It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "New data from Realtor.com offers the clearest sign yet that home price relief might finally be on the way for prospective homebuyers on the West Coast. Median listings prices in markets across California, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon saw year-over-year declines in November, and when listings prices are lower, sale prices usually follow suit."

"The largest active listings median price drop in November came in Denver, where the drop was just shy of 12 percent, followed by Salinas, California, at 7.31 percent, Boulder, Colorado at 6.24 percent, and Santa Rosa, California, at 6.17 percent. These dips reflect realtors’ belief that homes will begin selling for less than they did a year ago."

"San Jose had the highest jump in active listings year over year by a whopping 160.3 percent. Denver also saw a huge spike in active listings year over year at 122.9 percent. Santa Rosa jumped by 64.1 percent. San Francisco saw a 58.3 percent jump in active listings year over year."

"As the housing market continues to cool, sellers are cutting prices to entice buyers -- some by more than $1 million. The value of California homes is declining. Even in pricey Silicon Valley, values peaked earlier this year. Certified appraiser Bob Thompson of Reese, Thompson & Associates located in Campbell said that he's seen a drop of 10 to 15 percent on homes appraised by his company."

"So who's ready to deal? Plenty of sellers around California Patch communities are dropping the asking price on their homes."

"Ever dreamt of living in a million-dollar home? Well, this is the time to strike. But wait, aren't house prices rising in the Twin Cities, I hear you say? 'One high-producing colleague has sent me six individual 'price reduction notices' in the last three months – every reduction was at least $300K, two were more than $500K. Quarter and even half million dollar reductions – in one swoop!' said Larry LaVercombe, of Lakes Area Realty."

"Metro Denver’s housing market looked like it had regained its footing in October after stumbling in September. But last month, home sales hit another icy patch, according to the monthly market trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Compared to November of last year, the inventory is up a big 46.7 percent."

"'I think everyone agreed that the downward shift in the market that started mid-year continued in November,' Jill Schafer, chair of the DMAR market trends committee, said in the report."

"The buzz, or lack of buzz, about real estate conditions tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Earlier this year, when Kelowna’s housing market was hot, people speculated, momentum built, sales were brisk and prices escalated. The road bumps of higher mortgage interest rates, talk of a speculation tax and an overheated market led people to take a breather, and the market faltered with flagging sales and weakening prices."

"In November, the average selling price of a single-family detached home, which is considered the benchmark, was $650,785. That’s down only 3.5 per cent from the average of $674,624 in the same month the year before. However, it’s a nosedive from the record high earlier in the year of $782,398 in July."

"Rio Ferdinand made a huge loss on his plush mansion in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, slashing the price by an incredible fifty percent as he tried to offload the family home he once shared with his late wife. The former Manchester United footballer originally put the vast house, which he purchased for £2.5million at the height of his Manchester United career in 2003, up for sale at £4.5million. According to The Sun after another price drop to £3million, he dropped it again to £2million for the sale earlier this year."

"The footballer joins a host of celebrities who have faced difficulties selling their homes. In December 2016 footballer Raheem Sterling took his £1.2m Birkdale, Merseyside mansion off the market after failing to find a buyer for over a year. The home originally went on the market for £1.5m in August 2015 but the price was slashed to £1.2m - £50k less than he paid - in March of that year."

"A third of all sellers in Britain reduced the asking price of their houses in 2017, the highest amount since the 2012 recession."

"Hong Kong home prices saw the steepest drop in the last decade, down by as much as 20% from the August peak and look to drop by another 10% in 2019 amid poor sentiment. In fact, the decline in home prices has accelerated since August, with the price of representative estates such as City One Shatin and Taikoo Shing dropping by 20.0% and 15.7% respectively as of December, whereas Residence Bel-Air and The Harbourside have dropped by 11.3% and 14.0% respectively over the same period."

"In other words, the gains in prices recorded during 2018 have been erased for many estates."

"Fall is traditionally peak season for consumption and investment in China, hence the phrase 'Golden September and Silver October'. For the real estate sector, this is supposed to mean two months of upbeat property sales. This year many real estate developers struggled through what some media gleefully dubbed a 'Copper September and Iron October'."

"This slowdown in sales was largely a result of government attempts to cool China’s bubbling property market, combined with broader headwinds to growth like trade tensions and a credit squeeze."

"Copper and iron may lack the rich sheen of a precious metal, but they’re still worth something. Next year may be far worse. China Vanke Co. Ltd., one the country’s biggest developers, recently said 'survival' was the ultimate goal for the next three years. China International Capital Corp., the largest state-backed investment bank in China, expects a 'year of recession' in real estate in 2019."

"Industry pundits may have to think of some even cheaper materials to express their disappointment come next fall."

"Robert Mellor, managing director of BIS Economics, says median house prices are unlikely to drop lower than 15 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne, with a fall beyond that degree unprecedented. He says the biggest threat, however, comes from the impact of such drops on investor sentiment. With prospective buyers spooked out of the market, he says, the current downturn could be prolonged."

"'If you start talking about annualised figures of 7 or 8 per cent, someone sitting there and making a decision, as an investor or even as an owner-occupier, you’d sit on your hands because there is the feeling of, ‘Well, how much further is this going to fall?'"

"Frank Gelber, chief economist at BIS Economics, highlighted the risk of increased regulation, as investor sentiment is fundamental in driving median house prices, which greatly impacts the rise and fall of the market. 'The structural difference is that now investors won’t come back,' he said."

"'Last downturn in Sydney took nine years, and we were sitting there saying, ‘The market is undersupplied. We need to build more, but prices are below development costs,' he said. 'You couldn’t build anything until we saw price rises, and it was Chinese investors that drove that upswing, and then we all joined in.'"