The Housing Bubble

Copying and pasting Drudge Report links is not going to “sell” the next neocon war(s)

CR8R, CR8RING, CR8TRD

Isn’t it high time for the PPT to step in and calm stock market jitters?

Whazzup with the Baltic Dry?

Amy Hoak is now writing guest columns for the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/realestate/millennials-on-the-homeownership-path.html

There is no “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes

Not today, not tomorrow, not ever

EVER

Warmist Warming Wednesday

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/08/how-will-everything-change-under-climate-change

And now back to your regularly scheduled Drudge Report links

Is It Sheldon Adelson’s World?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/opinion/thomas-l-friedman-is-it-sheldons-world.html

Sheldon Adelson’s net worth is around $30,000,000,000

American taxpayers and voters, you are being played for suckers and fools

Article for 2brony about Detroit and the goons

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-11/detroit-comeback-derailed-as-taxes-kill-homeowner-dreams

We won’t have these problems anymore after Scott Walker becomes president

Region VIII news

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_27684819/apartment-inventory-heads-toward-20-year-high-boom

Sorry, Amy, no rent increases happening here

Housing sales surge 54% in the first week of March

Updated: 2015-03-11 11:04

By Zhu Wenqian(chinadaily.com.cn)

Comments() Print Mail Large Medium Small

0

Housing sales surge 54% in the first week of March

Potential homebuyers visit a housing expo in Zhengzhou, Henan province. China will stabilize property market with tailored, market-based policies to guide ’stable and healthy development’, Premier Li’s Government Work Report said on March 5, 2015. [Provided to China Daily]

Housing sales nationwide recorded a surge in the first week of March compared with the previous week, with transactions up 53.6 percent to 37,690 apartments, according to data from Centaline Property Agency Ltd.

The uptick could strengthen a property market recovery that began in the fourth quarter.

The China Index Academy said that among the 40 cities it mainly tracked, property sales by floor areas have been rising at 51.6 percent month-on-month.

“Some cities are expected to see booming property sales by the second half of March. Despite the transactions are lower than the pre-spring festival period. The market is likely to be stimulated after the latest interest rate cut,” said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline. “Home buyers are more confident with the confirmed favorable property policies, especially in the cities with strong market fundamentals.”

Recovery? Si or no?

————–

Target layoffs: 1,700 Twin Cities jobs; 1,400 open jobs eliminated
pioneer press | 3-11-15 | Tom Webb and Katie Kather

The young Target Corp. employee was told to come to a meeting. The elevator was filled with co-workers crying. That’s when she knew her job was gone. “It’s crazy that this was my dream, and it was ripped away from me,” the woman, who did not give her name, said Tuesday morning through tears. “It’s such a great company. That’s the worst part.” On a grim day at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters, the retailer laid off 1,700 corporate workers and eliminated an additional 1,400 open positions. The layoffs left Target with about 11,300 Twin Cities corporate employees, down from 13,000 when the day began. Starting soon after 9 a.m., the first laid-off employees began emerging from the headquarters tower on Nicollet Mall. Then groups came out in waves, some people in tears, many with boxes. Combined with the 550 layoffs announced in January, Tuesday’s cuts mean 3,650 Target corporate jobs have disappeared this year, the great majority from the Twin Cities. Tuesday’s layoffs — about 13 percent of the Twin Cities headquarters workforce — seemed to touch most departments, sweeping through every Target corporate building in Minnesota and affecting employees ranging from newcomers to longtime veterans.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/137603/Kemp_OPEC_Is_Winning_Its_Battle_With_US_Shale

She got what she voted for…twice.

————

Why This Liberal No Longer Supports Universal Health Care: An Open Letter to President Obama
medium.com | February 23, 2015 | Melissa Klein

Dear President Obama-

I hope this letter finds you well. I voted for you in both elections. I’m proud to call you our president. I was a staunch supporter of universal health care. Thank you for following through on your campaign promise. That you did so IS significant.

I’ve been insured by various employers for most of my adult life. Just recently, I decided to start my own business. Yay me, small business owner, keeping our economy going. Woohoo! Salt of the earth, bitches.

So I did what any lawful citizen should do and signed up for health insurance through my local marketplace, Covered California.

