August 18, 2016

No One Can Escape The Chill

A report from Stowe Today in Vermont. “The market for homes between $1 million and $2 million hasn’t been robust, said McKee Macdonald of Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate in Stowe, meaning buyers interested in ‘entry-level luxury homes’ can get ‘a lot of house for their money’ right now. Stowe’s luxury market is considered to start at $1 million; the town has far more $1 million houses than any other town in Vermont. However, that niche has ’slowed down pretty considerably,’ Macdonald said. But add another million to the house price and there’s a lot of activity. Macdonald calls anything over $2 million the ‘ultra-luxury’ market, and he says it’s been ‘very active and quite busy. People are making decisions quickly’ on high-priced properties.”

“An example is Above the Clouds Estate on Upper Springs Road, a whopping 18,095 square feet on 15 acres; it was sold this quarter for $2.75 million, well below the asking price of $6.9 million.

“Were it not for projects such as Waterbury Commons at the bottom of Perry Hill, Cindy Lyons of Landmark Realty on North Main Street said she wouldn’t have been able to connect buyers with the homes and locations they want. Lyons thinks sellers have been reasonable this year about how much they think their homes are worth. ‘You don’t get multiple offers on an overpriced home,’ Lyons said.”

The Miami Herald in Florida. “No one can escape the chill creeping into Miami’s luxury real estate market. The Related Group, South Florida’s biggest condo developer, confirmed Wednesday it would delay construction on a 298-unit project called Auberge Residences & Spa Miami. ‘The market is slower,’ said Carlos Rosso, president of Related’s condo division. ‘The dollar has appreciated a lot against Latin American currencies.’”

“Groundbreaking was originally set for 2017. Rosso said he wasn’t sure yet how long the project would be delayed. ‘Do you have a crystal ball?’ he asked.”

“Land prices have escalated, leading to fights over prime properties. And a glut of inventory means existing condo prices in downtown Miami fell for the first time in five years. A cascade of foreign buyers pushed Miami real estate into overdrive after the recession but has since dried up. Slumping sales across the market should come as no surprise given the lack of foreign buyers, said analyst Tony Graziano, who authors regular reports on the condo market for Miami’s Downtown Development Authority. Other developers have put projects on hold, including Boulevard 57 in Miami’s Morningside neighborhood.”

“‘Bank financing for development in Miami right now is dicey,’ Graziano said. ‘It’s harder for banks to do their due diligence because there’s no way to accurately forecast how many foreign buyers will come.’”

“The federal government has also put pressure on buyers. Over the last year, it handed down new disclosure rules for certain kinds of cash home deals in Miami, along with other luxury markets around the country including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Regulators suspect luxe properties are being used to launder money.”

From Bloomberg on New York. “Luxury builder Extell Development Co., trying to cobble together funds for a condo tower in Lower Manhattan, is finding out just how much time costs these days. Extell is hoping to complete a $463.2 million financing agreement with office landlord RXR Realty LLC to build One Manhattan Square on South Street, but that partnership was postponed for a fourth time Monday. The company still hasn’t secured a construction loan for the project, which is a condition of the deal, according to filings on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where the New York-based developer sells debt.”

“With this delay, the value of the RXR agreement has decreased and the costs on the money have climbed. RXR will now commit $300 million toward the project, and choose within 120 days of the deal closing whether it wants to add the other $163.2 million, according to filings, written in Hebrew. The interest rate RXR will receive on its investment is now 8 percent, compared to the 7 percent agreed to in March.”

“Extell, which ushered in Manhattan’s luxury condo boom with the construction of the One57 skyscraper across from Carnegie Hall, is now getting caught up in its aftermath. The luxury market is showing signs of a slowdown as inventory swells and interest from ultra-wealthy buyers cools amid so much competition. That has made construction loans increasingly hard to get, as lenders are wary of adding more units to a market where they do not appear to be in demand.”

“Bondholders in Extell have become increasingly rattled by the company’s delays and financing structures. The developer announced a joint venture with China’s SMI USA last week that will allow SMI to jump in front of Israeli creditors in laying claim to the assets backing their bonds. Extell’s creditors in Israel requested an urgent meeting with the bond trustee to discuss their options in the event that Extell doesn’t get construction financing, newspaper Calcalist reported Tuesday.”

“Extell’s bonds due in 2019 fell 1.7 agorot to 83 agorot on the shekel in Tel Aviv Tuesday, the second day of declines. The yield climbed to 11.2 percent, a three-week high.”




