July 25, 2016

Where Are They Going To Find All These Buyers?

The Wall Street Journal reports on New York. “The number of new rental apartments in New York City is expected to surge in the coming years. But the question remains whether that increase will hit the investment market for such buildings like a wave or a ripple. Over the next three years, more than 38,000 market-rate rental apartments—mostly in Brooklyn and Queens—are expected to be completed, with 14,686 of them added this year, according to Ten-X, an online real-estate company. The company estimates another 17,044 new apartments will be completed in 2017, marking a new high. The last peak came in 2001 when about 5,500 units were added.”

“The forecast from a recent Ten-X report is stark: The supply increase will result in market-rate vacancies of more than 10% by 2017 and zero rent growth for market-rate apartments in 2019. ‘I refer to it as a digestion problem,’ said Peter Muoio, chief economist and head of research at Ten-X. ‘There is so much, so fast at one point in time, that it’s difficult for any market to absorb that wave of supply.’”

From Real Estate Weekly. “With the one-two punch provided by the strong dollar and the volatility in financial markets, the United States’ appeal to foreign homebuyers was expected to wane. The National Association of Realtor’s 2016 Profile of International Activity in US Residential Real Estate, which took into account home sales to international clients between April 2015 and March 2016, found that foreign buyers purchased $102.6 billion in residential properties.”

“This represents a 1.3 percent drop compared to the previous year’s survey. The figures in the current survey show a drastic u-turn for foreign homebuyers. During the previous year, total sales dollar volume from international buyers increased by 13 percent. Edward Mermelstein, the managing partner of law firm Rheem, Bell & Mermelstein, agreed that Chinese investors have been gradually retreating from the US over the past year. ‘We’ve definitely seen a pullback over the past year from Chinese investors. That has more to do with the fact that, internally, China has been having some serious economic issues, as well as political issues,’ he said.”

“New York City is due for some tough times in some segments, According to Wei Min Tan, an associate broker at Rutenberg who works with a lot of Chinese clients, foreign buyers have scaled back their price targets. ‘In New York, you have a lot of these super-luxury buildings and many of them, by super-luxury I’m referring to ones priced seven million dollars and above, a lot of them were built with the intention of selling to rich Chinese buyers. I think that there’s an oversupply and the question would be: ‘Where are they going to find all these ultra-luxury buyers?’ he said.”

The Real Deal. “The U.S. government moved to seize four high-priced condominiums in Manhattan, as well as a stake in the Park Lane Hotel, in connection with a money-laundering scheme that allegedly diverted $3.5 billion away from a Malaysian investment fund. The government’s effort to seize the entities offers a rare glimpse into how dirty money is moved into some of the city’s most expensive properties by a complex global network of shadowy characters, mysterious business entities and willing bankers and lawyers.”

“In a complaint filed Wednesday, federal officials sought to seize valuable artworks, a private jet and real estate in New York and Beverly Hills amid its probe into how billions of dollars meant to benefit the Malaysian citizens were misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB.”

“The Manhattan properties include a full-floor penthouse at Walker Tower purchased for a then-record-breaking price of $50.9 million in 2014, as well as a penthouse at the Time Warner Center (bought for $30.55 million), Park Laurel ($33.5 million) and a condo at 118 Greene Street ($13.8 million). Federal prosecutors also moved to seize a roughly $200 million stake in the Witkoff Group’s TRData LogoTINY Park Lane Hotel.”

“In all, the New York City real estate – worth nearly $350 million – represents a small slice of the funds federal prosecutors say were misappropriated from 1MDB. But they nonetheless served as a vehicle for concealing the stolen monies and they reflect the ability of anonymous corporations to launder money through U.S. real estate, the government alleges.”

North Country Public Radio. “There are more than 150 abandoned homes in Watertown. A report put out by the city assessor finds homes in the city can be empty for months, even years, before the bank takes them over. Vacant homes have become such a problem in Watertown, the city council has had trouble wrapping their head around what to do. Brian Phelps, the city assessor, visited hundreds of empty homes and poured over stacks of paperwork to figure out why these homes were abandoned.”

