A report from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "A Toronto-area real estate development company that in recent months has cancelled two condominium projects has filed for court protection from its creditors after failing to make payments on about $220-million in debt obligations. The fate of two more condo projects, one completed but not closed and one at least partly pre-sold to buyers, remains undetermined."

"The appraised value for all the properties is more than $354-million, but Forme owes tens of millions of dollars in mortgage debt to dozens of banks, credit unions, alternative lenders and individuals. In addition to the mortgages, dozens of suppliers are owed millions in fees and payments. About a dozen real estate brokerages are collectively owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions for some of the projects."

From The Guardian in the UK. "Home prices in some of Britain’s wealthiest areas have had up to 25% wiped off their value in 12 months as Brexit turmoil continues, according to the estate agent Your Move. That has meant typical price falls in some cases of almost £500,000."

"The average house price in Kensington and Chelsea, the UK’s most expensive place to buy a home, dropped by more than a fifth (21.2%), during the last 12 months, from £2.25m to £1.77m. In Westminster, the second most expensive area, typical prices fell by a quarter (24.8%), from £1.93m to £1.45m. Other London boroughs said to have experienced double-digit price falls over the past year include Hammersmith and Fulham, where the average property value dropped 19%, from £1.08m to £873,000, Camden (down 11.5%) and Tower Hamlets (down 11.3%)."

The Nikkei Asian Review. "The economic downturn in China and the darkening global outlook have reversed the momentum in Asia's property markets, giving homebuyers painful whiplash and raising fears of spillover effects on consumer spending."

"Eason Shao is one condo buyer caught by the sudden shift. For about six months last year, he repeatedly signed up for 'housing lotteries' in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, determined to purchase an apartment where he could start a family. Developers had introduced the lotteries in big cities in late 2017, as the number of buyers had far exceeded the available units during a three-year property frenzy."

"Shao would get up at 6 a.m. and join long lines of hopefuls outside a local bank. The eighth time was the charm for Shao. His number was finally called in October. Then, only a few months later, the rush died down. Shao heard that people were buying more attractive homes in better locations without going through a lottery at all. 'Of course I'm a bit disappointed,' he said. 'But I made the best decision I could manage back then.'"

"In Hong Kong, owners are grudgingly adjusting to a cruel reality in which homes are increasingly being sold at a loss. A huge influx of mainland capital was one reason Hong Kong's residential prices more than tripled after 2009. 'Hong Kong's almost 10-year housing market bull run looks like it is coming to an end,' said Joseph Tsang, executive director at Jones Lang LaSalle in the city."

"In Japan, housing prices in some Tokyo suburbs are falling sharply as buyers become pickier. In early January, the price of a condo in the Eravio Todoroki development just 30 minutes from the central Tokyo Station business district was cut by 13%, to 59.8 million yen ($550,000). 'We started to sell this apartment a year and a half ago, but it was taking too long,' said a manager with developer Dynacel 'We wanted to sell out all the units to avoid additional operating costs.'"

"Thailand is also tightening its lending criteria for housing loans this year, aiming to rein in household debt. The country is concerned about the rising ratio of nonperforming housing loans, which stood at 3.37% at the end of September, according to the Bank of Thailand."

From Domain News in Australia. "Sydney’s median house price has dropped almost $120,000 in the past year as the city faces its steepest property downturn in decades, new figures show. 'House prices have fallen 11. 4 per cent from the mid-2017 peak, pushing them back to mid-2016 levels,' said Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell. 'It’s the sharpest downturn in more than two decades, although the duration is yet to surpass the 2004-06 slump.'"

"Double-digit declines are already widespread, with an annual drop of more than 10 per cent seen in regions including the inner-city and eastern suburbs, inner-west, north-west, south and Canterbury/Bankstown. The south was hardest hit, with the median price dropping 14.8 per cent — a fall Dr Powell attributed to a dramatic increase in the number of houses for sale last year."

"ANZ’s head of Australian economics David Plank said for price falls to remain below 20 per cent, the pace of decline would need to slow. 'If we continue to see prices decline in the order of 1 per cent per month, we’ll exceed our forecast for [a 15 to 20 per cent] peak to trough fall,' Mr Plank said. 'I don’t really see any signs, certainly in the next six months that prices will stop falling.'"

From Stuff in New Zealand. "Plans for two new Christchurch apartment towers promising million-dollar homes have been dropped, with a slow market getting the blame. When they first hit the market in 2016, the 14 apartments were priced at $1.6m and up. Advertising for the vacant site is headed 'Owner needs to liquidate.'"