Chinese slowdown may provide relief for fuel prices.

A news report last week from CNBC contained an interesting item with implications for the economy, both locally and nationally:

Copper, hit by concerns of a Chinese slowdown, tumbled 7 percent to a 1-year low.

The drop in copper prices is significant, as it may signal relief to property owners around the country that have faced relentless pressure from metal thieves.

More importantly, the reference to a "Chinese slowdown" may provide relief to the U.S. economy as a whole. If the Chinese economy worsens, China may purchase fewer resources from around the world. Chinese purchasing has provided the impetus for much of the oil price increases over the past several years. If Chinese oil purchasing declines, we may see fuel prices decline, with positive effects for the U.S. economy and the real estate market. [Actual gasoline price declines may be minimal, as runaway spending by the U.S. government might more than offset the effects of lower Chinese demand.]

August inflation report

Inflation rose throughout the U.S. in August. The AP report included rent plus items recently excluded from the CPI, including food and fuel.

Click here for a discussion of the effect of continued inflation on real estate sales and prices. Regardless of the effect on real estate prices, it is not subject to reasonable dispute that continued inflation will contribute to metal theft - not only from private housing and commercial structures, but also from public facilities and utility infrastructure.

Carlisle Rental Housing Task Force recommendations; Rental inspection ordinance shot down.

Last month, I wrote about the Carlisle Rental Housing Task Force and its efforts to advise Carlisle Borough Council regarding a potential rental inspection ordinance.

Yesterday evening, the task force finalized its recommendations. Those recommendations did not include a rental inspection ordinance:

But the audience was only interested in one of the 19 bullet points put forward: "rental units need to be inspected (interior and exterior) on a regular basis."

The task force's two-hour meeting at Borough Hall concluded with a vote on the most controversial aspect of the group's work. But both sides had said all they had to say at previous meetings and there was no discussion on the issue, which failed by a 5-5 vote.

The audience was heavily populated by landlords and spontaneous applause broke out after the inspection motion failed.

Carlisle Sentinel

The Task Force recommendations did include a number of items that have failed in other jurisdictions or are illegal, including mandatory lease amendments (such matters are governed solely by state law), mandatory registration (which requirements are usually ignored by a substantial percentage of landlords) and a residency requirement. The recommendations also include a voluntary inspection program.

These recommendations will not be considered by Carlisle Borough Council until at least September.

Metal thefts in schools.

Metal theft has increased to the point of threatening this fall's opening of schools in parts of California:




The above films shows that metal theft has become more brazen, the thieves are more knowledgable and are branching into new areas.

In other metal theft news this week, thieves have stolen -

• highway guard rails.


• bronze flower vases attached to cemetary headstones.


• iron sewer grates.


• HVAC parts from a center for cancer stricken children.

As the dollar continues to lose value, any unsecured piece of metal becomes the equivalent of real money in ever widening sectors of the economy. This is a nationwide trend that real estate investors cannot ignore. The ascendency of metal value affects not only the physical safety of buildings, but (most importantly) the fluctuating value of real estate.

Palmyra tables rental registration ordinance.

On Monday (July 25th), Palmyra Borough tabled a proposed rental registration ordinance:

Council President Keith Costello made the motion to table advertising the ordinance, saying he had learned about a study of such laws by the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs.

"We've had a lot of good input from landlords regarding the regulation," he said. "We haven't had any input from tenants. It would be interesting to see what other boroughs are doing in this area, and if there are some good ideas out there that are applicable to our borough we should use them."

H/T Lebanon Daily News

Hazleton Inspection Ordinance tabled; Ordinance 2011-13; Hazleton Area Landlords Association

On Wednesday, July 20, 2011, the Hazleton City Council considered a rental inspection ordinance. The ordinance would have required city inspections of every rental property in the City. The Ordinance was tabled by a unanimous vote of Council after numerous landlords, including the Hazleton Area Landlords Association, brought various facts to the attention of council.

A fair amount of discussion focused on the legal principle that the City could not use a measure like this as an income generator. I believe that Council lost much of their enthusiasm for this proposal when it became apparent that the fees imposed on landlords could not be used to close budget gaps or fund other projects.

Equally disturbing to Council was the news that prior ordinances had not worked. City employees reported to Council during the meeting that the 2006 rental registration ordinance had not been successful in obtaining addresses and registrations from every landlord with property in the city. Hundreds of property owners remain out of compliance with that measure. Council has not found the answer to the question of how the City would be able to conduct inspections of every unit when it could not ensure compliance with a simple registration ordinance.

More information was reported in the Hazleton Standard Speaker.

The following clip is from WYLN.

Metal thefts cause death, power outage and related hardship.

Metal theft continues unabated in recent days and weeks:

• Thieves have stolen $45,000.00 worth of railroad rails in Cambria County.




• Thieves have stolen 18 markers made of copper, brass and bronze from the graves of war heroes in a veterans cemetary in Massachusetts.




• A man died stealing copper from a Duke Energy substation in South Carolina, causing 3,000 people to lose power.

The fire chief in South Carolina referred to the discovery - near the thief's body - of "items that would be used in the metal theft industry, cutters and that type thing."

It is disquieting that metal theft is now referred to as an "industry."