There were a few hiccups with the initial process, but I didn’t complain. I didn’t even tweet about it. In the words of Adele Dazeem, I “let it go”.

It’s a new system, I thought to myself, they’re working out the kinks.

But as of today I’ve stopped making excuses for you and this system. It’s time to get your shit together. If I knew then, what I know now, I would have foregone insurance and taken the tax penalty. In fact, I’d rather be dead and broke than have to participate in Covered California’s health care exchange.

For the past few weeks I’ve been dealing with this 1095-A issue. You see, I never received it and as you know I need it to file my taxes. Being a law abiding citizen and all, I typically like to file my taxes on time. Being of German descent, I also like to be on time.

“If you didn’t receive a 1095-A you have to fill out a dispute form and FAX it to us.”

I respond, “Ok, but I’m not disputing anything. I’m asking for the form you’re supposed to have sent me.”

After being on hold for 30 minutes I’m told, “We’ll let you know in 2 weeks if we received the fax. You’ll get a letter in the mail.”

A letter in the mail? Just to confirm you received my fax? That seems ludicrous. That can’t be so.

So I ask again, “Can’t you just tell me over the phone?”

“Nope, ya gotta wait for the letter.”

I then ask what I think is a simple question. Shame on me. “Can you at least tell me if a 1095 was ever generated?”

This is when things turn from bad to comical.

“Ma’am, it doesn’t appear as though you’re in our system for having insurance in 2014. Are you sure you didn’t imagine signing up through our exchange?”

Imagine signing up through the exchange? Really? It occurs to me that they might think I’m using this insurance to seek help for the voices. The voices? Yes, the voices in my head. Precious. Precious told me to click on Covered California.

And so I beg of you, please help me. I don’t know what to do? I’ve done everything right. And yet, I’m being penalized. I got insurance, I’m preparing my taxes. And, THIS is what I have to deal with? Felons have it easier. And the worst part is, I’m not the only one.

As many as 1,000,000 people (that we know of) got the wrong 1095-As or did not receive one at all.

Read the article - it is about housing

——————–

United States set to feel more pain resulting from illegal immigration
usfinancepost.com | Mar 10, 2015 | By Melody Dareing

Illegal immigration has long plagued American craftsman and has far-reaching implications that communities and federal, state and local governments have yet to realize, according to those who have worked in the construction industry.

“If you wait 20 years, you’re going to see what happens to all of these houses and buildings,” said Kevin Larsen, a veteran brick mason with 33 years of experience.

“If you’re illegal, it’s easy for you to hide everything because nothing is questioned by the administration or questioned by the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, millions have lost good jobs.

The former bricklayer said he recently talked with a long-time friend in New Orleans. His friend’s family owned the largest masonry company in the city. The company went out of business and his friend, who has 30 years’ experience, hasn’t worked in a year.

“He can’t get work. He is down to where all he has is electricity in his house. He had to sell his truck to pay the taxes on his house,” Larsen said.

According to Larsen, problems in New Orleans began after a large Hispanic population settled in the city after Hurricane Katrina. Hispanic workers, who had no experience in construction or brick masonry, began taking all the work and agreeing to work for as little as $5 an hour. No legitimate company could compete, especially on larger projects that require larger crews, he said.

Larsen said the same scenario is playing out in major cities across the country. In Atlanta, where he worked in construction, contractors started hiring no one but undocumented immigrants.

He said he was turned away from two jobs, a museum and a baseball stadium, with the foreman telling him they would only hire only Hispanic workers.

E-verify laws have done little to relieve the situation, he said. Construction companies have figured a way around them.

Larsen said contractors are starting to suffer as much as craftsmen now because illegal immigrants are figuring out ways to become the contractor instead of just maintaining worker jobs.

“They all thought they were going to get rich by hiring all the illegals. It’s biting them in the butt because the illegals are becoming contractors and now they can’t find work,” Larsen said.

He said buildings, which include many public buildings like schools and government administrative offices, built back in the 1980s and 1990s are already starting to deteriorate because the undocumented workers didn’t perform their jobs to fulfill basic standards.

One problem surfacing is the lack of wall ties, which affix bricks to the construction wall. All the bricks on Atlanta’s Olympic Village had to be replaced because of construction flaw, Larsen said.

Local governments owning these substandard buildings will end up paying for significant repairs, which will then fall on taxpayers, he said.

