Two reports from the Times of London. "Tens of thousands of families have seen their inheritances decimated after elderly relatives paid inflated prices for new retirement homes that have collapsed in value, an investigation by The Times has found. Prices of retirement flats in developments built by some of Britain’s biggest housebuilders have plummeted by up to 90 per cent in the face of costly annual management charges and ground rents."

"'Sebastian O’Kelly, of betterretirementhousing.com, said: 'These flats routinely plummet in value and the reason is the leasehold system. The freeholder and property manager still get their ground rent and service fees irrespective of price. It’s deplorable that families are pouring money into these purchases, often in desperation, only to see their value evaporate.'"

"The choice is simple for wealthy French couples looking to buy a house — a city apartment or a historic château. The young people are now choosing London or Shanghai before life in Aquitaine. In one case, the aristocratic De Robien family have been trying to sell their château in Brittany for six years."

"Despite halving the €4.2 million asking price they are still waiting for a buyer, Le Figaro said. A survey found that 1,500 châteaux were on sale and prices have fallen by 50 per cent. Eight years ago, 800 were on the market."

The Globe and Mail on Canada. "This two-storey house near the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club was given a new roof, fencing and interior makeover based on buyers’ feedback when it was listed for about $3.7-million last fall. A previous visitor took notice once it was relisted at about $3.4-million and returned to strike a deal in September. Selling price: $3,284,000."

"'There’s a bit more inventory and the mindset of buyers had shifted, so they were less inclined to bid up prices and overpay,' agent Nigel Denham said. 'You have to be refined in your pricing nowadays, especially in North Toronto.'"

The Calgary Herald in Canada. "Developers and builders turned their sights largely on Calgary’s rental market last month with starts driven by the purpose-built multi-family rental segment. Heather Boyer, senior analyst for economics at CMHC, adds this points to builders and developers adjusting to the current over-supply conditions in the apartment condominium side of the market."

"'We are still seeing overbuilding in the new home market, particularly among condominiums, but we when look at the rental market, we are seeing low over-building, so this is again why we’re seeing a boost to rental construction in Calgary,' she says."

"Calgary realtor Joel Gwillim notes condominiums he pre-sold before the downturn in energy prices in late 2014 are now selling 20 to 30 per cent below their original price — albeit these units are more limited in choice. 'The pricing is night and day to what it was, so the value you’re getting is incredible,' Gwillim says."

The Tri-City News in Canada. "Coquitlam is getting high marks for the number of rental units in the pipeline from The Goodman Report and the city’s manager of planning says incentives for developers are working. With 3,632 units in 19 buildings going through city approvals or under construction, the city has the highest number of units on the horizon after Vancouver, which has 8,433 so far this year."

"But with the condo sales market softening, Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam's manager of community planning acknowledged that some rental units may be stalled. 'We need the condo sales in order to have the developer build the non-market rental,' Merrill told The Tri-City News."

From Domain News in Australia. "Chinese shipping magnate Shannian Huang has copped a multimillion-dollar loss on his penthouse atop The Residence at Hyde Park after he sold it on Saturday morning for $14.5 million to a developer. The two-storey 'Sulman' penthouse set a record for the building when the founder of shipbuilding giant Shanghai Zhouji bought it new at the start of the property boom in 2013 for $17 million, making it the second most expensive apartment sale recorded in Sydney."

"Mr Huang’s level 23 apartment was listed last year with bullish $26 million hopes but it never sold, and the listing was handed to Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger in more recent months with buyers told it carried $21 million hopes. Pillinger declined to comment when approached, but multiple independent sources say it sold for $14.5 million to a local developer."

"On Saturday, property records revealed Pilot Energy chairman Wilson Hui Xiong Xue, the self-described “shoe king” of China, had taken a 15 per cent loss on his Mosman trophy home after he quietly offloaded it on Friday for $20 million. Mr Xue bought the seven-bedroom mansion last year for $23,733,800 after it had spent only three weeks on the market."

"China’s youngest female billionaire 'Nancy' Zetian Zhang sold her penthouse near The Rocks in the Stamford Residences for $13.5 million early this year, pocketing $2.7 million less than she paid for it new in 2015. Ms Zhang had paid $16.2 million six months before she married China’s e-commerce billionaire Richard Qiangdong Liu, incurring more than $1 million in stamp duty charges."

"Early this year updated settlement records on the Bayview house sold by high-profile property developer Richard Mingfeng Gu, revealed he had sold it for a $1 million loss. The modernist landmark Walker House was bought by Mr Gu’s AXF Group in 2017 for $7.95 million and resold for $6.95 million.
Mr Gu is best known in trophy home circles for defaulting on the $19.8 million purchase of Cate Blanchett’s Hunters Hill mansion Bulwarra in 2015 due to capital controls out of China."

"Prestige agents have pointed to capital controls coming from China and stricter lending criteria by the Australian banks to explain a drop-off in foreign buyer numbers in recent years. In the most recently released Foreign Investment Review Board annual report, figures show foreign buyer real estate approvals totalled $12.5 billion in the 2018 financial year – a drop of $17.5 billion from the 12 months prior."

From Newstalk ZB on New Zealand. "A woman behind the $300 million development of New Zealand's second-tallest building has had her assets frozen in Australia by a court order. The Federal Court froze more than A$100 million in assets belonging to Chinese businesswoman Min Wang, whose company is developing Auckland's new 57-level Pacifica apartment tower, now more than half-way finished."

"The court decision referred to evidence that Min Wang had 'made false statements in her income tax returns for the 2014 and 2015 income years about her interests in China by representing that she did not have assets located outside Australia with a total value of more than $50,000 and did not have an interest in any controlled foreign company, when information obtained by the Australian Taxation Office."

"The decision also referred to further evidence she 'gave misleading information to the Australian Taxation Office concerning the funding of the purchase and development of the property at 199 William Street, Melbourne by Hengyi Australia Pty Ltd, a company of which Ms Wang is a sole director and shareholder.'"