October 31, 2016

Without Buyers, It’s Not A Seller’s Market Any Longer

A report from Post Media in Canada. “It was a question well worth asking. After watching Calgary’s rental market shift over the last year, Bridget Eastgaard and her husband asked for a break — and received a $375 monthly reduction. ‘Will you lower our rent?’ they said to their landlord, who agreed to the couple’s request. ‘I told (our landlord) there were comparable units for cheaper and the vacancy was now very high in Calgary, so we had a lot of choice.’”

“Data provided by Mark Hawkins, who owns the rental listing website RentFaster.ca, shows the average price for all Calgary properties listed on his site has plummeted from a peak of $2,137 in July 2014 to $1,426 this month — a decline of 33%, or $711. ‘It’s definitely a 180 in the market here. It’s really changed,’ said Hawkins. ‘The tides have turned. Now, there are a lot of landlords that aren’t even covering their expenses.’”

The Tribune de Genève in Switzerland. “Rents have dropped across Switzerland, declining substantially in the Lake Geneva region, according the the property consulting firm Wüest Partner. According to the firm, Swiss rents in the second quarter of 2016 were 1.6% lower than the same quarter in 2015. Geneva saw rents drop by 8.3% over the same period, while the region around Lake Geneva, known as the arc lémanique, saw a fall of 7.2%. Valais saw a similar decline of 5.2%.”

“These are the first declines in 16 years, according to the Zurich daily. Across Switzerland, rents rose by 25 percent in the ten years from 2006 to 2016. In Zurich (+38%) and Geneva (+46%) the rise was even steeper. Wüest Partner says the market has turned in favour of renters as immigration falls and the supply of new dwellings coming on to the market increases.”

The Taipei Times in Taiwan. “The new home market stabilized last quarter from a year earlier as builders lowered prices to facilitate transactions, a report by Cathay Real Estate Development C and National Chengchi University’s Taiwan Real Estate Research Center showed yesterday. Mainstream housing — mostly apartments with one or two bedrooms — had an average price of NT$10.17 million, the report said. That translated into an average asking price of NT$266,500 per ping (3.3m2), a 7.41 percent decrease from a year earlier, the report said. Price concessions stood at 17.37 percent.”

The Asian Property Report on Singapore. “Figures for Singapore’s property market in Q3 look increasingly miserable across the board, but nowhere more so than in the private residential sector, the Straits Times reports. Private home prices dropped for the 12th quarter in a row in Q3, and were 10.8 percent less than the spike in the third quarter 2013. ‘Worries over a weaker economy, news of job cuts and fears of a coming recession seem to have an adverse impact on the property market,’ Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International Property Consultants told the Times.”

“Values and rents of offices and malls fell at a slower pace in the period from June to September, but vacancies climbed to their highest levels in recent years.”

The Vanguard on Nigeria. “Stakeholders have continued to express divergent views on the impact of the current economic recession in Nigeria on the nation’s real estate market. While some operators are complaining of low demand, over supply, falling prices and many unsold/unoccupied houses with no buyers or tenants, others see the crash in the property market as opportunities for brave investors.”

“Available sales data from housing developers and realtors showed that most of the enquiries they receive come from first-time buyers, who hardly return back after making enquiries. In highbrow areas in Lagos like Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki which used to be hot cake, especially for wealthy Nigerians, most properties there are now up for ‘let’ or ’sale’ for several months without anyone making enquiries about them. The same scenario applies to Abuja.”

“The Financial Derivatives Company Limited puts the vacancy rate in the upper class real estate neighbourhoods of Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi at 74 percent at the end of September. Mr. Akin Olawore, former president, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Survey, noted that the real estate sector is usually the first hit during economic recession. ‘This is because people don’t have money to pay their rent, or go into new leases. They just can’t find the money to pay now, so the default rate has gone up,’ he said.”

