From the WSJ:
The Home Buyer’s Quandary: Nobody’s Selling
Many Americans who want to move are trapped in their homes—locked in by low interest rates they can’t afford to give up.
These “golden handcuffs” are keeping the supply of homes for sale unusually low and making the market more competitive and pricey than some forecasters expected.
The reluctance of homeowners to sell differentiates the current housing market from past downturns and could keep home prices from falling significantly on a national basis, economists say. This could dull the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow inflation by cooling the economy.
Emily and Isaac Naatz of Cottage Grove, Minn, a suburb of St. Paul, had a baby last year and want a bigger place. They have lived for more than four years in their two-bedroom townhouse, and they now want a three- or four-bedroom house with a yard and space for a home office. “You get four people in here…and it feels like a large crowd,” Mr. Naatz said.
But they locked in a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.4% in 2021—and don’t want to give that up to take on a new mortgage with a rate about 3 percentage points higher, especially when home prices in their area haven’t come down much.
The type of home they would want to buy would cost them about $1,100 a month more than they currently pay, Mr. Naatz said. “I don’t feel comfortable paying what I still think is an inflated price for a home, and on top of it paying twice the interest rate,” he said.
As of March 31, nearly two-thirds of primary mortgages had an interest rate below 4%, according to mortgage-data firm Black Knight. About 73% of primary mortgages have fixed rates for 30 years, Black Knight data show. The average rate for a new 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.39% in the week ended May 4, according to Freddie Mac.
The mortgage-rate factor is leaving some people in houses that aren’t a good fit, whether it’s a growing family without enough bedrooms or aging homeowners with too much space, or dissuading people from relocating for jobs or other opportunities. Some people that wanted to sell in 2022 or 2023 shelved their plans.
\As current homeowners stay put, “the movement up the ladder is sort of grinding to a halt,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “It’s getting much harder for first-time home buyers to jump into the market because of the lack of supply.”
First
Frist?
Damnit!
Pumps.
I’ll make a deal with you. If, somehow, DNA gets back to $2.00, I will short 10K shares of it.
So prospective buyers have gone from priced out forever to priced in forever.
San Fran is jaw dropping.
Market after midnight filled with what seemed like thousands of homeless. No exaggeration.
Hold: So people got low forever rates, a few years ago, and now they are not happy because they want to move.
Just spoke with a builder who builds 2 families in eastern Bergen County. Said his interest payments on construction loans have doubled and sale prices for his new homes have dropped. Not a sustainable formula.
I wish I was this good at investing.
chicagofinance says:
May 10, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Guess what the headline article is tomorrow? Will I get attribution? A fat kielbasa’s chance in hell.
The Home Buyer’s Quandary: Nobody’s Selling
Many are ready to move but don’t want to lose the low-rate mortgages they locked in a few years ago, crimping the supply of homes and keeping prices high
https://www.wsj.com/articles/low-mortgage-rates-home-sales-low-supply-899aab29
Setting aside the issue of higher mortgage rates for longer… so anyone born later than those that locked in 3-4% rates, or those not yet a home owner will do what in the coming years? Fight over whatever houses are left as desperation sets in? settle for a tiny dilapidated hovel? put off their purchase for several yrchase for severalears?
There has to be an event that will clear the impasse, that is not increase of inventory, and we are just not seeing it yet.
Inventory coming online sounds great but not the way out of this, imo.
Boomer,
It has to be recession with 10% unemployment. You have to clear the mindset of home prices always go up. You have to clear the weak buyers who over-extended thinking their wages will always increase. Cutting rates will only worsen the situation.
Ironic considering that California (just like NJ) subsidizes most GOP run states.
Grim says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:39 am
San Fran is jaw dropping.
Market after midnight filled with what seemed like thousands of homeless. No exaggeration.
Ironic? The homeless in San Fran and LA are living on the street because of their anti-development orientation for public housing, Liberal Nimbyism of property value over people.
Don’t believe it’s true? Here are the numbers.
There are only 6,000 public housing units in San Fran. 4,000 are for families and the rest are for seniors and disabled.
As a comparison NYC has 162,143 of such units.
BTW – LA a much much bigger area than San Fran has only 6,300 public housing units. The homeless situation in LA and San Fran will never be solved without more public housing being built.
The amount of young buyers who don’t have 5-10K left in their savings accounts after closing is staggering. And these are the better off well written folk who are smart enough to find a community on reddit to discuss and share on.
We continue to remain in this weird place where the system is due for a clearing event, but whether through intervention or [current rate lock phenomena] things continue to defy logic.
With the exception of the top layer of professional class wage earners, you have dual white collar income couples moving into blue collar neighborhoods. I can’t help to think these are exhaustion/panic moves. Conversely, and a bit closer to NYC, there isn’t a nice condo on the gold coast that doesn’t require $2,000 in taxes and HOA fees before you touch your 6% mortgage
This is a nice place, but like nearly all units needs a full gut reno to make it feel like the monthly payment.
h**ps://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2500-Hudson-Ter-APT-2N-Fort-Lee-NJ-07024/37911174_zpid/
Lib, I’m sure you’re doing your own diligence on BAC but be careful…of all the GSIBs its position on key measures is among the lower end…deposits, CRE, HTM inversion (long term earnings impact here), etc. Plus there is a lot of market noise out there not liking any of these names (including the IBs and insurers) and that all of their share prices being near 52Ls is indicative of another shoe to drop, not a buying opportunity.
