wealth.
Anytime the government is in expansion mode, preservation trumps creation. Preservation of the money and power held by the connected classes.
Expanding government does not reward those who do not yet have theirs.
BINGO
I am resolute to never pay one red cent in interest to support this corrupt beast. That is what Obama and Congress are fighting.
Good try, Blue. You cannot escape.
They’ll get theirs from you via medicine if they can’t get it from you via housing.
Know any doctors/nurses/surgeons in Mexico or Belize?
In my case, the $12,000 I’d pay annually via ObamaCare before getting a cent in return buys several flights to foreign doctors.
“It’s simple as can be: ‘We’ll build more houses as soon as we see some people ready to buy them,’ he said.”
‘With income barely keeping up with inflation,’ she asks, ’should we really be so surprised that demand is weakening?’
Shhh….be sure not to disclose how tens of millions of people paying thousands of dollars more annually for piss-poor ObamaCare coverage has nothing to do with any of this.
Nary a mention anywhere about how ObamaCare is draining money out of the middle class. Too bad the effects can’t be swept under the carpet, eh?
Nevermind the effect decades of offshoring has had on individuals’ salaries.
Oh, no….can’t forget that. It’s mentioned many hundreds of times a day on nearly all media outlets.
The evil 1%ers are everywhere! It’s the rich against the poor! It’s the biggest disparity of income ever!
All of that may very well be true. And it’s talked about endlessly. Never-endingly.
Tell me. When was the last time MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC pointed a finger at ObamaCare as the reason why the economy doesn’t get off the ground? I want proof - time and date - so I can see their commentary myself.
ObamaCare as the reason why the economy doesn’t get off the ground ??
Clueless…..
The outsourcing killed the economy to where it couldn’t get off the ground even before Obamacare was a twinkle in the Heritage Foundation’s eye. That’s why we needed this credit expansion in the first place.
+1 Colorado…
‘We’ll build more houses as soon as we see some people ready to buy them,’ he said.”
EGG-ZACKLY
If I said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Housing Demand has collapse to 20 year lows. Demand will not rise until the price bottom has been reached and that my friends is the crux of the biscuit.
Demand is at 20 year lows because prices are at record highs. It’s the way the world works.
There has been a major demographic shift in the barn yard. There are something like 50 million debt donkeys (or braces of donkeys in some cases) and their populations have changed.
Reformed Debt Donkeys - these typically rent to build wealth and like to free range. - Rare, possibly mythical.
Debt Donkeys with broken backs - their ranks have swelled by 6 million.
Debt Donkeys that don’t qualify - their ranks have swelled by 10 million.
Debt Donkeys who think they are thoroughbred stallions - actually part Lemming and sewn into a donkey suit at birth - their ranks are thinning, see above.
With such a dramatic decrease in the Eligible Donkey population, it’s going to be like a game of musical chairs with 25 million extra chairs.
The State Of US Housing; A Graphical View
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8180/stagesbubble.png
California Most Impoverish State In The US
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_poverty_rate
(geography adjusted)
DC actually tops the list but that particular nest of corruption isn’t a state.
Sacramento, CA Housing Demand Falls Through 2008 Floor; Now At 10 Year Lows
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Sacramento-home-value/r_20288/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D20288%26el%3D0
Monterey, CA Housing Demand Collapses 18% YoY; Plunges To 5 Year Low
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Monterey-County-home-value/r_2444/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D6%26r%3D2444%26el%3D0
Oxnard, CA Housing Demand Dives 28% and Hits 10 Year Low; Housing Bottom Elusive
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Oxnard-home-value/r_13150/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D13150%26el%3D0
Scottsdale, AZ Housing Prices Dive 17% YoY As Market Seeks Bottom
http://www.movoto.com/scottsdale-az/market-trends/
Tucson, AZ Housing Demand Crumbles 11% YoY; Hits Fresh 4 Year Low
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/AZ-Tucson-home-value/r_7481/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D7481%26el%3D0
Mesa, AZ Housing Demand Dives 19%YoY As Inflated Prices Chokes Market
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/AZ-Mesa-home-value/r_19331/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D19331%26el%3D0
Pittsburg, CA (Contra Costa) Housing Demand Collapses 35% YoY As Buyers Disappear
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-Pittsburg-home-value/r_40355/#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D6%26rt%3D8%26r%3D40355%252C3563%26el%3D0
La Mesa, CA Housing Prices Nosedive 10% YoY; Inventory Balloons 44%; Season Ends Before It Begins
http://www.movoto.com/la-mesa-ca/market-trends/
‘Property developers in Dubai are offering such relaxed payment plans that they are threatening to fuel another off-plan bubble. As hundreds of unbuilt homes go on sale this weekend in Dubai, property experts are warning that the payment plans they are sold through are being offered at terms that make it much more affordable to buy risky off-plan property than to buy existing second-hand homes.’