He attributes construction flaws to a lack of training and experience. Most undocumented workers have no knowledge of craftsman trades like brick masonry, carpentry, and drywall, he said.

“Brick laying is a craft. It’s an art. It’s not something you can teach someone in a short period of time. It’s a trade. You have to learn that trade,” he said.

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/031015-742791-scott-walker-responds-to-obama-right-to-work-attack.htm

Snoop Dogg, the man who asks the question “Can You Control Your Hoe” wants your support for gun-free investing in a new anti-gun campaign.

Can You Control Your Hoe Snoop Dogg - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGF_vRuXo5w - 358k -
————————————————————————-
Snoop Dogg Wants You To Divest Your 401k Of Gun Companies And NRA Supporters [VIDEO]

2:10 PM 03/09/2015
Chuck Ross

As the top emcee at Death Row Records in the 1990s, Snoop Dogg made millions as the face of the West Coast “gangster rap” sound, with its glorification of drugs, violence and murder.

But the rapper — whose real name is Calvin Broadus — is singing a different tune with his latest effort to convince Americans to divest their retirement accounts from investments in gun companies.

The #ImUnloading campaign launched on Monday with the release of a PSA encouraging investors to ask their financial advisers to divest their 401k plans from gun companies and other corporations that support the National Rifle Association.

dailycaller.com/…/ - 125k -

Rememeber……Falling prices is positively bullish and good for the economy.

“The public comment period still had another week to run, and was to end Monday.”

“You spoke, we listened.”

Go ahead and add these 80,000 to the list.

Second Amendment Activists Force ATF To Shelve Obama Ammo Ban

80,000 Americans bombard government with complaints

by Steve Watson | Infowars.com | March 11, 2015

The ATF says it is shelving a proposed ban on ‘green tip’ ammunition after a deluge of critical feedback, highlighting that the move would be highly unpopular with Americans.

The federal agency said Tuesday that the President’s planned executive action to prohibit bullets for AR-15 hunting rifles will not go ahead. The ATF says that over 80,000 comments were received on the proposal. Most viewed the move negatively.

“The vast majority of the comments received to date are critical of the framework, and include issues that deserve further study,” the agency said in a statement. “Accordingly, ATF will not at this time seek to issue a final framework.”

The agency took to social media, declaring “You spoke, we listened.” The public comment period still had another week to run, and was to end Monday.

The ATF added that it will “further evaluate the issues raised” during the comment process, and that it will provide an “additional open and transparent process” before taking any further action. However, it did not explain would that would entail.

The announcement comes directly on the heels of a majority in both the Senate and House, 52 senators, 238 House members, declaring their opposition to the proposed ban.

In a letter, the senators cited the fact that the 5.56 M855 ammo has never been perceived to be a threat to law enforcement, and is merely popular in hunting circles.

The lawmakers also expressed a fear that the Obama administration is paving the way for a more general gun control agenda.

“If law-abiding gun owners cannot obtain rifle ammunition, or face substantial difficulty in finding ammunition available and at reasonable prices because government entities are banning such ammunition, then the Second Amendment is at risk,” the letter signed by the senators states.

Gun rights activists and Constitutionalists hailed the government back down as a victory.

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/03/10/housing-skids-in-canada-crashes-in-its-oil-patch/

It now comes down to oil and housing in Canada. Both were booming for years. Banks bent over backwards to fund the euphoria. The phenomenal housing market barely took a breather during the Financial Crisis when housing in the US collapsed. Prices and new construction have soared since. And oil production was on a roll. Housing construction and oil production contribute strongly to the local economy. And both are now in trouble.

In February, housing starts dropped 16.4% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis to a rate of 156,276 units, the lowest level since 2009, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC) reported. Economists had expected 180,000. On an actual, raw-number basis, housing starts in February dropped to 9,776, down 16.1% from a year ago.

The harsh winter weather was blamed, which is always a convenient and reliable place to lay the blame on in February. For this weather reason, February is usually a very slow month for housing starts, and not necessarily indicative for the rest of the year. So we’ll try not to read too much into it, but….

“The trend in housing starts decreased for a fifth consecutive month in February and reflects a decreasing trend in multiple starts,” said CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan. So this wasn’t a fluke.