Anyway recall I enter these positions with some room, ie. using options for cost basis reduction. This first tranche I’m in will be around breakeven just above 24 and real (but manageable) delta risk doesn’t kick in until south of 23.
Most basic lines I see are around 26.50, should (hopefully) have some stickiness there, next stop around 23.25, I would hope she holds there but if she breaks that it’s dead air right down to 18 which if we hit anytime soon, we probably have larger problems than a BAC position.
I’m not thrilled stepping into positions here, remember eight months (more?) ago around 4000 SPX I put my upside signposts at 4400 to take some action, long or short, backstopped by positions that effectively gave me a return to that level expecting market chop…range bound market since then obviously, vol totally contracted…..that totally hangs me for new positions. I either stay on the original gameplan and wait the market out to either 4400 or 3800 (responsible thing to do) or nibble around the edges to establish some positions that can survive and thrive a market downturn if/when she comes.
Trying to do the latter responsibly. Lots of risk and discord on horizon. And I don’t like the incredibly narrowing of market leadership. Will likely do a dumpster dive this weekend of more beaten down, non-leadership but financially bullet proof mid/larger-cap market leading businesses, see what I can find.
Def nice….but….$400k price….2800 in fees/taxes per month before you touch the mortgage. Guess this is where we are heading in north jersey with all these condo’s and luxury apartments being built.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-Horizon-Rd-APT-1415-Fort-Lee-NJ-07024/2108850360_zpid/
Hey, might be a good move in the short-term. lol
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:37 am
Damnit!
Pumps.
I’ll make a deal with you. If, somehow, DNA gets back to $2.00, I will short 10K shares of it.
Most homeless are drugs addicts or mentally ill. The big guy has done a great job growing both of those constituencies.
Just like he doesn’t care about the human smuggling and exploitation, and the 100k+ fentanyl deaths as long as he gets a piece he doesn’t care what’s done in his name.
This is bullish if true…
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-and-china-are-finally-talking-again-but-mistrust-clouds-next-steps-4507a783?mod=hp_lead_pos2
Sad, but true. Most are not all there…minds consumed with addiction.
BananaJoe says:
May 12, 2023 at 10:01 am
Most homeless are drugs addicts or mentally ill. The big guy has done a great job growing both of those constituencies.
“Ironic considering that California (just like NJ) subsidizes most GOP run states.”
Hi simpleton.
Please link to the checks the STATES of New Jersey or California sent to the Federal government. TYIA.
This border crossing surge is going to do in the Democrats.
There is an almost unbelievable news story today that there is not a single person inline at the Nogales crossing to apply legally for asylum. They are all trying to rush the border and cross now.
https://news.yahoo.com/title-42-updates-us-mexico-130153851.html
And the Horizon complex is in the bottom half the pecking order here. There are many, many nicer and more desirable buildings to be in here. Also, you linked to a co-op unit which is going to have outsized common charges as they include your share of the building’s tax bill.
Very Unstable Liberal,
Have you built the world a home and furnished it with love, yet?
This is what mayorkas,AOC,Shumer and the leading donors of the DNC want. Break open the borders, and overwhelm the immigration system beyond repair. They’ve been working on it for decades.
Flood the place with 50-100m third world ers over a few years, and you’ve captured the electoral map into perpetuity.
“We continue to remain in this weird place where the system is due for a clearing event…”
And not just in housing….
Mentioned it before, economics may be a ‘soft’ science but certain aspects have rules as firm as laws of physics….
Society can’t keep diverting inevitable events to engineer a ‘desirable’ outcome…no different than letting pressure build in a chamber….it doesn’t just disappear, it either dissipates slowly over time or explodes….and the sooner and more frequently rapid decompression occurs, rather than letting it build, the less damaging the release.
As a society we have tacitly ‘agreed’ to certain outcomes that aren’t natural. Pressure’s been building for the better part of two decades folks. Either we get a ‘lost’ decade to let things decompress slowly and come back to equilibrium or a we get a major clearing event. No amount of liquidity and spending can produce unicorns and fairy dust forever.
NJ third worst return of federal tax dollars.
https://www.moneygeek.com/living/states-most-reliant-federal-government/
From the NY Times Obituary of Fred Siegel.
Fred Siegel, Urban Historian and a Former Liberal, Is Dead at 78:
“And, perhaps more in sorrow than in anger, he quoted former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York as saying that his fellow Democrats had “rewarded the articulation of moral purpose more than the achievement of practical good.”
Mr. Siegel said in an interview with City Journal in 2020 that John V. Lindsay, who was mayor from 1966 to 1973, “was a classic liberal in that intentions counted for more than outcomes, and the trade-offs that we always have to make in order to make policy work, were alien to him.”
In the same magazine in 1991, Mr. Siegel argued: “Middle-class citizens, rightly or wrongly, have become convinced that modern liberal urban government is mostly about letting the poor misbehave at the expense of the middle class, and paying public employees very well to deliver services very poorly.”
We should ship the homeless drug addicts to Appalachia where no media exists and Rs can forget about them, like they have for generations. Sick, we are sick, sick species.