‘Almost benign payment plans require buyers to put down very small deposits until a property has been completed.’
‘Around 200 eager buyers lined up today at Emaar’s sales offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Karachi as the Dubai developer started to sell 480 three and four-bedroom townhouses at its Mira Oasis development next to Global Village.’
‘The queues were long despite the fact that Emaar had not even revealed the prices for the homes it was selling.’
I hope that the “developers” understand when they go broke and don’t pay their bills, they will go to jail. There is no bankruptcy and your debts are forgiven there.
You forgot to say “not”.
Thanks. I have my coffee now.
So strange how real estate has become backwards land in terms of how people view prices. People bitch and moan when gas goes up 10 cents a gallon but more housing inventory and possible affordable prices? Horrible!
“So strange how real estate has become backwards land in terms of how people view prices. People bitch and moan when gas goes up 10 cents a gallon but more housing inventory and possible affordable prices? Horrible!”
If most people had their money invested in gas then they would be rooting for high gas prices. But most people do not have their money invested in gas but most people do have their money invested in real estate so the idea of supporting real estate prices has a lot of backers.
If people thought of RE as a consumption item then they would be rooting for lower RE prices, but most people do not think of RE in terms of consumption, they think of RE in terms of an investment. And in you are going to plunk down money in an investment then you will want your investment to increase in value.
And, ironically, the lure if an investment diminishes as the price of the investment diminishes and the lure increases as the price increases.
Any time you can buy a wooden box, sit in it and do nothing for ten years, then sell that exact same wooden box for a $100,000 profit, people will never think of it as a consumption good.
I definitely understand the rationale - just sad that housing has become a casino/speculation vehicle vs. something which fills a basic need: shelter.
Brandon-
When your very existence (sense of self/identity, sense of place, financial future) is tied up in housing, this behavior can be expected.
Be shrewd. Recognize what motivates others to do what they do, both individually and en masse. Recognize that housing is not an investment. It is a cost.
If you come out ahead when you sell, its gravy. Just don’t count on it.
‘Vietnam’s real estate market has climbed on the bandwagon causing supply far exceed demand. Businesses have much invested in the high-class segment and paid less attention in the common segment, said Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung.’
‘More than 4,000 new urban area projects worth VND4,500 trillion (US$ 213.28 billion) were approved over 102,000 hectares nationwide last year, according to the ministry. Inventory value totaled VND94.5 trillion (US$ 4.48 billion).’
‘The Ministry of Construction has proposed the Government to stop licensing new commercial housing and urban areas projects by 2014 with aiming to prevent further waste.’
‘The ministry proposal is irrational and goes back up market economy rules, said Le Chi Hieu, chairman and director general of Thuduc House Company. He wondered if the licensing halt is to protect businesses with high stocks.’
I wonder, if I lived in Vietnam would I speand my hard earned dong on a house?
‘BHUBANESWAR: Real estate developers are a worried lot as they grapple with the problem of unsold housing stocks piling up. Sources said several reputed builders are having trouble selling their properties that are in advanced stages of completion. While around 18,000 houses are near ready in city, only 2000 to 3000 have been booked.’
‘Around one lakh units are lined up in the state capital region, more than 50 per cent of which remain unsold. “It is a desperate situation because the real estate sector has not picked up after 2010. All eyes are on a possible new government, as that generates positive market sentiments. If other sectors improve, real estate too will improve,” said Anup Mohapatra, a developer.’
How to sell a house……
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/04/25/radio-free-montone-sell-my-house-please/
‘It was odd to see Statistics Canada say Wednesday retail sales of home building materials slipped in February. Combined with other declines seen in the February numbers, experts say the dip likely reflects a softening in the housing market, which after years of booming property values is moving toward a so-called soft landing.’
