The Housing Fever That Could Trigger A Snowballing Effect
It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “As the market slows, the sale-of-home contingency has escaped extinction. In the real estate environment that Nashville has experienced over the past five years, one of the major issues facing sellers was how to schedule the move when the house sold. Until now, once a house was listed, it sold and the buyers wanted to move in – NOW! Now listings are aging, and offers that are contingent on the buyers selling their current residence are floating into sellers for review. The question that sellers should consider when receiving an offer containing a sale-of-home contingency is whether the home of the buyer is more sellable than the owner’s current residence.”
“Some things to consider would be area – location, location, location – and price, as overpriced houses are resting these days. The seller may continue to market the home, and if the seller receives an acceptable offer, the buyer with the sale-of-home contingency has a certain period of time – usually 48 hours – in which to remove the sale of home contingency or risk losing the house. After the seller allows the house to go to the new buyer, that person may read later that the house sold for $15,000 less than their contract. They thought the offer had to be better than theirs in order to put them on notice. In fact, the offer merely has to be acceptable.”
“After years of going up, rents in Boston’s superheated real estate market may have finally reached a peak. Data released Thursday show that apartment rental prices fell slightly at the end of 2016 — the first drop since 2010 — amid a surge of new buildings that have opened in Boston and neighboring cities such as Cambridge, Chelsea, and Somerville. It was the latest and clearest sign that the flood of construction in Boston is putting a lid on prices, at least at the upper end of the market.”
“‘When you put that much supply on the market, you’re going to disrupt the equilibrium,’ said Sue Hawkes, chief executive of Collaborative Cos. a real estate marketing firm in Boston. ‘That’s what’s happening.’”
“The controversial Yard apartment complex on Portland’s northeast waterfront is again making headlines. Renter advocacy groups are crying foul amid news the developer is renting out an entire floor of the building to a vacation rental company. When asked if removing available units from the supply chain was preventing the landlord from lowering rent, Vacasa’s Chief Development Officer Cliff Johnson said he didn’t think so, simply because there just isn’t enough demand to fill all of the units.”
“‘There were still a lot of vacant units in the building, even after we rented that floor,’ Johnson said.”
“After years of painful increases, the cost of renting an apartment in most Bay Area cities has hit a plateau. Andrew Woo, data scientist for ApartmentList.com, attributed the cooling to three factors: the construction of thousands of units of new housing for renters around the region, the typical seasonal slowdown in rent growth at year’s end, and the fact that ‘the market has already gone up so much that it can’t sustain any more rent increases. After a couple of years of scorching rent increases, rents are stabilizing or actually declining in many parts of the Bay Area.’”
“The number of residential property sales in the greater Vancouver region fell by 5.6 per cent in 2016 — including a nearly 40 per cent year-over-year plunge in December alone. ‘The spate of federal and provincial measures has seen the Vancouver market temporarily freeze in its tracks, as buyers and sellers both try to assess the implications for valuations ahead,’ said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets.”
“The popular claim that home prices double every 10 years has become a myth, with only Sydney delivering on that promise in the past decade. Forecasters say no city will grow this much in the coming 10 years. Metropole Property Strategists chief executive Michael Yardney said property markets would be fragmented in 2017 depending on local economic strength and supply and demand. ‘The elephant in the room is the huge oversupply of new apartments being completed in Brisbane and Melbourne,’ he said.”
“There is no need to cite statistics to show housing prices in China’s big cities have been too high for ordinary people to afford. Just ask people around you if they are financially strong enough to purchase a new apartment in Beijing or Shenzhen, and most of them will shake their heads suggesting ‘no’ and might even stare at you as if to ask in response, ‘why do you ask such odd questions?’”
“The country’s top leaders are aware of this reality. And that’s why during the recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference they issued a warning, ‘homes are for residential use, not speculation.’ The public, however, might not be fully convinced about the effectiveness of these policies, because many people have got disillusioned over the past decade by the continued rise in housing prices despite policymakers’ repeated pledge that it would be stopped. And if after several months of lull, housing prices in big cities start rising sharply again sometime next year, public grievance would grow and few would continue to believe in the promises of the government.”
“Therefore, the real estate regulation this time is not just a mere economic task, but a must-do political exercise that has much bearing on public confidence in future policymaking of the government. In the eyes of policymakers, the battle to control housing prices is one that cannot be lost. The housing fever has caused serious problems that could trigger a snowballing effect.”
“If housing prices continue to rise at a fast pace, then the bubble in the property market may burst, and China will have to tackle not only a real estate implosion, but also the eruption of a wider financial crisis. As top Chinese leaders participating in the Central Economic Work Conference said, the country must ‘put more priority on prevention of financial risks’ and ‘make efforts to prevent and control asset bubbles’ to ensure no systematic financial risks occur.”
“Financially troubled Miami Heat legend Glen Rice and his ex-wife, former ‘Real Housewives of Miami’ standout Cristy Rice, are engaged in a real estate race against the clock. They are desperately trying to sell their downtown Miami condo before the highrise’s commandoes seize it. The Rices, who are co-owners of a two-bedroom crib on the 27th floor of the Neo Vertika building listed the place for sale a year ago for $460,000, records show.”
“But the Rices have had to lower the price practically on a monthly basis since then, according to MLS listings. Their latest asking price is $330,000, for a condo bought 11 years ago for $317,000. At the time, in 2006, Rice was just two years into retirement after 15 seasons in the NBA — where it is estimated he made $35 million. He was voted to the All Star Game three times and played forward for the Heat from 1989 until 1995.”
“Now, however, Rice, 49, is so broke after losing his fortune in bad investments, his contentious divorce from Cristy and paternity lawsuits that a Miami court recently agreed to reduce his child support payments to a former galpal to $600 from $1,500 a month. The paperwork in that case described how Rice makes a few thousand dollars a year from appearances, memorabilia-signing events, basketball camps and tutoring well-to-do kids in basketball.”
“Which could explain why he and Cristy are accused of being more than two years behind in their $675.50 or so monthly fees at the edgy-looking Neo Vertika. At this point, the condo association’s complaint says the Rices owe nearly $20,000 in unpaid fees, interests and penalties. The association has asked the court to order the condo sold in foreclosure.”
“But the Rices have had to lower the price practically on a monthly basis since then, according to MLS listings. Their latest asking price is $330,000, for a condo bought 11 years ago for $317,000. At the time, in 2006, Rice was just two years into retirement after 15 seasons in the NBA — where it is estimated he made $35 million. He was voted to the All Star Game three times and played forward for the Heat from 1989 until 1995.”
How do hapless entertainment icons seemingly always manage to get themselves hooked on drugs or bad real estate investments?
‘The Rices…listed the place for sale a year ago for $460,000…have had to lower the price practically on a monthly basis since then…Their latest asking price is $330,000, for a condo bought 11 years ago for $317,000.’
With transaction costs they’ve lost money. So much for Miami condos being worth 40% more than the last peak.
Not to mention condo fees and property taxes.
I’m sure they spent a bunch upgrading and customizing too.
Prices can quickly blow off, evidenced by this airbox.
Crazy he only made 35 mil. If he’d played from 2000-2015, he’d have made at least 100 mil, probably more like 150+.
He wasn’t a great player, but he filled a tough nitche as a natural shooter with good size who drew a tough defender away from the basket.
Seems like he wasn’t a natural financial genius. At least when members of the Hollywood set, such as Nicholas Cage, find themselves swimming underwater in a tsunami tide of bad real estate investment debt, they can hope to raise cash by making another movie.