A West Virginia man, his wife and her boyfriend, have all been arrested and accused of locking up a pair of 2-year-old twin boys in squalid conditions and leaving one “on death’s door.”
Michael and Lylee Gillenwater and Brian Casto, of Ripley, allegedly self-medicated the toddlers to put them to sleep, locking them in a “very soiled-conditions type of bedroom” for days at a time, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office said.
Deputies came across the children on Monday after one of them was found unresponsive and suffering from “complete renal failure,” Sheriff Ross Mellinger told WOWK.
“The neglect had reached such a level that one of the 2-year-olds had lost consciousness and was on death’s door when the notification was made to the sheriff’s office,” Mellinger said. “The twin 2-year-old boys had, basically, been locked in a Hell-on-Earth type of situation within their apartment room.”
Police said the children were found in an “extreme” state of malnutrition and dehydration, with an investigation showing that they were only fed cereal and pieces of ground beef that was slid to them underneath the door.
Please do not respond to trolls, all of them.
leftwing says:
May 12, 2023 at 10:11 am
10:46 oh snap !!
Or you can send your kids to a private school, pay through the nose, and still have the same outcome but with grade inflation and a more placid classroom environment for little Johnny and Jenny to stare at their phones.
10:21 I doubt those people vote. Most people don’t.
Easy there ExLax.
Don’t get triggered so easily.
Side effect of unchecked capitalism:
A West Virginia man, his wife and her boyfriend, have all been arrested and accused of locking up a pair of 2-year-old twin boys in squalid conditions and leaving one “on death’s door.”
Michael and Lylee Gillenwater and Brian Casto, of Ripley, allegedly self-medicated the toddlers to put them to sleep, locking them in a “very soiled-conditions type of bedroom” for days at a time, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office said.
I’d bet if you offered an American 5 million dollars for them to authorize 10 children to die in a foreign country they would accept the money gladly and have no moral anguish about it in the least.
They might even authorize it in America if you sweeten the pot a bit and they knew no one would find out.
Greed is the grease that keeps America going.
America is basically Brazil with more money, more racism, and more guns.
11:00 not at all man. I’m chilled as hell. I just happen to understand the educational landscape. Bet if you ever saw your kids that’d be valuable information for you.
The “oh snap” meant that I actually agree with the statement the dead guy made. Read less for tone and more for content, Doc….
Just a couple observations on the Federal Funds rate.
First, it approached 20% (!!!) in 1980-1981. Second, it looks like over the past 40+ years, rates were ratchet back down fairly quickly after being increased. The period from 1995 to 2000 seems to be the longest period of “high” rates relative to historical trends.
Obviously the historical chart doesn’t tell the whole story given all the other interventions, but right now it is looking like 2005-2008, i.e. it took a few years to deflate the bubble.
https://www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/history-of-federal-funds-rate/
Bob.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yDNGskPG4dfUzUfnXWH2z80k9MszZWDz/view?usp=sharing
ExLax,
I know what you meant. Now open the door and step into the room.
It’s okay.
That’s the Booomer sail into the sunset rate….
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 11:53 am
Bob.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yDNGskPG4dfUzUfnXWH2z80k9MszZWDz/view?usp=sharing
11:54 you one weird son of a bitch. You got that creepy Doctor vibe down pat.
Bro.
My question is “What bubble is going to be deflated?” Housing was already approaching a limit in affordability before the increase in rates. So now people are locked in and there is no bubble to pop there. Inventory is low and demand is high.
Stock market has shown resilience despite all the turbulence. There is still a lot of cash to lift any dips.
So I’m thinking the bubble this time around is in employment. Too many people getting paid too much money without providing a corresponding value. Closing of some colleges is one manifestation of this.
Thoughts?
PS Nice saving rate Libturd!
Some good pts.
“$DNA What’s the new goalpost now bears? You guys made a huge deal about this when it was obvious it was a nothingburger @ScorpionFund”
https://twitter.com/jwilfrem/status/1656850804458790912?s=46&t=0eaRjeKWHSIY8WCyPT4KMg
Esp this.
$DNA With that, name another company growing their core business rev 70% y/y during this market not to mention all of the downstream value that is accumulating. This is why Cathie is buying even more. She may be early on this one, but she is right.
Bob,
Labor was the biggest bubble of them all. WFH was the obvious signal where everyone thought the new norm would be getting paid big bucks to sit at home and do what they want. Not sure if we will see a pop, but rather a small hole letting the air out.
12:08 any chance to beat that dead f-cking horse
Ex,
Lol….well it was a glaring signal that something wasn’t right in the labor market. Employees dictating what the terms were to their boss…
Picked my son up from school, the 1st year flew by. Surprised to see he was walking without any help, big difference from when I dropped him back off after after the surgery. Impressed with how hard he worked to get caught back up with his classes and actually excel. Had to take 2 calc tests and the final the last week of school. A class were most struggled he pulled it off.
Lib, enjoy next year with your son, cant believe how quick it goes.
Bob,
I think it actually might be in the low end jobs. Too many retail places are hiring mental invalids for $17 to $20 right now. Since the quality of the work is hardly worth $5 an hour, it’s an enormous expense to the business with so little in return. So not only do they have to raise prices, but the workers can’t do the job right. It’s a recipe for lots of closures as the customers will eventually give up.
