A report from the Wall Street Journal. "A Federal Reserve Bank president who has been warning about prices rising too high in the commercial real-estate market has a new source of concern: co-working. In an interview, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren highlighted a potential misalignment in the property market. He noted that landlords are offering long-term leases to co-working firms, which then spend money to build out the space and rent it on a short-term basis."

"Mr. Rosengren’s comments could bring more attention to the issue because he tied his co-working concerns to broader risk in the real-estate market, and the debate over whether the Fed should cut interest rates further. 'My concern is basically structural,' Mr. Rosengren said. 'You’re getting longer-term leases and then you’re renting out the space short-term. So you have an asset-liability-mix problem.'"

"The Boston Fed president has for several years warned about inflating commercial property prices. He isn’t worried that the commercial real-estate market could trigger a recession. But he has warned that a real-estate bubble could make a downturn worse."

The Loop North News in Illinois. "The sound of silence is all that can be heard in much of the city’s early autumn home-buying market. Veteran residential brokers call it a 'cricket’s market.' An informal survey by The Home Front of several top city real estate brokers in downtown and North Side neighborhoods revealed that late September and early October open houses vastly went unattended by buyers."

"Cookies went uneaten and coffee turned cold in the pot. Colorful helium-filled balloons decorating the front porches of homes for sale gradually went flat, just like the autumn market, brokers said. 'We have many attractive multi-million-dollar condominium and mansion listings and there currently appears to be little to no interest by affluent would-be purchasers in even taking a tour,' said one prominent Gold Coast and Lincoln Park broker."

"There’s 'radio silence' throughout the city and suburbs, from downtown Chicago to Lake Forest, Oak Park to St. Charles. At the request of multiple frustrated agents, some major brokerage firms recently held closed-door round tables to explore the current state of the market. One agent asked, 'What are we going to tell our sellers?'"

From Fox News 13 in St Petersburg Florida. "Dark, abandoned, and vacant properties turn the American dream into a nightmare for neighborhoods across the Bay Area, and not just during the month of October. Most of these real estate zombies are foreclosure homes left to decompose without owners. Real estate professionals say zombies may never disappear. In Pinellas County, 9% of foreclosure homes sit empty, which is three times the national average."

"Michael Madson with Lipply Real Estate says there are several problems standing in the way of fixing the problem. First, banks usually won't lower the price of a zombie home, so as it falls into disrepair, the price seems less realistic for buyers. Also, in the Bay Area, a home-building boom is drawing buyers to new construction."

"It can be a real horror show for neighbors, like Lynne Lovett in Tarpon Springs, who has lived across from a zombie home for a year and a half. 'My own property value is a major concern. When I go to sell, that house is definitely an eyesore,' she says."

"Madson says homeowners have little defense against neighborhood zombies, the banks who own them, and local code enforcement. 'You can call the county and report violations, but after a while the county stops talking to you about it,' said Madson."

From DS News on California. "Affordability issues, trade tensions and diminishing foreign demand have capped price growth in San Francisco for now, and the city is one of the most overvalued cities in the country, with an index level of 1.15. The UBS Chief Investment Office’s Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2019 notes that real prices increased by 85% between 2012 and 2018 in the city, fueled by booming technology companies and a large amount of IPO money making its way into real estate."

"'The weakness in the Bay Area’s housing market is exacerbated by diminishing foreign demand and the historic low affordability for the working middle class,' UBS states. 'With the highest number of housing permits since the late 1980s, the supply shortage may start to ease and potentially accelerate the price correction.'