By comparison, I have to guess an NBA pension doesn’t replace a large share of an active player’s annual income, leaving them feeling penniless and bewildered once their fifteen minutes of fame on the court is over.
His (((agent))) probably still has every penny of profit he earned off him. Probably invested in an index fund.
Maybe Glen can get a refund.
His call would undoubtedly go to voicemail, repeatedly…
or maybe he didn’t max out his retirement accounts and have them for the kids too, like OJ.
A great shooter. When he was really cooking, which seemed to happen almost instantaneously (thus his nickname of “minute” Rice), he would pour in shots from long range as easily if the ball had been vacuumed from his hand into the basket.
I disagree, Glen Rice WAS a great player. In fact, he’s #65 all time in scoring. To put that into perspective, there have been more than 3,000 players in the NBA in just the past 50 years. That puts him in the 98th percentile in what many consider the most meaningful statistic in basketball.
15 year career and below avg defender in an era when defense was relatively more emphasized than now. His team’s were successful when he was the 2nd or 3rd best player on the floor, at best. He was so useful and lasted so long bc of his catch and shoot ability, only one aspect of the game.
A lot of his scoring was also on some bad teams during the heats post expansion years.
Regardless of his greatness of not, 15 years in the league is great. It goes without saying he shouldn’t be broke!
Basketball Reference has him at $66,723,900 in career salary.
And now he is desperately struggling to sell a condo he won’t let go of for less than $330K.
That’s just sad.
Fools and their money are soon parted.
And when the money dries up, suddenly it’s time for divorce. Happens all the time, and not just the rich/famous. It would be interesting to see a chart plotted of divorce rates vs. bubble bursts. My guess it would show a strong correlation.
The other sad Bubble correlation which some interested social science researcher could check out is between the number of residential property investments households made during the Bubble years and eventual divorce.
In my family, where divorce is the exception, the two couples among my wife’s and my siblings who split happened to be the two who exuberantly bought multiple properties (in some cases, against my strong suggestions) during the Bubble. In one of those cases, the result had a severe impact on the children, who transitioned from a comfortable Middle Class existence with two parents in a large home, to Post-Dispatch, post-foreclosure survival mode with a single mom barely able to make ends meet.
When I type “post dash divorce”, my Smart Phone changes it to Post-Dispatch. The phone is a little too clever some times.
At least you tried to convince them. I’ll bet they gave you weird looks when you told them the Kool-Aid had to stop flowing at a certain point. Let me guess, they bought between 20o4 and 2006.
“When poverty walks in the door, love flies out the window.”
You are just cherry picking the losers.
Good ESPN documentary on the subject of athletes and money called ‘Broke,’ think it’s still on Netflix.
North Dallas 40:
Phil Elliott: Joe Bob’s Fine Foods - Eat Here, or I’ll Kill Ya!
Statistical Ideas @salilstatistics Jan 5
#NYC #homeless growing at 2x rate vs under @MikeBloomberg or Giuliani! Let’s quash this tumor. http://statisticalideas.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-empire-city-of-homelessness.html … @BilldeBlasio @nycgov
That reminds me of another statistic that has recently weighed on my mind: Two a day.
That would be a rough estimate of the current murder rate in a couple of North American cities, including Chicago and Tijuana.
Although it is shrinking, at least Chicago offers safety in numbers of people who live there; not so much in Tijuana.
Plus I suspect where you live in Chicago might affect your odds. Tijuana, not so much.
Speaking of Tijuana, what do you hear from the home country? Yesterday’s ZH article on Mexico was pretty grim.
The looting part always brings out the cynic in me whether it is in the US or anywhere.. “I’m pissed about higher gas prices, so I’m gonna boost a flat screen TV”.
“Whitey’s keepin’ me down, so I’m going to burn down the BBQ joint owned by the local black couple.”
I think the “gasolinazo” was the straw that broke the camel’s back (or as they say in Spanish, it was the drop that overflowed the glass).
I think that Mexicans are fed up with their lot in life:
The low pay.
The rampant crime.
The kidnappings
The murders
The blatant and open corruption.
The peso’s collapse (which brings inflation with it)
And they aren’t too happy with Trump either.
Seeing the picture of a looted Sam’s Club in the news was quite surreal for me. That kind of thing didn’t happen when I lived there, but then again the same can be said for the crime problems mentioned in my list.
Old news, but only two degrees of separation away on my network of professional musician colleagues:
Renowned viola player found dead in Tijuana
Sandra Dibble
June 7, 2010
One of Mexico’s most recognized viola players has been killed, and investigators said Monday that the evidence so far points most strongly to a crime of passion.
Omar Hernandez Hidalgo, 38, who held a doctorate in viola from the University of Indiana, was a former member of the Baja California Orchestra and taught at the state-run Centro de Artes Musicales in Tijuana. He performed in the United States, Europe and Latin America.
“We are talking about one of the best instrumentalists in Mexico,” said Roberto Limon, a classical guitarist and former director of the Baja California Orchestra. “This is a tremendous loss.”
…
The weird thing about that Mexico meltdown — it was only a 20% rise in gasoline prices? We have fluctuations of +/- 20% all the time here.
Things must be very stretched in Mexico to have a full blown breakdown over a 20% rise in gasoline.
The blatant and open corruption.
Mexicans voted for corruption. Now they get to live with what they voted for.
Learn something, Democrats.
I built a house last summer with a church group in two days last Summer in Tijuana. The house we built was in a neighborhood of pure squatters for 4 miles in all directions.
The roads are unpaved, no running water in their houses, but you just put a connection on the telephone pole and start stealing juice. Conditions are atrocious and nobody has health coverage.
We walked in our group in the evening all around town. This is 15 miles east of downtown TJ and I did not ever feel threatened, but we had locals accompanying us all the time.
In the morning, I heard more roosters crowing than I could have ever imagined echoing for miles.
Rumor has it that Hillary wants to be the next mayor of NYC. That should polish it off. Do the Clintons have an apartment down south (of Chappaqua)? Bill probably does, but a residency requirement has never stopped Hillary before.
‘Construction of the high-rise was promoted by the City of Portland as a way to solve the housing crisis…and the city awarded the Yard’s developers with tax credits for designating more than 50 affordable housing units on 3 of its floors. While Black believes the Yard’s affordable housing units are “a good thing,” she says taking apartments off the market for vacation rentals isn’t helping ease the burden of the city’s housing crisis.’
“We all agree we are in a housing crisis, that crisis has been attributed to a lack of supply,” Black said. “We are not saying we have a hotel shortage in Portland. We are not having a hotel crisis.”
‘In fact, Johnson and local advocates are in agreement that developers across the city have invested most heavily in luxury housing, but the demand may not be there. “I think what you are seeing in Portland is that there is a trend to build higher-end apartments,” he said. “Those are not going to solve the affordable housing issue.”
Sometimes the housing bubble is like the 3 Stooges.
The money quote in the article is right after what you posted, Ben:
————–
[Johnson] claims the Yard’s developer was under the impression the high-end units could be used for vacation rentals, as long as units designated for affordable housing weren’t involved.
“The thing that ultimately came out later is that the tax credits did not allow for short-term rental use in the building as a whole,” Johnson said…
Vacasa will not be renewing its lease with the Yard and will be out by April.
—————-
Well duh Vacasa is not renewing its lease. It would be illegal. In fact, the first least was not legal either.
That said, those housing advocates should stop screaming like SJW snowflakes and make a deal. Portland was pretty smart to deny tax breaks to buildings who try to go AirBNB, but perhaps that isn’t going far enough.