Was at one of the brandy new rest stop on Sunday and 2:30pm on the Turnpike around Trenton. We were in a rush to get home to watch the Devil game so we didn’t want to get off and get back on the road. There was a line in both the mens and ladies rest rooms. Decide to get Burger King since I can order through the app and D is starving. The line for the kiosk is a mile long since the country is filled with mental midgets when it comes to technology. I have a coupon for $3.50 large fry and chicken fries (for the D). I order a BK Fish sandwich, no sauce, add tomato combo and one chicken king sandwich for the Captain (my BIL). We’ll split the fries and I was thirsty for a Coke zero. $30. It’s now 3pm, they call my number and tell me they don’t carry the Fish there. I ask them why the app let me order it? Dumb looks, except from the manager who realized it was her fault. Since I ordered on the App, they can’t fix the money so I ask for a 2nd chicken sandwich, no mayo (I hate mayo). At 3:15pm, my order is ready. Of course, all of the other food is ice cold, even though I told them it would be. They claimed it was on a heat table and it would be fine. I get to the car, open the sandwich, it has mayo on it. Every person working there besides the manager is making $17 an hour or more. I know, because there is a sign there that says that is what they are hiring at. In the 45 minutes I was there (yes 45 minutes), they probably processed a measly 30 orders. I know, because there is a screen that shows what they are working on and what is done. Of course, they marked my order done 30 minutes before it was. Don’t want management finding out it takes 45 minutes to make a chicken sandwich wrong.
So 30 orders, probably $30 average order. $900. They had 5 workers and a manager. for 45 minutes of labor at $18 an hour (figure manager must make around $23 an hour) that’s $50. With overhead, maybe another $50 since I’m sure the rent is skyhigh for a rest area on the NJT. Cost of food? Profit margin is typically 18%, but at a rest area, the prices are nearly doubled, so figure the food cost per $30 order is probably $10 or so. So that leaves about a $400 profit in the 45 minutes I was there.
It might work at a rest stop. But at the local BK? Which probably does 10 orders at hour at best for 45 minutes at 3pm on a Sunday. Forget about it. Unless people are cool paying $15 for a combo meal. I’m not. Apparently, Chipotle is managing to do it.
12:31 real talent is rare. Face it. People with actual skills will always be in demand.
12:55 outsized earnings for these mega Corps mean that they’re making big money on the backs of the grunts. F-ck em. I love fast food, but it’s terrible for you. Let them all close up. Those McJobs are hellish. Retail sucks too. They deserve every penny. Eliyust pricks can live with one less yacht .
Other than my daily Starbucks, don’t remember last time I ate fast food. I only order takeout from reputable restaurants
What Lib is saying is exactly right. The workers who must physically deliver something are in complete control of wage inflation. People don’t want these jobs yet many new businesses built (post 2019) around modern tech/automation with slim operations now have great need for these workers. What they don’t need are expensive knowledge workers. They be anywhere in the world and companies have pushed it mostly offshore.
Blumpy thinks it is easy to find a higher paying job? A top level developer or financial sales folks are killing it. Being buzzword BS artist like AI or clean energy expert probably gets lots of hits. Vast majority of middle class regular tech, ops, and support functions are not being compensated squat. Teachers, educators, social workers not getting squat either compared to inflation. Downsizing and consolidation are the names of game now. My brother’s old hedge fund is shedding people like crazy. There is serious stagflation right now in middle. It is being covered up by house owners feeling like have a lottery ticket of wealth. Pierce that veil a bit and incomes are not rising in the middle. A job that pays $125k, go ty to find $150k. $150K got try to find $200k which it should based on housing and inflation. Good luck. Reality is where rubber meets the road on your search. Most jobs are BS listings with no push to hire most recruiters will never reply back, most applications will fall into abyss. You need dozens and dozens of applications before a single contact. Even then see if it offers upward pay. I am seeing lots of downward pay. Developers who got $250k two years were shed and now being offered $150 max. Not good if prices do not come down. The Fed is out to destroy labor market. Jon Stewart goes against Larry Summers and absolutely nails him on labor market and inflation. Good watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU3rGFyN5uQ
Speaking of low end jobs, I’ve walked out of quite a few pharmacies recently because every last stick of deodorant and tube of toothpaste is under lock and key, and when you buzz for an associate to open it they seem put off by your desire to purchase something.
Now when get one I ask them to follow me around like a personal shopping assistant just so I didn’t have to keep calling and waiting in each aisle. But that model is driving me to purchase more products in bulk off Amazon.
I eat at a lot of high end restaurants, but the Clifton boy in me will never abandon fast food. It’s so damn good.
Esp hot grill! Have that every couple of months. That roast beef sandwich melts in my mouth….love their gravy. I am skinny (173 lbs), but when I go there, I get two dogs all the way, two cheeseburgers all the way, roast beef sandwich, and fries with cheese and gravy. Gluttony at its finest….will be in a coma for hours.
My wife is one of those snobs that will not touch fast food…lol. I tell her that she is missing out.
Grim I’m just down the road from you in Carmel! Here to celebrate dad’s 90th birthday. I still like the Jersey Shore better than out here.