‘It was the fifth month in six that building supplies saw retail sales tumble while furniture retailers look to be on a similar trajectory.’
‘There’s more at play here than just the weather, other experts say, with some cautioning that spending patterns will be challenged to return to their peaks. “Given the overhang of record household debt levels, we doubt that the consumer can lead the recovery in the next few years,” BMO chief economist Doug Porter said.’
‘In a worrying development, an issuer of Australian sub-prime mortgages, Pepper Home Loans, has reportedly completed the largest issue of non-conforming (sub-prime) residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).’
how many fed ministries of construction do we have? more than Nam
‘A shortage of homes for sale slowed the volume of Massachusetts single-family home sales in March as prices continued to rise, the Warren Group reported Wednesday.’
‘On a year-to-year comparison basis, Bay State single-family home sales dropped 7.8 percent to 2,749 sold in March, said the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks local real estate activity. It was the fourth time that sales have fallen in five months.’
‘Meanwhile, the median price for single-family homes sold in March rose 8.6 percent to $315,000.’
“The low inventory of single-family homes in the market is the primary cause of the decreasing sales activity,” Warren Group chief executive Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement. “Motivated buyers, however, are eagerly bidding for the limited supply, which accounts for the increasing sales prices. People want to buy homes before prices and interest rates rise further.”
‘And while inventory continued to be down, new listings to the market were up.’
‘Keying on a housing boom expected to be the biggest since the 1970s, Neal Communities is ramping up homebuilding operations this year. It’s an ambitious goal for a company that set an all-time sales mark in 2013.’
‘After building 780 homes last year in southeast Florida, Lakewood Ranch-based Neal is projecting that it will build 1,014 homes in 2014, a record for the 44-year-old company. It is starting 14 new communities this year and is increasing housing production toward a peak goal of 1,573 homes in 2017.’
‘Neal is gearing up for a housing boom. The company is currently building in six communities in the Venice and Fort Myers markets, plans to build in five communities in Hillsborough County and could build up to four communities near Estero. At the same time, the company is still building in Manatee County. Neal sold 347 new homes in Lakewood Ranch last year and recently started its 713-home Silverleaf development in Parrish.
The company’s shift into high gear is not unbridled optimism. National housing research firm Zelman & Associates recently put out data predicting the biggest new housing surge since the early 1970s.’
‘Alan Anderson, the executive vice president of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, said the national trend translates locally. Area homebuilders notched 20-percent growth in construction in 2013 and are predicting a similar bump this year, he said. National construction companies are buying more land in Manatee and Sarasota counties as they plan on similar levels of growth for the next three years.’
‘Neal said he thinks a big market surge and peak is coming. His company’s strategic plan pegs Neal’s peak building years to extend through 2019 and 2020. The baby boom generation will drive the market, he predicts.’
“The short version is that we’ll have quite a lot of strength,” he said. “We’re building for boomers.”
‘New home construction activity in Volusia and Flagler counties is off to the best start since 2007. Building permits for new homes in the two counties rose sharply in March to boost the first quarter totals to 333 in Volusia, up 52.7 percent from a year ago, and 53 in Flagler, a year-over-year increase of 41.6 percent.’
‘Bishop said one sign of area builders’ growing confidence is the increase in “spec” home construction, where new homes are being built in anticipation that they will be sold.’
‘Spec home construction activity, which was prevalent during the last real estate boom, ground to a complete halt during the recession. “Builders wouldn’t take that risk if they weren’t confident,” Bishop said.’
‘Owner-vacated foreclosures jumped by 24 percent in New Jersey between the third quarter of 2013 and January of this year. Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, said these scenarios are preventing the foreclosure process from going forward in many cases, and they’re a burden on the housing market overall.’
“They’re sitting there vacant. They fall into disrepair. Nobody is responsible for maintaining them,” Blomquist explained. “They’re often the biggest eyesores in a given neighborhood because of that situation, dragging down surrounding home values.”
‘New Jersey recorded the fourth-highest amount of zombie foreclosures. Florida topped the list. One in every 739 New Jersey properties had a foreclosure filing in February, an increase of more than 100 percent compared to February 2013.’
“Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, said these scenarios are preventing the foreclosure process from going forward in many cases, and they’re a burden on the housing market overall.’”
Yeah, Ben. I agree. Astonishing, ain’t it?
