A report from Realtor.com. "The residential real estate market has been on a wild tear for the past few years—and the pandemic has pushed things to new, uncharted extremes. 'The very nature of the pandemic, through the health implications, social distancing, and need to isolate, has really brought a central focus on the importance of home for most Americans,' says George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com®. 'In a sense, it has elevated real estate markets as a centerpiece of our lives.'"

"One grim note: Once the foreclosure moratorium ends, homeowners who haven’t been able to financially rebound from the crisis may be forced to sell their homes. This could also add to the supply of properties on the market. 'That will help alleviate scarcity concerns,' says Rocke Andrews, of Lending Arizona in Tucson, AZ."

From Reuters. "The median existing house price jumped 15.8% from a year ago to $313,000 in February. Economists, however, do not believe another housing bubble is developing, noting that the surge is being mostly driven by a mismatch between supply and demand, rather than speculation, which triggered the 2008 global financial crisis."

The Real Deal. "Until recently, iBuying was largely a two-horse race. Now, Offerpad’s decision to go public in a $3 billion SPAC deal has put rivals Opendoor and Zillow on notice. The deal, with a blank-check firm backed by Zillow co-founder and former CEO Spencer Rascoff, was announced last week."

"As the market leader, Opendoor sold 9,193 homes last year, generating $2.6 billion in annual revenue. It lost $98 million on an EBITDA basis. In 2020, Offerpad generated $1.1 billion in revenue with $5 million in EBITDA losses. In 2020, Zillow sold 4,281 homes and its iBuying business generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2020, with $241.9 million in EBITDA losses."

The Miami Herald in Florida. "In Miami-Dade County, the median sales price dipped to $450,000 in February despite shrinking supply, according to the Miami Realtors Association latest sales report. That marks a 4% dip from its record high of $470,000 in January, and the first decrease in single-family home prices since the COVID-19 lockdown a year ago."

"The price decrease came as a surprise to Nancy Corey, the southeast Florida regional vice president for Coldwell Banker Realty. She said the the price drop could be due to increased sales activity below the median sales price. 'This could tilt the market,' she said."

From Emirates Woman. "After purchasing her luxury penthouse apartment in New York City less than one year ago, Bella Hadid has officially put her home on the market. Having bought it for $6.1 million back in 2020, the supermodel is seeking nearly $6.5 million. The 23-year-old’s sister’s boyfriend Zayn Malik previously owned a unit in the same building. Having purchased his property in the bespoke and exclusive building in 2017 for $10.3 million, the singer went onto sell the apartment at a major loss."

The New York Post. "Michael Jordan hasn’t slam-dunked a buyer on his Illinois mansion in its nine years on the market, The Post has learned. Jordan purchased the Highland Park estate with his wife at the time in 1991 for $2 million. Jordan initially listed the 7-acre home in 2012 for a whopping $29 million. But without any offers, the nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom abode is now on the market for $14,855,000."

"In 2013, one year after the property first hit the market, the price fell to $21 million. It was then relisted the same year for $16 million. Even after last year’s hit ESPN documentary series about Jordan, no offers have been made on the house."

The Bay Area Newsgroup in California. "A big residential development in Los Altos that would have added nearly 200 homes in the posh Silicon Valley city has stumbled into default on its mortgage, raising the specter of foreclosure on the property. The default notice has been filed on a loan for a property where a high-density housing project totaling 196 units has been proposed on El Camino Real in Los Altos."

From Fox LA in California. "When Tracie and Myles Albert purchased a beautiful four-bedroom house in Riverside, California they never realized that at the end of escrow the seller would suddenly refuse to give up the keys and leave. Chris Taylor is the Real Estate Agent who sold the house to the Alberts from a man who wanted to sell immediately. 'He needed $560,000 from the sale of his house in two weeks and he called me on a Sunday, so in traditional real estate there's no way of doing that unless the buyer’s a cash buyer,' says Taylor."

