It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "'California has some of the highest taxes — the highest [priced] housing in the country,' said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. 'So what you're seeing first is... a slowdown in sales activity. Markets like the Hamptons, Manhattan, and most of the metro area have seen sales decline on a year-over-year basis for anywhere between four and six consecutive quarters. Pricing, you know, comes after that.'"

"'Recent trends in Connecticut have seen far too many homes for sale; that glut of housing depressed the median sale price,' said Cassidy Norton, a spokeswoman with The Warren Group. The median year-to-date sale price for single-family homes in Fairfield County fell by $25,000 or 5.7 percent to $415,000."

"In the city of Boston, condo sales were down 10.1 percent through April, and the median price was off 3.2 percent, down from $640,000 to $619,500. That’s despite some more positive signs for the local condo market, like a 12.5 percent bump in new listings year to date. 'Sellers and agents alike are starting to get nervous, but overall I think it will ultimately lead to more transactions,' said Josh Stephens, vice president at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Warren Residential."

"In a sign that not even stunning, and secluded, celebrity homes are immune to the softening in the luxury market, the price of Bruce Willis' Bedford Corners estate has been reduced, from $9,500,000 to $8,695,000 according to the multiple listing service. It originally went on the market for $12,950,000. Willis and his wife Emma Hemming purchased the two-parcel estate in 2014 for $12 million."

"Real-estate experts estimate that there are about 50 ultra high-end spec houses under construction in the area, from Beverly Hills to Bel-Air and Brentwood. Now, there are simply too many, and not enough buyers to go around. 'It’s created its own monster,' says Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency. 'We have an enormous oversupply of these white boxes. There’s years of inventory out there.'"

"Buyers know they have the upper hand. 'People are making lowball offers,' says Mr. Shapiro. 'They’re not being shy.'"

"Marin home prices sagged 6.5% in April amid flat sales. 'Housing inventory has definitely increased and it is not the seller’s market of last year,' said Marin real estate professional Kathy Schlegel. 'Buyers have much more from which to choose and we are seeing homes sitting on the market longer, and more price reductions than in 2018.

"Luxury real estate sales are slowing in a number of markets across North America and abroad. From the Hamptons in New York to Vancouver to London, sales are down and inventory is up. This 10,000-square foot mansion in the Chicago suburbs was originally listed for $9.5 million in March 2013; six years later, it sold for $2.97 million."

"A 10,000-square-foot West Vancouver property sold recently for C$8 million (US$5.93 million), way down from its asking price of C$16.88 million. And in London, an American hedge fund manager paid £95 million (US$119.61 million) for a 20,000-square foot property near Buckingham Palace—down from its initial ask of £145 million."

"This palatial home in West Vancouver was listed for $16.8 million in 2016 and sold in spring 2019 for $8 million. On the same block, a seven-bedroom mansion was purchased by an investment group in 2015 for $11.98 million. It was listed in summer 2018 for $12.88 million but failed to sell, and relisted in April this year for $9.5 million. The home sold 10 days later – at $5.5 million. Not such a great investment, after all."

"Ylva Hedén Westerdahl, head of forecasting at the National Institute of Economic Research, said Swedes should not think today's good times will continue forever. Another big worry is whether the large numbers of newly built houses shortly to come onto the market will be sold. 'The question is how they are going to be sold,' Westerdahl said. 'Overproduction means that housing investments and prices could fall even more.'"

"Six per cent of Auckland sales were for a loss in the quarter, up from 5.2 per cent at the end of last year. Corelogic senior research analyst Kelvin Davidson said it was not surprising when values had been flat in Auckland for a couple of years and were falling in some parts of the city. The west coast of the South Island had the highest proportion of loss-making deals. There, 34.6 per cent of the Grey District's transactions and 27.9 of Buller's were for a loss."

"'Many investors are now facing losses in their property values. We see it in markets across Sydney, Melbourne, units in Brisbane, Cairns, regional hubs and Canberra units to name a few,' said Property commentator Anna Porter. 'If we look at Wollongong for example, the units in Mangerton contracted by 43.9 per cent. The mining city of Kalgoorlie has been hit hard in recent years, and according to my report, the nearby town of Kambalda has seen house prices fall up to 35 per cent.'"

"A growing number of Australians are at risk of being crushed beneath the rate of their mortgages, and now the areas most at risk have been pinpointed. 'During the last boom a lot of people overstretched themselves to get into a rising housing market, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, and many did so with small deposits,' said Sally Tindall, director of research at RateCity.com.au."

"'The falling property market isn’t helping. If people overstretched themselves or used a small deposit, your house being worth less could trap them in what we call ‘mortgage prison’. They can’t refinance their loans,' she said."

"Ms Tindall said the risk of mortgage prison, where households are stuck in their existing arrangements despite lower rate alternatives being on offer, will become more common. 'The longer the market continues to fall, the more people it will trap,' she said."