Glorious Effects of Money-Printing Bail Out Manhattan Luxury Housing Market in 2021, after it Fell on Hard Times

“Perhaps the biggest pandemic trend was this: The rich got richer — and they also bought bigger”: Olshan Realty.

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

We knew this was coming: The huge bout of global money-printing and interest-rate repression that created historic asset price inflation and made a small portion of rich people immensely richer has had a big impact on luxury real estate in Manhattan. “Luxury” in Manhattan is defined as $4 million or more for a condo, co-op, or townhouse.

The impact was on sales volume – lots of deals were made. Many of those units had been sitting on the market for years. And many deals were made after sizeable haircuts as global investors unloaded, and as developers were finally able to sell new units they’d been sitting on for years.

And “mostly New York metro area buyers” stepped in, according to Olshan Realty, “riding the wave of lower prices, low interest rates, and surging stock market, and the belief that New York would come back.”

The Pandemic had pulled the rug out from under the luxury market in the spring of 2020 and accelerated the climb-down process from the prior money-printing euphoria in 2013 through 2015. During the climb-down process, the number of signed contracts collapsed by over half, from 1,344 in 2015 to 935 in 2019, and finally to 645 contracts in 2020. But in November 2020, the floodgates opened.

Signed contracts of Manhattan luxury condos, co-ops, and townhouses with prices of $4 million or more in 2021 spiked by 191% from 2020 and by 101% from 2019, to a record 1,877 contracts, according to data by Olshan Realty, easily blowing past the prior money-printing euphoria from 2013 through 2015:

“Perhaps the biggest pandemic trend was this: The rich got richer — and they also bought bigger. Size mattered more than ever as offices and schools shifted to the home. During the pandemic years of 2020-2021, the average size of a luxury condo deal was over 2,900 square feet, 5% larger than the previous 7 years,” Olshan said.

“The demand for size spilled into the townhouse market with 212 signed contracts, far surpassing the record of 153 deals in 2014. And the trophy market, defined as $10 million and above, with most of those properties over 4,300 square feet, clocked in at 400 contracts, blowing away the 2014 record of 270 contracts,” Olshan said.

Trophy properties – those with final asking prices of $10 million or more, appealing to folks that had benefited the most from the money-printing during the pandemic – had a huge year, with 400 signed contracts, leaving in the dust the prior euphoria record in 2014 of 270 contracts:

But the average and median asking prices just before the deals were signed have not moved much over the years. Big asking prices got cut multiple times until buyers emerged. Across all 1,877 contracts, the average price cut from initial asking price when the unit was put on the market, to final asking price at contract signing was 9%.

Most of the details at this nosebleed altitude are kept secret by the parties involved, including the actual price paid, and instead of the unavailable sold prices, Olshan tracks the final asking price at contract signing.

The average final asking price before contract signing was $8.46 million in 2021, up by only 7.8% from 2013; and the median final asking price was $6.54 million, down a tad from 2020, and up only 2.7% from 2013:

By comparison, overall condo prices of all price categories in the vast New York metro, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, have surged 37% since 2013, with a spike this year, after languishing for three years in a row:

The average number of days on the market before a sale occurred dipped to 566 days, the second worst in the data going back to 2012, just behind 589 days in 2020, and over triple the number of days during the euphoria year 2013 (172 days). The fact that the average sold unit had been sitting on the market for 1.5 years shows that a lot of units had been sitting on the market for several years before they finally sold!

And so draws to a close a year that was marked by the mega-effects of super-charged money-printing, now including the worst inflation in forty years. And it was just what the luxury housing market in Manhattan, that had fallen on hard times, needed the most.

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  114 comments for “Glorious Effects of Money-Printing Bail Out Manhattan Luxury Housing Market in 2021, after it Fell on Hard Times

  1. Wolf Richter says:

    Dear Readers,

    We here at the vast WOLF STREET media mogul empire’s global headquarters — the team here includes me, myself, moi, and mich — wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

  2. Cobalt Programmer says:

    Me the top commenter of the year 2021, Editor in Chief (Comments only), Michelangelo patrol, best commenter of the year 2012,
    1. Happy holidays, Christmas, new year!
    2. Be happy dont complain.