“Phelps said he did find a common scenario, though. In many cases, a person had bought a home in Watertown, but two or three years later they had to move away. Often they’re military who had to relocate to another Army base. ‘When it gets time for them to leave the time on market to sell their house is not financially viable for them to make that many payments while the property is for sale,’ said Phelps.”

“Or the house just doesn’t sell. Some homeowners try to rent their property, but that can be hard to do if they don’t live nearby. Phelps said in the last two years, home values in Watertown have been steadily going down. ‘And this is a definitely a factor when you look at the market as a whole. That there are these problem properties out there that people can’t afford to stay in,’ said Phelps.”

“To answer the question of why this is happening you have to look back a few years. In 2008, when the housing market collapsed across the country, home values in Watertown stayed steady. As an influx of soldiers arrived at Fort Drum, Jefferson County and Watertown leaders asked developers to build lots of new homes. Today, selling a home is harder because there’s a lot more choice. ‘The reason why you can’t put a house on the market and sell it in three months is because there is an overabundance of supply and a lack of demand,’ Phelps said.”




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56 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 10:23:51

‘homes in the city can be empty for months, even years, before the bank takes them over’

‘Phelps said a new state law is forcing banks to deal with abandoned or so-called zombie homes before they start becoming a problem’

Now why would a bank have to be forced to seize an asset it could rightly sell?

 
Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 10:39:19

Whatever happened to the Panama Papers? Seems mighty convenient we are fed stories about Melania Trump copying speeches or night club shootings when the largest travesty was the quick burial of that fiasco. Once they tried to implicate Putin, and the Icelandic PM stepped down, the Us politicians and wealthy came out scot free…

Pretty easy to drive a luxury real estate market when these @$$holes are hiding money tax free. Move along, nothing to see here commoners…

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 11:13:41

Or the Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming LLC factories. What came out at the time was the US government has been making it easier to move cash into US real estate. All these stories about many billions flowing into the US is no accident. Then they are embarrassed just enough to announce a 6 month look-see into Manhattan and Miami purchases. The Miami UHS promptly put out a pamphlet on how to avoid detection!

The only reason this Malaysia thing is scrutinized is they robbed the wrong people.

‘In all, the New York City real estate – worth nearly $350 million – represents a small slice of the funds federal prosecutors say were misappropriated from 1MDB. But they nonetheless served as a vehicle for concealing the stolen monies and they reflect the ability of anonymous corporations to launder money through U.S. real estate, the government alleges’

Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 11:17:34

Oh yeah, one of those Nevada LLC factories was owned/operated by a Rothschild no less. Yes I’ll remove my tin hat as I type that. Hiding in plain sight these days…

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 11:35:26

January 26, 2016

‘Moving money out of the usual offshore secrecy havens and into the U.S. is a brisk new business.’

‘Last September, at a law firm overlooking San Francisco Bay, Andrew Penney, a managing director at Rothschild & Co., gave a talk on how the world’s wealthy elite can avoid paying taxes. His message was clear: You can help your clients move their fortunes to the United States, free of taxes and hidden from their governments.’

‘Some are calling it the new Switzerland.’

‘After years of lambasting other countries for helping rich Americans hide their money offshore, the U.S. is emerging as a leading tax and secrecy haven for rich foreigners. By resisting new global disclosure standards, the U.S. is creating a hot new market, becoming the go-to place to stash foreign wealth. Everyone from London lawyers to Swiss trust companies is getting in on the act, helping the world’s rich move accounts from places like the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands to Nevada, Wyoming, and South Dakota.’

“How ironic—no, how perverse—that the USA, which has been so sanctimonious in its condemnation of Swiss banks, has become the banking secrecy jurisdiction du jour,” wrote Peter A. Cotorceanu, a lawyer at Anaford AG, a Zurich law firm, in a recent legal journal. “That ‘giant sucking sound’ you hear? It is the sound of money rushing to the USA.”

