Building For Everyone But Ourselves
A report from CCTV News. “Chinese investors have overtaken Canadians to become the biggest foreign buyers of U.S. property. According to a study from the Asia Society, a surge in Chinese buying in both U.S. residential and commercial real estate took their 5-year investment total to over $110 billion last year. The National Association of Realtors says in the year ending March 2015, buyers from China snapped up $28.6 billion worth of properties in the U.S. Canadians spent $11.2 billion, And Indians spent $7.9 billion.
“‘Right now in China, the real estate market in China is bombed. Very bad. A lot of people are selling in China and buying in Manhattan or Long Island,’ Lin Pan, partner of Lin Pan International Realty, said. The average Chinese buyer is spending almost double the average of all foreign buyers and more than triple the amount spent by Americans. ‘For whole United States home buyer the average price is $255,000. The average price foreign buyers is $499,000. But for Chinese buyers, their number goes to $830,000-the average,’ Lin said.”
The Journal News in Ohio. “Construction of new homes and sales of existing homes both saw sizeable increases for the first quarter of the year in both Butler County and the region. It’s easier now for both builders and home buyers to get financing, said Dan Dressman, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati.”
“‘Inventory is very low right now,’ said Patti Stehlin, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. ‘If you’re looking (for a home) in the price range of $150,000 to $250,000, because inventory is low, homes that are listed in that price range are flying off the market. If they’re listed properly and they’re in good condition, they’re selling the same day, sometimes within hours, sometimes before they’ve hit the MLS system,’ Stehlin said.”
From National Real Estate Investor. “Crowdfunding websites are becoming an important piece of the real estate financing puzzle, especially for apartment developers who need a little extra debt or equity to complete their plans. A growing number of developers are using crowdfunding to help build or renovate apartment properties. That’s partly because traditional banks are less eager to lend as financial reform regulations finally come into action. ‘It is working now and it’s just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger,’ says Markley Roderick, a partner with the law firm of Flaster/Greenberg.”
“Even though developers are opening hundreds of thousands of new apartments, strong demand seems likely to fill the new units in most markets. Most crowdfunding websites still provide loans for new apartment projects. The products range from permanent loans to smaller, mezzanine loans, or preferred equity. ‘Debt is much more popular,’ says Roderick. ‘It feels safer… In an equity investment, there is no liquidity. An investor might have to hold this thing forever.’”
The Real Deal on New York. “Luxury pads in Manhattan experienced a wave of price chopping in May, with the average contract seeing a 7 percent reduction, according to Olshan Realty. The brokerage, which tracks contracts on pads $4 million and up, said the average discount was just 4 percent in May 2015. Last week, there were 33 contracts signed – a 2016 record – but the average price drop was 11 percent, even as properties spent an average of 366 days on the market.”
“Last week’s No. 1 contract was a 2,846-square-foot condo at 15 Central Park West, asking $29.95 million – a discount from the $36.5 million asking price in August 2015. The apartment previously traded for $27 million in 2008.”
From Honolulu Magazine in Hawaii. “We’ve gotten so used to the cranes doing their dip-and-peck dance in Kaka‘ako, dominating our skyline and the conversation, that it comes as a bit of a shock now that the dust is settling. After all the fuss, the new towers have barely made a dent in Honolulu’s acute housing shortage. Surely, after so many units built (3,971, including those under construction), we should be seeing some relief by now. But no. Instead, rents are up and housing prices are setting records every month. What happened?”
“It may be hard on real estate developers when it pops, but the end of a bubble is usually a good thing for renters or buyers. But the moment we are in today seems different from, say, the 1980s or 2009. Future historians may note Jan. 16, 2016, as the day illusions of solving O‘ahu’s housing crisis anytime soon were laid to rest. Eight months before, in May, developers started taking deposits on a luxury high-rise called Vida at 888 Ala Moana, with units priced from $1.8 to $3.3 million and amenities.”
“When buyers rushed in to grab 40 percent of its units in the month of May, the local condo market seemed certified golden for the next decade, with plans for up to 20 new high-rise towers on the books of major players. Then came Jan. 16, 2016, and the Vida announcement that it was returning deposits and would never be built. That there hadn’t been a single sale since May warranted a gulp and a fresh look at reports of stalled luxury condo sales and frozen condo resales.”
“Locations executive vice president Scott Higashi had signaled concern nearly three months earlier: ‘Certainly at the high price points, from $1.7 million and up, the market is tight. I don’t think there are enough buyers in that marketplace to support the inventory, and it has slowed.’ By January, Higashi had scaled back that $1.7 million to $1 million and up.”
“The boom was over. A tale of two markets, it seems. And, possibly, a core problem: We’ve been building for everyone but ourselves. And, while we love our ‘ohana, too much togetherness is beginning to wear on us. We’re being squeezed financially to pay the rent or the mortgage, or being squeezed into too little space with too many other people. ‘I’ve seen a 30-percent appreciation in the better neighborhoods three years in a row,’ says appraiser and real estate expert Stephany Sofos. ‘Everybody says we’re not in a bubble. We’re in a bubble.’”
“‘Right now in China, the real estate market in China is bombed. Very bad. A lot of people are selling in China and buying in Manhattan or Long Island,’ Lin Pan, partner of Lin Pan International Realty, said. The average Chinese buyer is spending almost double the average of all foreign buyers and more than triple the amount spent by Americans. ‘For whole United States home buyer the average price is $255,000. The average price foreign buyers is $499,000. But for Chinese buyers, their number goes to $830,000-the average,’ Lin said.”
Is there a law of economics which states that dumb, borrowed money will always seek a place to die?
The smart ones are buying Bitcoin.
I was reading this morning regarding the application of blockchain technology to common business transactions. Some suggest it’ll be huuuge…call me skeptical. Of course, I said the same thing about online commerce, I was all ‘who’d buy pants on the internet..you can’t even try them on!’
fake Yuan, not borrowed real money.
“And, while we love our ‘ohana, too much togetherness is beginning to wear on us. We’re being squeezed financially to pay the rent or the mortgage, or being squeezed into too little space with too many other people.”
Hawaii has a worse case of the California housing market disease than California has.
“‘I’ve seen a 30-percent appreciation in the better neighborhoods three years in a row,’ says appraiser and real estate expert Stephany Sofos. ‘Everybody says we’re not in a bubble. We’re in a bubble.’”
How many succesive housing bubble tsunami waves have overswept Hawaii since the early 1990s? I’ve lost count.
It is such a psychotic market. A developer cancels a condo project out of fear, yet the SFR properties go up 90% in 3 years. It’s hard to make sense of it all.
What is the answer? Just let it run its course? It’s hard to build affordable housing in Hawaii!
‘I’ve seen a 30-percent appreciation in the better neighborhoods three years in a row’
It’s interesting that this will grab attention as an serious sign of a mania, but when I find reports saying land has gone up even more, in little now-where places even, it’s no big deal.
So the expensive condos didn’t work out. OK, let’s build something the locals can afford.
“No way,” says the landowner, “I paid too much to be able to put regular housing on it.”
The land bubble is at the root of the housing bubble.
‘Housing construction has boomed in the last year in northern Pinal County, but that has also contributed to rising housing prices associated with a regional shortage in available lots, according to data in a recent study.’
‘New home starts were up 35 percent in Pinal County, and as much as 60 percent in Maricopa County, in the first quarter this year in comparison to the same quarter in 2015, according to Metrostudy.’
‘David Brown, Metrostudy’s regional director in Phoenix, reported that the increase in production has caused a lot shortage and competition for future demand that would force builders to steepen housing costs.’
“In the first quarter there was a slight growth in the median closed home pricing at 4 percent across the market, though it was stronger in some submarkets like Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler,” Brown said. “Land pricing has appreciated slightly faster, which is going to push builders into higher prices.”
Here’s where the idea that the older houses will provide the affordable housing comes in. Of course they are going up even though the lots cost a few thousand when they were built:
‘April just might have been the best month for metro Phoenix’s housing market in a decade. A look at key indicators and some national rankings show why the Valley of the Sun’s housing market appears to be stronger than it’s been since the boom and crash.’
There’s only one comment to this article:
“Best”? The supposed value of my shack is almost as inflated as it was at the height of the Bubble. Are we sure this is a good thing?”
“Best”? The supposed value of my shack is almost as inflated as it was at the height of the Bubble. Are we sure this is a good thing?”
Zillow say the, er, value of my house is almost as inflated as it was at the height of the previous bubble AND that the imputed rent that I do not have to pay is way up as well.
“Are we sure this is a good thing?”
Disciples of David Lereah may think so due to the equity cash-out possibilities and definitely the imputed rent increase is a good thing in that it magically acts to increase our country’s GDP figures without requiring any real increases in production.
Definitely a good thing.
The land bubble is at the root of the housing bubble.
Indeed. And the root of the land bubble, equities bubble, art bubbble, etc. is the IOU bubble. When the IOU bubble finally implodes, that will implode the rest of the bubbles like dominos.