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145 Comments »

Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-18 07:54:24

“….An example is Above the Clouds Estate on Upper Springs Road, a whopping 18,095 square feet on 15 acres; it was sold this quarter for $2.75 million, well below the asking price of $6.9 million…..”

http://www.priceypads.com/castle-above-the-clouds-6900000/

Wow, it sold at 40% of list price! $150/SF. That’s a screaming deal….assuming you want 18,000 SF.

I am seeing less demand for larger homes in this area (foothills above Sacramento). No one wants a two story energy and maintenance hog anymore. Water rates in Nor Cal have almost doubled in some municipalities. The aging baby boomers (where most of the net worth resides) all want one story houses. I have seem some smaller one story houses (3,000 SF) sell for the same price as the larger two story (5,000 SF) homes.

It is a curious market out there. Anything over $1,000,000 is having a tough time selling, unless the seller “gives it away”!

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 11:01:38

“The aging baby boomers all want one story houses.”

And what they’ll get is a box in the ground. All 70 million of them leaving another 35 million excess, empty houses. And that reality is right in front of us.

Ciao

Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 11:06:46

11k boomers turn 65 each day for the next 15 yrs. No wonder entitlements are at record highs.

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 11:19:16

11k boomers heading to the grave for the next 15 yrs. No wonder there are millions of excess, empty and defaulted houses.

Rockledge, FL Housing Prices Dive 8% YoY

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

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Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-18 16:23:35

The homes in Sun City developments are going for $300/SF and they sell in a week! When all the boomers get through the pipeline, there will be no more demand. The new price: $100/SF. That is decades away though, but still it is a consideration for your children to think about.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 17:09:00

That, your reputation and a dollar gets you a cup of coffee around here.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-08-18 17:11:15

Population momentum will keep the population of 60+ year olds high for the foreseeable future (the “millennial” generation is larger than the boomers…in 30-40 years, they’ll be moving into these homes).

Also, 11k boomers turn 65 each DAY. We sell a teeny tiny fraction of that each day in terms of homes in active adult communities. The vast majority of retirees don’t move.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 17:32:43

Incorrect.

Year for year, the boomer generation is larger. And the vast majority of retirees are dead inside 5 years.

How do you make 35 million excess empty housing units disappear?

 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 17:36:35

And they all get soc sec and medicare. Yikes ! Entitlement spike!

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 17:49:41

. And the vast majority of retirees are dead inside 5 years.

That’s got to be false. The average age of retirement is somewhere around 63. Life expectancy is in the mid-70s.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 18:20:36

Irrelevant.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-08-18 22:37:32

That’s got to be false. The average age of retirement is somewhere around 63. Life expectancy is in the mid-70s.

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/lifeexpectancy.html

“A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.3.
A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 86.6.”

You are correct the statement is false. As usual.

 
Comment by Definition of Insanity
2016-08-19 06:55:00

“And they all get soc sec and medicare. Yikes ! Entitlement spike!”

Ridiculous statement. I am a baby boomer, 59, so not old enough to collect the “entitlements” I paid into for 40+ years. I repeat; I PAID into it for 40+ years. The entitlement spike that we should be worrying about are the deadbeats on welfare, food stamps, and disability. Many people are on disability who really aren’t disabled and those who NEVER paid into the system. That is what is draining the SS trust fund. That and bogus wars, but I digress. I have no problem helping those who are TRULY disabled, but the abuse of the system is out of control. I am sick of the media making us boomers out to be the cause of our nation’s fiscal problems. Those who believe the media, please learn to think for yourselves and exercise your own critical thinking skills.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-19 11:57:39

Shut it down and send everyone a check for their contributions. Problem solved.

 
Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-20 03:59:25

-1. HA!

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-08-18 07:58:02

‘Bank financing for development in Miami right now is dicey,’ Graziano said.’

‘Luxury builder Extell Development Co., trying to cobble together funds for a condo tower in Lower Manhattan, is finding out just how much time costs these days. Extell is hoping to complete a $463.2 million financing agreement with office landlord RXR Realty LLC to build One Manhattan Square on South Street, but that partnership was postponed for a fourth time Monday. The company still hasn’t secured a construction loan for the project, which is a condition of the deal’

We could have a credit event developing here.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-08-18 15:39:13

By Michael Dewey, Senior Vice President of Investments, PMRG: A growing number of investors with office buildings on the market are becoming uneasy this summer.

‘This feeling of uncertainty manifests in the office investment market as reduced availability of credit, a smaller pool of buyers, and a widening gap between buyers and sellers on appropriate pricing.’