I eat fast food at most once a month. It’s never desired and I don’t overdue it. Hence the fish sandwich, no sauces, small fry and diet soda. We travel around like mofos between hockey and the D’s ailments (and of course Atlantic City). We have two cars which we bought in 2014 and 2016. In 16 years, we’ve drive 280K miles. That’s 17,500 miles a year, per car. Most of them are mine. Still have never been in an accident. Once I got bumped at a red light from a kid on the phone. Once, some idiot backed into me at a dunkin donuts parking lot. Both had no visual damage and not my fault. Of course, had to replace the sensors at the Dunkin.
Btw, my first meal ( i interminttent fast for the past 3 years) each day is 10-12 rasberries, 10-12 blackberries, 3 strawberries, and two handfuls of blueberries. Then a spring mix salad with baby spinach, broccoli slaw, and raw onions. All organic from wholefoods. Then the other meal is whatever I want…meaning no problem with comfort food…doesn’t have to be healthy as I already filled my body with nutrient rich foods.
I got a $25k raise last year going from a shitty charter school to a top rated public school.
It’s awesome! If they need you they’ll pay you. But yeah, my salary ain’t shot compared to my other half.
Bystander – I’ve noticed a bit of this wage compression. I monitor similar jobs on LinkedIn and many postings that disclose salary have a firm upper bound that is less than what I currently make. It is almost analogous to the housing situation…people that want to make a move don’t because they are locked in place.
And I really think companies would be paying a premium for road warriors at this point, but I am seeing gigs with like 40-50% travel for the same comp. No thanks.
So much for the inflation cooling induced Summer rally. I think I’m gonna stick with the original plan. I need 13K or 10.25K on the Nasdaq to act. Until then, sticking with my 30/70 stock/stable position.
Yep. Shoplifting is off the charts. Blumpy thinks people are just surviving on great wage increases, their houses and stock market? 50% have nothing. I bet 25% of inflation last year was people shoplifting and it all going unprosecuted. I think stores have no interest in the camera footage showing employee theft, discrimination lawsuits, physical encounters etc. Let them take it and we will raise price for all.
2:06 I have a soft spot for Cape May, but Montauk beats them all.
Bystander,
I told you the story about my Old Reliable Honda Civic hatchback. Parked in a PUBLIC New Brunswick parking garage to take the free bus over to SHI for a Rutgers football game. Parked next to a humungous, jacked up pick up truck, all decked out in Rutgers crap. Games a blow out and Rutgers loses again as usual. I return to the garage to see my babied Civic dragged half out of the spot it was parked in, the rear bumper in pieces on the floor and the entire side the truck was parked on smashed from the passenger door to the missing bumper. Until that day, I kept this 15 year old car looking as new as the day I bought it. There are cameras all over the garage and especially at the exit. I file a police report and ask if they are going to pursue the hit & run so I can get my car fixed. They said, “No!” I asked why? They said it wasn’t worth it to them. Just another non-violent crime.
That’s pretty much the key. As long as you are not hurting someone physically, it’s not worth their time. Just another reason why I can’t stand this country.
Ex,
Montauk is nice, but a little too quiet for my taste. I love the Outer Banks and lots of Costa Rican beach towns for the variety. It’s a different feel in each town.
2:14 any chance to beat that dead f-cking horse
Here’s a horse you can ride We W2’ed $430k last year.
“she’s got a head for business and a body made for sin…”
Insurance is priced to cover it.
Why to make a big deal
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Bystander,
I told you the story about my Old Reliable Honda Civic hatchback. Parked in a PUBLIC New Brunswick parking garage to take the free bus over to SHI for a Rutgers football game. Parked next to a humungous, jacked up pick up truck, all decked out in Rutgers crap. Games a blow out and Rutgers loses again as usual. I return to the garage to see my babied Civic dragged half
That’s pretty much the key. As long as you are not hurting someone physically, it’s not worth their time.
Car was 15 years old and cost 12.6K. Why would I have collision? Parking garage wasn’t paying.
Book value on my car was about $1,500 btw. Though, for me, I would have been willing to pay someone 6 or 7K for a car in that condition.
Minor fender benders should be resolved quickly and amicably. Except that conservatives will take opportunity for legal action to supplement low income
Lib,
Never heard that one. You sure SGC was not culprit? Big truck, groundless RU adoration, bitter personality..lots of checks there.
Ex even without a visual to go off of, I have you guys pegged as swingers.
Happy Friday!
2:38 I can see that!
3:01 why annoy another woman ??? Hahahaha
Naw, she’s pretty chill but my Gawd she’s perfect.
Lib: Montauk is beautiful, but Jersey Shore beaches are better in my opinion. I am surprised at how quiet Montauk is; most restaurants close at 8:00 P. M.
Boomer Remover says:
May 12, 2023 at 3:01 pm
Ex even without a visual to go off of, I have you guys pegged as swingers.
Happy Friday!
Good call , pegging might just be his thing. Hadn’t thought about that angle.
Another classic weird ass comment from the good Dr.
Geezus man seek help.
By,
I know Smalls. Though he lives in the sticks, I don’t think he drives a truck like that.
Lib @ 12:55
In 2017, when I was working on-site for a project with for big tobacco in VA, I would regularly stop at the Philips at a rest stop in Maryland. On Fridays, there was always a line 3 columns across near the Wendy’s there. The way I saw people laughing and joking in behind the counter while customers were frustratingly waiting for food was crazy. I can only imagine things got worse since then.