Although it will be painful for everyone, the most pain will come to those in debt. And I can’t wait!
Neil, please pass the popcorn.
“the IOU bubble”
Behind and backing and powering the Great Wealth Generating Machine is the IOU, aka debt.
With debt prices can easily be increased (because these prices can be paid with promises) and easily increased prices translate into easily increased equity and easily increased equity translates into easily increased wealth.
Easily increased wealth = No actual increase in work required.
Presto!: An economy powered by magic.
Once you actually look at how land is priced, you will understand why it goes up faster (and falls faster) than home prices.
Land is priced on a residual basis.
In other words, builders look at the revenues they can generate from a home, back out a profit margin, and all the costs to build the home, and what is left is what they can afford to pay for the land.
Lots of builders doing the same math in an efficient land market is what sets the price of land.
Let’s take some round numbers for an example:
Home price $250k
Profit margin of 10% ($25k)
Hard and soft costs to build and sell the home ($150k)
The most a builder could pay for this lot is $75k. And in an efficient market, someone will pay this price.
Let’s say that home prices go up by 5%, or $12.5k.
Home price: $262.5k
Profit margin of 10% ($26.25)
Hard and soft costs to build and sell the home ($150k–plus or minus…sales commissions might push this up by a few thousand)
The most a builder can pay for the lot NOW is $86.25k. And in an efficient land market, this is the new market value of the lot.
Home prices moving by 5% causes land to go up by 15%.
This will be true as long as home prices are going up faster than the cost to build (ie. the cost of inflation).
Look at this dataset:
http://www.lincolninst.edu/subcenters/land-values/metro-area-land-prices.asp
You regularly see land values go up faster than housing prices, and fall faster than housing prices.
Looking at the data, 96% of the time home prices fell year on year in a particular metro, land fell to a greater extent (on a percentage basis) (sample size more than 1,300).
82% of the time home prices went up by more than 4% year on year, land values went up faster (sample size more than 2,700).
Due to this dynamic, you can buy land without leverage, but effectively have a leveraged investment.
That’s why people ended up buying land for pennies on the dollar post-crash. Home prices falling to less than the cost to build them effectively rendered the land worthless, even if there were roads, curbs, and other infrastructure already constructed.
Ehhhh not really. Not at all.
False false and false Rental_Fraud.
Land is highly speculative resulting in massive price swings entirely unfounded on fundamentals. If you’re paying more than $500-$1000/acre, you’re paying too much. That’s why land is referred to as worthless dirt. Besides, there is a globe full of land and roughly 95% of it goes undeveloped and is
someone just paid 335k for a burned down house in my hood. 1/4 acre
Post a link.
I paid $64k for a a finished lot to BofA in 2011 at the bottom. I just put it into escrow at $245,000. The only difference? Supply and demand driven by an improving economy and housing demand.
Many (including some on the HBB) told me was crazy to pay $64K for a lot in 2011. However, it cost about 80,000/lot just to build the off-site improvements, excluding land in the large lot subdivision with lots of open space land in the common areas.
What R/W says is true. The fundamental pricing of land is driven by the underlying demand for housing. In Nor Cal, the demand is growing strongly and the supply is not.
That and a $1 will get you a cup of coffee.
“We’ve gotten so used to the cranes doing their dip-and-peck dance in Kaka‘ako, dominating our skyline and the conversation, that it comes as a bit of a shock now that the dust is settling. After all the fuss, the new towers have barely made a dent in Honolulu’s acute housing shortage.”
I recall during a 2006 visit to downtown Honolulu thinking that the state bird must be the construction crane, as they were so ubiquitous across the skyline. The other real estate market detail I recall from that visit was the extreme penetration of Countrywide Mortgage; it seemed like they had either a sign or a satellite office on every block.
A couple of years later, all the cranes went into hibernation.
The state icon in Honolulu is homeless shanty towns.
Kauai is da bomb!! I go every other year. No crowds, more rural…
“‘Inventory is very low right now,’ said Patti Stehlin, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. ‘If you’re looking (for a home) in the price range of $150,000 to $250,000, because inventory is low, homes that are listed in that price range are flying off the market. If they’re listed properly and they’re in good condition, they’re selling the same day, sometimes within hours, sometimes before they’ve hit the MLS system,’ Stehlin said.”
It seems like the Echo Bubble’s spread into the Heartland is worse than during the pre-2008 episode, as I don’t recall stories of ultra-lean inventory or homes ‘flying off the shelves’ in Cincinnati or Kansas during the previous run-up to a bubble peak.
“flying off the market.”
How can you “snap up” a house if it’s “flying”?
Agreed. This is the second time in a week where Ben has excerpted a piece showing frenzied activity in rural or small-city Ohio. I only have driven through Cincinnati and am not familiar with it, but from Google Maps, to say that Butler County is in the “Cincinnati area” requires a generous definition of that area.
Who is buying these houses? They aren’t located in vacation or typical second-home areas, and I’m guessing there aren’t very many good-paying jobs around.
Snake et. al.
My daughter attended and graduated from Miami OH U up in Oxford, OH. Very familiar with Cincinnati and environs - and every time I drove through there or went there for a bite with said daughter at a downtown nabe - I thought - who would LIVE here - U of Cincy, Xavier - good schools but then you get Over the Rhein and other surrounding sectors and man o man - looks like WW3 hit the place. Rural OH - forget it. Google earth Middletown OH and take a look at the street scape there - now that is the vision of most of OH I have experienced.
I drove a friend from UC down Vine Street through Over The Rhine in Cincinnati a few years ago and he said it looked like something out of The Wire.
Goon:
The Cincy Orchestra Hall is on Vine Street on the edge of Over the Rhine - the parking lot is across the street from Symphony Hall and concert goers are escorted to their cars. The Wire doesn’t even begin to describe the hell hole Over the Rhine is.
You are not joking! I just google street-viewed Vine St. (the safe way to see the sights).
But one thing I noticed - all of those upstairs floors on the empty buildings - plenty of places for people to live.
There was still a bubble in flyover. Here’s a house in Middletown:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2207-Sherman-Ave-Middletown-OH-45044/33229627_zpid/
2/1 on 3700 sq ft lot (very small).
It was $70K at peak 2007, now Zestimated at $46K, and for sale Fannie Home Path at $26K.
If a house like this is clean, it might make a nice Oil City house, but usually it’s not worth the price to fix up.
No 100 year old house is worth throwing money at Donk….. regardless of where it is.
Why are so many Americans gluttons for fraud? ‘Tis a puzzlement!
The Wall Street Journal
Unsealed Trump University documents reveal aggressive sales tactics
By Jacob Gershman
Published: June 1, 2016 6:50 a.m. ET
Trump University ‘sales playbook’ offers tips on ‘how to close a client’
Documents unsealed in a fraud lawsuit against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s defunct real estate school reveal many of the aggressive sales tactics the enterprise used to persuade prospective students to spend thousands of dollars on the seminars.
Included in the batch of documents made public Tuesday by Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California: a “sales playbook” from 2007 that offered tips to Trump University salesmen on how to “close a client.”
“You have built the Dreams,” reads the playbook. “They have seen the pain in their financial situation and have committed to make a change…They will begin to sell themselves to us; they will be climbing, ever closer to the peak of the emotional roller coaster.”
The lawsuit brought by ex-students accuses Trump and his now-defunct Trump University of tricking people into spending thousands of dollars on real estate seminars with false promises of access to Trump and his real estate secrets.
…
Why so many taken in by fraud…maybe this link has a piece of the puzzle. 10 mins long - Sheryl Atkisson.
I pray as she continues on this march for truth that she doesn’t end up like Breitbart.
http://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/06/01/astroturf-and-manipulation-of-media-messages-2/
end up like Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart was poisoned under direct order from Obama.
Do you still use the USD? If so, you too are a glutton for fraud.
What do you suggest using at the gas station and meat market?
Bitcoin debit card. I use it at those places.
I thought there was a political moratorium. Are we gonna start the Trump bashing thing again? Some hard sell sales tactics compare to crimes the FBI is looking into involving pay for play at the Clinton foundation and national security issues with emails?
There’s a moratorium on whiny baby arguing. I have never seen a topic on this blog where so many could kick and scream like a toddler at a mall.
Again, I’ll point out that no one on the internet took more shots at Trump than me on this real estate stuff. For years. Don’t I wish someone like Rand Paul could have ran on this and got the nomination:
-end illegal immigration.
-stop policing the world (ie Empire, kicking the necons to the curb).
-put an end to these globalism deals.
Now how in the heck does this fall to Trump? Why didn’t Ron or Rand or I don’t care, anybody put this together and get the people on board?
I don’t know. I don’t know how Trump managed it. But I never thought we’d see the establishment lose their grip such that a nominee could get this far. I don’t have to vote for him; he’ll win Arizona because the people here want illegal immigration to end. And notice that both of our senators are full on amnesty. That’s what this is - a movement to kick these establishment bastards out. I would support it if Mozilo was the candidate.