‘Rothschild, the centuries-old European financial institution, has opened a trust company in Reno, Nev., a few blocks from the Harrah’s and Eldorado casinos. It is now moving the fortunes of wealthy foreign clients out of offshore havens such as Bermuda, subject to the new international disclosure requirements, and into Rothschild-run trusts in Nevada, which are exempt.’

‘Others are also jumping in: Geneva-based Cisa Trust Co. SA, which advises wealthy Latin Americans, is applying to open in Pierre, S.D., to “serve the needs of our foreign clients,” said John J. Ryan Jr., Cisa’s president.’

‘Trident Trust Co., one of the world’s biggest providers of offshore trusts, moved dozens of accounts out of Switzerland, Grand Cayman, and other locales and into Sioux Falls, S.D., in December, ahead of a Jan. 1 disclosure deadline.’

“Cayman was slammed in December, closing things that people were withdrawing,” said Alice Rokahr, the president of Trident in South Dakota, one of several states promoting low taxes and confidentiality in their trust laws. “I was surprised at how many were coming across that were formerly Swiss bank accounts, but they want out of Switzerland.”

‘The U.S. is one of the few places left where advisers are actively promoting accounts that will remain secret from overseas authorities. Rothschild’s Reno office is at the forefront of that effort.’

‘The offices of Rothschild Trust North America LLC aren’t easy to find. They’re on the 12th floor of Porsche’s former North American headquarters building, a few blocks from the casinos. (The U.S. attorney’s office is on the sixth floor.) Yet the lobby directory does not list Rothschild. Instead, visitors must go to the 10th floor, the offices of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP, a politically connected law firm. Several former high-ranking Nevada state officials work there, as well as the owner of some of Reno’s biggest casinos and numerous registered lobbyists. One of the firm’s tax lobbyists is Robert Armstrong, viewed as the state’s top trusts and estates attorney, and a manager of Rothschild Trust North America.’

‘The managing director of the Nevada trust company is Scott Cripps, an amiable California tax attorney who used to run the trust services for Bank of the West, now part of French financial-services giant BNP Paribas SA. Cripps explained that moving money out of traditional offshore secrecy jurisdictions and into Nevada is a brisk new line of business for Rothschild.’

“There’s a lot of people that are going to do it,” said Cripps. “This added layer of privacy is kicking them over the hurdle” to move their assets into the U.S. For wealthy overseas clients, “privacy is huge, especially in countries where there is corruption.”

‘For financial advisers, the current state of play is simply a good business opportunity. In a draft of his San Francisco presentation, Rothschild’s Penney wrote that the U.S. “is effectively the biggest tax haven in the world.” The U.S., he added in language later excised from his prepared remarks, lacks “the resources to enforce foreign tax laws and has little appetite to do so.”

‘In his September San Francisco talk, called “Using U.S. Trusts in International Planning: 10 Amazing Feats to Impress Clients and Colleagues,” Penney laid out legal ways to avoid both U.S. taxes and disclosures to clients’ home countries.’

‘In a section originally titled “U.S. Trusts to Preserve Privacy,” he included the hypothetical example of an Internet investor named “Wang, a Hong Kong resident,” originally from the People’s Republic of China, concerned that information about his wealth could be shared with Chinese authorities.’

‘Putting his assets into a Nevada LLC, in turn owned by a Nevada trust, would generate no U.S. tax returns, Penney wrote. Any forms the IRS would receive would result in “no meaningful information to exchange under” agreements between Hong Kong and the U.S., according to Penney’s PowerPoint presentation reviewed by Bloomberg.’

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Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 11:37:01

‘The U.S., he added in language later excised from his prepared remarks, lacks “the resources to enforce foreign tax laws and has little appetite to do so.”

Now someone can call this a conspiracy theory.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 11:39:19

Re-posting this from the earlier Canadian thread, out this morning:

How Foreign Investors Are Using Drug Cartel Tactics in the Canadian Real Estate Market

‘Canada’s freakshow real estate market has been drawing a lot of international attention as of late. When I asked why he thinks we’re in for a bumpy ride, Marc Cohodes pointed to Chinese capital outflow restrictions, which limit citizens from moving more than $50,000 out of the country per year. He said investors from China are breaking those rules in order to move massive amounts of money into Vancouver real estate, and the Chinese government could choose to crack down on this at any moment.’

