A Stop at Willoughby [Part 2]

A deeper dive into what’s going on in Coeur d’Alene… [Gilder's Daily Prophecy] May 06, 2021 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( | [ARCHIVES]( External Advertisement Free Ticker From Jeff Brown [jeff brown, click to play]( could be the biggest financial event of our lifetime… And Jeff Brown’s giving away the name and stock ticker of a company on the ground floor. [Click Here To See It.]( [Warning] Do you enjoy receiving Gilder's Daily Prophecy? Please [Click Here Now]( so we know to continue sending you Gilder's Daily Prophecy for free! A Stop at Willoughby [Part 2] [George Gilder]Dear Daily Prophecy Reader, If you missed part 1, [go here]( to catch up now. Keep scrolling to read a deeper dive into John Schroeter’s recent “otherworldly” experience in Idaho… You can imagine our elation at the easy, mindless, otherwise totally taken-for-granted experience of simply walking into a diner for a burger in pre-COVID fashion. Now, this actually turned out to be the norm. Walk any street in my hometown, and maybe you’ll encounter 2% of the population going without face coverings. In Coeur d’Alene, you can reverse that ratio. It was a mind-blowing experience. Normal life. Imagine that! A stroll down to the city’s gorgeous lakefront park played witness to rowdy rugby game, a crowded outdoor restaurant and bar, numerous picnics, buskers, kids navigating their bicycles while holding onto their fishing poles, and people out walking and playing everywhere. It was then that I was struck with the image of Willoughby. And got thinking about the real estate here. Until we hit the crash test of reality. A Seller’s Market For a town whose economy was built on mining and logging — but today is driven largely by tourism — it’s surprising to learn that Coeur d’Alene is now the No. 1 market for real estate in the entire country. Housing prices have exploded, with the median price up nearly 50% in these past few months against an extremely short supply. Every listing gets 30 offers, I’m told. Where is all this crazy demand coming from? Mostly Seattle and Los Angeles. In fact, half the buyers flooding the area hail from LA. No question, the work-from-home paradigm, combined with increasing virtualization generally, means people are no longer tethered to a physical location; many of us can now live and work where we choose. And many are choosing to get out of the city. And when they migrate to small towns like Coeur d’Alene, they also bring boatloads of cash that gets infused into the local economy. If you’re selling or developing real estate, this is without question the best of times. For the rest, well, maybe not so much. And the future? That too is a mixed bag. Let’s just say that after a brief survey of the situation, we’ve abandoned any romantic notions of buying into this market. For two reasons... First, this bubble is sure to burst. All those desperate beach-tanned Californians have yet to winter here. Might there be some disillusionment emerging on the near horizon? And then there is the massive building boom in housing, which could restore some level of equilibrium, if not create an oversupply. In any case, without a sustaining productive basis for a growing economy, people, in their panic, are clearly buying high. A good number of them will also be selling low. On the other hand, if people are migrating to this part of the country out of disgust with the incessantly covidious environment in many cities, it might be worth it. It’s clear, though, that they too will soon become disillusioned. Why? Again, two reasons. First, this region is an anomaly whose defining characteristics are fast washing out. There is certainly something special in the DNA of these Idahoans that imparts a certain grit. Push their sense of freedom and independence, and you’d better believe they’ll push back. But sadly, the state government does not have their backs. Not by a longshot. [Copy of Official Approval Enclosed (tech)]( External Advertisement [Vanguard: “This Will Be #1 Investment of 2020s”]( [Blueprint]( wasn’t reported in the mainstream media... But the world’s largest investment fund — Vanguard — just put a team of Ph.D.s and top-gun finance experts together with one goal: [To discover what will become the biggest mega trend of the near future.]( They poured over 2 BILLION data points… [And found the technology inside this little-known machine [CLICK HERE TO SEE IT] will be bigger than artificial intelligence, 5G, blockchain, robotics or any other next generation technology…]( And well, we’ve already been talking about this…so we have to agree… This could [launch the #1 investment opportunity of the 2020s…]( [Why Google, Apple, Facebook are teaming up?]( The Harsh Reality A brief perusal of the state’s website reveals a covidious Governor Brad Little advocating for the full suite of protocols — masks, distancing, crowd size limitations, COVID testing. A prominent banner announces, “Anyone age 16 or older can get vaccinated in Idaho. Thank you to everyone who chooses to protect our communities by getting the COVID-19 vaccine!” Likewise, downstate in Boise, Micron, the region’s largest employer, is fully bought into the COVID narrative, going above and beyond with a full spectrum of interventions, protocols, and mandates, as is Boise State University. In other words, those running the state and the state’s largest businesses and institutions have drunk deeply from the bottomless well of the COVID Kool-Aid. And they will be aided and abetted by the corporate big boxes that are also flooding the state — and Coeur d’Alene in particular — to meet this sudden surge in consumer demand. If you work for any of these organizations, you will be required to mask up and submit to regular testing. And increasingly, they’ll wield their power and influence to compel their shoppers and constituents do likewise. Also, perhaps more troubling, is that these droves of newcomers lack that special Northern Idaho DNA. In other words, when the going gets tough, they’ll be the first to fold. And there will be so many more of them. Following this scenario to its logical conclusion, you might as well just have stayed in Washington or California to fight the fight on your own turf. All this is to say the greater Coeur d’Alene area is undergoing a massive and accelerated demographic and socio-political-economic transformation from both within and without. The refreshing freedom we experienced? It won’t last. You can see fading fast. It’s palpable. And it’s sad. The die-hard natives of this amazing region simply won’t be able to withstand such a massive invasion. One bright teenager we met was already lamenting the loss of her beloved small town. Which brings us back to the Twilight Zone. Today’s Prophecy When Gart awakens from his nap-induced adventure, he finds himself back on his normal train in his current not-so-pleasant reality. The lovely memory of the warm sunny summertime of Willoughby is quickly popped by the bite of winter. Sparing the spoiler on the episode’s clever conclusion for those who haven’t seen it, we cut to Rod Serling’s poignant summation: “Willoughby? Maybe it's wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind, or maybe it's the last stop in the vast design of things — or perhaps, for a man like Mr. Gart Williams, who climbed on a world that went by too fast, it's a place around the bend where he could jump off. Willoughby? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity, and is a part of The Twilight Zone.” Indeed, like Gart Williams’ Willoughby, Coeur d’Alene’s resistance to the COVID mandates may also turn out to be just a dream, a fleeting illusion. Whatever the case, in the meantime, we’ve returned with an equally abrupt awakening of our own to the chilly winter reality of Seattle. And it’s May. Regards, [John Schroeter] John Schroeter Senior Analyst, Gilder's Daily Prophecy External Advertisement Incredible 2nd Chance: Get-in Early On Crypto Tech [open computer with multiple visible fans]( is likely your LAST chance to get in early on crypto tech. [Get the details before a potential gov’t announcement could make this tech mainstream]( [Three founders Publishing]( To end your Gilder's Daily Prophecy e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Gilder's Daily Prophecy, feel free to [click here](. If you are having trouble receiving your Gilder's Daily Prophecy subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox by [whitelisting Gilder's Daily Prophecy](. Gilder's Daily Prophecy is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. 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