How about this: for every unit (or floor) that the developer rents short-term, they have to open up another vacant unit to be affordable (in addition to the designated affordable units). The building could use the profit from the AirBNB rental to pay for the difference between affordable and luxury rent. Yeah, I realize that “the poors” would be getting granite countertops, but in exchange, they could be denied access to the luxury amenities. And yes, the low-income renters and housing advocates would scream that they don’t get to use the pool, but tough nookie. That’s what “affordable rent” means.
There’s a whole bunch of empty housing units out there. They know exactly whats gotta happen to liquidate and you do too.
The building (considered the ugliest of the “luxury” apartments to go up in Portland) was sold 2 or 3 weeks ago to a Thai firm for a record price. So someone doesn’t care about the trouble attracting rich tenants.
The Yard’s CL ads were already offering two months free before the sale was announced.
I like the idea, but the problem with AirBnB is the short term nature of the income vs the long term requirement for affordable housing.
It is going to be very interesting in the next recession to see how AirBnB units affect the hospitality market. It may very well accentuate the downturn.
The real solution for affordable housing is to build more affordable housing. Zone more land, create buildable parcels, facilitate lower permit costs, streamline building approvals…….
California just approved building “granny flats” in urban areas with state requirements that cities forego the burden of extra permits and fees. One small step in the right direction.
Attributing a $500 building permit to gross overages in the 100’s of thousands doesn’t mean much.
Wrong, JingleFail. There is but one simple answer to the affordable housing problem: End the credit bubble and all the associated gimmicks. Qualify people based on historical income requirements, extinguish ridiculous “picking winners and losers” programs like Prop13, and watch the freefall. There’s no political will, of course…
Why propose a solution you then admit has no chance of working? Wake up and be part of the pragmatic solution.
The solution to grossly inflated prices is collapsing demand. And that is exactly what we have. Housing demand to 20 year lows…. and falling.
So the problem has been solved.
Yes! +1 Mike. The problem has been solved. I will no longer worry about the housing market and affordability! Housing demand is at 20-year lows……. and falling. Solved.
‘As the market slows…Until now, once a house was listed, it sold and the buyers wanted to move in…Now listings are aging…as overpriced houses are resting these days…that person may read later that the house sold for $15,000 less than their contract’
Oh dear. Now why haven’t I read this in the Tennessean? I read hundreds of articles this week, scanning for gems like this. Just a sneak peak at what’s round the bend. And I post it here.
But, Ben haven’t you been doing this for years, one piss-ant said this week. Golly, this can’t be true because you have had a blog on this for some time!
It is what it is folks. Either Nashville house prices are growing to the blue sky, or they’ve headed down. Make up your own mind.
Overpriced ones just appear to be resting. Haven’t heard that euphemism before!
The English language is funny that way since some words mean exactly the opposite of their true meaning rather than resorting to an antonym. For example, you don’t rest in a restroom, and you are not sleeping when you’re sleeping with your neighbor’s wife, etc., the reality is something that we’d rather avoid.
“Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. THE KINGDOM OF SPEECH is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech–not evolution–is responsible for humanity’s complex societies and achievements.
From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, and through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies the current wisdom that language is hard-wired in humans, Wolfe examines the solemn, long-faced, laugh-out-loud zig-zags of Darwinism, old and Neo, and finds it irrelevant here in the Kingdom of Speech.”
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Speech-Tom-Wolfe/dp/0316404624
And don’t buy it from Amazon, read it for free from the library.
Languishing. Stagnating.
They’re all extremely overpriced. The method to avoid price discovery is to segment a single price range, market the snot out of it and get “creative” with financing. This then legitimizes(tongue in cheek) the rest of the price teirs.
Yes, resting before they take off like a rocket again.
*yawn*
Pent-down demand?
Pent up supply.
The housing market is getting interesting. While the economic recovery is maturing, there have not been many big winners in this cycle, just people able to make a decent living. The housing market in northern California is much different from 2006….No overbuilding.
It is hard to know what will happen with the rest of the world over the next few years. There are many precarious situations. I just keep living within my means, have a solid reserve, and plan for strength in a downturn. I am completely out of the stock market, except for IENAX, which I am holding longer to get capital gains (bought at $19).
In the meantime, I just keep remembering what Buffet says. The world has 7 billion people and they all have to be fed, closed and housed!
Paying 300% premiums for a rapidly depreciating house isnt making a living. It’s financial suicide.
When all of your speculative housing buys are worth half of what you paid, you’re not going to be feeling so omnipotent.
Hey PP, as you point out in the reverse, it’s not a loss unless you sell! The cash flow is strong and the market is tight. I’m very lucky and quite happy.
Eventually, I will own them free and clear and the cash flow will be even stronger. It seems like a good retirement plan.
It’s hard to make the case for tight supply when there are 25million empty housing units out there.
Where? In Finley, ND?
Right next to your donkey crater.
Well Oxy, there is a vacant lot you can buy for only $100 in Finley! So if you include vacant lots, we only need to look for 24,999,999 more houses.
…and if the market drops by 50%, it will be equal to my purchase prices. I will buy more at that level!
Perhaps they are pining for the fjords…
‘As part of a new housing development initiative, Osceola, Iowa’s Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC) is offering home builders and developers shovel-ready sites at no cost for residential projects as well as reimbursements on interest for construction loans for a 12-month period. The CCDC launched the Zero-Cost Development initiative in an effort to capitalize on the recent growth trends and development throughout south central Iowa. While tax abatements and other incentives are offered throughout the state, the concept of Zero-Cost Development offers builders and developers a bigger opportunity for establishing profitable programs throughout Osceola.’
‘Even with Iowa’s housing bubble leveling out and market prices becoming steady, builders are still seeing costs of materials and equipment climb. Tax abatements offered to buyers still leave builders struggling to cover the gap costs between development and sale of the homes. If a home sits on the market longer than 60 or 90 days, many builders can see a considerable loss of revenue and even end up losing profit altogether on the development.’
“Development Land in Des Moines, Waukee and Ankeny as well as surrounding communities can cost builders upwards of $80,000 to $200,000 per lot. By offering developers free, shovel-ready lots, they’re given the opportunity to build quality homes at an affordable price and pass that savings on to the buyers,” Bill Trickey, Executive Director of Clarke County Development Corporation stated.’
There’s a nice shovel-ready lot in Findlay ND that the city government has been trying to unload for just $100, which is practically the same thing as FREE.
Finley ND?
Population in 1970 = 809 people
Population in 2015 = 437 people
45 years of population trends = -46%
You could probably stroll into Finley and get a few HOUSES for free…..there is just one minor problem…. no one around to live in them and those cold winters are hard on vacant houses. Punt.
Nevertheless, even Finley offers enterprising builders the opportunity to build quality homes at an affordable price and pass that savings on to the buyers
You better look twice Tresho……
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/502-Lincoln-Ave-S_Finley_ND_58230_M89205-33825
2,150 SF house for $40,000
Not even HA would tell you he can build this house for $18/SF. There is no demand, thus houses are selling below reproduction costs. No builders would survive in Finley, which is why the city cannot give the land away!
That house has a great view of the local grain elevators a block due west, and just 1/2 block from the old USAF fighter jet mounted on a pedestal at the Finley welcome sign. There are still housing bargains to be found!
Seems like we keep having these asset bubbles over and over. Then folks sit around for years talking about when they are gonna pop. sh@t will make you bonkers.
Here’s your retirement going up in smoke bonkers:
Houston high-rise rent drop highest in nation
Chron.com-Dec 27, 2016
Houston saw a 7.1 percent decrease in high-rise apartment rents, the steepest nationally. … Read more: Growing consensus: Local apartment market ‘overbuilt’.