‘Reduced access to credit is already evident in a scarcity of new CMBS loans and increasingly stringent requirements imposed on borrowers. Banks typically offered 70 percent loan-to-cost financing for office acquisitions in 2014 and 2015, but are more likely to draw the line at 60 or 65 percent financing today.’

‘Tight credit contributes to the second factor holding back transaction volume, which is the thinning ranks of potential buyers. Highly leveraged buyers or those that depended on CMBS financing are now out of the running for deals coming to market. The investors still seeking office properties today include a higher concentration of patient capital or the type of buyers that will pass on a deal priced beyond their comfort level.’

‘That brings us to the third and, perhaps, greatest challenge to buying or selling office properties today: the price gap. For non-trophy office buildings in the major southern and coastal markets, seller price expectations typically exceed the amount that buyers are willing to pay by as much as 15 percent.’

‘That percentage is a vestige of pricing models that worked well in recent years, when buyers and sellers could agree on prices reflecting current asset value, plus expected rent growth. Today, however, Wall Street is questioning whether office rent growth can maintain its trajectory.’

 
 
Comment by Can_Bubble
2016-08-18 08:06:35

Wealthy 30-somethings doling out financial advice breed online hate

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/kristy-shen-bryce-leung-1.3724450

Delinquency rates, while still low, have increased dramatically from last year in the oil-producing provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a new report from Equifax Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oil-producing-provinces-see-delinquency-rates-jump-report-1.3726034

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 08:09:11

“The market for homes between $1 million and $2 million hasn’t been robust, said McKee Macdonald of Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate in Stowe, meaning buyers interested in ‘entry-level luxury homes’ can get ‘a lot of house for their money’ right now.”

If a home is ‘entry-level’, doesn’t that normally preclude ‘luxury’?

 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 10:45:30

Looks like we will have another warmonger as POTUS. Now how to invest accordingly?? hmmmm….

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 12:46:27

Looks like the current POTUS war monger is gearing up for a conflict with Russia, moving nukes from Turkey to Romania, closer to Ukraine:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-18/turkey-considers-military-cooperation-russia-us-said-move-nukes-out-turkey

At the end of empire, TPTB go mad. A little birdie tells me something slipped out of their control in Turkey and it’s complete Keystone Kops Kaos.

What the heck were nukes doing in Turkey in the first place?

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-08-18 12:59:52

I heard we even have H bombs over there. Turkey is a long time trade partner with Russia.

Distance between Istanbul and Moscow is 1756 kilometers (1091 miles).

http://www.distancecalculator.net/from-istanbul-to-moscow

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 13:15:06

I really shouldn’t laugh, but the Puffing Ho went nutz today accusing General Michael Flynn of being a Russian agent working with Trump, because he made an appearance once on RT. The Russian hysteria is just about at peak.

OK, since I wuz a pup in school at the height of the Cold War, I can tell everyone what you need to do in case of a nuke attack: kneel down under your desk, put your head down and clasp your hands behind your neck. Stay that way until the sirens shut off and you get the all clear.

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Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 13:31:15

The distance to any spot in Ukraine has got to be less.

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Comment by Ben Jones
2016-08-18 13:37:43

‘Part of Scythia in antiquity and settled by Getae, in the migration period, Ukraine is also the site of early Slavic expansion, and enters history proper with the establishment of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages but disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, present Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers: the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland, during the 15th century these lands came under the rule of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (since 1569), and Crimean Khanate.[4] After a 1648 rebellion against dominantly Polish Catholic rule, an assembly of the people (rada) agreed to the Treaty of Pereyaslav in January 1654. Soon, the southeastern portion of the Polish-Lithuanian empire east of the Dnieper River came under Russian rule, for centuries.[5] After the Partitions of Poland (1772–1795) and conquest of Crimean Khanate, Ukraine was divided between the Tsardom of Russia and Habsburg Austria.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ukraine

It’s only the neocons who are making a big deal out of all this. They want WW3.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-08-18 14:56:07

Sure, WW3 can be fun, you get to use all your new toys to kill people. Then the mushroom clouds appear and then it’s sad panda time all around.

 
 
 
Comment by ahansen
2016-08-18 23:27:36

US has had nukes in Turkey since at least the Cuban Missile Crisis– in fact that’s what precipitated it. Deterrent to Russian expansionism, don’t you know. . . .

Or something.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-19 00:08:41

Hey Allena!

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Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-20 04:12:04

Hi Alena. Saw your TV interview on
bear attacks last year. You’ve got the credibility! I know a star! Good to hear from you.

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Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 10:46:51

If you dont like illegals, dont hire them, dont use businesses that hire them. Don’t rent to them. Then they stop coming here.

