A report from Bloomberg. "The trustee representing bondholders who invested $250 million in a luxury dorm at the University of Oklahoma accused the college Monday of breaking a promise to lease retail and parking spaces over the 40-year term of the bonds. Bonds issued in 2017 to finance the 1,230-bed complex known as Cross Village, which had a 27% occupancy rate at the end of March, lost a third of their value after the university terminated the agreement."

"'Major mutual funds, which aim to judiciously invest ordinary peoples’ valued savings and pension monies, lent $250 million based on the belief that the University would honor its obligations and not unnecessarily jeopardize Oklahoma’s standing in the municipal market,' Arent Fox, the law firm hired by UMB, said in the letter. 'This belligerent act sends a loud and clear message to the marketplace and business community. YOU CANNOT TRUST AND SHOULD NOT DO BUSINESS OR BUY BONDS OF THE UNIVERSITY OR THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA.'"

"Colleges from Texas A&M to Kean University in New Jersey have tapped non-profits to finance student housing in an effort to hold down debt as they cope with declining state aid and pressure to limit tuition increases. The University of Oklahoma case highlights the risk of projects that rely on third-party support and recalls a decision by Michigan to terminate a lease in a bond-financed building after four years, leading to a default in 2017, according to Municipal Market Analytics."

From Mansion Global on Florida. "Buyers are getting another crack at Mariano Rivera’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom home in Tampa, Florida. The former New York Yankees relief pitcher’s custom-built home hit the market Wednesday for $3.5 million, according to listing agent Jennifer Fieo of RE/MAX Alliance Group. But it isn’t the first time Mr. Rivera, 49, and his wife, Clara, have tried to sell it."

"In March 2017, it was listed for $5.99 million, Mansion Global reported. That price was already a 33% drop from 2010, when it was listed for $8.9 million, according to public records. In November 2017, the price dropped again, to just under $5 million, and it was removed in March 2019 before hitting the market again last week."

From Mansion Global on New York. "With the unofficial end of summer behind us and wealthy New Yorkers returning to the city, an uptick in the world of luxury Manhattan real estate would seem to be in the cards. But that wasn’t the case last week, which turned out to be the slowest Labor Day week in seven years in terms of high-end home sales, according to Monday’s Olshan report."

"Just 10 contracts were signed at above $4 million—the report’s benchmark for luxury—the lowest total since 2012, when only five contracts were signed."

From Curbed Austin in Texas. "The last time this Lake Austin ranch came on the market, it was owned by online-gaming pioneer/podcar advocate Richard Garriott de Cayeux and asking $45 million. While we can’t confirm if Garriott is still the seller, it’s definitely for sale again, this time with a $10 million price drop (but apparently without a possible bitcoin discount, as Garriott was offering at one point)."

"Now asking a mere $35 million, the 65.68-acre waterfront property does seem like quite the glamorous refuge—with the potential to be a show palace of a residence or remain relatively woodsy and wild, depending on the buyer’s choice."

The Seattle Times in Washington. "In the past four months, prices have dropped from a peak of $700,000 in May. This kind of almost predictable seasonal movement isn’t what home shoppers were used to seeing during the frantic years of bidding wars and weeklong listings. Between 2015 and 2018, home prices at the end of the summer buying rush were as much as $100,000 higher than they’d been the same time the year before."

"It’s a big change from 18 months ago, said Anna Morgan, a Bellevue John L. Scott broker who started with the firm in January 2018, the height of the feeding frenzy. 'Last spring, where houses were selling in a weekend with multiple offers, it was like drinking from a fire hydrant,' she said. 'It was fantastic, but it wasn’t sustainable.'"

"Now, home inventory in Seattle is up 20% even over 2014 levels, spelling more choice for buyers entering the market. And an increase in pending sales is having ripple effects into the construction industry, said Matt Motzkin, the owner of House Doctors of Eastside Seattle. Last year, most of his work came from remodels. This year, he said, 'we’re seeing folks putting in a lot more effort to sprucing up their house for sales. Before, even if the house was a piece of crap, folks were fighting over it,' he said."

"As the market for King County’s single-family homes stabilizes, condo sales continue to slow. In Seattle, median condo prices are down by 11% over last year, to $450,000. 'Anything above $450,000 was drastically overpriced,' said Steve Colony, a broker at Keller Williams in Marysville. 'Now prices are starting to come down and people who have wanted to buy houses for the past years are making offers and starting to put their own houses on the market.'"

From DS News. "Overall, the U.S. housing market has been strong, but in a few communities across the country, signs of weakness have begun to show. These communities may be at risk for a crash, GOBankingRates notes, even if the rest of the country isn’t, as their foreclosure rates outpace the rest of the country."

"Peoria, Illinois is GOBankingRates’ number one city at risk for 'turning ugly,' -15.9% 2-year home price change and a foreclosure rate of one in every 932 homes. Peoria has seen the biggest drop in home prices over the past two years of any city on the list. The percentage of underwater mortgages here is more than double the percentage nationwide. And the foreclosure rate is among the highest on the list."

"Portsmouth, Virginia taking the GOBankingRates third spot, has the highest foreclosure rate of any city on the list, as well as the highest rate of underwater mortgages. One in every 730 homes in Portsmouth is under foreclosure, while 19.4% of borrowers hold underwater mortgages."

"Bridgeport, Connecticut holds the second highest number of percentage of underwater mortgages on this list, as well as a foreclosure rate above the national rate. 26.9% of homes in Bridgeport are underwater. Florida has the highest number of cities with real estate markets that could be in trouble, followed by Illinois. Florida cities on the ranking include Orlando, where home price growth has been slowing. The percentage of listed homes with price cuts in Orlando is higher than the national percentage, at 21.2%. Additionally, the foreclosure rate in Orlando also is higher than the foreclosure rate nationwide."