“‘Having vacant houses lying everywhere is not helping the economy. If you look around, you will see many houses for lease. Things are expensive now, and people are not taking up leases. If landlords have their way, they would factor in the inflation rate in their rent, if it expires within this period. But given the situation of things, they also have to reduce the price at which houses are leased or sold; otherwise we will keep off-loading many houses into the market, without buyers. It is not a seller’s market any longer,’ he said.”




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68 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 08:35:40

‘there are a lot of landlords that aren’t even covering their expenses’

We all know what happens next.

‘They just can’t find the money to pay now, so the default rate has gone up’

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 08:37:04

‘Worries over a weaker economy, news of job cuts and fears of a coming recession seem to have an adverse impact on the property market’

Singapore must be in recession. Everything is down; housing, retail, office and industrial.

Comment by new attitude
2016-10-31 13:01:54

50″ TVs are cheaper too! 18 eggs at Costco are $1.39!

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 08:38:45

There’s a crow waiting in a tree outside oxides shack:

‘It was a question well worth asking. After watching Calgary’s rental market shift over the last year, Bridget Eastgaard and her husband asked for a break — and received a $375 monthly reduction. ‘Will you lower our rent?’ they said to their landlord, who agreed to the couple’s request.’

Comment by oxide
2016-10-31 09:41:25

Eh, maybe. I remember that post, but I think I added a qualifier for low vacancy.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 09:44:19

Example

Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-31 10:08:39

“RentFaster.ca, shows the average price for all Calgary properties listed on his site has plummeted from a peak of $2,137 in July 2014 to $1,426 this month — a decline of 33%, or $711.”

Righteous bucks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45gbgBhVPEM

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Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-10-31 10:20:20

Tastes like Chikin’?

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2016-10-31 19:52:05

Grass fed DonkeyCrowChickens.

 
 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 10:41:50

Landlords were supposed to be omnipotent

Comment by oxide

2012-07-22 06:25:36

“As a renter, it took me less than one year to realize I was the concubine of the landlord, and that landlord made sure I knew it, every day.”

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-31 10:28:38

Hitler is coming
The gov worker savoir saint

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 08:43:47

Also from the last link:

‘Second Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr. Kunle Awobolu, said it is ironical that despite shortage of accommodation and deficit in housing, some comfortable, attractive and functional buildings remain unoccupied. “It is unfortunate because these are mostly new buildings. One of the reasons is that the rent may be beyond the reach of an average tenant. In Abuja, for instance, we have so many buildings that are unoccupied. One cannot but wonder why the owners wouldn’t reduce the price of the buildings. This is because if a building were left unoccupied for long, sooner or later, there would be need for maintenance.”

74% vacant near what was the most expensive housing in the world 2 years ago.

Comment by Karen
2016-10-31 10:24:19

“One cannot but wonder why the owners wouldn’t reduce the price of the buildings. This is because if a building were left unoccupied for long, sooner or later, there would be need for maintenance.”

They won’t reduce the price because the buildings need maintenance? Are they saying that they don’t actually want to rent or sell these because if they did, the renter or buyer would notice all the problems?

Then what is the end game? What are they hoping will happen?

 
 
Comment by azdude
2016-10-31 08:46:07

What does a recession mean anymore in the US? Some slower growth? Is the world suppose to come to an end? Or is this some sort of sell signal?

People have been talking about a recession for years. Who gets the final word here? When is it official to unload everything and buy it back cheaper?

Even if we are in a recession will stocks go down? Earnings have been held up with buybacks for years. As long as folks can borrow it will be the same.

It really seems that the traditional ways of placing values on assets has gone away and everything depends on cheap money.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 09:00:59

re·ces·sion
rəˈseSH(ə)n/
noun
noun: recession; plural noun: recessions

1. a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.
synonyms: economic decline, downturn, depression, slump, slowdown
“job losses are symptomatic of the recession”

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 09:02:41

‘As long as folks can borrow it will be the same’

But they can’t. You may have noticed lenders are backing away from luxury condos and apartments. Would you loan money to a shack buyer in Lagos right now? Or Calgary?

Comment by azdude
2016-10-31 09:23:23

no, I wouldn’t loan on those overpriced shanties. I guess I was mainly referring to the stock market. Corporate buybacks and central banks have kept this stock market afloat for years. Even if someone finally says we are in a recession will it change?