Comment by 2banana
2016-08-18 14:04:36

Funny how you don’t mention:

If you don’t like illegals, don’t give them free health care, don’t give them free schooling for their kids, don’t give them subsidized housing, don’t give them free food. Don’t let them in the military. Then they will stop coming here.

Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 14:41:47

Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, and most other public benefits. Most of these programs require proof of legal immigration status and under the 1996 welfare law, even legal immigrants cannot receive these benefits until they have been in the United States for more than five years.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/20/news/economy/immigration-myths/

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 15:59:34

They may not qualify, but somehow they get the gibs anyway. If they have children born in the US, they do get EBT and payments for the kidz. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen one of the parents in front of me at the grocery store pull out one of those EBT cards.

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Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 16:24:37

Gee, that must raise your blood pressure! Especially since you can tell their immigration status just by looking at them.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 18:06:38

Gotcha! Knew you’d come out for that one, Mitey. I can always count on you.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 18:39:34

Yeah, I point out the nonsense. It’s an important responsibility and you knew that I would fulfill it.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 19:38:32

Irrelevant

 
Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-20 04:15:35

Yes, you are, Crushin’ Russian. Totally. HA!

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-23 09:07:51

ffffffffrrrrrrraaaaaaud

 
 
Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 16:02:28

That’s racis

What the law says and what they actually allow are two, completely different things.

My county spends tens of millions of dollars per year on housing, food, and medical care for illegal residents. While at the same time laying off 50% of the road department, during a time of record-high tax revenues.

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Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 16:07:33

Bummer, people dont follow the law. Are you sure they are not white trash Americans? My friend’s wife is a social worker, illegals cant get welfare here–most are too busy working in the fields to apply. Those strawberries wont pick themselves, neither do the grapes.

Got Zin?

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:16:45

Mexican migrants are probably the hardest working people in this country.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:42:43

“Mexican migrants are probably the hardest working people in this country.”

This factoid is lost on rage cage GOP ranters…

 
Comment by GuillotineRenovator
2016-08-18 18:57:32

“Mexican migrants are probably the hardest working people in this country.”

I know. It’s really a shame they’re not paying taxes.

 
Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:02:30

I concur that most Mexicans are very hard-working. But as mentioned above, they have a HUGE underground economy going here as well.

People from some other parts of the world, where it is really hot and there is a lot of sand, well, they seem to be allergic to work.

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:41:12

Stop juxtaposing facts in the face of 2banana’s rage-based rant. Facts are irrelevant to angry old GOP voters.

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Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:06:28

Why do you have to resort to typical liberal tactics, PB?

Here’s a fact: not everybody that disagrees with you is an angry, hate-filled old white person.

Stick to the facts and step away from the progressive talking points.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-19 00:09:41

“…not everybody that disagrees with you is an angry, hate-filled old white person.”

Rant on!

 
 
Comment by FED Up
2016-08-19 00:32:56

We have 320 million people, we don’t need to become India or China. And we can’t afford to import people, even legally, just to have them added to the welfare rolls.

“An estimated 49 percent of households headed by legal immigrants used one or more welfare programs in 2012, compared to 30 percent of households headed by natives.”

“This analysis shows that legal immigrant households make extensive use of most welfare programs, while illegal immigrant households primarily benefit from food programs and Medicaid through their U.S.-born children”

http://cis.org/Welfare-Use-Legal-Illegal-Immigrant-Households

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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:39:37

I don’t like yard work. I thank my landlord for hiring Mexican immigrants who are willing to do yard work, which neither the ll’s nor I would prefer to do, for a reasonable price. Whether the yard work crew members are illegal is beyond my realm of concern.

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-08-18 11:47:15

Austin, TX Housing Prices Plummet 16% YoY As Housing Correction Gains Speed

http://www.movoto.com/austin-tx-williamson-county/market-trends/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 12:29:00

Consumer credit soars in Canada as delinquencies jump for millennials.

http://wolfstreet.com/2016/08/18/consumer-credit-soars-delinquencies-jump-for-millennials-in-canada/

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 12:44:56

Yep. Let it crater then buy later for 70% less.

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 13:16:14

Yer a poet!

“Let it crater
Then buy later”

Comment by Jingle Male
2016-08-20 04:20:01

HA!

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 12:46:15

Comrades of Proven Worth don’t need no stinkin’ ethics training.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article96359737.html

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 12:54:50

#HillarysStools

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 13:37:46

Sure hope the Trump camp is preparing for debate with Kaine, starting to look like a definite possibility.

Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 15:49:17

He’s making plans for that nice vacation that he’s going to take in November.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:45:32

With good reason. Mind the widening gap

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 12:53:17

Debt funded stock buybacks: what a sound and sustainable strategy for real growth. Forward!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-18/us-corporate-debt-has-doubled-6-trillion-crisis-who-bought-it

Comment by azdude
2016-08-18 14:04:33

CEO’s got hit the numbers to get paid!

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-08-18 17:46:04

I have no doubt that a lot of this debt was for corporate buybacks.

However, I wonder how much of this is due to repatriation issues with The $2+ Trillions of capital held overseas?

Example, Apple had $0 long term debt in 2012, and has since borrowed $50B…mainly to fund dividends. They can borrow long term for less than 3%. Why wouldn’t they if their alternative was to pay 30% to Uncle Sam for the benefit of bringing the money back home to pay the dividends?

Same story if you want capital to grow your business…why repatriate with a 30% cost when you can borrow at such cheap rates?

 
 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 13:47:59

Here’s a little good news among all the doom and gloom today:

DOJ says it will end the use of private prisons.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/18/justice-department-says-it-will-end-use-of-private-prisons/?utm_term=.03660674dfb5

“Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced the decision on Thursday in a memo that instructs officials to either decline to renew the contracts for private prison operators when they expire or “substantially reduce” the contracts’ scope. The goal, Yates wrote, is “reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons.”

“They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” Yates wrote.”

Good stuff.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 16:50:06

It’s about time. The prison-industrial complex is a national disgrace.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 14:25:53

Inconvenient truth-telling from posters calling out The Narrative on Oligopoly media outlets cannot and will not be tolerated. Forward!

http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/08/18/publicly-funded-npr-follows-lefts-lead-closes-comments-sections/

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 15:54:13

Ha, the new mantra is “Let Zuckerberg do it!”

 
Comment by GuillotineRenovator
2016-08-18 19:01:18

Any site which closes comments loses my readership.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 14:31:33
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 15:01:22

Seattle, WA Housing Prices Crater 9% YoY As Inventory Balloons To Record Levels

http://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa-98102/home-values/

Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 16:08:29

Ha ha ha, HA, lying again I see . . .

Inventory in King County which includes Seattle, year-over-year, July 2016 is up a staggering 0.1% from July 2015.

http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2016/08/18/around-sound-sales-slip-counties/

That’s hardly ballooning to record levels. You are off your meds again.

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 16:27:06

And prices fell……. 9%. Data my friend. Stick with the data.

Kirkland, WA Housing Prices Crater 13% YoY On Skyrocketing Housing Inventory

http://www.zillow.com/north-rose-hill-kirkland-wa/home-values/

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Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:09:28

Ha ha ha, HA, cherry-picking again!!! I love it - you are so darn predictable.

Guess what? I drove through North Rose Hill just an hour ago, getting gas at the Costco over there (the original one, in Kirkland, where the Kirkland Signature brand name came from). There is no skyrocketing inventory there.

Try again.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-19 08:24:15

Boots on the ground confirms the falling prices and ballooning inventory data.

Sorry.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 14:35:03

B…b…but the Oligpoly mouthpieces assured us a vote for BREXIT would cause the sky to fall.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/18/ftse-100-edges-higher-and-pound-rises-as-investors-eye-post-brex/

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 14:58:23

When it come to Khizr Khan

Is it possible to be a grieving parent and use the building for your deceased son’s foundation as a private fetish sex club at the same time?

Or by the time one uses the building for their deceased son’s foundation as a private fetish sex club can it be assumed that the grieving process has ended?

Either way, probably something the DNC should have looked into besides their racist anti semitic conspiring against Bernie in the Primary and putting this husband and wife on the National stage to grab the moral high ground.

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 15:02:33

Makes sense. KinkyKhan and The LeeringLewd Bill Clinton.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 15:08:21

Question for you;

If you had a college age daughter, would you want her interning with that creepy bastard slithering around the Whitehouse?

Comment by azdude
2016-08-18 15:26:52

uncle bill? He loves ladies

 
 
Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-08-18 15:19:53

I have to ask, since I get accused of this: Is somebody paying you to post this garbage? You and Ray expend an incredible amount of energy at this. If you don’t get paid, why do you do it? You know it’s a bunch of bullshit just like everybody else. Why do you wallow?

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 15:32:32

Your engagement with enragement is causing your derangement.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 15:40:54

Somebody accused you of getting paid to post? If so, never saw it. I don’t think I ever did. I don’t always agree with you, but I do feel you come by your opinions honestly. Plus some of your one-liners are a scream.