Downtown apartment complex begins construction in February
San Antonio Express-News -Dec 23, 2016
In 2015, it completed its 228-unit Encore 281 apartment complex in the Stone Oak area … “Some parts of town could arguably be considered overbuilt, so we are …’
Alamo City home sales, prices will continue climbing, economist says
San Antonio Express-News (subscription)-12 hours ago
2017 will likely be a good year for the San Antonio-area housing market, with sales … but we don’t have the demand fully yet because we’ve overbuilt slightly.’
Ottawa condo revival a no-go for 2017: Experts
Ottawa Business Journal-Jan 3, 2017
Claridge Homes vice-president Neil Malhotra says he’s hoping for a real … “That market is still overbuilt,” argues John Herbert, the executive director of the …
Manhattan home prices fall as sellers surrender to slowdown, with …
Crain’s New York Business-Jan 4, 2017
Manhattan resale home prices tumbled by the most in more than four years, a sign that sellers are lowering their expectations in a slowing market where buyers …
Vacancy Rates Rise at Shopping Centers
Wall Street Journal-9 hours ago
Rents, which usually increase roughly at the rate of inflation in healthy … while Macy’s Inc. said it would cut more than 10,000 jobs and close 63 stores this spring …
London rental rates fall. What does this mean for investors?
Select Property-Jan 5, 2017
A drop in London rental rates spells great news for tenants but trouble for investors…
The interesting data to me is the NY and London examples. Everyone expected Canada, Australia and Texas to crater with the natural resources bust, but seeing the financial centers having problems is somewhat telling.
Anecdotal comment regarding the nation’s soon to be third largest city: within a less than half mile stretch of far west Westheimer there are three large apartment projects in various stages of construction. One, a large mid-rise (luxury, what else?), appears to be complete but idle. The construction fencing was still up the last time I drove by. The second is probably halfway along and the last is just beginning to be framed. I would estimate that there have been somewhere in the range of at least 25 to 30 multi-family mid-rise luxury projects completed in the last several years just in west Harris County. I don’t see this ending well at all.
Ah. But, you are discounting the divorcepartment boom of 2017-2021!
da bear
‘Oil slump hammers Calgary’s downtown office real estate market
The Globe and Mail-14 hours ago
The crushing Alberta recession has wiped out more than $4-billion in value of downtown Calgary office properties, city assessors warned.’
Bloomberg @business 6m6 minutes ago
A breadwinner, a homemaker and a laptop: Remote work could revive small-town life
http://bloom.bg/2iY0u8n via @BV
zerohedge @zerohedge 4m4 minutes ago
December Payrolls 156K, Exp. 175K
all pt time flex hours makes it hard to plan anything anymore like going back to school.
That is one of the arguments in favor of the universal basic income, to help people plan their lives better when all they have are part-time flex hour type jobs, and little job stability.
What incentive do they have to go back to school, especially when it will require taking massive amounts of debt and the job at graduation pays no better than the welfare check?
We have 90 million unemployed people. If each were to get just $10,000 a year would cost $900 billion a year. bump that up to $20,000 a year and we’re talking almost $2 trillion a year. Where will that money come from? Even if we were to exempt SS recipients from the benefit, it would still cost close to a trillion to give those who qualify $20,000 a year. Plus I suspect that number would swell as those who work multiple P/T jobs would quit one or more to qualify for the free cheese. Plus I’m guessing illegals would also qualify (in other words, you wouldn’t need to prove legal residence, because that would be racists)
Many of those people are already receiving TANF, SNAP and so forth.
The only thing that universal basic income will do is raise prices for everything, to suck up that income. The poor will still be struggling to make ends meet.
I’m glad Finland is trying this experiment and not the US. Can’t wait to see how many migrants show up at their doorstep.
Many of those people are already receiving TANF, SNAP and so forth.
Probably, but those numbers will still grow, which means even more $$$ will need to be allocated.
This of course is complicated by the fact that the number of unemployable people continues to grow, and the imminent automation of even more jobs will only make this worse.
The only thing that universal basic income will do is raise prices for everything, to suck up that income. The poor will still be struggling to make ends meet.
Not to mention that the middle class will be impacted as well, as their wages will not rise to match the price inflation.
The proponents of universal income talk a lot about the morality of it, social justice, and solving the innate fears of the unknowns of life that we all experience. Anyone who disagrees has a “negative view of humanity”.
Basically their view is that people are either too stupid, afraid, or oppressed to run their lives, and therefore require a lifetime security blanket to help them.
I think that’s a pretty negative view of humanity.
Do you have a link that shows someone making those arguments? They appear to contradict themselves.
Stupid and afraid describes most people.
The U.B.I. is often framed as a tool for fighting poverty, but it would have other important benefits. By providing an income cushion, it would increase workers’ bargaining power, potentially driving up wages. It would make it easier for people to take risks with their job choices, and to invest in education. In the U.S. in the seventies, there were small-scale experiments with basic-income guarantees, and they showed that young people with a basic income were more likely to stay in school; in New Jersey, kids’ chances of graduating from high school increased by twenty-five per cent.
Critics of the U.B.I. argue that handing people cash, instead of targeted aid (like food stamps), means that much of the money will be wasted, and that a basic income will take away the incentive to work, lowering G.D.P. and giving us a nation of lazy, demoralized people. But the example of the many direct-cash-grant programs in the developing world suggests that, as the Columbia economist Chris Blattman puts it, “the poor do not waste grants.” As for the work question, most of the basic-income experiments suggest that the disincentive effect wouldn’t be large; in Manitoba, working hours for men dropped by just one per cent. It’s certainly true that the U.B.I. would make it easier for people to think twice about taking unrewarding jobs. But that’s a good consequence, not a bad one.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/why-dont-we-have-universal-basic-income
> ““the poor do not waste grants.””
You’re right. They don’t.
They buy pretzels with it at the mall.
Gee, that’s such a cutting takedown of the research.
Pretzels are a serious moral failing…. he has a point.
For those advocating UBI in America, do you know the proposed cost of such a system? What about a negative income tax (NIT)? Where does that money come from?
Answer:
Over $1.5 trillion in 1999 dollars.
Next question:
Where does that money come from?
Wall Street Journal @WSJ 21s21 seconds ago
Wages rose 2.9% in December:
‘Downtown Los Angeles is enjoying a period of wild growth, with a seemingly endless stream of new buildings, businesses and people descending upon the community. More than 1,600 apartments are currently under construction, according to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, with 6,000 more in the pipeline. A glut of new apartments opening at the same time could mean some landlords offer early tenants sweet deals, but if housing prices stay high, there will be increased complaints, and diversity in the neighborhood will be impacted.’
‘While some residents are ditching cars for a transit- and pedestrian-oriented lifestyle, a number of Downtown business owners and commuters are concerned by the shrinking number of parking lots in the Central City. The culprit is all the office buildings and apartment towers rising on said lots. It could be years until many of the projects’ parking structures open to the public; until then, visitors must look within a smaller pool of parking, or seek out street spaces, which can mean endless circling of the block.’
‘Another side effect of all the construction is that the noise and shuttered sidewalks make life harder for residents and especially businesses that need consistent foot traffic. Who wants to sip a latte outside if a jackhammer is pounding away?’
