A report from the Wall Street Journal. "New York’s high-rise developers may soon lose a popular source of cheap funding. U.S. immigration authorities published on Wednesday a new rule that will make it tougher for real-estate developers to fund their projects through a program known as EB-5. 'It’s the nail in the coffin,' said Nicholas Mastroianni II, the chief executive of the EB-5 regional center U.S. Immigration Fund."

"Gary Friedland, a scholar-in-residence at New York University Stern School of Business who has studied the EB-5 program, said he was surprised that an administration with ties to the real-estate industry is changing the program. 'Since Trump took office, we’ve been predicting that the regulations would be buried in regulatory purgatory, never completed,' he said."

The New York Times. "The relentless march of tall buildings that has spread across New York has overtaken Yorkville, as the Second Avenue subway, the city’s newest transit line, attracts new settlers and makes the neighborhood particularly enticing to developers. A dozen glass towers with prices or rents as lavish as their amenities have opened in the past five years or are nearing completion. Another dozen building projects have started construction or are on the drawing boards."

"'Everyone in the city who cares about the cultural identity of their neighborhood should be watching Yorkville as a warning sign,' said City Councilman Ben Kallos, a grandson of Jewish Hungarian immigrants whose district includes Yorkville. 'The last thing a residential neighborhood needs is more glass towers for billionaires.'"

"The ever-taller architecture is certainly transforming the neighborhood’s look. 'The sky is disappearing,' said Irene Merbo, a retired nursing administrator who was born in the neighborhood in 1933."

From Boston.com on Massachusetts. "US home purchases by foreign buyers dropped a staggering 36 percent between April 2018 and March, from $121 billion to $77.9 billion, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. The slowdown included home purchases made by both nonresident foreigners and recent immigrants or visa holders, and was evident across the board: US real estate purchases by citizens of Canada, China, Mexico, India, and Britain were all down from a year ago."

"But the drop in Chinese buyers was the most dramatic, plunging 56 percent: from $30.4 billion in 2018 (and $31.7 billion the year prior) to $13.4 billion. 'Chinese buyers have dramatically reduced their real estate investments and purchases in Boston,' said Patty Chen, president of PattyC Property Group in Wellesley, a full-service brokerage that helps Asian entrepreneurs invest in US real estate. 'While there are many who are still interested in looking at properties, there are fewer people closing deals since 2017.'"

"Tom Truong, president of the Asian Real Estate Association of America , said local members haven’t seen much of a change this year, noting that a slowdown in Chinese investment was already underway. 'The effect started about two to three years ago when the Chinese government really clamped down on money coming out of China to the US,' Truong said."

"Pamela Cushing, of Douglas Elliman’s Live in Luxury team, has witnessed the same phenomenon at downtown luxury developments like Millennium Tower. However, while larger units are still selling to full-time residents, she’s noticed one-bedrooms lingering on the market for longer than usual this year. 'Usually those would be scooped up by an international buyer, either an investor or someone whose son or daughter is coming to school here,' she said. This year, she added, those students are more likely to be seeking a rental unit in the building."

"Marie Presti, owner/broker at The Presti Group in Newton, added that she’s typically helped at least one and often up to three foreign buyers each year, mostly through referrals from other international clients. 'And this year I haven’t had any,' she said. 'I don’t know if that means anything; it’s very anecdotal.'"

The Miami Herald in Florida. "At last — Miami-Dade’s spiraling housing costs may be on the verge of cooling down a bit. Those are among the key findings of the 2019 Miami Herald Real Residential Real Estate Survey, which is now in its fifth year. One hundred of Miami-Dade’s top brokers, agents, analysts and experts from all price points were interviewed in English and Spanish to gain their insights into the current housing market. The interviews were anonymous, so respondents could speak freely and candidly."

"On the downside, when it comes to buying, Brickell was the neighborhood most respondents said they’d avoid altogether. Brickell also placed second on the list of most overvalued neighborhoods, with a median per square foot price of $491 — higher than the Miami median of $417, according to Zillow. Miami Beach was named most overvalued neighborhood for the third year in a row, with a median per square foot price of $502."

"'From an investor perspective, Brickell is a no-go zone, simply because of the amount of oversupply that exists,' said Peter Zalewski, a principal with CondoVultures.com. 'The cost of a condo there is so rich that landlords are having to subsidize their tenants, because the rents won’t cover the monthly costs. Before there was no alternative if you wanted to live in downtown. Suddenly there are a lot of alternatives and they are more competitive, too. The days of the Brickell landlords ruling over all are gone, just like the Spanish conquistadors.'"

"'For the three months ending June 2019, the average closed sale price for a single-family home priced above $1 million was 81 percent of its original asking price, compared to 87 percent for the same period one year earlier,' said Ron Shuffield, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty. 'The average price reduction of a luxury condo, from its original list price to its final sale price, registered a decrease of 6 percent, to 82 percent for the three months ending June 30, 2019.'"