Anyway, I started it with the Kizhr Khan Kinky Lick in the earlier thread. I thought it was funny is why I posted, considering the guy held himself up as some sort of moral authority. Plus there was a foundation involved and all the Clinton Foundation stuff, etc. No, I don’t work for Chuck Johnson. I also posted about the DOJ cutting off the private prison scam. They don’t pay me to do that, but I wouldn’t mind if they did.

I also posted about the nukes in Turkey. I am not being paid by Turkey or Russia to do so, although I was once accused of being a Putin fanboi.

Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-08-18 17:03:00

I’ve been accused a few times… probably still somewhere in the history. That’s why I changed my handle to reflect my perceived superpower.

I was actually kind of flattered.

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Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 18:26:48

“Somebody accused you of getting paid to post? If so, never saw it”

Because it’s mightymike that gets accused of being a paid poster.

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Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 18:37:41

That’s something that said to me by people who have nothing to refute my facts and logic.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 18:44:04

A true $16.00 hour man. You’d think they could squeeze a few more bucks outta that old skinflint Soros.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 19:09:07

“That’s something that said to me by people who have nothing to refute my facts and logic.”

More like something to fuqe with you about your hot off the wire liberal talking points.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-08-18 19:19:02

That’s part of the rhetoric. The facts have a well known liberal bias.

 
Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-08-18 19:50:05

Facts! Who needs facts when we have outrage!

 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 20:54:24

“That’s part of the rhetoric. The facts have a well known liberal bias.”

Vin Scully was right MityMike and you of course were wrong.

Russ I am sorry nobody cares enough about your comments to say you get paid to post them.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:08:26

You and Ray expend an incredible amount of energy at this. If you don’t get paid, why do you do it?

News to me that I expend “an incredible amount of energy at this.” Why do I post the things I post? Mostly because there is a housing bubble nexus, even if it’s a couple of degrees removed. But more to the point, because as Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Testify, Brother George.

There’s a Russian saying, “In the pond of lies, only dead fish swim.” The MSM (corporate media) propagates its approved Narrative disinformation and falsehoods, while the sheep in their neoliberal pens feed obliviously on the green shoots growing from the manure the MSM spreads across their pasture. Sorry, I decline to be a herd creature. I’d rather slay sacred cows and turn them into hamburger.

Each of us has a divine spark. Each of us has a moral obligation to confront evil, pursue justice, and live responsibly. Such principles, to a collectivist lib-tard, are anathema, but here on the HBB there is still a small, vibrant group of truth-tellers who still call it like we see it. That includes the thoughtful posters in here who don’t agree with me but nevertheless are capable of original, independent thought. I’m delighted to make what contributions I can to the HBB, although life’s obligations mean I’ll probably be posting much more infrequently in the near future.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:19:54

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:20:56

“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:22:04

“Big Brother is watching you.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:24:25

“The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:25:49

“Liberal: a power worshipper without power.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:27:55

“War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.” — George Orwell

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:29:43

“Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”

– George Orwell, 1984

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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:56:01

I’m with you there, bro’. That’s why I post here sans affirmation or remuneration.

 
 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:54:14

Trump obviously has enough billions to spend a little money on spreading propaganda around the blogosphere. Horse hockey happens.

Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:13:07

You see, there you go again, PB, spreading outright lies.

Compare and contrast how much Hillary has spent thus far on TV ads, and then tell me how much Trump has spent.

And George Soros isn’t spending a nickel trying to get Trump elected. Can’t say the same about Hillary, however.

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Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 16:14:47

Would Khizr Khan fit in these lyrics?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX9E44mClKs - 175k -

If so, he could play it at his private fetish sex club.

CHAKA KHAN LYRICS

“I Feel For You”

Khizr , Khizr , Khizr
Khizr Khan
Khizr Khan
Khizr Khan
Khizr Khan

Khizr Khan
Let me rock you
Let me rock you
Khizr Khan
Let me rock you
That’s all I wanna do
Khizr Khan
Let me rock you
Let me rock you
Khizr Khan
Let me rock you
‘Cause I feel for you
Khizr Khan
Won’t you tell me
What you wanna do
Do you feel for me
The way I feel for you

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:57:01

Irrelevant…but telling that Trump supporters fail to recognize the irrelevance.

Comment by phony scandals
2016-08-18 20:49:38

Fetish sex club are Irrelevant?