‘Some restaurants are closing because a landlord wants to raise rent or prefers a shiny new tenant. Others, however, are victims of too much competition and overwhelmed diners. Here’s just a few: Last year saw the closure of chef Bernhard Mairinger’s Bierbeisl Imbiss in the Spring Arcade Building, which won rave reviews but not enough of a following (it closed, reopened, and then closed again in the fall). Petty Cash, a second outpost of chef Walter Manzke’s Mid-City taco spot, closed abruptly in the Arts District after less than a year. Local Table operated for two years in the Financial District but then lost steam, closing in May. Many more restaurants are slated to open in 2017, but there doesn’t seem to be enough diners to support them all.’
‘Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis endures. Many cheered the Nov. 8 voter passage of Proposition HHH, which will fund the construction of 10,000 apartments for the chronically homeless. That long-term plan, however, is little comfort in Downtown and Skid Row especially, with homelessness jumping in recent years. Encampments continue to grow in and around Downtown, with the city moving slowly on issues such as storage for homeless people’s belongings and getting long-term care for the mentally ill. The new money in Downtown often makes for an uncomfortable mosh pit where the well-heeled must confront the daily realities of society’s poorest and most vulnerable individuals.’
I had this head line just the other day:
2017: Year of the Renter
New York Times-3 hours ago
New York renters would be the first to tell you that rents go in only one direction: up. …. the base rent, because when base rents fall, the building’s value falls too.’
Oh no…The New York Times writers have discovered a fundamental connection between falling rents and cratering property values.
CR8R!
zerohedge @zerohedge 2m2 minutes ago
In Obama’s Final Jobs report, A Record 95.1 Million People Were Not In The Labor Force
rephrase that 95 million are not on the books paying taxes or contributing to SS which means a lot less payout when you start collecting
a national sales tax of say 5% would make everyone pay something
a national sales tax of say 5% would make everyone pay something
I agree….Got to find a way to tax the underground economy and that may be the way to do it…
And ditch the federal income tax. I’m all for it.
Democrat economics:
Any honest economist will admit that taxing income is a perfect recipe for less work, less productive output of valuable goods and services, higher unemployment, and a large permanent dependency class whose needs are met by levying ever higher taxes on the shrinking pool of worker bees.
Permenant dependency class= Democrat voting block
Having a special tax for the sugary drinks like in Philly is a good idea to get a lot of money because so many people drink it. (Not taxing out of a desire to to get fat people to be thin, but for the money.)
I think another good tax would be toilet paper. *Everyone* uses toilet paper. You could do 1 penny tax per roll, and rake in billions of dollars, to use for whatever government project.
Yeah, I really doubt people will stop drinking Pepsi because the price went up a bit. Compared to other stuff (like say juice), pop is still a lot cheaper and when they shop with an EBT card … all you have to do is look in their shopping carts and see what they buy.
You never met a tax you didn’t like - have you?
Especially ones that hit the poor. How about we tax iPhones and Subarus?
Will the Philly police choke black men to death for selling soda loosies on streets corners?
Because eventually that is where all insane taxes end…
Why would a soda tax hit the poor? Are the poor somehow required to drink sugary soda, or even diet soda?
It hits the poor harder than others because it represents a larger portion of their income.
Poor people like to eat a lot of fast food and sugary drinks. We should increase the minimum wage so that the sugary drink taxes aren’t as large of an impact on their income. It’s the moral thing to do.
Poor people like to eat a lot of fast food and sugary drinks.
How many poor people do you know? Do all of them eat a lot of fast food and sugary drinks? What happened to the story about the young bucks buying T-bone steaks with their food stamps?
Oh yeah, you’re right. A while back on the news they had a big segment with that one unemployed (by choice) guy in San Diego, living the good life with the EBT — buying lobster and sushi and everything. Your tax dollars at work.
BTW, “food stamps” is a racist and oppressive term. You should know better. The socially correct word is EBT.
BTW, “food stamps” is a racist and oppressive term. You should know better. The socially correct word is EBT.
Food Stamps were paper coupons roughly the size of dollar bills. They were replaced by something similar to a debit card, which is called EBT. Why would one term be racist?
Also, it sounds like the answer to my question is zero and your assertion about fast food is made up.
Irrelevant.
young bucks buying T-bone steaks with their food stamps?
as usual there is a simple dj solution any meat fish poultry pork lamb etc over $5 lb will not be covered by food stamps…problem eliminated
Another angle: Dumping the income tax would not only eliminate the tax penalty on labor, but it would level the playing field between honest people who file their taxes and illegal immigrant workers and others who don’t pay their taxes. A higher sales tax could fully balance the increased spending power due to eliminating the income tax.
95 million are not on the books paying taxes or contributing to SS
Half of them are probably receiving Social Security.
Half of them are probably receiving Social Security ??
And paying little if any tax…Have a progressive National sales tax…Say, 0% on some basic food stuffs and 3% on the rest…2% on vehicles up to 25k…5% from 25k-50k…10% above 50k…15% on all toys…
I’m sure they’re paying property (either directly or indirectly through a landlord) and sales tax, plus taxes on their vehicles, the gas they pump into them, tax on their cell phones plus all the other hidden taxes we all pay
instead of CA ecar tax credit of $2500 on top for fed $7k
yep, follow the boomers.
a national sales tax of say 5% would make everyone pay something
The problem with a national sales tax is that they have a bad habit of growing. In most of Europe it’s about 20%, in some parts it’s close to 30%.
Ytrue another idea raise the minimum wage $2 hour
then take it back out if you dont have health insurance .. if your employer covers you then its a nice pay raise.
How long have we been farting around with tax cuts? Prop13 in Cali was 1978. Trump/Congress say taxes too high today. Just eliminate ALL tax collections and print/borrow the money for spending.
No fiscal conservatives left, they all love to spend, spend, spend.
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/army-to-congress-thanks-but-no-tanks/
Yellen’s flying monkeys are trying to boost the dollar with their incessant jawboning about rate hikes - only this time around the bond vigilantes will probably force their hand.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-mester-says-she-favors-more-than-three-interest-rate-hikes-this-year-2017-01-06-991657?mod=MW_story_latest_news
More affirmative action hires with no economic skills, just political animals (hence the monkey reference?). Let them raise rates, Trump will fire them, audit the fed and then the outcry from all the fraud theyve done over the years will get them shut DOWN!
I’ve never heard of this place but I think it’s in Canada:
‘No cooling in 2017 for Barrie’s ‘fast-moving’ housing market. Unprecedented home prices big game changer for buyers’
‘Barrie’s fast-moving and competitive real estate market hit new highs in 2016 with no immediate end in sight. In January 2016 the average sale price of a residential home in Barrie was $372,947. Fast forward to December 2016 when the average sale price was $471, 329.’
“We’ve seen an increase of 26 percent over the past year which is pretty significant,” said Rob Alexander, president of the Barrie and District Association of Realtors Inc. “Inventory has been at historic lows and it’s a supply and demand situation. It is so fast-moving.”
‘The seller’s market started 18 months ago and hasn’t changed because housing supply has not increased. Lots of new development is planned for south end annexed lands but those homes are still a couple of years away. “We’re at historic levels here of demand certainly in my lifetime and it’s something that the Barrie area market had never really encountered before,” said Alexander.’
‘Traditional ways of buying and selling homes have gone out the window and time is no longer on your side. You need to act fast if a home fitting your criteria becomes available. “Because of severe competition it’s important to get out and see things in person quickly,” said Alexander. “You don’t really have the luxury of ‘Oh I’ll wait until the weekend.’”
‘Multiple offers and bidding wars are more frequent, said Alexander. “There’s been a couple of instances in the past year where I’ve seen a house listed at $460,000 and it goes for $525,000-$550,000. Going 40 to 50 thousand over list is not the norm, but I’ve seen it. In years gone by that would have been very, very rare.”