  3. Mr Wake Up says:

    Merry Christmas!

    At those levels. These should be considered another form of safety deposit boxes not living quarters. Rather safety deposit boxes for wealthy international to find a safe place.

    Just look at how long they lingered on the market on average prior.

    Unfortunately these purchasers do not follow local politics and might have deposited their funds in the incorrect zip codes.

    But when its all funny money whats a million /2 more or less.

  4. BuySome says:

    I can’t think of a single example of the captain on a pirate ship who thought it a good idea to keep his quarters up in the crow’s nest. Of course if you’re trying to play Omega Man, there’s still the possibility of ending up sleeping in the street level fountain.

    Happy Holidays, in keeping with the situation.

  5. J-Pow!!! says:

    Bears can never be rich…

    • Peanut Gallery says:

      Chicago Bears?

      • J-Pow!!! says:

        That’s different. That’s “Bears can never be good.” Owned by Aaron Rodgers, Andy whatever QB they start can’t hit the side of a barn with the football…

        • Peanut Gallery says:

          The bears are so bad this year…

          I haven’t watched them carefully but man doesn’t their record say everything that needs to be said?

    • RH says:

      FOR POST-CHRISTMAS READING:

      As much as I would like to join the other villagers with their torches and wooden stakes as they go hunt the monster, J-Pow, I must point out that all “Federal” Reserve directors since and including those during Greenspan’s tenure are responsible for the coming, financial catastrophe, not just Powell. They enabled this system of taxing ordinary Americans using inflation to funnel funds to their bankster owners, instead of forcing congress to tax their ultrarich masters, who would otherwise have had their tax loopholes closed and been taxed even on their CCP-derived income for DECADES.

      The US debt numbers just increased now due to COMPOUNDING, the 2017 tax cut, (and the billionaires/trillionaire families’ transfering US jobs for DECADES to their CCP subsidized, China factories) but our national debts and TRILLIONs in undisclosed liabilities have been growing for decades. Search for US and $211 TRILLION and liabilities and you may see Reagan’s advisor K O T L I K O F making that estimate before 2011. Imagine the sum now in current, devalued dollars or what will happen when all baby boomers retire if the US population does not increase in its younger ranks!

      Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year from your doom-predicting Scrooge! (This Amazon tablet does like references to that Reagan adviser or t r I l l I o n a I r e s, LOL.)

  6. georgist says:

    This is what it’s all about. Every “benefit”, every stimmy cheque, every student loan delay, every interest rate cut, every MBS purchase.

    It all bolsters land prices by freeing up more to be spent on land.

    Every bit of stimulus is subsidizing landlords, the distributed debt collectos of the banks.

    > Land is the mother of all monopolies – Winston Churchill

    • georgist says:

      And just to be clear our lovely governmens ensure all extra income goes to land by keeping the immigration rate above the building rate, ensuring all land is bid up to the monopoly price.

      We have amazing technology now yet land prices are so high that we are told all future generations cannot be housed besides transitive rentals. Progress and Poverty.

      That is the game.

  7. Anthony A. says:

    Gosh, those prices! And here I felt good that my quaint, Texas 2,000 square foot brick ranch home increased in (reported) value about $100,000 this last year!

    Thanks for eye opening and unbiased reporting, Wolf and crew!

    And Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who report and comment here!

  8. historicus says:

    And there are people on this web site that say
    “The Fed cant raise rates, it will hurt the stock and real estate market”

    and I say
    BS
    To defend spiked prices and high rolling leveraging? As the population suffers from a Fed promoted inflation?

    • perpetual perp says:

      Historically, modest interest rates (defined as one that encourage savings) don’t appear to much malign economic growth. I think the main problem the FED has is its reliance on debt.

  9. Danno says:

    Best wishes to you and yours Wolf. Have a wonderful and prosperous New year!