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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 22:20:12

I guess they are relevant for people who care about such matters. But I thought we were talking about presidential politics, not the dirt that some right wing propaganda news organization cooked up on somebody who dared to call out the Donald as a racist.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 18:51:35

Why are you guys obsessed with the Trump bait that was rolled out at the DNC convention? Don’t you realize the whole episode was a trap with the sole purpose of demonstrating that Trump is incapable of keeping his mouth shut under any and all circumstances? If you haven’t noticed, Khan is not running for president. Who he is or what some right wing nutjob news outlet makes up to discredit him is totally irrelevant.

Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-08-18 19:57:00

but…. sex!

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 22:21:41

I’m sure lies and videotape were somehow also involved…

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 17:28:06

heh, reminds me of when they pulled the rug out from under the Japanese back in the 1980s, early 90s. Well, Ray, I think that right there is the beginning of the end of this housing bubble. I hope it falls faster than the last time, though. Took from 2006 to 2008, hit a false bottom in 2011-2013 and pumped back up.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:31:38

And now the Keynesian fraudsters at the central banks have expended all their ammunition. Got popcorn, Brother Palmy?

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Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 18:04:37

It’s about to blow. Just like they said, couple months prior to the election. Scorched earth for DJT. But I think he’s probably the only one who could actually handle it. I actually like John Paulson, he shorted the hell out of the housing market and surprised himself how rich he got from it. One of the few Wall Street guys I actually have some respect for.

 
 
 
 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 17:22:15

That explains why Seattle is cratering.

Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:14:52

Try again, Housing Analyst. Seattle will be one of the last cities to see the decline, just like last time. Hasn’t happened yet.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-19 00:13:30

Once the MSM starts puzzling over whether it’s a bubble, you can stick a fork in it…

Jon Talton / Columnist
Seattle housing: Is it a bubble?
Originally published June 2, 2016 at 9:55 am Updated June 2, 2016 at 12:02 pm
Seattle area single-family home prices in March were up 10.8 percent from a year ago, behind only Portland, where prices have shot up 12.3 percent, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller data.
(Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times)

Skyrocketing Seattle housing prices cut both ways, helping owners and challenging buyers. But is an Old Testament-style reckoning on the way?

My colleague Mike Rosenberg reported this week that single-family house values in Seattle shot up 10.8 percent year-over-year in March, the second highest in the nation after Portland, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index.

It’s a new record, surpassing the previous peak in the summer of 2007 — and we saw how that turned out. Nationally, the increase was 5.2 percent. Here, it’s especially good news for homeowners and bad for buyers.

So is Seattle in a bubble? And will those discontent with the local boom get to enjoy some rough justice when it all caves in?

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:43:24

“If the bubble has indeed burst, things are about to get very ugly. Eilers says that in the 1980 housing crash, prices dropped by 40 to 60% within a year and took six years to recover. “So your $2 million house became $800,000 in five months. There’s a lot of economists and a lot of wise people that believe that our financial structure is much closer to that structure from a corrections’ point of view,” Eilers explained.

“One thing, however, appears certain: the foreign money influx has stopped. Zolo’s CEO says the foreign buyer tax has certainly stopped speculative buyers. This has caused many other buyers to take on a “wait and see” approach, which has essentially frozen the market.

“News of the foreign buyer tax has spread to China, where Chinese real estate website Juwai now promotes other Canadian cities as foreign capital destinations. The website used to promote Vancouver as one of the best places for wealthy Chinese to invest, but has now switched to publicizing Calgary and Alberta due to the tax.

“Which means that while one bubble is bursting, another is about to start, even if it is smack in the middle of Canada’s bleeding oil patch.

“That said, this is good news for ordinary Vancouver residents. NDP MLA David Eby says the tax has caused a lot of people to hit the pause button on buying homes, but all those people might come back into the market in September. Despite his reservations on how the tax was implemented – he would have preferred an incrementally-increasing tax – he says a market slow down is good news.

“A lot of people have said to me quietly that they hope there is a substantial housing crash.”

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:45:32

This bears repeating: “If the bubble has indeed burst, things are about to get very ugly.” Eilers says that in the 1980 housing crash, prices dropped by 40 to 60% within a year and took six years to recover. “So your $2 million house became $800,000 in five months. There’s a lot of economists and a lot of wise people that believe that our financial structure is much closer to that structure from a corrections’ point of view,” Eilers explained.

Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 17:54:01

This is positive news.

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

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 18:07:57

Imagine being underwater to the tune of 40-60%. Lots of jingle mail going out. Lots of insolvent banks going belly up. And central banks, having printed $16 trillion since 2008 for their bankster accomplices, are finally going to have to face the music.

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Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 18:23:02

Yes but an accelerating economy and rising employment.

 
Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:17:28

Wrong again, Housing Analyst. Millions of people are employed by the housing industry. And in box stores that sell stuff for houses. And in factories that make stuff for the houses that get sold in the box stores.