BRT was bashing McD’s the other day, but they have a dollar menu and the McDouble has gone through a subtle upgrade with a toasted bun and fried onions. It’s (2) for under $5 in my area and a darn good little burger. In & Out is big around here and IMHO it’s good but not great. Shake shack is excellent but you’ll spend big bucks to eat there. Chick Filet is amazing. They reinvented the chicken sandwich.
I like Wendy’s burgers sometimes, but find them to be poorly staffed and the food is often tepid. Mexican Fast-food out here is awesome. Pollo Loco is fantastic.
I have about 40 mins for lunch and don’t always like to pack a lunch so nearby fast food is delicious and easy to grab and go.
The worst thing about fast food is the sodium and the processed nature. It’ll kill you or send you to some psycho like Phoenix for “help”.
I’m not sold on the Shakeshack burger and put In & Out a large step above it. It’s way too greasy and way too expensive. Chick-Fil-et, is simply a chicken breast that’s been brined in pickle juice served with pickles on top of a quality buttered roll. The pickles are the secret really. Still, too salty for me and they are easy enough to make at home in the airfryer, which I used to do frequently. Down South, Chick-Fil-et, like Krispy-Creme has about as much prestige as a Dunkin’ does up here.
Between the big 3 in these parts. Wendy’s has the best burgers. Then BK. I can’t even eat a McDonald’s burger. There is no meat, the bun is sugary and the salt content is so high I’m thirsty the rest of the day and peeing all night. I just checked and a BK double cheeseburger has half the salt that a Big Mac without cheese has. And the Chick-Fil-et chicken sandwich has enough salt to make a horse happy in the desert.
Finally,
Signs of a recession.
Every year, D’s hockey team does one fundraiser. A 50/50. I simply advertise it on Facebook and most of my relatives buy tickets. I usually sell out of myeight books in about five days ($400). This year, I posted the same post I put up every year. On April 17th. I have sold $50 in tickets, all to one relative. This is my 4th year doing it.
The recession IS here folks. As predicted, around the start of the Summer.
You lost me at BK….
Forgot to mention Jack in the Box.
5 guys is decent but greasy.
Grass fed is best but hard to find..
Also heard from Gator that commuting into midtown continues to be a shit show!
5 guys is impossibly pricey for a very greasy burger. Jack in the Box is a step below them all. Though dirt cheap and fine for breakfast jacks.
The buttery Jack tho… !
My super picky autistic 6 year old had In Out last year in CA and never stops talking about it. All I need to know. We are going to Colorado in August. In Out in Denver and Colorado springs…life saver.
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 2:36 pm
“Parked in a PUBLIC New Brunswick parking garage…return to the garage to see my babied Civic dragged half out of the spot…I file a police report…They said it wasn’t worth it to them.”
Dem-run city in Dem-run state. Get used to it because it’s only going to get worse — see Chiraq, San Fran, etc…
“Just another reason why I can’t stand this country”
I know that you’re looking to escape to Central America, but if I recall correctly as I’ve only been glancing the blog recently, you’re sending your son to U Florida, not the Universidad de Costa Rica. If you begin to spend more time there as I have, I think you’ll see the USofA that you used to love still largely exists there — and that there really is a HUGE difference between the reds and the blues.
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 3:36 pm
“I know Smalls.” …You do? Have we ever met?
“Though he lives in the sticks” …I do? I’ve never heard Bridgewater referred to as the sticks, but maybe it is to those who live in Bergen/Essex???
“I don’t think he drives a truck like that.” …You know me too well
ExEx says:
May 12, 2023 at 2:43 pm
“W2’ed $430k last year.”
Nice, you’ll have no problem paying your fair share of Cali’s reparations tab — it’s only fair.
Oh look, Burt Reynolds is here.
I’m ready to see all these brothers pass me in Bentleys .
Our Generals must be sad. No reason for Billions for new missile systems.
The German owned Patriot PAC 2 donated to Ukraine, stuff that was made way back in 1987. It defeated the Russian Hypersonic missiles sent to destroy it.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/12/politics/russia-patriot-missiles-ukraine/index.html
Nice call!
Libturd says:
May 12, 2023 at 4:57 pm
Finally,
Signs of a recession.
Every year, D’s hockey team does one fundraiser. A 50/50. I simply advertise it on Facebook and most of my relatives buy tickets. I usually sell out of myeight books in about five days ($400). This year, I posted the same post I put up every year. On April 17th. I have sold $50 in tickets, all to one relative. This is my 4th year doing it.
The recession IS here folks. As predicted, around the start of the Summer.
I love me some five guys. Get in my tummy! I spend like $30 here. The dog is underrated.
Enjoy shakeshack too. Really enjoy their shroom burger. I spend a lot here too…get a bunch of stuff.
You don’t get this view in Florida:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/60-Viewcrest-Dr-Orick-CA-95555/18845734_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
“Yep. Shoplifting is off the charts.”
LOL. Buddy of mine five-fingered every trip to Shoprite last few years…
Funniest thing is I know his p/l and NW well…
He had absolutely zero need to ‘lift’….his taxes alone would support a small village….but all the BLM and SF retail shit pissed him off so much he’s like “WTF where is mine”….anyway dude would hit SR and pocket a ton of shit….those Mio bottles? Have four, scan one, all four go in the bag. Anything that can be ‘two-palmed’? Grab two, float them over the scanner, one gets run through, two in the bag…..I’m like, seriously, you get caught, is it worth it? Guy is like ‘fuck them’.
