It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Bryant Vayhinger, president of the Colorado Association of Real Estate Appraisers, is not exactly popular these days. 'We're providing a service, but our service is to the banks. That's a misconception a lot of times is buyers think that we're providing a service for them. But it's to protect that loan on the bank side,' said Vayhinger, who said appraisal gaps are a sign of a strong market. 'But on the backside, it has to be supported,' Vayhinger said. 'We can't just have unchecked growth or else it's going to spiral out of control, and we're gonna have the crash all over again.'"

"The Foxes tapped into a 401K, got money from family, sold a house in Texas they had planned to keep, and it still wasn't enough to win a house. Instead of surrendering, though, they changed course, looking further outside of the Denver metro in Johnstown. They bought a new build that won't be ready until September. 'We're happy that it's finally over for us,' Alissa Fox said. 'You're like, 'Oh! Somebody wants our money! Please take it from us.'"

"According to Zillow, home values in the Phoenix area are up 20%, and homes are only on the market for about seven days before getting sold. Experts say this is not a housing bubble, as the demand for home far outpaces the supply currently. 'We don't have enough right now. That's why we’re not going to see a bubble,' said Tina Tamboer with Cromford Report. 'The bubble means are we at risk of having vacancies. The number one risk to housing values is always vacancies.'"

"More than one in 10 Manhattan rental apartments is vacant, raising the prospect that discounted rents and other tenant deals could persist through at least the summer. Landlords are struggling to keep their buildings full. Many landlords have had to drop prices and offer incentives, like eliminating broker fees or offering multiple months of free rent, to get units off their hands. The vacancy rate south of 34th street is nearly 17%, according to Miller Samuel, and downtown Manhattan neighborhoods offer some of the most generous concessions and incentives. The owner of 25 Broad Street, a luxury condominium and rental building in the Financial District, is offering up to 4 months of free rent to new tenants."

"In each of the last two years (2019 and 2020), the United States Census Bureau’s population estimates program has shown population losses in the six tidewater metropolitan areas in the Bay Area CSA (the San Francisco, Napa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo metros). Overall, population losses became so substantial here, that the entire CSA posted losses in 2019 and 2020. If this were a mainstream media article on Japan or China, the term 'demographic implosion' would likely have been used for the San Francisco and San Jose metros, including the Silicon Valley. Most likely, with the Bay Area’s high cost of living and severely unaffordable housing, the implosion might well continue in the next decade as well."

"'People in Vancouver absolutely believe the market will continue to increase here, although not always at the levels we’ve seen recently,' says Alma Pasic, a mortgage broker with Paragon Mortgage in Burnaby, B.C., a Vancouver suburb. 'This city favours real estate more than any other investment.' Buying at 20 per cent over list is common, but she says concerns about people overextending themselves are balanced by the protection mechanisms built in by banks and the government."

"Ms. Pasic believes the banks aren’t about to bankrupt the citizens of Canada by raising rates quickly. 'I think when people decide to buy, they look at the numbers and go through the process of the banking system, so they know that the banks are not going to overextend them,' says Ms. Pasic."

"Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan repeated his call for policymakers to begin a discussion of slowing their asset purchases, a day after minutes of the Fed’s April meeting showed an increased interest in talking about tapering."

"'Maybe taking the foot gently off the accelerator would be a wise thing to do here so that we can manage this transition more effectively,' Kaplan said. 'That’s why I have encouraged sooner rather than later we begin a discussion of these purchases.' The Dallas Fed chief said the bond buying can contribute to 'imbalances' and 'excessive risk taking,' noting that the U.S. housing market prices are at 'historically elevated levels.' He added, 'private investors are now competing with families' to buy homes."

"A new report from Bankrate has found that more and more millennials are experiencing homebuyers remorse after purchasing what was thought to be that home of their dreams. The study found that nearly two-thirds of millennial homebuyers have expressed some degree of regret. Many cite the competitive market leaving very little time to make a sound judgement on a new home, forcing buyers into quick decisions. 'Because the market is so competitive, you have less time to make a decision on a homebuying purchase than you do on a laptop at Best Buy,' said Angelica Olmsted, an Agent with RE/MAX Professionals Cherry Creek in Denver."