‘Alexander warns against getting caught up in emotion, stay within your budget comfort level and in some cases adjust your expectations. And because the market is so fast-moving, some buyers might feel pressure to waive conditions.’
Wait for it…
‘He says it all boils down to excellent preparation. “This is where we strongly encourage people to work with a professional, ideally local realtor who knows the market and can help you establish a plan how to go to the market.”
Barrie - it’s in central Ontario.
Ben
Barrie is just north of Toronto and is a nice year round community on a large lake. It probably still is Canada’s fastest growing city. Tremendous urban sprawl.
But it isn’t worth the prices they are selling for.
The bubble will break.
A record 95.1 million people “not in the labor force” (but not unemployed, oh heavens no!).
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-06/obamas-final-jobs-report-record-951-million-people-were-not-labor-force
‘Health Minister Sussan Ley has said her controversial purchase of an apartment from a Liberal National Party donor during a taxpayer-funded trip to the Gold Coast in 2015 was “not planned”.’
‘Ms Ley is under pressure from the opposition to explain a property she purchased in May 2015, while travelling to Queensland on ministerial business, or else resign. Ms Ley claimed the standard $370 politicians’ travel allowance for the trip.’
‘In a statement, Ms Ley’s office said the minister travelled to the Gold Coast for meetings with health stakeholders and her purchase of the $795,000 Main Beach property was an impulse buy.’
‘The spokesperson said, “The property purchase was not planned nor anticipated” The property is described as an investment in Ms Ley’s Register of Interests, where she also declares a mortgage for the property.’
Maybe Sussan Ley is an empath?
Hi Ben,
What do you think of designating residential areas as “must be owner-occupied”? In my view, that could correct many real estate markets.
I know you lean libertarian, so you might not be inclined for this. Still, I’m curious what your opinion would be. Please let me know.
“must be owner-occupied” ??
Rather than trying to control the owner control the lender…No loans to non-owner occupied SFR’s…
Enforce the laws.
“The Era Of Cheap Money Is Ending: This Is The Calm Before The Storm”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/era-cheap-money-ending-calm-storm
Storm started 6 months ago.
Not calm for investors in bonds, Bitcoin or luxury condos.
It’s only a matter of time for the other risk investment classes.
Or USA arms dealers who sell to the Philippines.
Realizing your investing wealth capital gains gets tricky at this rate of volatility.
Top News
Fri Jan 6, 2017 | 8:43 AM EST
Bitcoin extends losses, slides another 12 percent on China warning
A customer feeds cash currency in to a Bitcoin ATM located in Flat 128, a boutique in New York’s West Village, U.S. on August 22, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Bitcoin plunged another 12 percent on Friday after China’s central bank urged investors to take a rational approach to the digital currency, which has is on track for its heaviest two-day falls in two years.
Bitcoin had gained more than 40 percent in two weeks to hit a three-year high of $1,139.89 on Wednesday, just shy of its all-time record of $1,163 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange.
But the digital currency - which has shown an inverse correlation to the Chinese yuan in recent months - plunged as the yuan soared on Thursday, falling as much as 20 percent at one point, before closing the day around 10 percent down on the day.
…
The timing of this article is awesomely bad!
I predict Bitcoin pimps will continue predicting low future volatility which will somehow never arrive.
Bobby Lee: Bitcoin’s Low Volatility is a Sign of Maturity
Joseph Young on 12/12/2016
Bobby Lee, co-founder and CEO of a major Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC, recently stated that the decreasing volatility rate of bitcoin is a sign of maturity which can be served as an evidence to prove that a store of value can, in fact, be digital in nature.
Over the past year, the volatility rate of bitcoin has substantially decreased, moving down from 4.97% in the beginning of the year to 1.41% in December. Bitcoin gained further stability in 2016 as it overtook many reserve or national currencies in market cap.
In the second half this year, the bitcoin industry received significant mainstream media coverage as bitcoin became less volatile than the British pound sterling, which is still considered as one of the major reserve currencies in the world today.
Without a doubt, bitcoin proved its value as a store of value and a global currency in 2016, with low volatility rate and strong performance in terms of price, trading value and market cap.
Expert’s View of Bitcoin Volatility
Praising the lowering volatility rate of bitcoin, Lee stated, “Lower price volatility for #Bitcoin is a good thing; a sign of maturity, that a Store-Of-Value (#SOV) can be digital in nature. $12 billion+.”
While some investors, experts and traders argue that volatility is beneficial for users particularly for assets or currencies like bitcoin that grows exponentially in value, Lee, Andreas Antonopoulos and other leading experts in bitcoin explain that for bitcoin to serve the general population and mainstream user base as a currency, it needs to maintain a low volatility rate.
In mid-2015, when the price of bitcoin demonstrated a rapid surge and increase in demand, Antonopoulos stated, “Don’t be too excited with recent bitcoin short squeeze and rapid price climb. Volatility is bad even when it’s going upwards.”
…
Jon Corzine to pay $5 million penalty & to be banned from the futures industry for life.
But not a day in jail.
And he keeps his $100s of millions.
He was obama’s largest money bundlers at one time…
Not a smidgen of corruption.
Pocket change, for him anyways.
He’s 70 years old. Must be really broken up about being “banned for life” from the futures industry.
No comments available for this Bloomberg piece?
Time for me to post a funny. Note what the writer describes as the “downside.” Isn’t being in another bubble the downside?
“Happy New Year, Tampa Bay — you’re worth more than you used to be.
In the year just ended, the total value of the bay area’s housing stock soared 10.3 percent, nearly twice as much than the nation as a whole, according to a new report from Zillow.
Dollar-wise, bay-area homes collectively exceed the market value of such giants as Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Disney and Coca-Cola. If they all sold tomorrow, they’d bring in more money than the annual revenues of every Fortune 500 company except Walmart.
On the downside, Tampa Bay housing values still haven’t returned to pre-crash levels.”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/tampa-bay-homes-values-soared-in-2016-but-so-did-rents/2308129
Great find, snake. I love this:
“On the downside, Tampa Bay housing values still haven’t returned to pre-crash levels.”
I am noticing some drops on Zillow. I was talking to a guy yesterday who just put his home up for sale. He had it priced 10% above market firm and said he’d stay in it until he “gets his price”. I mentioned this to another guy I know who is in RE and he laughed and said “He’s gonna be there for a long time”.
That jumped out at me. Downtown St. Pete, almost three grand for a one bedroom. Ridiculous. Even half that is ridiculous. St. Pete. Really?
“While 2017 is forecast as the year when more millennials and first-time buyers enter Florida’s housing market, the high rents they now pay can make it hard to come up with down payments and closing costs. One new apartment complex in downtown St. Petersburg charges as much as $2,885 for a one-bedroom unit.”
St. Pete is way overrated.
Dang, I thought Denver was expensive.
That’s a Silicon Valley rent. At that price, I would expect a concubine would come included with the price, like in Soylent Green.
he-he, they’re soaking all the gays who moved from San Fran, looking for the next LGBT paradise.
St. Pete and Asheville, NC are at the top of the list. They get ‘em on the way in, figuring they won’t blink after what they’ve been used to.
So now Tampa/St Pete is the next San Francisco? What happened to being the next San Diego?
St Pete gets to be San Fran, Tampa gets to be San Diego! The best of California, in Florida.
What are all these gay people doing for a living, that they can afford $3K/month? $3K requires at least a $120K/household income. And how can they pay Silicon Valley prices if they don’t have a Silicon Valley salary?
