The Growing Real Estate Problem

This is not surprising at all.

The extent to which demand for existing homes has collapsed and remains collapsed is astounding, but ultimately not surprising: Demand plunged in 2022 when mortgage rates soared, and plunged a lot further in 2023 as mortgage rates continued to rise to almost 8% by October 2023. But then as mortgage rates dropped starting in November, and kept dropping in 2024, demand stayed at these collapsed levels through September, despite mortgage rates having dropped to near 6%. And now that mortgage rates have bounced off the September lows since the rate cut, demand has collapsed further, even as inventories have been rising all year (look below the article at the top of the comments for inventory and supply charts of existing homes and new houses).

And everyone knows why: Prices are too high. 

An acquaintance put his home up for sale several months ago.  He acknowledged that he had priced it slightly above market, but insisted that he 'would get his price' no matter.

We see the "For Sale/FSBO" sign several times a week.

That merry-go-round had to stop sometime.  And it finally did.

Post-Election (D) Violence: Prepared??

 Harris and her party are setting the table.

...on one particular subject she’s been consistent and forceful throughout her campaign. She’s adamant that Donald Trump will destroy America if he’s reelected. And not “destroy” in the sense of enact bad policies, but that he’ll round people up with the military and put them in camps.

 She talks about this all the time now. At one point during her Wednesday evening interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, she became visibly upset after Baier played a clip of former President Donald Trump calling out the weaponization of government and the endless investigations and lawfare he’s been subjected to....

 ...Earlier this week, during an audio town hall with Charlamagne Tha God, Harris claimed without a hint of irony that if Trump is elected he’ll use the Department of Justice “as a weapon against his political enemies,” adding, “You know who does that? Dictators do that.” At one point during the show, she agreed with a caller who said Trump will lock “anyone who doesn’t look white into camps,” replying, “You’ve hit on a really important point and expressed it I think so well.”...

These are all lies (the natural emission of Democrats) or gross distortions of what Trump has actually stated.

So what?

 ...The purpose of it isn’t just to scare voters into casting their ballot against the former president, or to provoke some unstable would-be assassin into taking a shot at Trump (although some Democrats [and the Deep State:  CIA, FBI, and State Department] no doubt see that as a happy by-product of this Trump-as-dictator rhetoric).

Its main purpose is to prime Democrat voters for violent resistance should Trump win in November....

This is not her first rodeo.

... During the BLM riots in the summer of 2020, Harris herself was out in front egging on the rioters, infamously working to raise bail money for those who had been arrested. Of the protests, she said this in a June 2020 interview with Stephen Colbert: “Everyone beware. They’re not gonna stop before Election Day in November, and they’re not gonna stop after Election Day … They’re not gonna let up, and they should not.”...

Are you prepared?

Tariffs and Milwaukee

There's a lot of stupid (Democrat) talk about Trump and tariffs.

Reality:

...billionaire Howard Lutnick explains how Trump's tariffs will be used as a negotiation tactic to make the U.S. a “bunch of money.” Lutnick shot down the media narrative that tariffs would increase inflation.

“It’s a bargaining chip. We can’t sell a Ford or GM in Europe. You go to Europe, you can’t sell a Ford.

“They’re gonna come and negotiate and their tariffs are gonna come down. And finally, Ford and General Motors are gonna be able to sell in these places. How’s that sound? This is just negotiating strategically.

“When you’re running for office, you make broad statements so people understand you. Tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use. Use tariffs to build in America. If we want to make it in America, tariff it. We need to protect the American worker....--CNBC interview quoted at Surber

Did I mention "Milwaukee" in the title of this post?

Yes.  Yes, I did.  And there are a couple thousand people here who should LOVE tariffs......

Reagan saved Harley-Davidson by slapping a tariff on certain Japanese motorcycles.

You'll never see that (or hear it) in the local "News" these days.  But you saw it here.

Money Where Mouth Is.....

As PowerLine points out, the money is now on Trump.  More important, the trend is, too.