It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Tim Manickam, a broker at JMA Properties, said sales in some parts of Portland and Seattle were down around 20 percent. 'I think 40-some percent of homes are having price reductions,' said Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, a broker at Living Room Realty."

"Manickam said he sold a luxury condo in the Pearl District for well over $1 million this spring while the price on a similar unit dropped by 20 percent this fall. 'I had listings in the spring where we had six and 10 and 15 multiple offers where buyers were pushing to buy a house and they are taking a step back,' Manickam told KOIN 6 News. 'There is a limit - there is usually a ceiling of how much they can go and how much they will go. We may be reaching that point today.'"

"According to Redfin, 47 percent of Seattle-area home sellers dropped their prices by an average of $27,539. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather told Lens: 'You’re seeing much more price drops than has been seen in Seattle in the past as nearly half of active listings in Seattle experience a price drop. Earlier this year, it was only 12 percent.'"

"A once-sizzling housing market in West Side communities has cooled in recent months, according to local real estate professionals. Price reductions have become far more common in recent weeks, each of the agents indicated. 'More higher priced houses are left on the market,' noted Bill Mattos at Valley Real Estate in Gustine."

"More homes are on the market and fewer are moving quickly compared to earlier in the year, added Jose Rodriguez, a Newman agent with Allison James Estates and Homes. 'Last year you were seeing multiple offers. It is tough to get a multiple offer property now unless you are selling below market,' he commented."

"A buyer at Muse Residences in Sunny Isles Beach is suing to recover more than $7 million in deposits after alleging the development group misrepresented the size of their condos in marketing materials. The plaintiffs put down deposits in 2014 and 2015 to buy three condos in the planned luxury condo tower at 17100 Collins Avenue, according to the suit."

"Sunny Isles Beach has the highest inventory of high-priced luxury condos in Miami-Dade County, according to a recent report. The beach town just north of Miami Beach is saddled with 17 years of inventory of condos priced at $5 million and up, the report from EWM Realty International said."

"After a screeching halt sometimes comes a crash. This was the year when Canada’s housing market hit the brakes. So what will happen in 2019? In Vancouver, realtor Steve Saretsky sees a 'full-blown buyer’s market' with prices that will continue to trend lower for detached homes, condos and townhomes alike."

"When sellers fixate on 'old peak prices,' they usually end up having to 'chase the market down,' watching their asking price gradually fall, he said. 'If you are actually keen on selling, you have to be ahead of the market,' and possibly anticipate future prices declines, he added."

"Apartment units in projects nearing completion are selling for up to 25% less than the reserved value, the news agency reports, citing broker MyLondonHome as a source. 'Those vendors that have sold at a loss are hidden from the public eye,' said MyLondonHome managing director Andrew Griffith."

"These numbers fail to be represented in official government housing data, as only the original price agreed when the market was in boom mode is recorded."

"The market that only ever seemed to go up has started to turn lately. Buyers from mainland China—which accounted for around a quarter of luxury apartment purchases in Hong Kong last year according to Centaline—may also be tightening their purse strings as the Chinese economy decelerates."

"A housing-price index compiled by property agent Centaline has dropped 5% from its August peak. The aggregate number probably doesn’t reflect the market’s gloomy sentiment—prices in some housing estates have fallen more than 10% in just the past month. Turnover has dried up, indicating buyers are still waiting for homeowners to slash prices further."

"Over the past four weekends, more than 1100 properties across the city have failed to sell at auction across Sydney. But after a nine percent fall in house prices this year, the Domain research shows Sydney will face a further decline of about one percent next year, before growing by around four percent in 2020."

"'They have to be as optimistic as they can be, and may not publish what all of the scenarios are. They don't want to incite panic unnecessarily,' Hal Pawson, Associate Director at the City Futures Research Centre told 10 daily."

"Pawson said while there's a lot of focus on property prices, what often goes unreported is the number of properties changing hands. He said government figures shows that turnover has dropped a lot in NSW. In the second quarter of 2018, 27,000 homes changed hands. That's 15 percent lower than the year before."

"Growth of U.S. home prices will slow sharply next year along with economic momentum, according to a Reuters poll of property experts who largely said turnover in the housing market has peaked. The latest Reuters poll is the third in a row where analysts cut their existing-home sales forecasts."

"'The magnitude and speed at which home sales have weakened is surprising, following just a three-quarter of a percentage point rise in mortgage rates. We suspect the problem is a lack of affordable product in the markets where potential home buyers would like to live,' wrote Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, in a note to clients."