  10. Michael Engel says:

    1) Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all.
    2) Wall street traders had a great year. Same, crypto traders and bankers.
    Wall street traders hedge against inflation and protect themselves from deflation, by parking their money in penthouses, where they can hide their cash and gold, because they know how crooked the stock market is and banks can suddenly close.
    3) Foreign investors trust NYC condos, in US dollars, rather than the Chinese RE market, the most inflated market in the world.
    4) US economy is Strong. NYC is lagging behind. Omi put a threat on NYC and the rest.
    5) Side by side NYC and other 19 cities….bs. There is nothing in the whole world like NYC, but if US economy tank, NYC penthouses and condos will find a new bottom, but their monthly maintenance will stay.
    6) In 2012 a crane hit Michael Dell $100M penthouse on W57 cigar building.
    7) Pedigree building markdown is larger than $4M townhouses and condos discounts to enable transaction, after waiting for a buyer for a year and a half wait. Their discount might have been larger than a whole $4M townhouse. Overall NYC condos fair better.
    8) Columbia and Mount Sinai condos are trending up, especially the large ones. That’s the abused Harlem.

    • Augustus Frost says:

      Who else besides the Chinese is buying Chinese real estate, outside of maybe Hong Kong on occasion? My answer is virtually nobody.

      Your comparison is invalid.

      • Harvey Mushman says:

        My understanding is that several funds are invested in Chinese real estate development companies.

        FIDELITY – ASIAN HIGH YIELD
        UBS – Asian High Yield USD
        PIMCO Asia High Yield Bond Fund
        BlackRock – Asian Tiger Bond
        Fidelity – Global Multi Asset Income

        So it could be very possible that American Individuals/pensions could have exposure to Chinese real estate.

        • Fat Chewer says:

          Yep. If the bonds exist, then someone is buying them because the desperate plebs are chasing yield.

          With just a little bit of bullshit, an institution can package this junk into very attractive financial instruments for the desperate plebs. You make the fees, they eat the losses. People are paying good money for these crooks to “manage” worthless crap.

          Merry Christmas to Wolf and all the crew at Wolf Street.

  11. Augustus Frost says:

    I used to spend a lot of time in NYC, especially from 1999-2004. I never knew every block but have a good idea of the areas I consider generally nice, like Upper East and Upper West sides closer to Central Park.

    Realtor.com lists just over 12000 now, with somewhat more than 3000 in the “luxury” range.

    Looking at a sample of the listings, no wonder it didn’t sell.

    If I had the money and totally lost my mind to pay a bubble price, I’d probably buy in South Kensington, London instead. I haven’t been to London since 2007 but it was a lot nicer than where I see these properties.

    • Petunia says:

      NYC is unique in that having the money doesn’t automatically grant you access to a property because of the co-op. The co-op board controls the access to a building and just having the money doesn’t get you in, you need to fit into their vision of an owner. There is a list, maintained by real estate agents, of the most desirable buildings in NYC and they are all co-ops.

      The number days on the market of co-ops in NYC are notorious large and sales usually take years to complete. I heard the crisis had actually shortened the number of days because buildings wanted to look desirable during the crisis.

      • Wolf Richter says:

        Petunia,

        To add some numbers from the report about the distribution of the luxury sales here:

        Co-ops: 18.3%
        Condos: 70.1%
        Townhouses: 11.3%.

  12. Happy Home Owner says:

    How many of you are renter that are bitter about the bubble that never existed to begin with. This is not a bubble and it will not crash. Underwriting standards are solid and the cash is flowing. The reality is its a supply problem….that’s it. It is not a bubble.

    • Jake W says:

      lol. hi lawrence yun.

      • Wolf Richter says:

        Even Yun has doubts these days :-]

        • Jake W says:

          the scary part is that a lot of people actually believe this nonsense. that there was this huge supply of homes in 2019, and suddenly, there is no supply, even though population hasn’t increased much at all, which is what accounts for this 20% increase in price.

        • Yeah, I’ve noticed that a bit, following him on LinkedIn. Measured, (certainly not a full bear), but not the booster you’d have expected previously.