Worthless housing…. Worthless worthless housing. Housing is worth less and less with each passing day.

Newport Beach, CA Sale Prices Dive 4% YoY; Fall MoM And QoQ

http://www.zillow.com/newport-beach-ca/home-values/

Anyone living on the north american west coast or western south america and areas of Brazil will tell you we’ve crossed the Rubicon on goofy weather droughts. Earth to residents, “Yer screwed!” This summer is gonna be sucky hot!

This new study basically says that USA’s housing bubble was driven more by cheap/lax credit while other OECD countries’ bubble was more driven by income growth which qualified for more credit.

“However, the US and UK, whose credit regulatory policies are heavily lax, are an empirical outlier. They do not adequately represent housing demand dynamics across other developed economies. Looking beyond the United States, housing price increases may be more reflective of the complimentary relationship between income and credit.”

Income growth may be more important to the development of housing bubbles than cheap credit

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2015/03/11/wage-rises-may-be-more-important-to-the-development-of-housing-bubbles-than-cheap-credit/

The development of a housing bubble in the United States is generally regarded as one of the root causes of the financial crisis that began in 2007, but what causes housing bubbles to occur? Alison Johnston and Aidan Regan write that while the bubble leading to the financial crisis has tended to be blamed on the spread of cheap credit, the fact that house price rises were far larger in some countries than others suggests there were other factors at play. They argue that although credit plays a role in housing bubbles, an increase in income appears to be far more closely linked to the price rises that occurred across the OECD prior to 2007.

Our results suggest that income growth, and the wage-setting institutions that govern it, may be more important in explaining housing price growth than broader financial variables. While income growth’s impact on housing prices is minimal in the US, it is strongly correlated with housing price increases in other OECD countries.

This is not to suggest credit expansion does not matter, but that housing price increases are amplified, and turn into a bubble, in the presence of a complementary income shock. In the midst of international financial trends, which have made mortgage debt instruments more plentiful and cheaper, countries with wage setting institutions led by the export sector or the state, continued to remain insulated from the external risks of globalised capital.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/11/fannie-mae-recklessness-risks-future-financial-cri/

Got treason? Seems the Senate’s clumsy and amateurish attempt to sabotage the Iran negotiations have caused a firestorm and backlash…

* #47traitors trending either No. 1 or No. 2 on Twitter since the story broke

* White House petition to pursue Logan Act violation against the 47 Traitors has 150,000 signatures and climbing. I signed it. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/file-charges-against-47-us-senators-violation-logan-act-attempting-undermine-nuclear-agreement/NKQnpJS9

* Some Repubs, burned by backlash, now regret the letter: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/10/republicans-admit-that-iran-letter-was-a-dumb-idea.html

* Newspaper editors skewer the Gang of 47
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B_04vUNUcAAHjHu.jpg

* Independent Bernie Sanders, VT, says the GOP is “hot to trot for a war” with Iran. Amen, Bernie, Amen. GOP + Bibi + Defense Contractors is what it’s all about… Can’t have profits if Obama goes and makes peace…

CraterRage® Photo Of The Day

http://goo.gl/vHqAfz

Clearwater, FL Sale Prices Crater 11% As Housing Demand Plummets Nationally

http://www.zillow.com/clearwater-fl/home-values/

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!!!

“I can rub people the wrong way. I talk when I should listen. I own that.”
Very truly yours,
Rahm “Dead Fish” Emmanuel
Soon to be former Mayor of Chicago

Hmmm… soon to be former mayor of Chicago ILLANNOY!!!???

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/03/11/5_signs_rahm_may_be_doomed_125888.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/millennials-accounted-for-largest-share-of-home-purchases-last-year-2015-03-11

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the actual buying activity doesn’t seem crazy.

Median wages of 18-34 year old buyers: $76.9k
Median home price of 18-34 year old buyers: $189.9k

Ratio of home price to income 2.47x

Median wages of 35-49 year old buyers: $104.6k
Median home price of 18-34 year old buyers: $216k

Ratio of home price to income 2.06x

Clearly this doesn’t paint the whole picture, as I’m certain that a lot of people can’t buy because prices are too high relative to their income level (thus weak sales numbers). However, if these numbers are right, it doesn’t look like those who are buying are overextending themselves.

