It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "What do these latest developments in Jamaica and Flushing mean for the rest of Queens? 'What we’re seeing is a shift in the market. We’re starting to see inventory building up, days on market increasing, pricing is good,' said Donna Rubertone, manager of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty’s Bayside-Flushing office. 'In the last year we’ve seen a shift from a sellers market to a buyers market. Buyers are more particular about pricing. They don’t want to over-buy.'"

"For several years, Atlanta has been considered a seller’s market with potential buyers sometimes bidding against each other. But late last year, the power started tilting slowly back toward buyers – and that shift has continued. 'The market is beginning to look more balanced for both buyers and sellers,' said broker Torrence Ford. 'Sellers can still expect to sell in 21 days or less if their home is priced right and buyers are still able to get concessions from sellers.'"

"The median sales price for single-family homes in Boulder County dropped 3.1% to $610,000 last month from $629,500 in May 2018. The longer a home or a condo stays on the market, there’s a strong likelihood of a reduction in the asking price, he said Neil Kearney, owner of Kearney Realty in Boulder."

"'We are not seeing gains or losses. We are seeing a stagnation,' said Kelly Moye, former president of the Boulder Area Realtor Association."

"The Westport real estate market is experiencing what we call a bit of an 'off year.' The average list price is down approximately $33,000 from a year ago to $2,033,771 and the median price is at $1,450,000, which is also just under $200,000 from this same time last year. In the last 30 days, just over 40% of our entire inventory has taken a reduction. It’s time to dismiss the thought that a reduction in price points to desperation; it indicates an acknowledgment of the current market."

"Pop star Gwen Stefani slashed the price of her multi-house megamansion again, this time by $4 million, for a total of $10 million less than its original listing price in 2017. Now, she is asking $24.99 million for her quirky home in Beverly Hills, California."

"Homebuying in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa fell 20.3% in what was Orange County slowest nine months of sales since 2012. For nine consecutive months through April, CoreLogic housing stats show countywide sales failing to top the year-ago period. Builders sold 3,114 residences vs. 4,013 a year earlier, a decline of 22.4% in 12 months."

"The slowdown in residential real estate across England and Wales is persisting, with properties lingering longer on the market in June, according to a report. 'When a significant proportion of potential buyers begin to believe that prices will be lower in the future, a standoff is created: purchases are delayed, transaction volumes plummet and vendors become increasingly frustrated,' said Doug Shephard, director at Home.co.uk. 'Typically, some will break ranks and lower their asking prices, and there begins the price correction. News of falling prices only serves to convince more buyers to wait and see.'"

"Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist of RICS, confirmed that 'although the growth of the Portuguese economy has gained new momentum in the first months of 2019, the housing market seems to be losing momentum. Since consumer confidence levels remain relatively strong, this loss of momentum suggests the influence of other factors, such as the financial capacity for access to housing.'"

"The real estate sector in the country is currently going through a tough phase. The number of stuck housing projects has gone up since April 2019 and hundreds of developers are behind bars or are out on bail for not delivering homes on time, according to a recent report."

"Shobit Agarwal, CEO of Anarock Capital pointed out that all the projects were not stuck because of capital shortage. 'If the project is doing well and it is only the capital which is required I think there are solutions to it. The problem comes when the projects are unviable, may be because selling price has gone down, sales have gone down or there are legal issues related to approvals,' he opined."

"The retired Albertan owners sold the unit because of the new empty homes taxes, listing agent Ian Watt says. They had used it for 11 years as a vacation home, but were looking at about $26,000 in extra taxes. 'Albertans are leaving because they can’t afford the empty homes tax. They figure, ‘Why not stay in a hotel?’ Mr. Watt says."

"When Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell proposed a 1% tax on vacant residential properties to encourage owners to rent them out, the city was estimating a housing vacancy rate of 3% to 5% for Oahu. But data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest an even bigger share of Oahu’s residences — more like 10% — are vacant."

"The census’ most recent American Community Survey, covering 2013 to 2017, estimates Oahu had approximately 346,000 housing units, and just under 35,000 were vacant. And many more condo units have been built since then. Hawaii’s property taxes are among the nation’s lowest, said Gavin Thornton, executive director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, which creates an incentive for people to buy Honolulu real estate as an investment – even if the properties sit vacant most of the time."

"'It doesn’t make sense, given the housing crisis we have, to allow this inefficiency to exist in the housing market,' Thornton said. 'I think the only people who are going to have a problem with this are the people who want to see housing prices go up,” he said of the proposed tax."

"God did not descend upon Los Angeles and evict tens of thousands of poor people from their homes because He/She/It/They had some grand design for Los Angeles. Garcetti’s Manhattanization Mania did that. Today, we learn that the city of Los Angeles has 110,000 vacant apartments."

"Two points: This is not new news. -- April 21, 2016, Zwartz Talk, Help Los Angeles Now!!! 2) It is impossible to have a housing shortage and 110,000 vacant apartments! One hundred and ten thousand apartments can house over 220,000 people. When we have six times more apartment space than we have homeless people, we do not need to build a single new unit."