        • Happy Home Owner says:

          Jake W, the origins of the supply problem go back to the actuall bubble bursting. We went many years without demand hence builders stopped building. This didn’t become evident until 2015/16 when all this bubble noise started. Now you’ve got less supply than demand which is being complicated by those that are unwilling to sell their homes because of the limited supply and high prices. This will take years to unwind, and all the while prices will continue to rise…..as will your rent. Difference is my mortgage payment locked in at 2.75% will look like peanut compared to your rental in 10 years. But then again, you can just continue to tell yourself there’s a bubble if it helps you sleep better at night.

        • Jake W says:

          again, there’s no such thing as “low supply” and “high demand” without taking into account the factors that cause them. as taxes continue to increase, i know more and more boomers downsizing and moving out. the u.s. population is not increasing nearly as fast as housing as being built.

          the reason for the housing prices is that people are buying houses as tokens, meaning they don’t care about living in them or renting them out.

    • Enlightened Libertarian says:

      Agree 100%. Not enough supply. But building housing now is.much, more difficult than it was 10-20-30 years ago. No wonder the country is short millions of housing units.
      But trust me, if builders could find the dirt and build houses at a profit, they would. Everyone likes to make money.

    • Wolf Richter says:

      Did you forget the /sarc tag?

    • Jay says:

      If we’re not in a massive credit induced asset bubble, then my Gawd what is it then? Are you a MMT guy? Otherwise, you have to be a realtor. They’re the ones who, no matter what, always say there’s a housing shortage. The last I checked, only the worst run Dem cities have a homeless issue. When lumber is 2.5 times the pre-pandemic price and the BLS’ fake inflation measurements running nearly 7%, you’re not going to get affordable housing. The FED is at least 300 basis points behind the curve interest rates and Wolf’s well-documented FED MBS bloat has easily suppressed mortgage rates 100 basis points. If the housing market was where it needs to be, at least 5-6% mortgage rates, housing would be decelerating rapidly. Wait, you’re probably one of those investors buying up 20% of all the houses to rent out, right? There’s absolutely nothing in the current housing situation that resembles a well-functioning market, unless, of course, your an investor.

      But no, this is NOT a housing bubble. Right ; )

      • Jake W says:

        even for an investor, it’s not a well functioning market. wait until they realize that rents are not based on their debt service or other costs, but on what people can afford to pay.

    • Petunia says:

      HHO,

      I am a renter, but right now, I’m not feeling bitter about not being able to buy. Renting has given us mobility in a not so great job market.

      The mega landlords are driving these markets to the stratosphere. They are willing to pay any price, because it’s not their money. The rents they charge will become unpayable very soon, and the investor money will disappear, when the income streams dry up. Then they will head for the exits and watch out.

      Underwriting standards have nothing to do with this market. Just like the 40% equity I had in my house didn’t matter in 2008.

      • Jay says:

        I think part of the rising rental rates of late has something to do with landlords making up for lost monies during the 18 months of rent forbearance. Not saying it’s right, but Uncle Sam sure outdid himself this time throwing money at people’s wallet. I don’t think there was any particular program that was wrong or bad. It’s just that none of them should have lasted more than about 3-6 months. Okay, PPP was a really bad idea.

      • OPM is king, at least for now.

    • Peanut Gallery says:

      Remember that fundamentals can look good on anything but if asset holders perceive prices will decline, then a run is always possible for any reason

    • Depth Charge says:

      You know we’re at the blow-off top when you get posts like this. I remember these gunslingers back in 2006, yapping up a storm. They disappeared like a fart in the wind, seemingly overnight, and we didn’t hear from them for more than 10 years. Meanwhile, the land was littered with their financial carcasses.

    • georgist says:

      It’s a supply problem alright….the over supply of credit.