Via economic page at UBS……

Highly pathogenic bird flu detected in Arkansas turkey flock-USDA
Reuters 3/11/2015 12:57 PM ET
Print Article
CHICAGO, March 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Arkansas, the third-largest U.S. turkey producer and home to Tyson Foods Inc, the nation’s biggest chicken company.

The flock of 40,020 turkeys in Boone County, Arkansas, is located within the Mississippi flyway, a migratory route along which the same strain of H5N2 bird flu has previously been identified in Minnesota and Missouri.

On Tuesday, the USDA said there was a suspected case of bird flu in Arkansas. (Reporting by Tom Polansek)

Portland, OR Housing Inventory Skyrockets 95%; Prices Slip Lower As Housing Correction Ramps Up

http://www.movoto.com/portland-or/market-trends/

Arrest After Message Left on Burning House in Colorado: ‘My Wife Is a Cheater’

Firefighters in suburban Denver arrived at a home on reports of an explosion Tuesday and found flames bursting from windows and an unusual message in dark spray paint on the exterior: “My wife is a cheater,” NBC affiliate KUSA reported.

Jon Schuppe

First published March 10th 2015, 11:08 am

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/message-left-burning-house-my-wife-cheater-n320671 - 163k -

I never had a bad experience on Rio’s subway until evening rush hour yesterday but I never take the subway at rush hour. I was going to Centro for a dinner meeting and got into a totally full car and was in a crush of people by the door. The next stop about 60 more men crushed into the car and it was scary crowded so I decided to get out the next stop. The next stop about 60 more poorer people - all men going back to the North Zone tried to bum-rush into the car. (There are ladies only cars during rush hours which I’m sure are much more civil)

People leaving the cars have the right-of-way but they didn’t give a damn and totally smashed into me but there was no way in he!! I was not getting out of that subway car. I had to fight my way past a pass-rushing defensive line of wild-eyed guys determined to get into that car. I only had to go 2 meters but it was wild. I heard “Oh my God!” from someone but I finally broke out of that damn car sweating like a pig and with a tweaked shoulder.

So I called the people, told them I would be late and took a taxi, got there and had a rib-eye steak. There will be no more rush hour subway trips for me going in that direction.

Denver Housing Inventory Skyrockets 81% As Prices Slide Lower

http://www.movoto.com/denver-co/market-trends/

Suspicious Fires Twice Destroyed Key Sharpton Records

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/415212/suspicious-fires-twice-destroyed-key-sharpton-records-jillian-kay-melchior

“Former” Goldmanite Mario Draghi just threw a trillion more printing-press Euros at the Eurozone banksters, which, oddly enough, is debasing the currency. Who’d have thunk it?

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/currency/EURUSD

The IMF just approved a $17.5 billion bailout for Ukraine (whose oligarchs have made a habit of cleaning out the treasury for their own benefit). US taxpayers are on the hook for 25% of the IMF’s budget and funds. Color that money gone.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-11/imf-approves-175-billion-ukraine-bailout

Another Lehman moment coming down the pike?

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/03/11/last-time-this-ratio-spiked-like-this-stocks-crashed/

Tax breaks for the oligarchs allow them to park their ill-gotten loot in real estate.

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/03/10/tax-breaks-for-oligarchs-the-100-million-manhattan-apartment-with-a-property-tax-rate-of-0-017/

The Twitter-verse is still a-twitter over the Iran Letter. A few selected tweets:

‏@JRehling I’m glad the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden was secret, so no Republican Senators could send him a letter about it first. #47Traitors

@Maverick™ Patriots don’t contact a foreign government trying to sabotage the POTUS

‏@TheDailyEdge “Party of personal responsibility” won’t even take responsibility for letter they wrote & signed: “Republicans Blame Obama For Tom Cotton Letter”

@EricWolfson The #GOP has gone from the 47% to #47Traitors.

@Anonymous It is beyond embarrassing when #Iran has to educate our senators about basic constitutional knowledge.

@HillaryClinton GOP letter to Iranian clerics undermines American leadership. No one considering running for commander-in-chief should be signing on.

Another fine example of the caliber of “public servant” you get when 95% of your electorate are denizens of IDIOCRACY.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2988937/Indiana-lawmaker-apologizes-online-sexting-reports.html