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Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 09:31:40

Never gamble more than you are willing to lose.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 09:37:41

They are still in shock in Boston:

‘Copley Place tower developer abandons plans for 625-foot spire
But why?’

‘In the end, though, what seems to have doomed the Copley Place addition is a fear on the part of the developer that Boston’s luxury real estate market is—get this—slowing.’

That’s funny. “Get this”. They can’t even get their head around slowing. Wait til the foreclosure notices start going up.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-31 08:59:06

Drain the swamp

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-10-31 11:27:30

Jeffrey Epstein, friend of Bill and Bear Stearns alumnus, LOLZ

 
Comment by new attitude
2016-10-31 13:47:04

YES, drain the swamp! Vote out all the incumbents in the senate!

Vote Green! Get rid of the thieves.

 
 
Comment by Obama Goons
2016-10-31 09:09:09

Hillaryous is unelectable.

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-31 12:00:23

You’ve been saying this all along and in fact it just might be the truest thing said regarding the election.

So many competing theories about what’s going on and I just had an idea pop into my head because of Obama’s defense of Comey today.
We know that if there’s one thing this character Soros likes to do, it’s destablize countries. And he’s got his main man in White House.

What if running Hillary in the first place was meant to be the actual, deliberate destabilizing action? (Unbeknownst to her) Either before or after the election, doesn’t make much nevermind to Soros, he wins either way. Bet he’s got some major bucks riding on this.

So he gives a few million here, a few million there, spreads the wealth a little. It’s probably peanuts compared to the billion or so he stands to make. Rest assured he’s placed his bets.

Team Hillary has been played like a fiddle. Obama comes out smelling like a rose.

Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 14:54:18

That seems a rather tortured theory when ordinary greed, slime, murder and stupidity can explain quite well.

Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2016-10-31 20:28:53

Tortured theory equals a violation of Occam’s Razor—e.g. no go.

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Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-31 16:47:34

John Podesta’s Best Friend At The DOJ Will Be In Charge Of The DOJ’s Probe Into Huma Abedin Emails

by Tyler Durden
Oct 31, 2016 4:36 PM

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-31/doj-tells-congress-it-will-work-expeditiously-review-abedin-emails-there-just-one-pr

 
 
 
Comment by Salinasron
2016-10-31 09:16:51

Hmmm, what if the emails show Huma Abedin is a middle eastern spy: a modern day Mata Hari. ,

Comment by jerzdebil
2016-10-31 10:28:14

Remains to be seen. Weiner could be a mossad spy, who knows. Heard on the radio the emails came back as containing classified info. The shear volume makes you wonder what these could possibly cover - Humas entire career with Hillary? That goes back to the Monica days I believe.

Latest wikileaks apparently indicate pretty much everyone at the white house used private email, and there is also talk that security breaches occurred daily, with a policy to disregard protocols. If the full scope of that is explored, this could bring down not just Hillary but Obama. Add in the fact that I think Hillary has enough dirt on the dem party going back to filegate and the whole party could go down in flames. Google “FBI Anon” and check what he said back in July, remarkably prescient so far and downright scary as to where this could lead.

Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 10:44:15

Sometimes the hook is not what one did, but how one lied about it.

Comment by Rental Watch
2016-10-31 12:01:37

+100

The question isn’t about whether there was sensitive information on the server. That has been answered…there was.

The question is whether HRC knew what she was doing was improper at the time. If she knew that her server setup was illegal, and knowingly broke the law….well, then, that could easily change Comey’s view of indictment.

And if such e-mails were deleted by HRC’s counsel, could there be obstruction charges?

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Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-10-31 10:53:36

The shear volume makes you wonder what these could possibly cover

99% pure Junk…friend requests from FB and LinkedIn.

 
Comment by Carl Morris
2016-10-31 11:17:55

My concern is that the American public can no longer be shocked into dropping their support for “their” politician. I think if this campaign has shown anything it’s that the base of each party will accept anything now. So going forward I don’t expect any party to “go down in flames” Watergate-style.