  13. Enlightened Libertarian says:

    It seems to me that 37% appreciation over 8 years is only 4 1/2% a year [roughly]. Out here in the Pacific Northwest real estate has been going up 10% a year for ten years. According to Redfin and Zillow the house I bought exactly 2 years ago is up 50%. Word of mouth and comparables say 75% to 100%.
    My apartment buildings are up 50% or more in 5 years.
    In that light NYC is not that impressive.
    I agree the rich got richer and real estate is part of it, but I think the stock market was a larger share of that wealth.

  14. David Hall says:

    A few condos in the Bronx, NY listed for under $150k. Median listing price $375,000.

    • Petunia says:

      The only good place to buy in the Bronx was always Riverdale.

      • Anthony A. says:

        My ex was born in the Bronx when it was OK to actually live there. Now one must wear Kevlar jackets and carry a piece to walk the streets there.

        • Depth Charge says:

          I wouldn’t even want ti visit, much less live there. Apologies to any residents, I’m just being honest.

  15. Stuart says:

    Is it not possible that the buyers of very expensive properties have check mated themselves? Am looking from perspective of many and varied property taxes being able to be levied or substantially increased in the future.

    • Petunia says:

      I saw some videos on the Austin, TX market, prices are “affordable” until you add in the over 3% yearly real estate tax. People have purchased only to find they can’t afford their house.

      • Depth Charge says:

        Don’t lenders take that into account? I thought they were basing loans on PITI (principle, interest, taxes, insurance) because the taxes are actually rolled into the payment.

        • Petunia says:

          I think they don’t know the rates in the new developments until they are already in the process. Then they get priced out. Also, the rates there are rising rapidly every year because of the over bidding.

  16. Winston says:

    Perfect example of the two steps forward (bubble), one step back (bust) process where REAL assets can be had a fire sale prices after a crash of some sort.

  17. Anon1970 says:

    Back around 2004, Fed interest cuts pushed by then chairman Alan Greenspan bailed out a bunch of high yield bonds (also known as dirt bonds since they were backed by real estate) that been in default since the Great Southern California Commercial Property Real Estate Bust of the early 1990’s. As the Fed funds rate dropped to about 1%, one after another went from being in default (and trading at pennies on the $) to being refunded at 100 cents on the $, with all back interest being paid to investors. One man’s financial wipe out was another person’s windfall. After that personal experience, I stopped buying unrated bonds and for the past decade I have not bought any bonds at all.

    • Depth Charge says:

      I like to call him Alan Greenscum, but that’s not allowed here so I won’t.

  18. Peanut Gallery says:

    So does this mean that the ultra rich on the high end are still long on RE? Even in NYC?

  19. Michael Engel says:

    1) 126 Madison Ave, in NoMad NYC, is almost completed, with 199 condos is 65% sold, generated over $400M in volume, next to great restaurants. Occupation begin in Feb 2022.
    2) New single family homes supply reached 6.5 months, just shy of late
    2018 recent high at 7.5 months.
    3) One new high rise building in NYC can create a positive “impression”, but the G word, a glut of millions of sq/ft trophy buildings is still hanging over the market. The banks are not impressed.
    4) Gloom mongers vs brokers rosy forecast and their charts. The Median and the Average prices of luxury $4M+ condos, townhouses and co-ups didn’t move since 2013.
    5) Jackio O sale of her 1040 Fith ave apt for $1M opened the flood gate.
    6) David Koch bought it for $10M. Michael Dell spent a cool $100M on his cigar. The compounding is amazing.
    7) Those who bought their trophies properties in the 80’s, the 90’s, or cashed during the dotcom bubble, before the bust, can sell at a large discount, still making good money, while the guppies sell their units for slightly higher prices. Their total is flat.

  20. cresus says:

    Joyeux Noel a tous.
    The most annoying thing about this high end market in Manhattan (my neighbors) is that those people no longer live in the real world. Even physically. It’s a separate world of living, flying, eating among themselves.
    And compete: it’s all about being better and richer.
    I find it extremely lonely and I regularly pack a small bag to travel the world and live with normal people, just for my sanity. My favorite is the midwest. Small town. Pick up trucks. No mask. The best people.
    The common charges/taxes on those properties are insane. Absolutely insane. For a few days a year,as we all count the days to not be a fiscal New York city/state resident.
    In the end, we all die.