"'It’s just draining, emotionally and financially,' says Tracie. On January 31, 2020, the couple purchased the home. More than a year later, they still haven’t been able get inside their property. Since the house was free and clear and worth more than $560,000 the Alberts felt it was a great deal. 'It took us scrambling to get everything we had, our life savings put together and a hard money loan on top of it to make that happen,' Myles stated."

From Global News in Canada. "After the pandemic-fuelled housing boom that swept much of the country in the second half of 2020, a cross-country comparison reveals the bucks goes a lot less far than it used to across Canada. The national average sale price of a home in Canada was up a whopping 25 per cent in February compared to the same month in 2020, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association."

"Having your ducks in a row will allow you to swiftly make a strong, credible offer when you see something you like, King says. 'Don’t incrementally move up,' says Romana King, director of content at Zolo. 'Go in with your best offer.'"

"At the same time, though, you don’t want to go overboard. There’s nothing worst than winning a bidding war only to be hit by buyer’s remorse because you spent too much. 'You should be buying based on your personal financial budget, not on the top price your bank told you can buy at,' King says. Your bank’s lending limit doesn’t take into account a variety of costs — from pet food to child care costs — that might impact your cashflow, she adds."

From Bloomberg. "New Zealand’s government took aim at property speculators with a suite of new measures to tackle runaway house prices and prevent the formation of a 'dangerous' bubble. The government will remove tax incentives for investors to make speculation less lucrative and unlock more land to increase housing supply, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. 'The last thing home owners need right now is a dangerous housing bubble, but a number of indicators point towards that risk,' Ardern told a news conference. 'Property investors are now the biggest share of buyers, with the highest amount of purchases on record. Last year, 15,000 people bought homes who already owned five or more.'"

From News Hub. "Cracking down on investors won't fix the housing market and instead worsen the country's rental crisis, the New Zealand Property Investors Federation says. Speaking to Newshub on Tuesday, federation chief executive Sharon Cullwick argued a large number of investors may now exit the industry."

"Property commentator Ashley Church said the Government's package was 'desperate.' 'I think it's because they simply don't know what they're doing and this is a desperate attempt to be seen to do something, and that's partly by showing money at things at partly by a bit of virtue signalling. [It's] not going to make any difference to the problems they're trying to resolve.'"

"Economist Brad Olsen agreed the bright-line extension won't fix the housing market by itself. 'It does mean people are going to make a different decision when it comes to investing in property because if they are wanting to flick it quickly and get some of those capital gains, they're going to have to pay tax on it - just like you and I do for income when we go to work each day,' Olsen told Magic Talk host Peter Williams."

"National leader Judith Collins, meanwhile, believes the Government has broken a pre-election promise of no new taxes. 'This Government has taken the bright-line test, turned it into a full-scale capital gains tax,' she said. 'They've lied to New Zealanders.'"

From Stuff New Zealand. "Property economist Kelvin Davidson of CoreLogic said instead of a fast reaction, there might be 'a slow burn' as investors assessed their changed situations. The quickest effects may be psychological, especially following other rule changes affecting landlords such as new mortgage deposit restrictions and insulation standards, he said."

"'I think we will see some existing investors selling because their sums will change, and they will have to top up their mortgage. Investors just have to take it on the chin – the profitability of the business has gone down,' Davidson said."

"Canterbury Property Investors Association president Shirley Berryman said some investors were talking of selling up, but there was always a knee-jerk reaction. 'It’s imperative for investors to plan. They have to think: am I going to be able to pay that back? Where will I be in five or 10 years?' Some investors unable to service their debts would be considering whether to sell, especially retired landlords without extra income, she said."

"While property valuer Natalie Edwards 'understood the pain' of homebuyers, constantly changing investment rules was 'a slap in the face' for landlords. Investors might 'slim down' their portfolios and spread their investments to include shares or commercial consortiums, Edwards said. 'It will change property as being the golden ticket for retirement.'"