Comment by Michael Viking
2016-10-31 13:01:35

I wholeheartedly agree with you with respect to Hillary supporters. I don’t see how you say that with Republicans, though. It seems all of the Republican candidates went down in flames and now it’s Trump. He might have the Republican nomination, but the way Republicans treat him, it’s clear he’s not part of their machine. If what you said applied to both teams, wouldn’t we be stuck with Jeb Bush or something?

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Comment by Carl Morris
2016-10-31 14:49:09

I mentioned the base…not the party elites. Even if the base hates Trump they are still all in for him. It’s become totally tribal between the two bases.

 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 14:55:50

People aren’t so much voting for someone as they are voting against someone.

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Comment by Carl Morris
2016-10-31 09:37:13

Just wanted to mention that a new construction, partially finished 40-unit building went up in smoke last night in Oakland. Probably a Halloween prank. Or something.

Comment by Apartment 401
Comment by Carl Morris
2016-10-31 12:22:47

Sure. But it’s interesting that it happened just as the market for such things is rolling over.

Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2016-10-31 13:37:55

How con-veeeeeeeeeeen-ient!

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Comment by Jesus Navas is my Lord Savior
2016-10-31 10:24:36

Check mate! Trump is done.

They found the Russian hacker.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/sm/custom/6d3bf33b18.jpg

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-31 10:30:15

Wouldn’t it save Lost of bandwidth to just declare:”"
Rents and prices are falling everywhere

 
Comment by Karen
2016-10-31 11:24:47

Another example of the MSM pushing the theme that lower prices are bad

This time, they give us a twisted argument about how lower food prices lead to a ‘restaurant recession’.

But when you think it through, their argument makes no sense. Both restaurants and grocery stores buy from wholesalers and are benefitting from lower prices. Which they can choose to pass along to consumers or not.

And both types of businesses have labor, real estate, and health insurance costs.

In fact, the article itself shows that it’s HIGHER prices (health insurance, labor, real estate) that are putting a squeeze on restaurants.

And a lot of consumers are pretty broke, especially due to high housing costs. It’s always going to be cheaper to buy raw ingredients and cook them yourself.

Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 11:55:40

“Which they can choose to pass along to consumers or not.”

They can make this choice only temporarily when there is surplus capacity. Eventually lower prices result in lower sales and lower profits.

Comment by Price Discovery
2016-10-31 13:55:24

When my input costs fall I’m far more competitive in the market which increases my market share and expands the pool of buyers for all my competitors.

Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 15:16:05

If you are flexible and adaptive your competitors will suffer greatly.

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Comment by Price Discovery
2016-10-31 15:29:01

This is true however our competitors use the same materials. My point was when those materials cost less, the end product costs less which exposes the product to a broader pool of buyers.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 16:47:06

That makes sense. We make machinery that is used to make “stuff”. My competitors have largely been bought up as vanity assets by deep pocket large corporations. They are driving the price down to show expanding market share for their new handlers. Input costs are indeed dropping, but so are the margins and so is the “pool”. So that is my lens. Falling costs are going hand in hand with falling profits, because demand for the end product is falling faster.

 
 
 
 
Comment by new attitude
2016-10-31 12:33:26

The local $11 Indian buffet loses $$ when I go Mongol on them.

Comment by Bubblebot
2016-10-31 23:52:38

“The local $11 Indian buffet loses $$ when I go Mongol on them.”

Made me LOL. Thanks!

 
 
Comment by oxide
2016-10-31 13:14:35

Cost is usually not a factor when it comes to eating out. People eat out for convenience and fellowship. And for the taste. Most restaurant food is engineered (yes, truly engineered) to consists of layers fat, salt and sugar to produce an exact texture and taste to stimulate certain taste buds.

(not kidding.. for more info on engineered food check out “The End of Overeating” by David Kessler.)

Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2016-10-31 13:40:24

Most restaurant food is engineered (yes, truly engineered)

Spoken like someone who doesn’t understand the definition of engineering; there is no such field as “taste engineering”.