If you want to read some pants sh*tting SJW’s bash Trump there’s plenty of that in the reader comments on any Salon or HuffPost article about Trump.
I forgot to add, no more regime change:
‘At Least 4,164 People, Including Americans, Killed in Iraq During May’
I think it was 3,000 in April. It’s been this way for years.
Securing the Realm, Ben.
Yes, Realm.
There’s very little security over there. The other day I heard Hannity call Bill Kristol a cry-baby. A lot has changed in a very short period of time.
To be fair, Hannity is 200% in the tank for Trump and has more or less become his most prominent media mouthpiece. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him become press secretary in a Trump administration.
With that said, Kristol deserves whatever he has coming to him. These “neo’s” have played both sides of the fence for a long time to ensure they pull the strings. I believe they were on the Democrat side as neoliberals, in fact I think daddy Irving Kristol was one of those. They switched to the Republican side as neocons. Kristol is crying about being deprived of what he sees as his God-given right to destroy lives and Trump aptly called him out as some who “just wants to kill people”.
Kristol lobbed that David French (one of the architects of Operation Iraqi Freedom) bomb which landed with a dull thud and promptly took off for Israel.
William Kristol is EVIL.
As punishment for his decades of war crimes, he should be dropped naked from a helicopter into Raqqa, Syria and let ISIS deal with him.
You mean thrown from. Like they do to realtors over there.
On this we agree wholeheartedly. And here we’ve been, like voices crying in the desert, and along comes a much maligned man willing to put his nuts up on the table and risk getting them chopped off by calling out the Bushes and the Kristols and others.
And yet, he’s not worthy of a vote?
Up until now, he has largely self-funded his own campaign and put his money where his considerable mouth is.
And yet, he’s not worthy of a vote?
Tonight, he enters the belly of the beast in Sacramento, and will likely be greeted by a bloodthirsty mob eerily reminiscent of Aztec and Mayan human sacrifice gatherings, and of the public execution peasant spectators of medieval Europe.
And yet, he’s not worthy of a vote?
Are we waiting for a saint to descend from heaven? We’ve already had that. How has it worked out for us?
a much maligned man willing to put his nuts up on the table and risk getting them chopped off by calling out the Bushes and the Kristols and others
You couldn’t possibly be referring to that guy with orange hair. He’s having a grand old time travelling around the country in his private jet, insulting many different kinds of people. Either he becomes president or the next season of The Apprentice will have the highest ratings in its history.
And I forgot to add, he’s been willing to call out the lying sack of a MSM for what it is, lies and sleaze.
I’ll take the man with the funny hair. All. Day. Long.
The funny thing is that the stories about private interactions with Trump paint a different picture than what you would expect given his speeches:
http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulebreaker/1999/rulebreaker990908.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-31/top-trump-endorser-clinton-would-do-a-good-job
It’s possible that you have in one corner, a person who privately is thoughtful and capable, but publicly is a disaster and apparent egotistical maniac with no scruples, or ability to put together two sentences conveying a clear (but potentially controversial) thought without creating a riot.
And in the other corner, a person who publicly appears thoughtful and capable, but behind closed doors takes whatever advantage they can while pushing the boundaries of ethical behavior.
Which is better? Which will get more votes?
The Man said Bush lied in a Republican debate for Cripes sake.
Yep. South Carolina, as I recall. It was a real show stopper and I remember posting that history was made that night, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
Over the years here on the blog, we’ve discussed the Bush and Obama regimes and their filthy wars, we’ve bemoaned the neocons and their hijacking of the government, we’ve complained about the lying MSM, etc.
And along comes someone who is willing to call it all out and all of a sudden people get all squeamish and coy and they’re not sure about him or what he will do. I’m not entirely sure what he will do either, but I sure know what the others will do, so I’ll take a chance on the man with the funny hair and big mouth. Gee, folks, I’m sorry he’s not all wrapped up in stardust and skittles with a pretty bow and speaking smooth political double-talk with a silvery tongue.
Also remember things don’t improve over night, not when they’re this far gone. Improvement takes place step by step, often with stumbles. Guy hasn’t even taken office, and already he’s influenced some things for the better, realizations on trade and immigration and such. He’s talked about the Fed and jobs and NATO and the dangers of nation building and globalism. It’s a step in the right direction, and I’ll take it.
Hillary Clinton on Morning Joe lying horribly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUTEIgkOEuQ
The panel grimacing is telling.
It’s amusing how any factual article about Trump posted here is instantly construed by his rabid supporters as “bashing.” I’d guess I am one of the most apolitical posters on this board. I merely aim to educate the public before they decide how to vote, including the choice of a write-in candidate in case they support neither of the choices served up by the Republicrat duopoly.
I can’t believe they’re making such a mountain out of the Trump U lawsuit. Well, well, well, what have we here?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-01/hillarys-other-225000-speech-paid-law-firm-suing-trump-university
“LawNewz.com discovered that when it comes to politics, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, the law firm behind the class action lawsuit, is not exactly neutral either. Our analysis, using data first compiled by The Washington Post, found that Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd paid the Clintons a total of $675,000 in fees for speeches since 2009. Hillary Clinton gave a $225,000 speech at the law firm as recently as September 4, 2014. Bill Clinton also gave a speech for the same fee back in 2013, and another one in 2009 before the firm had been renamed (they used to be called Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP). In fact, of the five law firms that paid for the Clintons to speak over the last few years, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd paid out the most money.”
And then there’s this regarding the “judge”, who is hardly what I’d call neutral:
http://gotnews.com/mexican-judge-gonzalo-curiel/
A member of the La Raza Lawyers of San Diego. I didn’t even know there was such a group, but there it is.
Seriously this is not a justice action, it’s totally a political action. The judge should recuse himself from the case and the law firm ought to drop it given the heavy affiliation with Hillary. It’s politically motivated.
Finally, there’s this article that was taken down from the Huffington Post:
https://archive.is/bERJ6
“Initially, Comey had indicated that the investigation into Hillary’s home brewed email server was to be concluded by October of 2015. However, as more and more evidence in the case has come to light, this initial date kept being pushed back as the criminal investigation has expanded well beyond violating State Department regulations to include questions about espionage, perjury and influence peddling.
Here’s what we do know. Tens of millions of dollars donated to the Clinton Foundation was funneled to the organization through a Canadian shell company which has made tracing the donors nearly impossible. Less than 10% of donations to the Foundation has actually been released to charitable organizations and $2M that has been traced back to long time Bill Clinton friend Julie McMahon (aka The Energizer). When the official investigation into Hillary’s email server began, she instructed her IT professional to delete over 30,000 emails and cloud backups of her emails older than 30 days at both Platte River Networks and Datto, Inc. The FBI has subsequently recovered the majority, if not all, of Hillary’s deleted emails and are putting together a strong case against her for attempting to cover up her illegal and illicit activities.
A conviction under RICO comes when the Department of Justice proves that the defendant has engaged in two or more examples of racketeering and that the defendant maintained an interest in, participated in or invested in a criminal enterprise affecting interstate or foreign commerce. There is ample evidence already in the public record that the Clinton Foundation qualifies as a criminal enterprise and there’s no doubt that the FBI is privy to significantly more evidence than has already been made public.”
Just wondering why the Prof and others make such a big deal about Trump U when there is so much worse swirling around the Clinton Foundation, like Federal Racketeering.
I’m still surprised at Hillary Clinton’s exorbitant speaking fee, but hey, these audiences aren’t paying for the content, are they?
Bernanke charges about that much, too.
No, not paying for content. It’s a device to transfer money to her in exchange for favors. And for the most part, she hasn’t disappointed.
I can’t wait to get a gander at Obama’s speaking fees. OTOH, of what use could he really be to anyone on a political level, after his presidency? I sort of get the feeling he’ll be politely shuffled aside with platitudes of great honor. I guess he’ll make some corporation or law firm a great figurehead, but I doubt if anyone would let him do anything of consequence.
Oh no, not more financial crises in the Eurozone! I thought the situation was fully contained by QE, ZIRP, NIRP, etc?
Opinion: It’s not just Brexit — Greece, Spain, France are also on the brink
By Matthew Lynn
Published: June 1, 2016 3:16 a.m. ET
It could be a wild weekend in late June if all the crises come to a head
LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images
Striking workers set tires on fire to block the entrance to the Total oil refinery in Donges, France, on Tuesday.
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The hedge funds will have prepped their positions. The investment banks will have ordered in pizza and extra coffee ready for a long night of dealing. Exit polls will have been commissioned, and currency traders will be ready to buy or sell sterling as soon as they start getting a clear idea of whether Britain has voted to stay in or get out of the European Union on June 23.
But hold on. In fact, it is not just the risk of Brexit that the markets need to be worrying about. In truth, the real drama is going to come over a long and difficult weekend, leading up to potentially wild day in European assets on Monday, June 27.