‘It turns out Vancouver-based anti-fraud lawyer Christine Duhaime has been keeping a close eye on Chinese millionaires who are maneuvering around those rules when migrating to Canada. Working for clients like the Bank of China, she’s successfully gone after at least one person who defaulted on $10 million in Chinese bank loans, and who also spent $8 million on Lower Mainland property. Last month she tweeted the case was “of global significance for China.”

‘for the Chinese millionaires who do choose to work around capital outflow restrictions, Duhaime says one of the most common and widespread methods is “smurfing.” She says it’s a tactic also used by Colombian drug lords, and court documents show at least one Canadian bank has helped a woman buy a home this way. VICE reached out to Duhaime to learn more about how this all works, and what Chinese authorities are doing about it.’

‘VICE: Can you break down the basics of smurfing for us?
Christine Duhaime: The analogy I use is from the drug trafficking world when they’re dealing with bulky amounts of cash. What smurfing does is take these large amounts of money, and breaks it up to reduce the volume of it in order to avoid being detected. A large transaction would require threshold reporting of cash, whereas many little transactions fall below the reporting requirement for anti-money laundering. In the case of drug lords, instead of taking a gym bag full of money to the bank, what they’ll do is employ many people to go to all sorts of different banks with smaller amounts of bills and change it over so it’s useable to the gang.’

‘How is this tactic used to move money out of China?
In China, each person is limited to moving up to $50,000 out of the country each year. People move money all the time, sometimes legitimately, in order to get around these currency controls. The way I have seen it being used is that a person will hire or use many, many smurfs who will each fill out a bank form to wire $50,000 each on behalf of another person. In these bank forms, they claim to be the owner of the funds, when in reality they are not. One employment law case found a person from China had a large sum of money that was moved to Vancouver this way. A whole number of people each went to a bank, each made deposits so she could buy her house. When you have transaction after transaction of exactly $50,000, that is suspicious.’

‘Is this a widespread thing? How would you know?
It has to be widespread for this reason: you can’t send money out of China with your government identity past the $50,000 point. I have boxes of evidence in my office of wires that Chinese foreign nationals have sent over several years to Canada, all in different names of people and all for the same person. In the situations I have seen, it was employees of the Chinese foreign national that were used to smurf money out of China to Vancouver to buy luxury homes.’

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/how-vancouver-real-estate-is-like

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 10:41:29

‘Often they’re military who had to relocate to another Army base.’ Oh don’t worry, the military will cover their losses when forced to move. An old neighbor of mine was underwater on his mortgage (cash out Refi) and they simply helped him foreclose and move elsewhere. Gotta love the deeeeeeeep Govt subsidies.

Comment by 2banana
2016-07-25 11:49:48

Sounds like he/she was treated like anyone else.

The army will pay to move you (on official orders) but will not pay anything to “make you whole.” In fact, moving costs is all the army covers. Not closing costs, points, appraisals, utility hookups, etc.

And as a bonus. If you have a clearance and lose your house to foreclosure, you will probably lose your clearance.

Unless, of course, you are a Clinton.

 
 
Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 10:41:42

Inventory inventory inventory. And not a buyer in sight at any price.

Household Formation Craters

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/files/2014/12/HHFGS.png

Comment by palmetto
2016-07-25 11:11:13

I’m tellin’ ya. I was checking out some of the FSBO prices in the area today, just for grins. Whew, what a contrast! Some people seem to be putting their homes up for desperate wishing prices all of a sudden, and others seem to be way underpricing just hoping to offload the old ball and chain. Really interesting, very little in the middle.

I saw something similar last time around. Wow. And you can just feel the tension in the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife. It’s like people expect the other shoe to drop any minute now.

Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 11:20:46

House close by listed/sold/pending within 3 days, full asking price ($430k for a 1950s SFH). However the sign out front still says “Sale pending”…that was 1 month ago. Seems a long time to still be “pending”. Couple other homes down the street had a similar slow selling process despite quickly being “sold”.

Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-07-25 12:16:52

I bet they are being financed by FHA or other gobemint subsidies. They take a little time to process all the requisite docs.

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Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-07-25 11:24:34

I have about 200 PNW properties up to 300k I’m tracking on zillow… I get notifications for price drops and sales. Over the last month, price drops are coming in at about 10 to 1 to sales.

Comment by palmetto
2016-07-25 12:03:02

maybe they’re more realistic in PNW. People in this part of Florida (Tampa area) are stubborn and stoopit as hell when it comes to their “homes”. They would rather go into foreclosure and let the bank take it than accept a decent offer. I swear to God, I’ve seen it. “I’m not selling unless I get MY price”.

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Comment by sestamibi
2016-07-25 11:38:52

We live about 20 miles from Watertown in a lakefront cottage that is now our full time summer home (we can’t get in during the winter). We had an agent stop by earlier in the hopes of putting it on the market, because New York sucks and we want to get out earlier rather than later. Unfortunately, we’ll be stuck here for a while longer since his price estimate was a lot lower than we could clear and buy another property elsewhere for cash. Best thing we can do now is wait it out and spend less time here.

Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 11:51:30

Get what it will fetch now because it will be far less later.

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-07-25 11:58:53

Metro Boston Affordability Surges As Housing Prices Dive 4% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/ma/home-values/

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:04:30

Did anyone see this video?

http://www.infowars.com/video-bernie-voters-hate-hillary/

I was thinking; these revelations mean both of our parties actively worked to subvert an honest presidential election in the same year. What have we become?

Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 12:11:58

We’ve been installing heads of state around the world for decades. How long has it happened domestically?

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:19:04

I don’t know. I was ticked off when they did in Ron Paul, but there weren’t any emails to expose it. These people in the video are upset. Here’s a thought; with all the money, the super delegates and stuff, why couldn’t they just run a fair campaign? Why use the party to beat a guy who they almost certainly would have overcome anyway?

Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 12:28:47

And Ron KNEW the game was rigged and he tried to play. I wrote him in, and proudly voted for him in the VA primary.
The debates were hilarious because people started to mimic his message about retracting US military presence, constitutionalism, and checking the Fed. He would have garnered much more youth support if he promised free $h!t like Bernie, but that would defeat the purpose of his platform…tragedy.

I mean look at 2012, it costs Romney and Obama a combined $2billion to run! And that’s with the power of free Youtube videos and social media presence.

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Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-07-25 12:18:02

Look, Trump & publies that was a clowncar.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:20:51

‘clowncar’

Well you knew that was coming. I know you weren’t around for the inside joke.

 
 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-07-25 12:30:46

“both of our parties”

both?

our?

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:36:14

Yes, our parties. Like it or not the two party system is all we have. I can join either. I can vote for either. I can vote for some of one and the other too. They are institutions of our system. They don’t and can’t belong to secret groups or such. They exist as umbrellas for political candidates to coalesce. If they aren’t there to do these things, we are no better than a banana republic. I think it’s shocking how this has gone this year.

Comment by leydan
2016-07-25 13:31:42

I thought it was shocking when I started reading comparisons between Trump and Hitler in mainstream newspapers. And I think someone on this blog posted the op-ed in the LA Times suggesting a coup if Trump wins. The media always has its preferred candidates obviously, but normally they also have a pretense of objectivity. Which in this election they appear to have blatantly cast aside.

I’m no fan of the authoritarian planks of Trump’s platform, but the man is running for President, not God-Emporer. He’s not even running for CEO (which is a change in job description I think he will struggle with if he wins). Every president gets a pass at the end of their term when they don’t accomplish what they want to “because they didn’t have support of the Congress, and the only power the president has is that of the ‘bully pulpit’”. Yet Trump, someone with no backing from either party’s establishment, is going to be able to unilaterally push his platform through?

Both parties are beside themselves trying to stop their respective outsider candidates, and the media is obviously in on it. It’s something I’d expect to hear about an election in China, not the US.

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Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-07-25 13:51:22

We have turned Chinese long ago.

