A report from Stuff New Zealand. "It was revealed by the Real Estate Institute this week that, in some parts of Auckland, the median residential property sale price in the six months to the end of March was 30 per cent less than in the same period the year before. Mt Albert had the biggest price slump, followed by Royal Oak. Alistair Helm, a salesperson for Bayleys said it was hard for some sellers to gauge what their property was worth."

"'It is often said that the sellers will never accept the fact that the price they expect for their house has nothing to do with the price they paid for it, the price a neighbour's house sold for, the cost of the improvements they have made or what a friend thought it was worth,' he said. 'The fact is a house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.'"

From Your Investment Property in Australia. "Decreasing values of house-and-land packages are one of the biggest reasons behind Australia’s weak inflation figures, according to a report by the Australian Financial Review. Developers are offering discounts and incentives worth up to $45,000 to boost sales in a market that is now falling drastically."

"'It came from Melbourne. That new project homes in Melbourne are offering large, large discounts is showing up in [Consumer Price Index] numbers,' Kaixin Owyong, National Australia Bank (NAB) economist, told the Australian Financial Review."

The Australian Financial Review. "One in four new home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne is defaulting on their housing lot purchases due mainly to financing and valuation shortfalls, forcing developers to resell these lots in a market where monthly sales rates have hit seven-year lows, new figures show."

"Victoria, the country's biggest greenfield land market, is at the epicentre of the surge in defaults, with its cancellation rate hitting 27 per cent in the first quarter of the year, up from a 12 per cent default rate in the December 2018 quarter and just a 2 per cent fallover rate a year prior, according to land consultancy Research4."

"Research4 director Colin Keane said a cancellation rate above 15 per cent was a 'strong red flag' regarding the mindset of 'home builders and households.' He said some Melbourne buyers were walking away and forfeiting their deposits on lots purchased between March 2018 and March 2019 because they were better off resigning at a lower price supported by the current high-valued incentives that have swept through the market."

"In NSW, the default rate more than doubled to 26 per cent in the March quarter, while in South East Queensland almost one in five lots sales are being cancelled with both markets experiencing much lower sales volumes. The Research4 figures follow February warnings by developer Nigel Satterley that the Melbourne lot default rate was 20-25 per cent 'at a minimum' and forecast a rapid fall in prices that is now occurring."

From Business Today on India. "In the last three years, debt mutual funds had become the de-facto bankers to the fast-growing non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). They accounted for the bulk of the industry's growth capital as public sector banks pulled away from lending due to lack of capital. Now, the chicken has come home to roost as an increasing number of NBFCs face liquidity crunch after a sharp rise in interest cost has hit their repayment ability."

"NBFCs are India's shadow banking sector, well known for aggressive lending practices, especially for small and medium enterprises, home buyers and real estate developers, who have difficulty in borrowing from banks. Now, with the risk of defaults increasing by the day, investors are in a panic mode, much like the lenders."

"'If companies are downgraded, they do have mark-to-market losses. What was looking good till yesterday, can look bad now. It is obviously a sign of panic for investors who have exposure to such companies,' adds Jharna Agarwal, Head - Products, Preferred Business, at Anand Rathi."

The Daily Mail on the UK. "The asking price of a property that appeared on TV's Grand Designs has been slashed by almost £1million in just six months. The owners Bram and Lisa Vis have taken the drastic step after the ultra-modern property with six bedrooms failed to sell."

"The significant reduction has seen the asking price drop from £3.95million in autumn last year to £2.99million today and means the couple are selling the property for less than the project cost to complete. The luxury home on the Isle of Wight was completed in 2014, and featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs the following year."

"During the programme, accountant Bram explained the couple's financial woes, saying: 'The mortgages are not necessarily a problem. Paying them off might be a problem. We are not really worried about that at the moment because we are more worried about getting the money to finish off the house.'"

The Daily Hive on Canada. "With Metro Vancouver’s housing market in the midst of a very apparent slowdown, developers of new projects are increasingly coming up with unique marketing tactics to unload their inventory and stand out from the pack. And an upcoming residential development in Coquitlam is no exception."

"Local developer Woodbridge Homes is offering 'free avocado toast for a year' to buyers of its Kira condominium development at 740 Dogwood Street — near SkyTrain’s Burquitlam Station. The deal, targeted to millennials, is for one avocado toast per week for a year. This is only valid for homes written on opening weekend, up until May 5."

"The clever marketing tactic is a lighthearted retort to an assertion made by Australian property developer Tim Gurner in 2017, when he told 60 Minutes Australia younger generations could afford a home if they lowered their lifestyle expectations and started to save for their future."

"'When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,' he said. 'We’re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high. They want to eat out every day, they want travel to Europe every year. The people that own homes today worked very, very hard for it [and] saved every dollar, did everything they could to get up the property investment ladder.'"

"Most recently in Seattle, which has been experiencing an oversupply in rental housing, many landlords have accompanied their rental property listings with perks of gift cards worth as much as $2,000 plus months of free rent."