  21. Peanut Gallery says:

    I wonder what the NYC vaccine mandates will do to their RE?

    • Wolf Richter says:

      Yes, that was mentioned, that as soon as the Trump vaccines were announced on November 9, 2020, the luxury buying frenzy started as people felt safer in the City, and the buying frenzy picked up pace throughout 2021 as vaccines and vaccine mandates brought down the risks of living in a densely packed city like NYC.

      This is what Olshan’s report said about it:

      “The outlook was bleak until November 9, 2020, when the news of a Covid vaccine was announced. This was the turning point that helped unleash the pent-up demand that fueled 2021.”

      • Peanut Gallery says:

        I appreciate that you wrote “felt safer”

        • Depth Charge says:

          I learned “feelings aren’t facts” as a child. What’s horrifying is seeing adults 2/3 the way through their life who never learned it, and still act like children.

      • Anon1970 says:

        On Nov. 26, 2020, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in favor of religious institutions which were opposed to government regulations restricting the size of their gatherings. It was a blow to then Gov. Cuomo of NY State. He had issued limits on the size of religious gatherings as a public health measure to slow the spread of the covid-19 virus. What is unclear is how this decision will affect the spread of the Omicron version of the virus and later NYC property values.

  22. ivanislav says:

    I am looking forward to buying a Manhattan condo at bargain prices once the Fed sells off all its Treasurys and MBS over the next year, returning us to the “free market”, “land of opportunity”, and “invisible hand”.

    Also, it’s not too late to give a last-minute gift to your loved ones. I recommend Bruce Gibney’s 2017 book “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America” about their pillaging the nation’s economy.

    Merry Christmas! Sincerely,
    The Grinch

  23. DR DOOM says:

    I am in my bunker with face paint and Gen 1 night vision on my Kaiser Helmet. ( spike is annoying) . I am ready for the apocalypse swarm attempt to get my Norway Kippers (Aldi has been out of stock,for weeks) I am sitting on my cash and gold and silver. I have CNN on 24/7 to intercept the coded messages . Bill O’Reilly would not give me a donation to protect my Christmas Tree so it is my bunker. From my sort of un-disclosed location in the Highlands of N.C. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

  24. Michael Engel says:

    1) Rent/income = 0.25. The trend is down.
    2) Mortgage payments/ income = 0.23. Once JP liquidate, this ratio will rise > 0.25, increasing stress.
    3) Home owners pay RE taxes, insurance and maintenance on top of mortgage. New home buyers have other expenses.
    4) Small businesses owners pay dual rents, or rent + ownership expenses. In NYC it can be deadly. Many small businesses work for the landlords. Their biggest expense isn’t labor, or cost of goods, but the dual RE.

    • otis says:

      Wage earners have to pay all of that with after tax income, They pay a lot extra and the math is hard on their results. They have few places to mitigate taxes like if one was a business owner/provider.

      • otis says:

        Upon one sad Christmas long ago a child’s poor ass parent was a wage earner paying 25% in income taxes on its gross wages. It later buys a speedy superb self driving golf cart with its after tax money.

        They paid a lot more for that danger cart than an auto repair [person] with an LLC who bought the same car with pre tax money and used it mostly for marketing but still occasionally had the “civil union unit” use it to deliver in vitro surrogate triplets to get filmed for instagram running around attempting no contact sports and practicing soccer dives for social skills required later in office life.

        … Got a PPP loan and bought a F150 and a Sea-Doo

  25. Xavier Caveat says:

    Its all about timing, and just went all in on a frankincense ETF , and I realize there are many who prefer to take physical protection, but I don’t want the hassle.

  26. RH says:

    Merry Christmas, Wolf, team, and family!

  27. Brent says:

    And the source of skyrocketing charts and cheering numbers ?

    RE company !!!

    Why dont we google the following headlines in NY Post-the one and only conservative newspaper in NYC ?