Why? Over that weekend, Spanish voters will go back to the polls in another attempt to settle on a government, which may well see the far-left Podemos group make big gains. Greece will be struggling to find the money to pay back its latest debts. And if the strikes in France escalate, the country may be close to running out of its strategic fuel reserves — and approaching a total meltdown.
Brexit, Spexit, Grexit, and Frexit could all collide. The result? A car crash for the European markets.
…
The lesson should be obvious to everyone that these experiments in monetary policy are not working. But it’s a lesson that the leadership class resists learning.
The QE people have offered repeated assurances that the situation would be far worse if their policy remedies had not been followed.
You are incorrect. This is all by design. The EU has accomplished its goal of destroying the borders and nationalism of its member states (compare and contrast to a century ago).
The globalist agenda of a one-world government and financial system is rapidly being accomplished.
They have to crash all existing financial systems and governments first, creating a problem so large and insolvable that their solution of an even-larger one-world government and global banking system is seen as the only solution.
Scary, though plausible, explanation!
Is the “health care” still free?
————–
Venezuela is running out of everything: Bread, sugar, toilet paper…
CNN Money | May 31, 2016 | Rafael Romo and Patrick Gillespie
Venezuela is running out of just about everything. Food, medicine, electricity, toilet paper, condoms — you name it.
And over the weekend at least two large international airlines — Lufthansa and LATAM — said they will suspend service to Venezuela in the coming months due to the economic crisis.
The widespread scarcities and fleeing businesses reflect a country in crisis.
“There’s a shortage of everything at some level,” says Ricardo Cusanno, vice president of Venezuela’s Chamber of Commerce. Cusanno says 85% of companies in Venezuela have halted production to some extent.
Venezuela’s economy is spiraling into extreme recession. It is ironic given that the country sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves of oil. However Venezuela hasn’t cut back from expensive government spending even as oil prices have lost half its value in the past two years.
An oppostion-led Congress is pushing for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro and people have joined rallies and protests calling for his removal.
The country is under the spell of a drought, it’s battling the Zika virus and people are struggling to get medicine in equipment-scarce hospitals….
2banana’s Rule.
Never buy a house in a long term run democrat city with insane public unions and a huge FSA.
———-
Illinois Lawmakers Override Bill Veto To Ease Chicago Pension Payments, Propose “Financial Transaction Tax”
ZeroHedge - 6/1/2016
In yet another twist in the Chicago pension saga, Illinois lawmakers voted to override a veto by Governor Bruce Rauner and allow the city to defer payments to fund pensions.
At the heart of the matter is a 2010 state law was requiring Chicago to have its public safety workers’ pensions 90 percent funded by 2040, and under that law Chicago’s contribution would jump to nearly $834 million in 2016 from $290.4 million in 2015. The new legislation will now alter that law, and according to Reuters, reduce the 2016 payment to $619 million and allows for smaller increases through 2020, while pushing the timeline for police and fire funds to become 90 percent funded out to 2055. The police and fire funds are only 26 percent and 23 percent funded respectively.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel had argued that if Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto wasn’t overturned, a $300 million property tax hike for city property owners would have had to taken place, something Emanuel had branded the “Rauner Tax”. Rauner had called the bill a “terrible policy” and said in a statement that the measure would end up costing Chicago taxpayers $18.6 billion over time.
In context, as we discussed previously, the unfunded liabilities for Illinois were head and shoulders above other cities and will eventually need to lead to higher tax increases as part of any workable solution that is able to be put together - if any. Raising debt will also be more difficult after Moody’s downgrading of Chicago to Ba1.
With millionaires fleeing Chicago as it is and decreasing the tax base, lawmakers know that more than just a property tax is going to have to take place to solve these stunning deficits. Operating without a budget for 11 months and poised to end the fiscal year on June 30 with a $6.2 billion shortfall to add to a stack of unpaid bills in the amount of $6.8 billion, lawmakers are revisiting an old idea: a tax on trading.
My new moniker - rj soon not to be in Chicago.
Don’t move here - you won’t like it.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/absurdity-reigns-while-illinois-falls/
NOT ILLANNOY ‘falls’ - rather ILLANNOY FAILS!!!!
why did the rauner dude take the governor job= insane
He’ll either end up on the White House staff or in prison. Meanwhile, he gets to live in a very nice house and eat fancy meals.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/afscme-analysis-faq-illinois-state-workers-highest-paid-in-nation/
“Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel had argued that if Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto wasn’t overturned, a $300 million property tax hike for city property owners would have had to taken place, something Emanuel had branded the “Rauner Tax”. ”
Ok Rummy - never mind that little 700 million dollar prop tax increase you and your goons imposed on the locals last fall. Gawd where does this twirp get off?
Seems to be a pattern there…
2banana’s Corollary
It is OK to buy a house in a state that has the ability to pay short-term bills and meet longer-term obligations, such as public pensions or health care costs.
———————
Best-Run States Are Heavily Republican, Study Finds
Investor’s Business Daily | 6/1/2016 | John Merline
The ten most financially sound states in the country are all heavily Republican, while all but one of the ten worst states are heavily Democratic. That’s according to a ranking of states in a new report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
The report — “Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition” — used official government data to measure the states’ ability to pay short-term bills and meet longer-term obligations, such as public pensions or health care costs, using five separate measures.
States can do well on some measures and poorly on others. Alaska, for example, ranks at the top for cash, budget and long-run solvency, but near the bottom on the other two measures. Ohio ranks fifth in cash solvency, but 48th on trust fund solvency. This year’s report includes Puerto Rico, which scored dead last on every measure.
The report also provides an overall ranking of the states. And while Mercatus makes no mention of the states’ political leanings, every state in the top 10 except for Florida is solidly red, meaning those states voted for the Republican in each of the past four presidential elections (see table). And Florida has had a Republican governor since 1999, and the state House and Senate are both controlled by Republicans.
At the other end of the spectrum, except for Kentucky, the 10 worst states are all solidly blue. And all but two of the governors since 1947 have been Democrats.
‘Yale’s Shiller Warns Over Another Possible Housing Collapse’
Kinda. It’s so watered down and indirect I wonder if he knew what the question was.
‘I’ve seen a 30-percent appreciation in the better neighborhoods three years in a row’
The other day Janet Yellen was getting some prize (money too, I’m sure) and she mentioned “we sure didn’t see that housing bubble coming.”
Just how many times has anybody that counts at the Federal Reserve seen a bubble coming?
She received the Radcliffe Medal, which Harvard awards to a person who has had a “transformative impact on society.” She used the occasion to deliver typically ambiguous forward guidance. Bernanke was on the stage too.
The university magazine published an unctuous puff piece documenting the event. It portrayed Yellen as a grandmotherly oracle. She didn’t just react to the financial crisis. She predicted it. Get a load of this:
“Moments earlier, former Fed chair Ben Bernanke ’75 had praised his colleague and close friend not just for her cautious temperament—a minimum requirement for anyone hoping to lead the central bank—but also for her willingness to take bold action in difficult circumstances. In the years leading up to the Great Recession, when she led the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Yellen had predicted the financial crisis. ‘She was consistently prescient,’ Bernanke remembered, ‘about the peril that an imploding financial system posed for the economy….I recall how often in the meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee [which sets monetary policy], when it came Janet’s turn to talk, everyone would go silent.’”
http://harvardmagazine.com/2016/05/commencement-radcliffe-medal-janet-yellen
Presentation to the Fourth Annual Haas Gala
San Francisco, CA
By Janet L. Yellen, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
For delivery October 21, 2005
‘Tonight I would like to focus on how the Fed, or central banks, more generally, should respond to asset price bubbles. This is one of the few policy issues where the Fed’s approach has come in for real criticism. I thought it might be of interest to this audience since, one way or another, it has probably touched the life of almost everyone here in the Bay Area.’
‘Those were heady days in the markets, in the Bay Area, and at Haas. The Fed suspected there was a stock price bubble developing as early as 1996. I was still at the Board when Greenspan made his famous irrational exuberance speech. The Fed chose not to try to burst the bubble. Instead, it did its very best to pick up the pieces when the bubble finally popped. I think that effort was pretty successful. But many observers wonder if we erred and think the Fed should have tightened monetary policy sooner.’
‘The question is not one of purely historic interest. Today, it’s not stock prices but house prices that have been soaring. Those of us who live in the Bay Area know that you can’t get through a cocktail party without some discussion of an eye-popping price somebody just got for their two-bedroom, one-bath handyman special.’
‘But the Bay Area isn’t the only place in the country, or the world, for that matter, where soaring house prices have raised concerns about national economic stability. In the U.S. as a whole, the share of residential investment in GDP is now at its highest level in decades, and this sector has been a key source of strength in the current expansion. The question for policy is: will this source of strength reverse course and become instead a source of weakness? Put more bluntly: Is there a house-price “bubble” that might deflate, and if so, what would that mean for the nation’s economy? What, if anything, should policy do beforehand? Fortunately, there is a large scholarly literature on asset price bubbles and monetary policy, and Haas faculty in finance, economics and real estate have made important contributions.’
