A report from the Wall Street Journal on New York. "Two New York landlords with large portfolios of rent-regulated apartments are behind on payments on more than $200 million in real-estate loans, a sign that new state rent laws are starting to hurt investors. After New York’s state legislature passed its rent reform package, Emerald and Sugar Hill started missing payments on the loans over the summer, according to bond records and people familiar with the matter."

"Industry experts expect other landlords to fall into financial trouble as the rent laws push down income and property values. 'These are not isolated incidents,' said Ofer Cohen, president of TerraCRG commercial real-estate brokerage. 'We expect to have more of those in the next 18 to 24 months.'"

"Meanwhile, the dollar volume of rental-apartment building sales in New York City fell 51% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to a new report from brokerage Ariel Property Advisors."

From Mansion Global. "In Dallas, it’s a French chateau with space for 10 living rooms and a padded gymnasium; in Rolling Rock, California, it’s a red-roofed Mediteranean villa custom built with 25 bathrooms; and in Rancho Santa Fe, outside San Diego, California, it’s an airy modern new construction with glass walls and a dedicated master wing."

"The three mansions of vastly different styles and locations share a common status as 'the largest house in town,' clocking in at four-to-five times the size of the median home in their posh neighborhoods. They also happen to share the misfortune of having sat at some point on the market unsold for years."

"They are just a few of the many examples that show that, when it comes to smart real estate investment, biggest is rarely best. But it doesn’t have to be palatial for size to present an issue when it comes time to sell, as Alexandra Sierra of Compass Florida knows well. She’s marketing a custom-built hurricane-proofed home on the border of Miami suburbs Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, and at nearly 5,500 square feet has struggled to sell because it’s larger and more modernized than anything in the neighborhood."

"'The square footage is killing me,'” she said of the five-bedroom house asking $2.5 million."

From Forbes on Florida. "The further away from Miami Beach, the longer it’s taking for developers and luxury real estate brokers to sell condos priced at $1 million or more, according to Q3 2019 figures from Analytics Miami, a real estate brokerage firm specializing in data collection."

"'Edgewater, Downtown Miami and Brickell continue to be the worst performing luxury condo markets,' Analytics Miami founder and principal Ana Bozovic said. 'Even though it gets so much press because people want to read about the rich and famous buying properties, the luxury market is incredibly small. There’s a disconnect between supply and demand.'"

"According to Multiple Listing Service data from the past six months, Analytics Miami’s Q3 2019’s report shows 144 months of supply of condos in the $1 million to $2.99 million price range in Edgewater. In Downtown Miami and Brickell, the supply for condos between $1 million and $2.99 million is 93 months and 76 months, respectively. Fisher Island, one of the most expensive zip codes in the country, has 19 months of supply in the $1 million to $2.99 million price range. South Beach has 36 months of supply and the South of Fifth neighborhood, it’s 26 months worth of inventory."

"Ron Shuffield, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty, said a healthy condo market can handle 18 months of supply. Across Miami-Dade, he said, there is an average of 25 months of supply. He also said 81% of condos sold in the last year sold at a 20% discount. 'I tell our associates that they can’t shoot from the hip,' Shuffield said. 'You have to put a lot of data together. Today, we are renting more than we are selling. That gives you a picture of where buyers are today.'"

From ABC 15 in Phoenix Arizona. "'We are probably at about 46-percent below what our normal inventory should be,' said local real estate analyst Tina Tamboer with The Cromford Report. 'When we get over the $500,000 mark, the market is actually quite balanced, and there is plenty of supply.'"

The Taunton Gazette in Massachusetts. "Every city in Massachusetts has one or two, and in Lawrence, there are hundreds, Mayor Daniel Rivera said Thursday: vacant properties that aren’t being developed, because their owners are tied up in land court or the ownership is otherwise unclear."

"'They’re either zombie properties or in bureaucratic no-man’s land, where people really can’t access them,' Rivera said. 'As you can imagine, as you know, this creates a situation where these properties sit idle and dormant. They’re a threat to harbor vice, vagrants, most likely, and in cities they become a threat for arson, they don’t just take down the property that they have, they take down the properties around them.'"

The Dallas Business Journal in Texas. "With just over four months under his belt leading the Dallas Division of national homebuilder Taylor Morrison, Keith Hurand is looking to grow the brand and hone the company’s lot positions. Q: Are you seeing any cause for optimism in addressing housing affordability and the escalation of housing prices? Any real hope of increasing the availability of new homes prices at $300,000 or less?"

"A: It’s tough to get below that mark mainly because of the land prices. It all starts with the land. To be able to get homes that are in the price point, you’re having to go out a little further than typically what you would."

"Q: As you evaluate where your lots are, what are you seeing that you might change? A: Our goal is to not have more than about a three-year lot supply. As we look at the 3,000 lots of what we own or control, it may not be all in the right spots. We may be oversaturated in certain submarkets, so we’ll look to accent that with submarkets that we need to grow in or we see other opportunities. As we look to rebalance our portfolio, you’ve got to be careful that you don’t compete with yourself."