    1.”Gloria Vanderbilt’s NYC spread sells in a flash for just over $1M”

    Jeez,it is majestic…This so-salled multi-story “spread” could comfortably house a mechanized infantry company with a lot of space left over.

    2.”Squatters busted at empty multi-million dollar Manhattan townhouse”

    Multi-story pre-WWII luxury building on UWS was selling for $14M since 2013.And selling…and selling…and selling…with no end in sight.

    3.”Sonja Morgan forced to take NYC townhouse off market after 8 years without buyer”

    Describes the woes, travails and tribulations of Sonya Morgan (of “Real Housewifes of New York” show and former wife of JP Morgan heir).

    This white elefant is absolutely killing her financially.While trying to sell her townhouse she rented a small apartment and now she cant even afford this apartment 😁

  28. Khowdung Flunghi says:

    …and from drizzly So. Cal. —

    Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad

    y’all

  29. Michael Engel says:

    1) Henry Kissinger building is lagging behind in sales, because there are
    not enough people like them.
    2) Sandy Weil $88 penthouse on 15CPW, Fortsmann for $40, 52M for Ross, but HK’s “River House” at 435E52 street never broke > $20M. HK building is worse than Trump Tower.
    3) Don’t try to get in if your name is Diane Keaton, Gloria Vanderbilt, but de Rothschild and Uma Thurman moved in. Not even Richard Nixon, HK best friend.
    4) If u drink coffee on the cement fence, in the large front yard, above FDR drive traffic, nobody will kick u around.

  30. Miatadon says:

    Paraphrasing Jesus from Matthew 26:11: “The rich you will always have with you.”

  31. Depth Charge says:

    “Bah Humbug.”

    Ebenezer Scrooge

  32. Depth Charge says:

    Merry Christmas, Wolf and Co.

  33. Michael Engel says:

    1) People go to Dunkin Donuts to buy $50 gift cards for their
    family.
    2) People load in their cars large boxes in colorful gift wrap.
    3) Boston cream and unwrapping Xmas gift is more fun than receiving
    Amazon tombstone packages, they get every week, in the last two years.
    4) Dispersing cash around is king, but more expensive.
    5) I phones are last in line.

  34. RockyCreek says:

    No billionaire left behind.

  35. RedRaider says:

    Median final asking price was $6.54 million, down a tad from 2020, and up only 2.7% from 2013.

    Umm, isn’t that .334%/year? Compared to inflation and property taxes?

    I guess “home is where the heart is” is very valuable…

  36. dishonest says:

    For Christmas, we should take Wolf to a Dollar Tree store to show him what one is like. At least some of my fellow Wolfists know the drill.

    It would be kind of Dickensian. Ghost of Christmas present.

    Say Hello when you pass me shopping by the way.

    • Flea says:

      But now they are down sizing package size due to inflation,will be irrelevant in three years another one bites the dust

  37. cb says:

    as Mary P. Chapman said:

    “This is true ONLY if one can trust the US Govt’s numbers on printed money supply and total debt. The “off books” money supply and therefore debt, cannot be tallied, as only the DoD and CIA have those figures, and only a dozen combined folks, at that.”
    __________________________________________

    I doubt we have a clue how much money is out there. The FED and Government has proven to be un-trustworthy. We only know price rises (inflation 1) is large and continuous, and follows money creation.

    • Depth Charge says:

      Somebody mentioned that China was printing bank notes with duplicate serial numbers, and that they and other countries are also mass counterfeiting US dollars. This is scary dangerous if true.

    • historicus says:

      How much money is out of country (Afghansitan, Cayman Islands, etc) and can not be counted/measured?

  38. Anthony says:

    Just wanted to add, that just heard crazy theory that the Fed wants to fight inflation with inflation.

    This idea may have legs…. Crazy Christmas in a Crazy World…………

  39. c smith says:

    Will the inflation waves continue IF the rescue bills/stimulus packages/refundable child tax credits/rent abatements/loan abatements end? Seems to me all the money printing in the world creates no inflation if the banks hoard the money – as they did after 2008-09. IOW, the helicopter has to be flying for the inflation to happen.

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