‘How, then, should monetary policy react to unusually high prices of houses—or of other assets, for that matter? As a starting point, let me note that the issue is not now (nor during the stock market boom) whether policy should react at all. As part of its analysis of demand in the economy, central bank models have long incorporated the wealth effect of house prices and other assets on spending; it is just one of many factors, including fiscal policy, exchange rates, and so on, that affect demand. The debate lies in determining when, if ever, policy should be focused on deflating the asset price bubble itself.’
‘In my view, it makes sense to organize one’s thinking around three consecutive questions—three hurdles to jump before pulling the monetary policy trigger. First, if the bubble were to deflate on its own, would the effect on the economy be exceedingly large? Second, is it unlikely that the Fed could mitigate the consequences? Third, is monetary policy the best tool to use to deflate a house-price bubble?’
‘My answers to these questions in the shortest possible form are, “no,” “no,” and “no.”
How, then, should monetary policy react to unusually high prices of houses—or of other assets, for that matter?
Well uh… maybe not aggressively encouraging it might be a start.
Wow, Just wow. Janet Yellen is every bit as dangerous as Alan Greenspan. Yellen is an unapologetic asset inflation pusher and cheerleader. Asset inflation is her ultimate GOAL, Really frigtening, And she made the above remarks in 2005!
Scary stuff. Janet Yellen is just like Greenspan. She believes in letting bubbles form and pop all by themselves, and then clean up afterwards (at great cost to savers and retirees, as well as poor and propertyless people). And, as Neuromance already said, she also seems keen on aggressively *encouraging* bubbles. That is just crazy!
It doesn’t do much good with demand for depreciating assets like houses at 20 year lows.
She believes in letting bubbles form and pop all by themselves
Yes, she wants to let the market run its course, instead of getting involved and manipulating house or stock prices.
Every page of every university magazine that I’ve ever laid eyes on is its own special piece of puff.
A bit of local Tampa Bay “lugzhurry” real estate news:
http://www.observernews.net/2016/05/25/failing-seawalls-at-mirabay-cause-division-among-residents/
I’ve posted about this development before. When we moved here in 2000, it was non-existent. It was nothing more than marsh land bounded by Tampa Bay on the west, US 41 on the east, which for many years was the only direct north-south route along much of Florida’s west coast, a lot of stop and go through the towns along the way.
When there was a period of strong moon tide, water would lap over 41 in large puddles. That’s the kind of land this development was built on. One of the locals I know, who was born and raised here, told me that they used to go clamming in the marsh and laughed with derision when they saw the development going up.
It was purchased by Newland Communities, with master planning in 2002. Along about 2003 they created an entrance with a clubhouse and model homes, started filling in the swamp and began selling lots and building up a grassy privacy/noise berm along 41.
I knew a lady who worked there at the time. It was touted as the last piece of undeveloped waterfront property on Tampa Bay, and people camped out to buy the lots and in some cases flip them the same day. Also, because the Tampa Electric plant was close by, she received requests from buyers for property from which the belching smokestacks could not be seen. With many lots, the view of the stacks couldn’t be avoided.
And so Mirabay was born, this area’s “lugzhurry” development, with Key West and plantation style houses and villas, man made canals, etc. Here’s a bit of their PR stuff:
“About MiraBay MiraBay by Newland Communities is a 750-acre waterfront residential community located 20 miles south of Tampa in Apollo Beach, Fla. The community features The MiraBay Club, a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse with a spa, fitness center, resort-style pool, and tennis and basketball courts. Upon completion, MiraBay will have about 1,900 single-family homes, custom homes, townhomes and villas. The community is adjacent to Wolf Creek Nature Preserve and offers a 135-acre man-made lagoon and a 3.5-mile canal system with direct boating access to Tampa Bay. MiraBay was honored by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission for having the Tampa Bay area’s best master-planned community design in 2002, and its homebuilders have also won national design awards. Visit http://www.mirabay.com for more information.”
As I recall, homes in there started at $500,000 during bubble 1.0. I remember talking to a dental hygienist who purchased a home there with her sister. When the bubble hit, prices declined somewhat, and then the place had a bit of a resurgence later on with a crop of lower priced properties $250,000 +
Anyway, the above story is just the latest chapter in the failing seawall issue, which has been an ongoing saga since about 2007. Additionally, the canals have been filling up with silt and some boaters in the community have been most unhappy, since they can’t get their watercraft out onto the bay unless it is high tide, or so I’ve heard. And the “lagoon” gets sort of hot and stinky during the summer.
The sea walls are cracking, the land is sinking back into the bay and the residents are “divided”, because those who don’t live on the waterfront don’t want to have to pay for their neighbors’ seawalls and canals.
That’s our local “lugzhurry” bubble development. People from out of town who buy there have no idea, unless they happen to be lucky enough to run into a local or long time area resident, that the property they’re buying sits on a filled in marsh.
When you are in a housing bubble and spending a lifetime of savings or going massively in debt.
No one does research.
No one makes an informed decision.
It is all - buy now before prices go up again.
That’s our local “lugzhurry” bubble development. People from out of town who buy there have no idea, unless they happen to be lucky enough to run into a local or long time area resident, that the property they’re buying sits on a filled in marsh.
A bubble market …
“No one does research.”
The price rise is all the research that is needed.
“No one makes an informed decision.”
Being informed of the price rise is all the information that you need.
“It is all - buy now before prices go up again.”
And this is what makes such a market work.
And they will all become victims…
“No one could have saw this coming.”
“We didn’t read or understand all the forms.”
“The banks got a bailout - we need a bailout.”
“The greedy developer took all our money.”
“The government should have stopped this.”
“And they will all become victims…”
Only if it comes to an end. This is why it should never be allowed to end. Never, never be allowed to end. Never, never, never.
Never. Janet will save us.
Don’t forget; “the bank should have never loaned me that much money!” The Australia FB’s in the video I posted the other day were all over that. They even mentioned, “we took out so many loans in a geographically narrow area, that when the mines closed were were sure to get wiped out.” They also pointed to disclosures in the documents that explicitly warned of that and said, “see, the bank knew!”
They had won investors of the year in Australia not long before. Now they are wrestling a $10 million alligator. In their mid-20’s.
Don’t forget; “the bank should have never loaned me that much money!”
I think a large number of flippers are realtors and contractors.
To be honest, before the bubble 1.0 it probably wouldn’t have occurred to me to research old maps of an area before purchasing. I usually just considered a property according to what I could personally observe in an area/neighborhood. I learned not to buy something adjacent to vacant land, because you never knew what could happen. I preferred established neighborhoods. I learned that county planners would tell you stuff about plans for an area that could easily change. There’s one property I’m sure glad I passed on, despite assurances from the county.
Even with established neighborhoods, you never know. There’s a neighborhood over in the St. Pete area that’s been around for a long time and has been adversely affected because of an old Raytheon plant nearby, that has been leaking crap into the ground. People can’t sell their homes without disclosing, and that often puts the kibosh on the deal.
When buying real estate (in sane times).
Google is your friend
The County Court House is your friend
The local township permit and sewer department are your friends
Talking to potential neighbors is a great friend…
These may be friends, but county planners are not. I don’t say they lie deliberately, but things change and assurances that “they want to keep the area rural in nature” become BS when some developer “snaps up” the nearby orange groves.
Bill DaWahl, write a check. Don’t use my own money.
“Don’t use my own money.”
WTF are you talking about?
Silly you, your screen name. Duh.
I’m not interested in your money. Just shove it up a homesick hidey-hole and stop talking about it. My dad used to pull that juvenile trick all the time, scream about how everyone was after his money when he was pilfering it from others.
Calling Mr. Banker!!!
Bill, great case study of one development’s problems. Thanks.
“No one does research”
This has puzzled me for ages.
In my neighborhood in LA, there are several very similar 60s-era high-rises. Some are well-run, others are not, though prices are pretty much the same regardless.
The badly-run buildings have boards whose only concern is keeping monthly HOA fees as low as possible, so routine maintenance goes undone and when something breaks it is simply not replaced.
Eventually it catches up: one building was finally declared unsafe and required a $20 million gut reno to fix things like bad wiring and rotting pipes, and condo owners were assessed between $100,000 and $200,000 PER APARTMENT to foot the bill.
So with multiple offers on the first day of listing, who possibly has time to do their due diligence about this huge investment they are about to make? The lack of research and constantly rising prices, regardless of a building’s condition and finances, also allow corrupt boards get away with anything from poor management to theft. Yet one more consequence of the bubble, and I doubt we’ll hear about the ugly consequences until after the dust has settled. At least, that’s what happened last time.
Let’s just hope all these cash-strapped 3%-downers have a spare $200k to put in when the HOA comes calling.