Solid seven figures annually and shoplifting SR getting 20 off a 100 tab because he’s PO’ed…fucking tears running down my cheeks from that…
We *are* entering total societal breakdown if anyone wants to actually pay attention….
“Just another reason why I can’t stand this country.”
You do understand the outcome you experienced is a direct result of the politics of the people you voted into office….no?
“You don’t get this view in Florida”
Yes, but I assume it is worth the stepdown in view (unless we’re talking Naples, etc) to not have a “Dem-bot” governor….
I swear take their fake blonde wigs off and they are ‘separated at birth’ from your governor…
https://youtu.be/zTv9AhCuSU4
Life is goood. Steve Earle at the Troubador
Was in Paramus today for my grandmother’s funeral. Lots of people out shopping at 10 am. Traffic on 17 is annoying at all times. Riding back from Bergenfield, I tried taking Turnpike. Sat in front of the meadowlands for 45 minutes. I’ve had my fill of North Jersey. The traffic makes the place unlivable.
left, a bunch of my kids told me that they don’t pay for drinks at Panera. Their justification is, well, they charge and arm and a leg for everything and the cups are already out. These are kids that are financially well off. It’s almost as if it’s becoming normalized.
The policy of not prosecuting certain low level offenses like shoplifting and “minor” hit and runs and other things is terrible. And yes, it is to the best of my knowledge solely a liberal or Democratic initiate… and again, it’s awful and they should reverse course. Having said that, are you telling me the Tampa CSI squad would have investigated Libturd’s incident if it happened there? If Tampa isn’t a good example, inset any town in Florida that is to your liking. No chance.
The Burt Reynolds comment was funny.
I understand being pissed off, but to steal like that is pretty pathetic. Where’s his sympathy for the shareholders?
leftwing says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:36 pm
LOL. Buddy of mine five-fingered every trip to Shoprite last few years…
…
Guy is like ‘fuck them’.
Solid seven figures annually and shoplifting SR getting 20 off a 100 tab because he’s PO’ed…fucking tears running down my cheeks from that…
“I understand being pissed off, but to steal like that is pretty pathetic. Where’s his sympathy for the shareholders?”
I’m guessing the /s is missing…if it’s not it’s even funnier because he’s at least familiar with the family that owns the business…private co…
Point is more the lol at a dude that could write a check for any one of SR’s physical locations easily is lifting shit from their stores….respect level through the roof…
Yes, the shareholders comment was meant as a joke, think Simpsons children. The comment about him stealing was not a judgment toward you, but towards him. Now you’ve piqued my curiosity… what do you mean by respect level through the roof?
Nice ex. If you were back in NYC you could catch this one though
The Town Hall @ 7:00pm May 15
Steve Earlie w/ David Byrne, Terry Allen, Kurt Vile
left,
Pretty f-ed up, though Shoprite does alot of reverse theft. Items advertised as one price and rings up another. Happens way too much to be just a mistake.
Always higher..never once lower. As my Irish grandmother said “Funny how the mistakes never work out in your favor?'”
Knicks are toast..geez
10:01 wow!
I can’t stand people that steal. Character is everything.
5 facts of life I wish I knew at 20:
▫ Risk builds wealth
▫ Your competition is weak
▫ Most don’t give a shit about you
▫ Your EQ is more important than your IQ
▫ The world cares about results, not potential
What would you add?
*The percentage of teens not having sex has risen steadily post-1990
I graduated in 2010 and this seems ridiculous to me – but it looks like it only got worse from there (a lot worse)
Global demographics facing serious issues
https://twitter.com/radicaladem/status/1657142524857966594?s=46&t=0eaRjeKWHSIY8WCyPT4KMg
A hot potato: Some Dell employees are fuming about a perceived broken promise regarding working from home. Statements from top executives in 2021 led them to believe they could work from home forever. However, the company now wants them back in the office at least three days per week.
“In the 15 years since my co-founders and I launched Ginkgo, I have never been more optimistic than I am today,” Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO said in a statement. “There is no doubt that we are going to be living in a challenging market environment for a while, but Ginkgo was built for these moments — we have worked hard to give ourselves a margin of safety so that we can relentlessly focus on our mission to make biology easier to engineer.”
https://www.thestreet.com/stocks/cathie-wood-buys-millions-of-shares-of-a-struggling-stock
State budgets about to take a bat to the head.
“Greenspan was right (on this particular point at least). Federal tax receipts lag the movements of the SP500 by about 1 year. Bear markets hurt future tax receipts. It is tough to find a better correlation than this one.”
https://twitter.com/mcclellanosc/status/1657159600486113281?s=46&t=0eaRjeKWHSIY8WCyPT4KMg
Figure, inflation fueled surplus will now lead to deficits. Easy times are over for the current politicians…surplus part of the cycle going bye bye.
ExEx says:
May 12, 2023 at 7:56 pm
“You don’t get this view in Florida”
You don’t get this one either…
https://tinyurl.com/yswvruzn
Housing market is dead because the ‘trade-up’ market is definitely dead.
I still have a smaller house, but to ‘upgrade’ to a 4 BR / 2.5 bath will cost me over $1m and $25K taxes in most areas – instead I have a mortgage under $1300 and taxes under $10k… the jump for a bit more space is insanely crazy, and therefore my smaller home will not go on market for first time home buyers, etc.