We’ll lemme tell ya… Its every state in new england and mid Atlantic. Housing in NY and DE has been Californicated , i.e a moribund market of collapsing demand while reshuffling millions of defaulted properties.
‘China-based investment firm proposes two-tower hotel-condo complex for downtown Tacoma’
‘The company produced a letter from the Bank of Shanghai indicating Yareton had some $40 million available to use as equity in the hotel complex. Two other Chinese banks indicated a willingness to loan Yareton funds for hotel projects. About 50 percent of the project’s cost would be raised from foreign investors, said Walkowiak, under a federal program called EB-5.’
‘Under the EB-5 program, foreign business people who invest at least $1 million in U.S. projects that create at least 10 new jobs are entitled to a permanent visa to live and work in the United States.’
‘For the first time, the Chinese have become the biggest foreign buyers of apartments in Manhattan, real estate brokers estimate, taking the mantle from the Russians.’
‘Wealthy Chinese are pouring money into real estate in New York and some other major cities around the world, including London and Sydney, as they seek safe havens for their cash and also establish a base for their children to get an education in the West.’
‘Reuters asked five of the top real estate brokerages for their ranking of foreign buyers in New York City. The Chinese ranked first in both volume and value of sales in all their estimates.’
‘Many Chinese buyers are switching their interest away from markets like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore amid fears that prices have soared to frothy levels in those cities. Hong Kong has the second most expensive housing market in the world, behind Monaco, with Manhattan trailing in sixth place, according to British real estate research firm Knight Frank.’
‘Chinese buyers typically used to pick up properties in the $1 to $5 million range in New York, often buying two and three at a time for investment purposes, the brokers said. But lately they have been moving up market, brokers say.’
‘Some Chinese aren’t even bothering to come to the United States at all, going so far as to pick up multi-million-dollar properties sight unseen. One Chinese buyer recently purchased two properties, worth $13 million, at the Baccarat Hotels & Residences in New York.’
‘New York isn’t alone. In Sydney, the Chinese became the top buyers of new luxury homes last year, according to sales research conducted by Knight Frank.’
‘Shanghai businessman Wang Jiguang has already picked up two houses in another major Australian city, Melbourne, and one apartment in Sydney. “My child is going to study abroad, and we are just preparing some overseas assets for our child, which will be less risky,” Wang said in a telephone interview from Shanghai.’
‘In Manhattan, some locals are also starting to grumble, brokers say, about the new “China Price”, a phenomenon that can see Chinese buyers sweep in and outbid other buyers, often with all-cash offers.’
‘In London, robust property laws and British universities are a big draw for the Chinese. They became the city’s number one foreign buyer last year, according to Knight Frank, accounting for 6 percent of all purchases over 1 million pounds ($1.68 million). The Russians accounted for 5.2 percent.’
‘In February, Jennifer Eagle and her partner Chris Grant, both 24, bought their first property for A$299,000. They plan to rent out the three-bedroom townhouse about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Brisbane’s center.’
‘Eagle, a Melbourne-based public relations coordinator at property investment advisory Positive Real Estate Pty, and Grant earn a combined yearly income of A$80,000. They bought the townhouse with a 5 percent down payment after failing to find a property they could afford near central Melbourne. The interest-only payments are slightly higher than the A$1,470 a month they make in rent.’
‘The couple is gambling that their incomes will increase enough to make the higher payments once mortgage rates climb. “We wanted to build up a property portfolio that’s going to rise much faster than our salaries, and buy our own house with that,” Eagle said. “By the time interest rates get higher, I’m hoping that both my partner and I are on higher salaries and that our property will have gained enough.”
‘One of the last large swaths of land within city limits has been purchased by developers who are developing a master-planned community on the southeast side of Tucson. La Estancia, a 540-acre site with 664 lots near Wilmot Road, north of Interstate 10, was bought by Sunbelt Holdings of Scottsdale for $17 million.’
‘With the majority of housing construction happening in unincorporated areas of the county, White said it’s good to see developers investing within city limits.’
$30,000 an acre for desert. IIRC, there’s over 50 miles of nothing between there and Phoenix.
There is good farmland, with streams, green grass, trees and actual waterfalls, for sale here for 1/10th of that.
I meant to post this previous response here….
“Yup… and still overpriced”.
‘One by one, the old traditional houses of Beirut are vanishing as luxury towers sprout up on every corner, altering the city’s skyline almost beyond recognition amid an ongoing construction frenzy seemingly immune to tensions from the civil war raging next door.’