I think I read about that one building that was declared unsafe, although I seem to recall it was in Long Beach or Huntington Beach.
This one is in West Hollywood, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn there are a lot around. And we’re talking high-rises with full-time management. How many low-rise condo buildings are about to collapse, flood, catch on fire, etc?
Palmetto, is this your new handle? Excellent post. The irony is that, for almost a century, developers successfully have been selling swampland to people not from here. Who will save these individuals from their ignorance? Nobody, because there’s too much money to be made from it.
I wonder what flood insurance costs down there. We built on a lot of land that from a topography standpoint was very risky to develop.
“Palmetto, is this your new handle?”
Yes, it is, snake. I did make a little announcement the other day, because I don’t want to be accused of being a serial ID flipper. It’s really only temporary, I’ll go back to my old handle after a while.
“Excellent post.”
Thank you. And your observation that this is an old Florida land/RE theme is a very apt one.
I don’t know what flood insurance costs there, but I look forward to more of this Mirabay saga. All it would take is one good storm/hurricane funneling up the mouth of Tampa Bay and the water will reclaim the marsh. In the meantime, there will be lots of drama over time about who should pay what. The old canals of Apollo Beach to the north have been filling in as well, and the residents want the county to pay for the dredging, of course. Which means the Hillsborough County taxpayers.
Wow, that is just insane.
One tropical storm away from complete disaster.
Not to mention being in the shadow of a coal-fired power plant.
Amazing, isn’t it? And they’re still building and selling. I’ve been in there, and I have to admit it is rather nice looking as long as you’re out of view of the stacks, but even if I had the money to buy in there, I wouldn’t.
I do know a couple of people who did and they’re pretty happy with it. One guy is retired and said he and his wife like the whole Key West thing and feel as if they’re on vacation all the time.
It was nothing more than marsh land … people camped out to buy the lots and in some cases flip them the same day.
Wait, people *actually* had swampland in Florida to sell you? And people bought it? I thought that was a JOKE. and a well-known one at that.
It’s a joke, but based on truth. Florida’s land schemes over the decades are legendary. When I lived in South Florida during the 80s, the father of one of my friends was a retired salesman for a company that sold lots on the west coast to people sight unseen. Land that was essentially undeveloped and had no roads or utilities to it.
Here’s the wiki on the Swampland in Florida theme:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampland_in_Florida
In the 1960s and 1970s, scammers used nationwide advertising to lure victims to buy Florida real estate without visiting the properties first. It was a form of confidence trick. The new owners came to find their land was under water in a swamp or in some other way impossible to build upon. As the scam became widely known, California and New York legislators acted in 1963 to restrict this false advertising. Florida also enacted the Installment Land Sales Act that year in an effort to restore its reputation.[5]
Swampland scams still occur in Florida. The Internet has brought about a resurgence via online auctions of Florida real estate. Scammers circumvent commercial registration requirements by making one-on-one sales. Over great distances some buyers can be convinced to pay before verifying claims. It usually involves unbuildable swampland misrepresented as buildable to fraudulently inflate the sale price.[6][7][8]
‘Even though developers are opening hundreds of thousands of new apartments, strong demand seems likely to fill the new units in most markets.’
If the land is expensive, only luxury apartments can be built:
‘For many Augusta-Aiken area residents, apartment living conjures up images of tan carpets, eggshell-white walls, laminate countertops and low-end appliances that they remember from years past. That’s no longer the reality at many apartment complexes, however, and it’s certainly not the case at one of the market’s newest and most upscale multifamily communities – Grand Oaks at Crane Creek.
‘The 300-unit “Class A” apartment complex under development in west Augusta has features more commonly found in new single-family homes, including engineered-wood flooring, granite countertops, walk-in showers and stainless steel appliances.’
‘Grand Oaks is no less posh on the outside, where its “contemporary craftsman” architecture uses tumbled brick and rough-hewn cedar brackets to evoke the feel of a resort lodge. A resort experience is what some residents might feel when lounging in a poolside cabana or shooting billiards in the Wi-fi-equipped resident lounge next to a well-equipped fitness/wellness room.’
‘The amenities don’t come cheap; rents range from $999 for an 841-square-foot one-bedroom up to $1,999 for a 1,818-square-foot two-bedroom carriage unit that has its own garage.’
‘In a market known for low-cost housing – the median rent for a metro Augusta two-bedroom apartment is a little above $700, about $400 lower than the national average, according to New York-based real estate researcher REIS Inc. – the luxury rates are largely unprecedented.’
‘With many of Augusta’s existing apartment units having aged out of “Class A” status – 72 percent were built before 1990, according to REIS – Southeastern said its hometown was a logical choice for their upscale brand. Mike Jordan, the interim planning director for Aiken, said it’s difficult to pinpoint one industry or development that is fueling multifamily growth.’
“There’s so many good things happening in the region that it’s hard to tell,” said Jordan, who has lived in Aiken since the 1960s. “Our area is not a secret anymore.”
‘According to the latest available data, the Census Bureau’s Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units report from the third quarter of 2015, about 80 percent of newly constructed apartments were rented within a year. That’s as the number of new units coming online hit nearly 100,000, more new apartments than any time since the late 1980s and three times the quarterly rate from five years earlier.’
‘Single-family homes are still king – roughly two-thirds of all homebuilding is traditional homes – but multifamily housing is growing at a faster rate. In April, U.S. housing starts for multifamily construction – a category that also includes condominiums – grew 10.7 percent compared with 3.3 percent for single-family units.’
‘The U.S. homeownership rate in third quarter 2015 was 63.7 percent, the lowest level in nearly 30 years.’
‘Jerry Ascierto, a New York-based editor for Hanely Wood Business Media’s Residential Construction Group, said relocation trends have encouraged multifamily construction in Augusta and other second-tier Sun Belt cities because they generally aren’t as overbuilt as major markets such as Atlanta and Tampa and Orlando, Fla.’
‘He said the rising cost of construction has pushed multifamily developers to go upscale to get the best return on their investment, however. Wilson said she believes the developments will encourage owners of older communities to reinvest in renovate to remain competitive for upwardly mobile renters.’
“It’s going to force everybody to do more than just paint the walls and put down new carpet,” she said. “Everybody is going to have to up their game in terms of quality of construction and finishes, and that’s a good thing.”
‘Four years ago, Stefanie Voigt, an underwater cinematographer, moved into an apartment on a small island called Belle Isle, part of the Venetian Islands in Miami Beach. Her building overlooked Biscayne Bay, her rent was affordable, and her neighbors were friendly and welcoming. It was pretty much the ideal living situation.’
‘Voigt’s future at 31 Venetian Way, however, is in jeopardy: The owner has proposed demolishing the 120-unit apartment complex, which was built as army barracks, to build a 172-unit complex. The new project would stand five stories tall, up two stories from the 1930s-era buildings there now.’
‘The new apartments would be built at a higher elevation to accommodate for sea-level rise, and with two new stories, the building would be much taller than the existing structures, likely blocking the bay view for some neighbors. Voigt says the majority of her neighbors almost certainly wouldn’t be able to afford rent in the new luxury apartments.’
‘High-end new developments, stagnant salaries, Miami‑Dade issues moving north – if it’s hard to pay the rent in Fort Lauderdale, there are a few reasons.’
“Downtown Fort Lauderdale is pretty unaffordable from certain stances, even for two young professionals with decent salaries,” Huber says. Huber, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University, knows some folks are struggling. “Think about it. Your single mother…trying to put your kids through school. I have several students that are doing that. That’s just unaffordable. You have to drive; you have child care. There’s a lot of stress that can come from that.”
‘In an economy driven in part by tourism and retail, many South Florida workers aren’t bringing home big checks. Whether they’re professionals like Huber or weathering tough times, they’re devoting a good chunk of their earnings to rent. Soaring property values may be good for development, but some neighborhoods are struggling to maintain some semblance of community and historic character - and many renters are struggling to stay afloat in a competitive rental market.’
“I think the rental market is no good, to be honest,” says Jorge Hirmas, a realtor with Weichert Realtors, which covers Broward and Palm Beach counties. “It’s no good for the people looking for rentals, but investors are loving it right now.”
“It goes beyond just a shortage,” says Mandy Bartle, executive director of South Florida Community Land Trust, a nonprofit that offers affordable and lease-purchase homes for very low to middle-income households. “There’s a mismatch in the types of units being built. It’s all been luxury or high-end, so the price points are mismatched with what people can actually afford.”
‘Many new apartment projects can carry “somewhat staggering” rental rates, from between $2 and $3 a square foot, says Jack McCabe of McCabe Research and Consulting in Deerfield Beach, which analyzes the real estate market. The working and middle classes are not seeing any new projects for their income bracket.’