Don’t know how this gets fixed until we have 10% unemployment again.
Really awful.
Yep, you are societal breakdown.
leftwing says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:36 pm
“Yep. Shoplifting is off the charts.”
LOL. Buddy of mine five-fingered every trip to Shoprite last few years…
Funniest thing is I know his p/l and NW well…
We *are* entering total societal breakdown if anyone wants to actually pay attention….
The wealthy steal for thrills and entertainment. The poor steal to survive.
The wealthy steal large amounts, the poor, not so much.
It’s all going to increase. So will the violence that goes along with it.
Let nature take it’s course.
BRT says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:56 pm
left, a bunch of my kids told me that they don’t pay for drinks at Panera. Their justification is, well, they charge and arm and a leg for everything and the cups are already out. These are kids that are financially well off. It’s almost as if it’s becoming normalized.
joyce says:
May 12, 2023 at 9:06 pm
The policy of not prosecuting certain low level offenses like shoplifting and “minor” hit and runs and other things is terrible.
leftwing says:
May 12, 2023 at 8:36 pm
LOL. Buddy of mine five-fingered every trip to Shoprite last few years…
…
Guy is like ‘fuck them’.
Solid seven figures annually and shoplifting SR getting 20 off a 100 tab because he’s PO’ed…fucking tears running down my cheeks from that…
This is societal breakdown, not the steak stolen from ShopRite.
Mom uses seat belt to tie boy to car then drags him on highway as punishment, cops say
Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article275308046.html#storylink=cpy
OR:
A woman who was accused of killing a 6-year-old girl in Harahan before leaving her body in a bucket on the mother’s front lawn has been released from the hospital.
The Jefferson Parish sheriff said Hannah Landon was booked into the jail Thursday morning on charges of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
That is where Lopinto said officers found the little girl’s body. He told WDSU that her remains were inside a 10-gallon bucket on the front lawn.
Investigators began canvassing the neighborhood, where they obtained surveillance video from several homes. The videos show a woman, matching the description of Landon, wheeling a wagon with a large bucket inside to the biological mother’s home.
Just yesteday. Just like an early Fourth of July celebration.
https://cdn1.frocdn.com/13gb3yp.mp4
As Title 42 ends, some real clear graphs regarding the current immigration situation in the USA.
https://www.cfr.org/article/ten-graphics-explain-us-struggle-migrant-flows-2022
Leftwing re 7-digit income . . .
Would you care to share an approximation/change-some-details of how your buddy makes $1m+/year in income? or, if not the shop rite guy, some other person you’re aware of that makes that kind of income.
Top 1% income in NJ for a household is $825k+, in CT its like over $950k. humble WV still checking in at $375k.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/24/how-much-money-you-need-to-earn-to-be-in-the-top-1-percent-in-every-us-state.html
Stealing a can of baby formula because you can’t afford it and the child is hungry is not the same thing as making 500k per year and stealing it.
One is desperation, the other is being a greedy ahole.
“It’s almost as if it’s [petit theft] becoming normalized.”
Tacitly accepting widespread behavior previously deemed unacceptable is the actual definition of normalization, yes?
Phoenix, agree there are more horrific instances of societal breakdown than shoplifting ShopRite…point is more that those who have the strongest vested interest in society’s status quo are becoming emotionally detached from basic tenets that used to bind.
Crushed, banking.
Sometimes you have to know which hill to die on .
Phoenix I know I give you a hard time,
But I respect where you’ve been. Hang tough.
All dying every day for millennia…you get to expect maybe 80 or so trips around the sun, up from 40 not that long ago, and then dust in every respect…
Tell me your great-grandfather’s name and something relevant about him without referencing material…and that’s your direct lineage. Responsible for your actual existence.
Dead, gone, and as if he never existed.
All you have is today, brother.
You’re right about the rich doing it for thrills. My cousin had his entire basement flooded during Aida. Cost 5k. His Father owns a Toyota dealership and he easily makes 500k a year. This is chump change. He changed the address on the invoice and used the dealerships flood insurance to cover it.
I thought all supermarket scanners now had scales in them and if you so much as place anything or don’t place it in the packing portion, all sorts of alarms go off.
Also, I plan on stopping to shop for myself, especially at Shop Rite, well short of 1MM annually. Hiring a chef to cook in home is a worthwhile splurge.
Haha, nice idea on the home chef.
For home gamers on inflation….
https://ironsidesmacro.substack.com/p/the-feds-trilemma
Boomer, it was until the bag ban. Now that mechanism is deactivated. I can’t say I have sympathy for the supermarkets. They lobbied for a plastic and paper bag ban thinking they were going to make more money not supplying them. I’m sure the thefts outweigh the money saved.
BRT – Sorry to hear about your grandmother’s passing.
I was up in Bergen County today for and Early Mother’s day celebration. Spent 10 minutes waiting to make a left turn onto Pascack Road from Oradell Ave. You would think with all of that traffic they would have installed turn signal lights. Nope 40 years of crappy intersections and way too much traffic everywhere.
I don’t miss Bergen County even for a minute.
BRT: Condolences on your Grandmothers passing.
Tough choices Elon. Hard left will pick at any sore….
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1657422401754259461