That’s why they’re all empty.
When I first moved to this area in the early 1990s St. Pete had a boring, rest-home reputation. “God’s waiting room,” as they used to say. And talk about people forgetting to turn off their turn signals. That, combined with snowbird Canadians driving under the speed limit, made for a frustrating drive. I never considered living there. But downtown is actually pretty hip now, although yeah, that price is absurd.
As a fiscal conservative I approve of the wall being built around Obamas new house in dc, easier (cheaper ) to protect.
As a fiscal conservative Obama musta been singing this song to you with that Solyndra deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l153atE72OA
Lets see the rest of the portfolio–dont cherry pick.
DOW 19999 and 4.7%!!
DOW 19999
Printed $ got to go somewhere.
4.7%
Hell, even Bernie Sanders knows the real unemployment numbers are north of 10%
Get your checkbook out! We need to pay for the wall. More gov, more spending.
Start taxin’ those remittances, like yesterday!
Ha! A 5% tax on remittances to Mexico will easily pay for it.
Heck, the $85 million obama spent on vacations would have been a decent start…
but Trump said Mexico will pay for it.
imagine what we will spend the next 50 yrs on Obama’s secret service?? enough to make you stomp those little feet in rage.
A 5% tax on remittances to Mexico will easily pay for it.
How? Another gov agency?
Trump said “Mexico will pay for it.” Not “re-pay” us back. It starting to sound like Cheny telling us the oil will pay for the $6 trill Bush Wars.
‘Trump said…’
Rent free.
“Get your checkbook out! We need to pay for the wall.”
Just don’t let Obama donors build it they will file for bankruptcy before the footer is dug.
Bankrupt solar company with fed backing has cozy ties to Obama admin
C.J. CIARAMELLA
Contributor
1:33 PM 09/01/2011
A solar energy company that intends to file for bankruptcy received $535 million in backing from the federal government and has a cozy history with Democrats and the Obama administration, campaign finance records show.
Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama backer who raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president’s election campaign, is one of Solyndra’s primary investors.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/01/bankrupt-solar-company-with-fed-backing-has-cozy-ties-to-obama-admin/#ixzz4V1tR8Xf7
Obama clean energy loans leave taxpayers in $2.2 billion hole
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, April 27, 2015
Taxpayers are on the hook for more than $2.2 billion in expected costs from the federal government’s energy loan guarantee programs, according to a new audit Monday that suggests the controversial projects may not pay for themselves, as officials had promised.
Nearly $1 billion in loans have already defaulted under the Energy Department program, which included the infamous Solyndra stimulus project and dozens of other green technology programs the Obama administration has approved, totaling nearly about $30 billion in taxpayer backing, the Government Accountability Office reported in its audit.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/obama-backed-green-energy-failures-leave-taxpayers/
After Security Meeting, Trump Admits Possibility of Russian Hacking
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR JAN. 6, 2017
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump acknowledged the possibility on Friday that Russia had hacked a variety of American targets, including the Democratic National Committee, after an almost two-hour meeting with the nation’s top intelligence officials.
Mr. Trump asserted the hacking had no effect on the outcome of the election.
In a statement issued after the president-elect was briefed by senior American intelligence and law enforcement officials, Mr. Trump said: “While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyberinfrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations including the Democrat National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines.”
For months, Mr. Trump had publicly resisted any suggestion that Russia was involved in cyberattacks during the 2016 presidential election and had mocked the intelligence agencies behind assessments on Russian hacking. After Friday’s briefing, he said he has “tremendous respect” for the people who work for American spy agencies.
But just hours before, the president-elect had attributed claims of Russian hacking to embarrassed election-year rivals, calling the storm surrounding the cyberattacks a political witch hunt being carried out by his adversaries, who he said were embarrassed by their loss to him in the election last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/donald-trump-wall-hack-russia.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
Lolly-lol, NYT. I’m surprised they didn’t say he mooned the lot.
“Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.”
LMAO! Well, they didn’t have to do much work, now, did they? Seeing as how public faith in the US democratic process had already been undermined domestically over the past five decades.
“denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency” Do you mean to tell me that Hillary was working with the Russians?
ROTFLMAO!
Putin slipper her a mickey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDyciOQCak
public faith in the US democratic process had already been undermined domestically over the past five decades.
Faith in nearly all institutions has declined in the US. That includes business, unions, the MSM, schools and colleges, churches. This helps atomize the population, leaving everyone at home alone railing at their TVs, computers and smartphones. This, in turn, is great for big business and the wealthy.
“Putin slipper her a mickey.”
Right after he forced Donna Brazile to give her the debate questions before the debate.
CNN drops Brazile for feeding debate questions to Clinton
By Marisa Schultz October 31, 2016 | 1:51pm | Updated
WASHINGTON — CNN said Monday it’s “completely uncomfortable” with new leaked emails that Donna Brazile fed debate questions to Hillary Clinton and announced it has accepted her resignation as contributor.
http://nypost.com/2016/10/31/cnn-drops-brazile-for-feeding-debate-questions-to-clinton/
doh!
Hollywood, CA Housing Prices Crater 8% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/hollywood-los-angeles-ca/home-values/
Another day, another real estate crater identified…
Nasdaq surges to new all-time high after jobs report!
Obama’s scorecard is looking good. Check your 401k.
buy low, sell high!
heck yah, timing is everything, now is the time to sell.
? did your county spend all the echo bubble $ ?
a.yes
taxes go up so union goons can retire in their 50’s while tax slaves work till 70
will trumpf turn this around?
http://transparentcalifornia.com/
see for yourself
Puako, Hawaii Housing Prices Crater 7% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/puako-hi/home-values/
“Mortgage credit eases for 4th straight month” reads the headline. Below it is a chart with an index. From the article, “An increase in the index indicates that lending standards are loosening” : http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01052017_mba_mcai.asp
Declining lending standards, an omen that the debt-based profit model is running out of higher quality debtors.
It’ll be interesting what another housing bust will look like now that Wall Street has fully offloaded risk onto the taxpayer, via the nationalized mortgage finance system. 50 year mortgages? Negative interest rates? Remember that most defaults during the last bust were prime, not subprime.
Eight years of Obama and this is what you get:
“The new money in Downtown often makes for an uncomfortable mosh pit where the well-heeled must confront the daily realities of society’s poorest and most vulnerable individuals.’
Forward
YOU got that, not those of us who worked hard to live in nice places.
Another Soros / Democrat Party production:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fort-lauderdale-hollywood-airport-shooting/fl-fort-lauderdale-airport-shooting-20170106-story.html
This message has been provided to you by real journalists.
There’s no denying Obama created this, scheduled this. This is pure Obama.
Correct The Record paid employees will be here soon with the scripted counter-narrative, so enjoy this narrative while you have it
P.S. the rarest Pepes, rare
Did someone say rare Pepes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ohxk62FEZ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-t8PngHgWY
Housing demand craters to 1998 levels….. Oh my.
https://loganmohtashami.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/mbadec212016.png?w=1042
Race Relations In Obama Era Have ‘Gotten Better,’ According To Obama
JIM TREACHER
8:24 AM 01/06/2017
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/06/race-relations-in-obama-era-have-gotten-better-according-to-obama/#ixzz4V25NP1gh
LOL, that’s a (sick) joke.
65,990,000 people on Soc Sec or SSI Nov 2016
No comments about the retail bloodbath today?
Sears selling off the last thing over there worth anything: the Craftsman name
Sears/Kmart closing another 150 stores
Macys closing 68 stores
The Limited closing all 250 stores
People are buying stuff online. Jobs are getting created in Amazon warehouses and at FedEx and disappearing from department stores. It’s been going on for some time now.
