A report from Bloomberg. "Toll Brothers Inc.'s new home orders dropped 24 percent in the fiscal first quarter, the steepest annual decline for the biggest U.S. luxury homebuilder since the depths of the housing crash in 2010. Orders fell 62 percent in California, where Toll has a heavy focus. 'It was worse than anybody was looking for,' said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Drew Reading. 'It has become very clear that the higher end of the market has been weaker than the lower end.'"

From The Blast. "Those looking to scoop up an iconic piece of real estate in the mountains of Santa Barbara may be in for a treat because Michael Jackson‘s infamous former residence is back on the market after getting a price slash. The King of Pop’s former ranch in Los Olivos is back on the market for $31 million — a staggering $36 million price in reduction."

"The 6-bed, 7-bath ranch was originally listed for $100 million in 2015, but was dropped to $67 million two years later."

From Mansion Global. "For Karina Nasir, leaving California for this booming Las Vegas suburb was the chance to escape commutes up to three hours. For Bill Clune, it is saving nearly $5,000 a year on his water bill. For John Falkenthal, the opportunity to have some money left over every month after paying his mortgage."

"'I never even considered leaving Southern California, but it took me every dime I had to buy a home there,' said the 54-year-old Mr. Falkenthal, a software engineer who moved to Henderson from San Diego last October."

"The outflow has accelerated lately. Net migration to other parts of the U.S. from the nation’s largest state was more than 100,000 in 2015, 2016 and 2017, according to the Census Bureau. Total emigration from California to other states between 2006 and 2017 was 1.24 million, according to the Census Bureau, third highest in the nation behind only New York and Illinois."

"'They’re moving out of the state for less expensive housing," said Mohamed Hassan, a real-estate broker in Woodland Hills, Calif., who helped three clients sell their homes last year to relocate elsewhere."

"At the 1,300-acre MacDonald Highlands in the dusty bluffs overlooking Las Vegas, Californians accounted for about 70% of purchases in 2018, compared with 30% 20 years ago, said Rich MacDonald, the developer. He said he began increasing the share of his marketing targeting Californians over the past three years after seeing the run-up in housing costs there."

"'They’re tired of getting their pockets picked,' Mr. MacDonald said."

"Mr. Falkenthal initially looked for a house in San Diego after selling his former home following a divorce three years ago. But his half of the proceeds, about $250,000, would have paid for only a small townhouse or condo in the coastal area where he lived, he said. Instead, he bought a three-bedroom, two-story house in Henderson in October for $416,000."

"Average housing prices in the Las Vegas metro area rose to $278,000 in 2019 from $120,000 in 2012, according to Zillow. The increase has pressured some locals looking to buy, but 47% of Vegas-area residents can still afford it, said Jeremy Aguero, principal of Nevada consulting firm Applied Analysis. That is down from 88% after the last recession, he said."