‘McCabe says that in Fort Lauderdale, as in the rest of South Florida, rents have been skyrocketing since 2011 and are quickly reaching the point of being unaffordable for a large percentage of Broward’s population, whose median household income is about $56,000 a year. According to an Affordable Housing and Economic Analysis study prepared for the City of Fort Lauderdale by the Florida International University Metropolitan Center, about 55 percent of Fort Lauderdale’s renter households are paying more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing costs, representing a 39.7-percent increase in cost-burdened renter households since 2000. In addition, the study says that 30 percent of the city’s renters are “severely” cost-burdened, shelling out more than 50 percent of their incomes on housing costs.’
“It doesn’t leave much money for recreation, personal expenses or saving up money for a down payment to buy a house,” McCabe says, adding that housing costs force some to forgo vacations and necessities like medications and doctor visits.’
‘People are going anywhere they can to find affordable housing, from blighted areas in the urban core to the suburbs and beyond. But in Broward, between the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean, moving away from an urban center leaves little room for finding anything affordable. “People aren’t moving north to Boca,” San Miguel says. “The push is out, it’s farther away from where they work, which creates a whole other series of societal issues,” such as stress to roadways, and time devoted to commuting, San Miguel says.’
This is the mal-investment some posters have a hard time getting their head around. Destroying affordable housing to put up unaffordable housing.
“The new apartments would be built at a higher elevation to accommodate for sea-level rise”
____________________________/
LOL. Note to prospective buyers: when sea-level rise occurs, being on an upper floor is not going to preserve the value of your unit.
Or…
Developers using “climate change” to get around zoning.
“sea level rise”
This is Florida, right? And now and then in Florida those pesky hurricane-thingys pay a visit, right? And when these hurricanes pay a visit they bring as a gift to the low-laying Florida lands such interesting things as storm surges, right?
Here …
Storm surge (images) …
https://www.google.com/search?q=storm+surge&biw=1360&bih=651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiL5IqWiIfNAhUF62MKHRHWAK0Q_AUIBigB
“when sea-level rise occurs,”
Checked again yesterday, still no change in the last 35 years.
It’s the short-term sea-level rise that will get you!
The long-term one is not an issue, as Venice, Italy has already figured out.
$2 grand for a 2-bed apartment? In AUGUSTA?
You could buy a $200K house for $1400 PITI, and that’s the high end.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/823-Scott-Nixon-Memorial-Dr-Augusta-GA-30907/14940637_zpid/
Far too many aprtments being built here in Augusta and the neighboring towns of Evans, Martinez and Grovetown. All of this building is due to Fort Gordon ramping up but other than that, and the Masters tournament, there isn’t much going on here to justify building all of these “Class A” apartments. Most folks here are lucky to make $40K a year. Who do they think can afford all of these “luxury” places anyway?
The forecast for Phoenix is 114 to 116 degrees F this weekend; better get ‘em while they’re warm. Hehe.
Warmists gonna warm.
It’s been a cooler spring than last year. I think that goes for Phoenix, as well as here in Orange County. My area will get to 90 this weekend. May was very cool compared to 2015, and I am looking forward to October already!
I got off my connection flight at 11 pm in PHX last June. It was still 103 outside. I could feel the heat through the glass in the airport hallway. So brutal.
In Tucson it gets down into the 70’s about the same time. Phoenix is a heat sink of asphalt, tile roofs and concrete.
Tucson is higher in elevation that also helps
I don’t think they allow concrete tile roofs in Tucson anymore ?
Well, that is one way to fill empty, abandoned and foreclosed houses.
—————–
Less Than 500 of 163,000 Migrants Find Jobs In Sweden
Breitbart | June 1, 2016 | Chris Tomlinson
Sweden’s state-funded broadcaster has revealed that of 163,000 migrants who came to Sweden, less than 500 have found jobs. Sweden saw a record 163,000 applications for asylum last year as a result of the migrant crisis and many Swedes were assured that the new arrivals would contribute to the economy; but new research from Sweden’s state-owned SVT reveals that fewer than 500 migrants have found work.
talk about FSA- bama wants 100,000 here toot suit !
Of course, whats the demand for workers and servers who don’t speak the native tongue and want to smack women around?
Racis.
crushing.housing.losses.
‘By the admission of at least one member, the Bozeman City Commission has “kicked the can down the road” on the issue of growing numbers of homes turned into vacation rentals in the city.’
‘Visit any vacation home rental website and you’ll find hundreds of Bozeman homes offered as vacation rentals. This is a dramatic increase from the 1990s and — in a market where the conventional rental market has almost no vacancies — it’s becoming a problem.’
‘Neighbors to vacation rentals voice concerns about traffic and late-night party noise coming from these rentals and the commercialization of their neighborhoods as more and more rentals hit the market.’
‘And the impact of the issue on the affordable housing crisis facing the city cannot be ignored. One vocational rental website listed 280 homes available in Bozeman recently. Taking that many homes off the sales and rental market in a city the size of Bozeman is certainly going to drive up home prices and rents substantially.’
How many of these toilet scrubbers would be doing this if resale prices weren’t going up, up, up?
Well, if you can’t open a “charity” to accept donations and become rich,
May as well become a Donald Trump in Real Estate…
Encinitas, CA Housing Affordability Improves As Prices Plummet 13% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/encinitas-ca/home-values/
Where to hide as big bank warns of 15% swoon for stocks
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Published: June 1, 2016 7:26 a.m. ET
Critical information ahead of the U.S. market’s open
Picturehouse/Courtesy Everett Collection
¿Tienes miedo?
Yesterday didn’t do much in the way of confidence building for investors, who continue to bang on the door of 2,100 for the S&P 500, but to no avail.
“U.S. equities are still unable to break new highs, which we believe could be a sign that another selloff is underway,” ADS Securities’s Nour Al-Hammoury told clients on Wednesday.
That’s just a sampling of the comments out there right now, as June kicks off.
“The global risk rally has come unstuck in the past 24 hours, as investors keep adding to their ‘reasons to worry’ list,” says IG’s senior market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
Those fresh additions include an OECD warning that a “yes” for Brexit could rattle negatively around the globe. Note the yen is king this morning, lording it over other currencies — a red flag that investors are a little unnerved.
…
“Where to hide as big banks warn of 15% swoon for stocks?”
Er, cash? (Something that an individual investor can easily do but a money manager - one who collects a hefty fee - cannot).
Yeah, or you can lock up a cheap loan to the bank in a 5 yr CD and get 0.5% interest, yippie!
Good thing I am part of a credit union.
“Yeah, or you can lock up a cheap loan to the bank in a 5 yr CD and get 0.5% interest, yippie!”
Let’s take a look at this:
If inflation was high then returns on saved money would also be high - perhaps not actual inflation-adjusted returns but nominal returns.
Q. But what return is it that is taxed? Is it the nominal return or is it inflation-adjusted return?
A. It is the nominal return.
So if inflation is high then the taxes will dig deeply into the actual inflation-adjusted return because what is being taxed is the nominal return. So if inflation is, say, 6% and the nominal return is, say 8%, then the nominal return is 8% while the actual inflation-adjusted return is only 2%. But taxes are not restricted to applying just to the 2% return, no, taxes are applied to the entire 8% return.
So if you are in the 25% tax bracket then then 25 percent of the nominal return - the nominal 8% return - will be taxed away. Since the actual inflation-adjusted return is only 2% and the taxes you will be paying will be based on the 8% return you will in-effect be breaking even.
But if inflation is low then both nominal and inflation-adjusted returns will be low. If inflation is zero then nominal returns and inflation-adjusted returns will be identical. So in this case, in a zero inflation rate case, any return at all - even after taxes - will be a real return.
An effect of this is: In a high return, high inflation environment the big winner, the passive winner is the tax man. In a low return, low inflation environment the tax man barely shows a win at all.
So it is in the interest of the tax-collecting PTB to sell the idea to the Unwashed Masses that inflation is good because it is good, it is good to the people who rely on taxes.
I haven’t seen many examples of people making an argument that high inflation is good. America has had nice low inflation for over 30 years now.
@MighyMike, Inflation has been low for 30 years? Yes, consumer inflation has been low and wage inflation has been even lower, so that consumer buying power has not increased in 30 years.
But what did we get instead? Well, instead we got MASSIVE asset inflation (houses, stocks, bonds) due to forced low interest rates, and massive debt in order to buy the one asset that most people aspire to own: Houses.
The net result of all this is that the bottom fell out of the middle class.
Assflation is evil.
There’s a timing issue there. People who bought houses before the year 200 and stayed in them didn’t “cash out refinance” are doing OK.
Which simply means prices have a long way to fall. A very long way to fall yet.
@MightyMike @20:12:09,
Timing issue? I agree it would be bad timing to be born in a year where time travel back to year 2000 for the purpose of buying a house would not be possible, yes. (sarcasm off)
Are you really so self-absorbed that you do not realize that not everyone could buy a house in 2000 and thereby be “doing ok”.
Well sit tight because grossly inflated prices always have a long way to fall. No time machine necessary.