Many people will lose their jobs, just like during the last downturn.

 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-19 08:22:06

Incorrect my friend.

Fixed and rigged prices at grossly inflated levels crushes the economy and leads to wide-scale joblessness. This is why labor force participation rate is at record lows and homeownership rate at 51 years lows.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 18:11:13

The Chinese embezzlers and money launders who bought Vancouver real estate in the past month can’t say they weren’t warned by their own media.

https://betterdwelling.com/city/vancouver/chinese-media-now-warning-canadas-housing-crash-will-worse-us/

 
 
 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 17:02:42

Whew, he’s calling the media out tonite! Go, Don!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAjWtnGihYA&feature=youtu.be

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 17:04:30

Ending the era of nation building!

 
Comment by CalifoH20
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 17:36:15

The hallmark of a civilization is a basic sense of civility. While I have a viceral loathing of Hillary because of her fundamental dishonesty and moral unfitness for leadership, I would never call her or any woman the B-word. That shows a lack of class and character.

Comment by palmetto
2016-08-18 17:55:01

Eh, I have. But then again, no one’s ever accused me of having much class. lol.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 18:18:13

Why have a civilization if people can’t be civil any more?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJaLrINeZPc

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Comment by CalifoH20
2016-08-18 18:46:45

Did u read it?

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 19:07:50

The Hillary article? Yes.

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Comment by palmetto
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 19:06:01

The apple seldom falls very far from the tree.

Child yells profanity directed at Hillary Clinton during Donald Trump rally

9:49 A.M.REPORTING FROM Ashburn, Va.
Noah Bierman

A school-age child at a Donald Trump rally on Tuesday stood up and yelled “Take the bitch down” after the candidate mentioned Hillary Clinton. His mother later defended the child’s right to speak and blamed his language on “Democratic schools.”

The child, who looked no more than 10, was sitting next to his mother in the media section.

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-08-18 17:36:40

Hampden(Denver), CO Housing Prices Plunge 10% YoY As Housing Demand Dives

http://www.zillow.com/hampden-denver-co/home-values/

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-08-18 17:49:33

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clinton-foundation-to-refuse-overseas-cash-if-hillary-wins/article/2599694

lol

Just like you said when HRC was Secretary of State?

Pinkie swear? Wink, wink.

Sounds like Putin will need to set up an “independent charity” based in Canada if he wants to get more than 20% of the US uranium production. What a hassle. So much harder than simply wiring money from a “friendly” Russian corporation.

Comment by redmondjp
2016-08-18 23:19:44

So basically the are admitting wrongdoing, because if they weren’t doing anything wrong right now, then there would be no reason to change anything at all.

Comment by Rental Watch
2016-08-19 00:46:34

I think they see a major weakness people seeing the Clintons’ as self-serving and corrupt, and are trying to get in front of that parade.

Did you see their tax return? They donated $1.044MM to “charity” out of their earnings of $10MM.

Awesome right?

Well, $1MM went to a the Clinton Family Foundation. The year before, they donated $3MM to that foundation, and $22k elsewhere. Similar numbers the year before that.

What generosity!

How do they make all their money?

Mainly speaking fees. Like the $500k fee paid to Bill from the Russian investment bank related to the Uranium One transaction.

The Clintons are really great at looking out for the Clintons. How do people not see this?

Intentional blindness.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 18:02:38

You could power NYC if you could harness a turbine to the revolving door between the worthless SEC and the TBTF banks it’s supposed to be regulating.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-18/why-deutsche-bank-whistleblower-turned-down-825-million-award-his-own-words

 
 
Comment by The Crushin' Russian
2016-08-18 18:45:52

Don’t be a DebtDonkey. Walk away from that depreciating shack you paid too much for.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-08-18 19:13:20

The story doesn’t mention if the carjacker, who stole a squad car to commit suicide by cop, was white, black or otherwise.

Should / does / will the race of the perpetrator matter in a society which eschews racial discrimination as a matter of constitutional law?

P.S. This incident occurred just today about five miles up the road from us.

California
August 18, 2016 5:30 PM
Man found dead after police pursuit in stolen patrol vehicle

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department says four deputies fired shots at a gun-wielding motorist who stole a sheriff’s vehicle and was found dead inside an SUV that he later carjacked.

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-08-18 19:14:19

Hillary isn’t even in office yet and she’s already showing her true colors. If it challenges The Narrative, it must be destroyed.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/18/hillary-campaign-vows-to-destroy-opposition-website/

 
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