Why go to best Buy when Amazon will ship u a 27″ monitor for $119. Time is $$.
Buy stock in UPS and FedeX.
See how Amazon packages ship with less than :60 in human hands
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2016/10/05/amazon-automated-warehouse.cnnmoney/
I just returned a pair of Amazon boots, size 9, but I had ordered size 13. Untouched by human hands!
I’ll dye my hair blue and join the revolution when we are living in a post-scarcity world like in Star Trek. I look forward to my personal replicator and automation for everything.
“…when we are living in a post-scarcity world like in Star Trek.”
What percentage of the population would continue to press the food button and eat like a beagle?
I don’t know, but until then. I’d gladly pay taxes for public infrastructure like roads and water and sewage. I’ll even go further and be happy to pay taxes to help the *truly* mentally and physically disabled — those who cannot produce for themselves, like in psychiatric hospitals. But that’s about it.
Speaking of bloodbaths…remember when Bill would harangue us daily about what a superior currency Bitcoin was?
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/01/05/bitcoin-value-crashes-nearly-twenty-percent/
Collapsing demand, massive excess supply.
This is just the beginning.
The Limited to close all 250 clothing stores, will sell online only
More grim news for malls came Friday as apparel retailer The Limited said it will close all its brick-and-mortar stores at the end of this weekend.
damn that’s a quick exit…..wonder how many leases were up in early 2017?
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article124991739.html
retail companies always announce store closings in January.
Didn’t the last K-Mart die ingloriously 15 years ago?
Terrorists Without Borders strike again…
Multiple people dead in Fort Lauderdale shooting: reports
Published: Jan 6, 2017 3:31 p.m. ET
By Mark DeCambre
Multiple people have been shot and killed Friday at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to multiple reports. According to a tweet from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and CNN, a alleged gunman is being held in custody. CNN reported that at least nine people were injured, and at least four reported dead, in the shooting.
…
Real journalists need to ask what sort accent these voices had. Was it Kenyan, or may be Hungarian?
Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting Suspect Complained of Hearing Voices: Officials
by CORKY SIEMASZKO and TRACY CONNOR
The suspect believed to have carried out a shooting rampage at a Florida airport on Friday that left five people dead was being treated in Alaska after complaining of hearing voices and had recently claimed to the FBI that the CIA was forcing him to join ISIS, federal officials said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fort-lauderdale-airport-shooting-suspect-complained-hearing-voices-officials-n704081
Someone was in his skull….. just as I am in yours.
Gowanus Brooklyn Housing Prices Crater 10%YoY
http://www.zillow.com/gowanus-new-york-ny/home-values/
NOPE
Alt-Right Frames Wrong Esteban Santiago for Shooting, Kickstarts Racist Conspiracy Theory
As soon as the Fort Lauderdale airport shooter’s identity emerged, so did the alt-right’s racist conspiracy hoaxes.
Ben Collins
01.06.17 3:40 PM ET
Far rightwing figureheads immediately invented an elaborate and racist conspiracy theory that CNN had lightened a photo of alleged Fort Lauderdale airport shooter Esteban Santiago shortly after the Friday attack.
In reality, CNN had yet to air a picture of Santiago, let alone lightened a picture of him. The conspiracy also used a picture of an entirely different man named Esteban Santiago—not the alleged shooter.
Still, writers at websites like InfoWars and Gateway Pundit tweeted about CNN’s nonexistent Photoshop job. Former Republican Florida Congressman Allen West, who represented Fort Lauderdale itself, even tweeted about the conspiracy and linked to an article about it on his own website.
“Why is CNN attempting to make the shooter look more white? Bizarre,” reads InfoWars editor Paul Joseph Watson’s tweet, which had 3,500 retweets at press time.
Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft even wrote a story about the so-called incident, titled “Look How CNN Doctored Photo of Ft. Lauderdale Shooter Esteban Santiago,” which had 2,500 shares in its first hour on Facebook, according to BuzzSumo.
“It appears CNN doctored the photo to make the suspect look more white,” wrote Hoft. “Sad.”
The attached picture, which was neither aired nor lightened by CNN, is of a 39-year-old Esteban Santiago, who lives in New York state. The image was pulled from a Florida sex offender registry.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/06/inside-the-alt-right-s-florida-airport-shooter-esteban-santiago-hoax.html
Instead, the Esteban Santiago who shot 13 people and left five dead in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport on Friday was born in New Jersey and spent the last several years living in Anchorage, Alaska. According to officials, he is 26, not 39, and is currently in police custody.
“Worst. Recovery. Ever.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-06/worst-recovery-ever
A wise man once said…… The very definition of “recovery” is falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels.
Then why are you discussing “recovery” from falling prices? No wisdom demonstrated!
crushing.housing.losses
On early copies of this song, it opens with the wail of a police siren, which is later heard during the instrumental bridge. The siren sounded (for its time) so realistic that some drivers pulled over to the side of the road when they heard the song on their car radios. When the confusion was discovered, Rare Earth (the record company that Taylor was signed with) gave radio stations (particularly those that were too skeptical and/or scared to play the song) a second version without the siren. >>
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3392
R Dean Taylor-Indiana Wants Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDppeMt0FeQ
US Top 40 Singles Week Ending 7th November, 1970
TW LW TITLE –•– Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak To Date)
1 1 I’LL BE THERE –•– Jackson 5 (Motown)-8 (4 weeks at #1) (1)
2 2 WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN –•– The Carpenters (A&M)-9 (2)
3 3 FIRE AND RAIN –•– James Taylor (Warner Brothers)-9 (3)
4 5 GREEN-EYED LADY –•– Sugarloaf (Liberty)-13 (3)
5 7 INDIANA WANTS ME –•– R. Dean Taylor (Rare Earth)-10 (5)
6 6 ALL RIGHT NOW –•– Free (A&M)-13 (4)
7 17 I THINK I LOVE YOU –•– The Partridge Family (Starring Shirley Jones and Featuring David Cassidy) (Bell)-5 (7)
8 4 CRACKLIN’ ROSIE –•– Neil Diamond (Uni)-12 (1)
9 8 CANDIDA –•– Dawn (Bell)-16 (3)
10 9 LOLA –•– The Kinks (Reprise)-11 (9)
Boomers retiring in droves, after securing their place in history as the most worthless generation in human history. Somehow I don’t think this is bullish for housing.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-06/older-americans-are-retiring-in-droves
Oh dear. Bill’s favorite scam cryptocurrency is dropping faster than Bristol Palin’s dress on prom night. But I’m happy to report my physical precious metals are holding their value just fine.
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-falls-on-january-7-2017-1
A world awash in debt - heckova job, central bankers.
https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2017/01/global-debt-surges-2016-faces-rising-interest-iif/
The globe awash in crushing debt, excess empty houses, autos and commodities of all kinds.
What did everyone think was going to happen?
But…but…stress tests!
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/06/no-end-in-sight-for-europes-banking-troubles.html
How are emerging markets going to repay their dollar-denominated debts?
https://dailyreckoning.com/trump-blow-fuses-across-world/
zillow expects my house to go up 10,000.00 this month.
Let me check into the world according to Zillow….hmmm, my house went down in value by $68 last month.
The current Zillow value is $26,000 less than the sale price paid in 2006.
The current Zillow value $338,000 over the sale price paid in 2010.
Very interesting trends….sort of surrealistic.
And not a buyer in sight.
Remember….. Housing demand is at 20 year lows and falling.