If I did a shot for every apartment article I read that had the word ‘luxury’ in it, I’d blackout by 10am.
I could easily do an entire blog on it with multiple posts every day. It’s the most under-reported bubble ever. From this past weekend:
“The Fed’s unprecedented foray with interest rate manipulation has caused these assets to become far more detached from underlying fundamentals than they were prior to the start of the Great Recession.”
“The reemergence of equity and bond bubbles are being debated in the financial media. But what is less known to investors is the massive amount of forced hot air that has been blown into the commercial real estate market. For example, commercial real estate prices have increased by double digits for the past six years, according to The National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. Also, according to the Real Estate research firm Green Street Advisors, commercial property prices now exceed the 2007 prior peak by 24% overall.”
“And in cities such as Manhattan, preferred office buildings and apartment complexes are 60% higher than what existed during the previous housing bubble.”
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9647
It was largely commercial real estate (which includes subdivisions, apartments, condos, retail and office) that wiped out the oil states lenders in the 80’s. It even sunk Arizona, which has no oil.
Poof …
“From $4.5 Billion To Nothing: Forbes Revises Estimated Net Worth Of Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes.”
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/4-5-billion-nothing-forbes-100000828.html
Maybe she’ll develop the greatest app ever : “Fart counter”, it simply counts your farts and estimates the amount of gas. It’s primary revenue source is ads. Based on estimated user #s, the IPO could be in the $10-15 billion range.
That is coffee-spitting funny, right there, I don’t care who you are!
Maybe a remake of Don’t cry for me Argentina needs to be made into Don’t cry for me Venezuela.
I remember well ol Hugo Chavez nationalizing the oil industry there and thinking as long as they pump oil the peeps will be happy - once that stops look out - and now - here it comes - another South American failed state. To think that Obama actually gave an audience to Hugo has to raise an eyebrow me thinks.
http://wwwtheworldandeverythinginit.blogspot.com/2016/05/venezuela-in-crisis.html
where are sean penn and danny glover now?
Bernie Sanders, Danny Glover Attend Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs
By MARYALICE PARKS
May 30, 2016, 11:21 PM ET
Bernie Sanders capped Memorial Day off by heading to game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
The Vermont senator was spotted arriving at halftime with actor Danny Glover, who was present at a campaign event earlier in the day. The duo headed to their seats in section 108, row 15, behind the Thunder basket.
Several spectators chanted, “Bernie! Bernie!” while others asked to take selfies with the Democratic presidential hopeful.
Earlier in the evening, Sanders appeared at a rally wearing a Warriors hat, and asked the crowd of 11,000 if it “guaranteed [him] the California primary.”
Speaking to reporters, Sanders campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs seemed to draw a thin comparison between the Warriors’ remarkable comeback, after achieving one of the most thrilling wins in NBA playoff history on Saturday.
“Did you know that the Golden State Warriors were down 3-1 in what many of the experts said was a mathematical impossibility?” Briggs said with a grin. “Now, they’re back, in a position where in California they could come from behind, and score a major victory.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-danny-glover-attend-game-nba-playoffs/story?id=39492127
You mean that was really them??? Holy carp, I saw that video on ‘Kimmel’ last night and thought it was a joke!
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/05/why-are-so-many-millennials-still-living-home
It’s NOT different this time…once people start having kids, they start to move out of mom and dad’s house.
And the age at which people are having kids has been on a long-term glide path (no paradigm shift).
Yeah and you talk to most of millennial friends, and we cringe at the idea of having kids or being married. It’s crazy to think for my parents, being married at 21-22 and having a couple kids by 25-28 was normal. Now that’s seen as crazy and way too young. Women now want to focus on their careers and use science to make their infertile 35 yr old high risk bodies have a kid or two.
My wife and I had our first child when she was 34. Last kid before she was 40.
The order that her mom laid out for her was 1) get educated; 2) make sure you can take care of yourself before you take on the responsibility to take care of someone else…because daddy may not be around.
My wife is not a millennial (obviously). These views have come more to the forefront as it has become more and more common for women to have careers.
My point is simply that these are not new attitudes that have come along with millennials…it’s the continuation of a long-term trend.
It just so happens that the millennial generation is a large generation, and still relatively young.
And a fraction of the size of the boomer cohort.
If the fraction in question is >1, you are correct. Otherwise, nope.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/
Nonsense.Those are merely estimates. Currently and to date, boomer generation is the largest. The millennial cohort is smaller. Much smaller when illegals and projected immigration is excluded.
Well not only that, but our current economy, inflation, and Fed Reserve has ensured that a dual income is absolutely necessary for survival these days. I think my mom and many others were some of the last stay at home moms, although she eventually went to become a teacher once we were old enough.
There is no inflation and hasn’t been in 17 years.
. Women now want to focus on their careers and use science to make their infertile 35 yr old high risk bodies have a kid or two.
Many of them will be disappointed. They’ll spend tens of thousands on IVF or similar treatments and get no baby in return.
‘ “Crowdfunding websites are becoming an important piece of the real estate financing puzzle, especially for apartment developers who need a little extra debt or equity to complete their plans. A growing number of developers are using crowdfunding to help build or renovate apartment properties. That’s partly because traditional banks are less eager to lend as financial reform regulations finally come into action. ” ‘
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=crowdfunding+real+estate
Every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane can get in on the action. And I thought established REITs were enough. You can now get in on the IPO of a RE development. I see a little tulip mania mentality going on.
More of Mark Hanson’s unconventional financing. The lenders are pulling back because they see the glut forming.
Have not seen Hanson much in the last months - is he hiding?
‘Right now in China, the real estate market in China is bombed. Very bad. A lot of people are selling in China and buying in Manhattan or Long Island’
Bringing their market bombing savvy with them no doubt. Remember the NY article I posted the other day where several experts mentioned even the Chinese developers don’t know the basics?
Wait until these Chinese investors find out about public unions and property taxes…
“Wait you mean my escrow keeps going up to pay for OTHER people’s kids?! At the whim of a small group of council? I thought I escaped communism, blasphemy”
It’s only Americans who would call publicly-funded schools communism,
FWIW, California (their favorite destination) has Prop 13.
When can American’s start buying up these Ghost cities? I wouldn’t mind being the only pent house owner in a condo tower, but only for like $5,000.
Why? We have millions of excess housing units of our own.
Ashburn(DC metro), VA Housing Affordability Surges As Prices Crater 8% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/ashburn-va/home-values/
I work in Ashburn (full of data centers!)
$500K townhouses and condos. Lots of them.
Lots of them is right. And they’re getting cheaper.
And yesterday’s tally is…..
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-violence-shootings-20160531-story.html
Young black males without fathers killing young black males without fathers.
Cloward-Piven can’t be implemented without a little “collateral damage” y’know.
15 year old kid murdered in Chicago.
He was black killed by a black male with an illegal gun in a 60+ year run democrat kingdom.
Obama doesn’t care
BLM doesn’t care
Jesse and Al don’t care
Hillary doesn’t care
No political advantage in it…
Obama is moving into an $8 million home in a historic DC district. Lol. No way would he go back to Chicago.
Buffalo is a cleaner destination than that sewer known as DC
But this……
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obamalibrary/ct-obama-archives-to-hoffman-estates-20160531-story.html
Obama doesn’t give a sh*t about some saggy pants looser shooting an unregistered gun holding it sideways.
He cares about the scary looking guns, the millions and millions of them legally owned by private citizens that are capable of defending American national sovereignty against globalist, collectivist, one world government.
Davos/Aspen hate guns (except the ones owned by their private security details).
An armed American population is the ONLY thing standing in the way of the globalists intended “Final Solution” for thought criminals.
Getting out of debt takes courage and persistence. Take my word for it as a former debtor the freedom is intoxicating.
It’s far more lucrative to walk away than to cling to a depreciating asset like a house by a thread while your pockets are emptied.
That sucking sound you hear from your wallet ain’t from NAFTA. It’s all that interest, upkeep and property taxes paid last year!
king of drones keeping the SUV alive after bail outs
kinda ironic
A musical interlude to break the insanity of our times……
http://petergabriel.com/video/peter-gabriel-come-talk-to-me-live-in-fairfax-2012/
My rage is tapped out for the day.
Enjoy your evening HBB’ers.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you inner city Akron:
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/44302_rb/
A starving artist/musician friend lives in ZIP 44302 and pays $500 rent for a 3 bedroom house. There have been alot of mysterious fires in vacant houses in his neighborhood lately.
Well, some Detroiters and Flintites must have moved south then . . . not as much left to burn down up north!
$279K for this:
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Akron-OH-44302/35424366_zpid/77116_rid/any_days/41.107747,-81.511388,41.069645,-81.56632_rect/13_zm/3_p/?3col=true
There must be no jobs left in that area or something else is going on. Is this a bad neighborhood?
I’m not clicking on that shady url.
to review
S&P p/e 20+
growth at .8%
smelly mel loans and auto out of gas
uber me dude