Designed—sure; engineered—nope.

Comment by new attitude
2016-10-31 14:51:53

My breakfast burrito was reverse engineered.

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Comment by tresho
2016-11-01 08:34:46

My digestive system reverse engineers EVERYTHING I eat.

 
 
 
Comment by Karen
2016-10-31 15:06:56

Cost is usually not a factor when it comes to eating out.

Only in Lola-land, which you apparently inhabit. These are the same sort of brilliant folk who think they’re saving money by buying a house instead of renting.

Do they serve crow at the local restaurants where you live?

Comment by oxide
2016-10-31 18:14:12

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I was responding to your statement that “It’s always going to be cheaper to buy raw ingredients and cook them yourself.”

If you’re making *the same meal* yes, it’s cheaper to buy $10 of ingredients and cook at home. But most people would just buy $10 at Wendy’s and save the hassle.

Hence our obese population.

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Comment by YellenBux
2016-10-31 18:50:48

I’ve never seen such pirouettes in my life.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Karen
2016-10-31 15:03:34

Hey Ben, for some reason lately when I use the “link” button and post a link, it never makes it into my post.

Let’s see if this non-formatted link goes through:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-surprising-food-trend-driving-the-restaurant-recession/ar-AAjEPcW?li=BBnbfcN

Comment by drumminj
2016-11-01 09:20:07

Hey Ben, for some reason lately when I use the “link” button and post a link, it never makes it into my post.

The “link” button isn’t part of Ben’s site — it’s added by the JT Extension which I presume you are using?

Perhaps there’s a bug in the Joshua Tree Extension (testing here…)

Comment by drumminj
2016-11-01 09:36:11

Nope, no apparent bug in Chrome version of the extension (v3.0.5)

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Comment by Karen
2016-11-01 21:11:52

I don’t think it has anything to do with the JT extension

https://snag.gy/8fWRDQ.jpg

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 12:21:41

‘Rents have dropped across Switzerland, declining substantially in the Lake Geneva region…These are the first declines in 16 years’

Lots of unusual stuff happening these days. BTW, some of these areas are as about as expensive as it gets.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 12:23:56

‘The new home market stabilized last quarter from a year earlier as builders lowered prices to facilitate transactions, a report by Cathay Real Estate Development C and National Chengchi University’s Taiwan Real Estate Research Center showed…Price concessions stood at 17.37 percent.’

This was a big favorite of mainland Chinese for a while. They mess up everything they touch.

Comment by Karen
2016-10-31 15:45:04

But at least it’s stabilized now. All is well.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-31 13:56:01

‘(Coachella Valley) new construction home sales have fallen by double-digit percentages for each of the last six months, and only 38 new homes sold in September, a 43 pecent drop from the same month in 2015. The trend holds across Southern California, according to CoreLogic DataQuick — new home sales in September across six SoCal counties were 49 percent below the average for all Septembers in the last 20 years.’

‘According to the California Desert Association of Realtors, there were 2,854 houses and 1,149 condos on the market in September. If homes continued to sell at the rate they sold in September, it would take five months to sell all the units on the market now. Realtors measure inventory in months, and generally consider four to six months of inventory healthy.’

“The September year-over-year statistics should lead to optimism for the coming season, as the inventory of single-family residences was up 25 percent (over Sept. 2015),” CDAR president Judy Horn said.”

Sounds like they don’t need new houses much. Existing in da crappa too. Hmmm.

Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-31 15:06:07

At least they’re next to the Joshua Tree National Forest.

 
 
Comment by new attitude
2016-10-31 14:55:28

More military, more wars, walls, deportations and more aid to veterans and better road and airports ALL while cutting taxes. Spend, spend, spend…. your way to prosperity. What was QE?

 
Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2016-10-31 16:36:10

So, does everything seem like it is converging for a market sell-off after the election? You know, sell the news rush to the doors, churning/wiping out the muppets’ 401Ks just so they can get a re-boot next year of injected money ala fed?

 
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