‘Lebanon’s enchanting Ottoman and colonial French-style buildings once represented Beirut’s rich history, withstanding years of civil war and invasions only to be demolished in peace time by wealthy Gulf Arab investors.’
‘In that, Beirut is no different than Dubai, Doha or other major world cities overtaken by a global trend for modern, tall buildings. But in a country that prides itself on its rich history, many complain that Lebanon is losing its charm and character, often said to be the only thing going for it.’
‘Analysts say despite slowing local demand because of the war in Syria, high real estate prices in Lebanon have been sustained partly because of the scarcity of land. The increase in real estate demand by displaced Syrians somewhat compensated for reduced local demand, helping maintain real estate prices.’
You’d think that anyone with money would want to get out of Beirut. Sure, it isn’t the hell hole it used to be, but I’ll bet it’s not a paradise either and could quickly revert to hell hole status. But no, they stay. Ditto with Israel. Why would you want to live in a country that has a great big bull’s eye painted on it and is hated by all of its neighbors?
‘One by one, the old traditional houses of Beirut are vanishing as luxury towers sprout up on every corner, altering the city’s skyline almost beyond recognition amid an ongoing construction frenzy seemingly immune to tensions from the civil war raging next door.’
Looking on the bright side of the situation, at least the civil war isn’t raging IN BEIRUT!
‘In order to afford a middle-of-the-road one-bedroom apartment in the Lehigh Valley, you’d have to earn at least $14.83 an hour, according to a report. In Warren County, it’s $18.46. Hunterdon County, as expected, was highest in the region at $22.77 an hour — high enough to rank it 40th out of 3,144 counties in the country, according to a report from the Washington Post.’
‘The data come from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which took information from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the report says. And, “No single county in America has a one-bedroom housing wage below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 (several counties in Arkansas come in at $7.98).”
Doesn’t the government set a floor on low income housing cost by subsidizing the rent of a person earning minimum wage?
Yup…. And still overpriced.
“No single county in America has a one-bedroom housing wage below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 (several counties in Arkansas come in at $7.98).”
Affordable housing policy = ABJECT FAILURE
F- - - - - - - - -
‘Foreclosure judgements in Westchester County nearly tripled in this year’s first quarter compared with the first quarter last year, according to Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni. Westchester County Supreme Court judges issued 180 foreclosure judgments in the first three months of this year, up from 62 for the same period in 2013. A total of 48 judgments were recorded in the first quarter of 2012.’
‘The number of judgments this year is the highest since 2009, Idoni said. In addition to the judgments, the county clerk said, 686 foreclosure actions were started in state Supreme Court by mortgage lenders from January through March this year. About the same number of legal actions were started in the first quarter of 2013, he said.’
‘Foreclosure filings by mortgage lenders and loan servicers in 2013 rose nearly 49 percent from 2012 and court judgments against defaulting property owners rose 77 percent last year, as banks began to clear a backlog of sold and resold mortgage loans from the housing market boom that preceded the Great Recession.’
What was the expression by my Westchester County colleagues 2001-2007? All the rich people are moving here.
3 of 7 people I know who haven’t made a mortgage payment since 2008 are from WC.
“Closure of local door company leaves customers in lurch…”
“In an email statement to the Star, Architectural Traditions President Tom Liittschwager blamed the closure on the declining market for custom homes.”
http://azstarnet.com/business/local/closure-of-local-door-company-leaves-customers-in-lurch/article_3d3ae576-6a2c-5470-9814-4a95145cbff1.html
Oh dear.
‘Mortgage lending declined to the lowest level in 14 years in the first quarter as homeowners pulled back sharply from refinancing and house hunters showed little appetite for new loans…Lenders originated $235 billion in mortgage loans during the January-March quarter, down 58% from the same period a year ago and down 23% from the fourth quarter of 2013, according to industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance.’
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/demand-home-loans-plunges-233400887.html
Yep. It’s crashing again.
And the MSM and the housing bulls alike are in blithesome denial again.
“I’ve noticed they rarely, if ever, use the term ‘moral hazard’ anymore. They have blinded themselves even to the law of gravity with the sheer amount of brain power that they put into everything they say and do. And they’re completely trapped in this thinking that trillions for the banks will solve everything.”