While criticizing Soviets for their Politburo Control & Central Planning, we were secretly handing more and more power to DC and, especially to un-elected technocrats.

Amerikka, what a fukushima!

 
Comment by Karen
2016-07-25 16:37:57

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, publicly declared his support for Hillary Clinton after receiving multiple death threats merely for saying he thought Trump was good at persuasion: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/147247313346/when-persuasion-turns-deadly

Despite the fact that he is known principally for his comedy, this is no joke.

“Again, I’m completely serious about the safety issue. Writing about Trump ended my speaking career, and has already reduced my income by about 40%, as far as I can tell. But I’m in less physical danger than I was. “

The entire blog post is worth reading

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-07-25 19:16:27

Leyden, I hope Trump wins, but not because I think he will do good. Because he will be a disaster.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-07-25 21:11:20

“…but normally they also have a pretense of objectivity.”

Did you ever consider that perhaps, in their objective opinion, Trump behaves more like Hitler than your typical American presidential candidate? I have been watching U.S. presidential politics for decades, and cannot recall any other candidate playing the strong armed demagogue card as Trump has.

Apparently this behavior appeals to Joe Sixpack, though.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-07-25 21:14:24

“Writing about Trump ended my speaking career, and has already reduced my income by about 40%, as far as I can tell.”

Sounds as though Trump was very bad for this guy’s personal economic experience.

 
Comment by leydan
2016-07-25 23:04:23

I have no reason to doubt they believe that. Some of my friends believe it. I question whether their response is rational given the power of the Presidency. The odds of him being crowned Emperor during his term and therefore having the power to unilaterally do all the things he wants to do are extremely low. The fear of him causing diplomatic incidents during state visits and the like is reasonable but probably does not justify advocacy for a coup.

I can think of three major benefits to a Trump presidency. First, he will be totally ineffectual due to a lack of backing by either party’s establishment. The Republican establishment will likely spend all their time ensuring Trump is a one-term president, and the Democrats will do the same. So few laws are likely to be passed.

Second, his policy proposals and statements will be analyzed for contradictions, errors, and omissions by the mainstream media to a degree we’ve never seen in the modern era. Papers will actually fact-check White House press releases and statements.

Third, the threat of impeachment and removal from office will probably be greater than we’ve seen since Nixon (or will probably ever see again) due to lack of establishment support; so that check and balance will be functional again.

 
 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-07-25 13:35:55

“Did anyone see this video?”

Oh my!

Those white privileged Bernie supporters are pissed.

Comment by palmetto
2016-07-25 16:27:35

Heh, according to Wikileaks, that pathetic piece of human garbage sold out for the price of a private jet lease. I kid you not. I also read somewhere about his gastronomic preferences while on the campaign trail. Lobster bisque and stuff like that.

Yes, the Clintons are bad. But you’ve got to give some serious thought to their supporters, because the Clintons couldn’t be where they are without them. In the end, maybe that’s the real evil, the evil on the ground.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-07-25 21:17:35

“…that pathetic piece of human garbage sold out for the price of a private jet lease. I kid you not. I also read somewhere about his gastronomic preferences while on the campaign trail. Lobster bisque and stuff like that.”

My gosh, that is no way to talk about Donald Trump.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-07-25 21:03:27

Hijacking the Democratic process aside, was what DNC leaders did to screw over the Bern even legal?

Comment by Rental Watch
2016-07-25 23:31:34

The DNC is a private organization. What “legal” rights did Bernie have?

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:24:38

‘Over the next three years, more than 38,000 market-rate rental apartments—mostly in Brooklyn and Queens—are expected to be completed, with 14,686 of them added this year, according to Ten-X, an online real-estate company. The company estimates another 17,044 new apartments will be completed in 2017, marking a new high. The last peak came in 2001 when about 5,500 units were added.’

‘The forecast from a recent Ten-X report is stark: The supply increase will result in market-rate vacancies of more than 10% by 2017 and zero rent growth for market-rate apartments in 2019′

So 7 times the number from the last peak, a 10% vacancy and zero rent growth? How about a rent war, defaults and pensions are lost?

Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 12:32:11

I guess the common theme across major cities is supply glut coming in the next yr…

Just look at an aerial shot of Boston’s Seaport district in 2013 and now. Ridiculous amount of glass super structure monstrosities with $4,000-$6,000/mo apartments/condos. I need to look up their websites to see if they’re getting desperate with “sweetners” yet…

Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 12:35:19

The excess supply is already here.

 
Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 12:44:10

HA!! Just as you have reported in Sf and NYC Ben, these new luxury condos and apts in Boston’s new/hip Seaport District are offering “sweetners” to spur demand. Just searched two of the brand new luxury tower/buildings. Both offered 1 month free. One of them even waived security deposit, and up to $3000 off certain models.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 12:51:11

Yeah, it’s been going on in Boston, according to reports, for at least a few months. Now Portland OR all of a sudden. Minneapolis - that’s a big one. The number of luxury apartments going up there is huge. Like the guy said about Brazil; overbuilt and misbuilt. From Sydney to Lagos to London.

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Comment by dandroidz
2016-07-25 12:58:00

…also about Brazil, the Olympic Village is proving uninhabitable, just like in Russia. Rushed construction leading to incomplete buildings, bad plumbing, bad wiring, false illusions of luxury. Some of the teams are having to find alternative living quarters after inspections.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-07-25 13:17:51

It’s important to remember what’s driving this isn’t demand. Who needs a $50 million condo? Only a person with a billion stolen bucks to hide. Why so many apartments? Pension/life insurance money chasing yield. Because it isn’t being driven by demand, it will be over done. As long as people throw money at the developers, they’ll keep going until it falls in on their head.

 
 
Comment by leydan
2016-07-25 13:40:08

Seattle too. About a month ago I started seeing people on the street corner with the arrow signs advertising “apartments for lease”. Which I thought odd since I kept hearing how high the demand for housing was and wouldn’t think you’d need to do that in a “hot” market. But at $15/hour, you don’t have someone stand on the street holding a sign unless you think it’s worth it. And lo and behold they’re offering one month free.

Perhaps they’re trying to get people to sign before the new luxury apartment buildings across the street are completed and start leasing.

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Comment by Dandroidz
2016-07-25 15:06:57

Wow, next thing you’ll see those flingy air guys from used car lots…”Step right up folks!! Get the deal of a lifetime..not 1free month, not 2, but 3!!”

 
Comment by Karen
2016-07-25 16:40:39

At my complex in north DFW the manager was trying to see if she could find or get a Pokemon Go character on the property to entice people.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by EricP
2016-07-25 12:32:22

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-port-pilots-overtime-20160725-snap-story.html

City and Unions… nothing new folks. Tax payers money sponsoring the enrichment of below average workers..

California lala land

Comment by curtis
2016-07-25 16:05:48

Wtf. Its not the citys or unions wasting tax payer money; the biggest welfare queens in ‘Mericuh are the Wall St oligarchs. And their pay-for politicians. The American worker has been run down bad enough, and here you are, running ave working people some more. How much do the Kock bros pay you to write here. And Wall st. How much did their bailout come to, when compared to a few out of work dudes getting food stamps. The CONservative mind has been indoctrinated to respond to goofy logic, hasn’t it.

 
 
Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 12:38:38

Remember…. A housing ‘recovery’ is falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels by definition.

Comment by azdude
2016-07-25 16:48:21

LMAO I guess some day u might be right.

Comment by CEO Of The Couch
2016-07-25 17:30:13

Remember az_donk…… Nothing accelerates the economy and creates jobs like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing./i>

Comment by azdude
2016-07-25 17:56:12

r u playing pokemon tonight?

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-07-25 18:08:39

Southlake(Dallas), TX Housing Prices Crater 6% YoY On Rising Mortgage Defaults

http://www.zillow.com/southlake-tx/home-values/

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-07-25 22:33:45

Day 1of the DNC convention yielded a nice bounce for Trump in the IEM WTA futures prices:

https://iemweb.biz.uiowa.edu/graphs/graph_Pres16_WTA.cfm

 
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