A report from the Oregonian. "It appears a relatively good time to be a homebuyer in the Portland area. Mortgage rates have fallen to near-record lows, and more houses are listed for sale. Bidding wars are mostly a thing of the past. But buyers nonetheless are sitting on the sidelines, brokers say. 'Sellers are putting their homes on the market and feeling it should be like it was just a few months ago, where they get immediate interest, said Micky Lindsay, the president of Oregon First Realtors. 'People will come in and look, but no one is pulling the rip cord and buying.'"

"Buyers are also showing more willingness to walk away from a deal, said Brian Houston, managing broker for Coldwell Banker Bain on Portland’s west side. 'Buyers are taking more time to shop around, and they’re also being more picky about sellers’ repairs and the conditions of the homes,' Houston said. 'It’s been a seller-ruled market since 2012, and sellers have been' calling all the shots. Now buyers just are being more demanding.'"

From Socket Site on California. "With listing activity having hit a 13-year high earlier this month, the number of homes currently listed for sale in San Francisco now totals 910, which is 2 percent higher than at the same time last year and an 8-year seasonal high."

"At the same time, the percentage of active listings which have undergone at least one price reduction has ticked up to 12 percent – which is 2 percent lower than at the same time last year, driven in part by a growing number of unsold properties having been relisted anew with a reduced asking price, but no official reductions according to MLS-based stats."

The Center Square in Illinois. "In the years since heavy machine manufacturer Caterpillar decided to move its corporate headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago suburbs, the River City’s housing market has become the nation’s leader in 'zombie homes.' 'Peoria’s proportional inventory of homes in foreclosure is the fourth highest in the Midwest and approaching 2008 levels,' the report said."

"'People thought they could hang on, make their payments and do this and do that and now eighteen months to two years later, they’re struggling and they cannot anymore,' said Marilyn Kohn, a real estate agent who has certifications to specialize in not only foreclosure homes but also high-end homes that she said have been sitting on the market longer. 'I’m thinking that’s probably why it picked up in 2019,' she said."

"Kohn said the sudden flood of inventory when CAT’s corporate personnel began to migrate to the Chicago area had a significant impact on the middle to higher-end properties. 'In a marketplace like ours that normally has 2,100 to 2,200 homes on the market, all of a sudden we had 3,200 homes on the market,' she said.  In terms of population loss, U.S. Census data shows Peoria’s total population declined by 3,437 people in the 12 months that ended in July 2018."

The Kokomo Perspective in Indiana. "In 2017, with just hours to spare, investors in the Firestone Building paid $15,635.54 in back taxes to pull the once-promising downtown structure from the county’s tax sale. But, once again, Howard County listed the 219 N. Union St. property in its upcoming tax sale, this time with $24,007.21 being owed in back taxes. As the possibility of public bidding looms, a sprawling legal dispute to foreclose on the property has developed with nine different entities potentially vying to take control of the largely-abandoned downtown structure."

"The dilapidated building joins a handful of other properties that were connected to the developer and his various LLCs in being listed in the county’s tax sale, slated for Oct. 16. There are others with various financial interests in the building, according to the suit. There’s Honge Wange, who appears to be an investor from California, who has a mortgage from Home Banc Center on the building from January 2014. Similarly, Wei Xi, of California, also is named due to a $50,000 mortgage from Home Banc Center in January 2014 as well. Another mortgage, according to the suit, was taken out on the property by Xi in August 2014. Fang Wong, also of California, is listed for a mortgage as well, this one from Home Banc Center in August 2014."

"As the case proceeds, several of the parties named in the suit have filed cross-claims on the structure, and the ownership of the building appears to be up in the air. 'When I originally filed the lawsuit, we didn’t know if there would be counterclaims or not,' said developer Scott Pitcher. 'So we hoped to get paid. But now that the counterclaims are being filed, we’re almost positive we will not be paid.'"

The Rochester Biz Journal in New York. "The Brooklyn group under contract to purchase the HNA Training Center in Palisades from the Chinese-owned property has defaulted on its contract and is seeking relief in the bankruptcy court to buy itself 60 additional days to find the funds to close.
At risk is the debtor’s $8 million deposit on the $40 million contract that was signed on April 4th. "

"According to a declaration attached to the petition, the parties were 'working toward a closing' on Sept. 12 but one of the debtor’s cash funders unexpectedly withdrew. 'The debtor did not anticipate this unfortunate turn of events and now requires additional time to close,' according to the petition."

From The Gothamist in New York. "In what is becoming an almost a ho-hum occurrence in New York City, a new skyscraper is about to break a new height record. On Tuesday, Central Park Tower at 217 West 57th Street is set to top out at 1,550 feet, eclipsing 432 Park to become the tallest residential building not only in the city but in the world."

"In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that the newly opened sales office at Central Park Tower invited potential buyers to 'sip Champagne and Johnnie Walker Black Label amid a onyx-clad walls and Lalique crystal chandelier,' all while listening to Gershwin’s 'Rhapsody in Blue' playing in the background."

"As part of an elaborate presentation, a voiceover describes Central Park Tower as '1,550 feet of steel, ambition and aspiration anchored to 40,000 square feet of Manhattan schist...a shimmering beacon of class, optimism and chutzpah. 'Chutzpah' is apt, as the topping out comes on the heels of a Streeteasy analysis last week that found that one in four new luxury condos built over the last six years remain unsold."

"In its story about the report on Friday, the New York Times noted that Extell has yet to release sales data on Central Park Tower, but given the data, the project faces formidable obstacles. According to Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser and consultant, of the seven luxury towers on and around Billionaires’ Row, including pending sales, almost 40 percent of units remain unsold."

"Central Park Tower comes on the market approximately seven years after Extell's One57, which set a lot of the benchmarks for supertalls in terms of height, the role of starchitects and pricing, according to Miller. 'In the beginning, the market was wide and deep, and there was a lot of optimism,' he told Gothamist. 'However, now we are dealing with a weaker global economic picture.'"

"Even before signs of a luxury glut, many have criticized the 'cloud piercing' skyline, noting that luxury buildings are often snapped up by out-of-town investors who pay no city income tax and little property tax."