A report from the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire. "When it comes to real estate, Rick and Jenn Kelly benefit from their entrepreneurial spirit, hard-work ethic and ability to spot diamonds in the rough – plus their capacity to seize them before anyone else. For the Kellys and others, fixer-uppers are a slumbering gold mine. And they may be the last bastion of affordability in a sizzling real estate market where properties sell fast, typically above the asking price as home prices continue to hit record highs."

"Real estate agents in the Lakes Region say older homes in need of upgrades and cosmetic improvements are often viewed as land mines or money pits. 'It’s all got to be in your comfort zone,' said Kelly, who buys condos to renovate and resell, usually within six months. 'If a structure is sound and you have a good place in a good location, putting in sweat equity, you’re going to make out good,' he said. 'It’s always a good investment if it’s done right. Real estate is an awesome investment if you can get into the game as young as possible. It’s a savings account that you’re living in.'"

The Daytona Beach News Journal in Florida. "'When is the housing market going to crash?' was one of the most searched queries on Google in May, Volusia County Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett learned when preparing his presentation to the Volusia County Association for Responsible Development."

"'I figured this audience might be interested in what the (Volusia County) Property Appraiser has to say about that,' Bartlett said at the VCARD breakfast gathering of nearly 100 people. 'The Property Appraiser doesn't think things are going to crash, certainly not this year or anytime soon.'"

"Displaying a chart showing the median sale price of existing single-family homes sold in Volusia County each year since 2000, Bartlett noted that it has steadily risen each year over the past decade and ended last year up 106% since 2010. The county saw a similar rise during the so-called real estate 'bubble years' of 2004 through 2006. The sudden collapse of the real estate market back then brought on the Great Recession and thousands upon thousands of homes went into foreclosure."

"'If you look at this (chart) you could be forgiven for thinking that we're heading back to a bubble,' said Bartlett. But he added: 'I really don't think so. Circumstances are different now.' Bartlett said it is clear to him when looking at median sale prices for homes and the steady increase in just property values that 'residential real estate is the locomotive that is overcoming whatever losses we suffered through the pandemic. Residential real estate values have just shrugged off the pandemic. They are, as you know, going through the roof.'"

"Alisa Rogers, 2021 president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors, said she was encouraged by Bartlett's outlook for the local real estate market. 'Price growth will taper off, but they won't pop,' said Rogers. 'I think things are going to become more steady and not skyrocket like they've been."

"Cliff Colby, a broker associate with Reagan Realty in Ormond Beach, said Bartlett's talk 'was super encouraging. I'd been feeling the same way: that it's not a bubble. What goes up must come down, but we just don't see that happening anytime soon.' Colby added, 'I'm actually having my best year ever this year.'"

From KTNV in Nevada. "A report released Tuesday by Las Vegas Realtors shows local home prices continuing to reach new heights. LVR reported a total of 4,100 existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold during May. By the end of May, LVR reported 2,031 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. Although down 65.0% from the same time last year, 2021 LVR President Aldo Martinez noted the number of homes listed without offers actually increased for the third straight month. Martinez added that would-be buyers should stay patient and persistent, keeping in mind that an increasing percentage of homes with multiple offers on them end up going back on the market and 'are then awarded to the second, third and even fourth buyer in line.'"

From King 5 in Washington. "Several pieces of legislation aimed at protecting Seattle renters were approved by the city council Monday. 'These two bills lay the groundwork for us to create more and better opportunities to democratize wealth, to combat gentrification, and to reverse displacement in our communities,' said Councilmember Tammy Morales. 'This is important in a system that is inherently beneficial to one party over another. Tenants spend their lives accumulating wealth for someone else. They spend their lives constantly reminded that their home 'isn’t actually theirs.’ These bills seek to balance that relationship and to affirm that tenants’ homes are, in fact, theirs.'"

"Small landlords voiced concern that the new policies are making it difficult to operates a small number of rentals. 'The impact on small mom and pop landlords is huge. And the effect of this kind of legislation is it's going to push people like us out,' said MariLyn Yim. Her family owns and lives in a triplex in Seattle and rents the additional two units. Yim argues the policies are aimed at corporate rental companies and small landlords are being left behind."

From Dirt on New York. "It took about six months and, in the end, she accepted a discounted sale price of $5.3 million on a nearly $5.7 million asking price, Kate Winslet has shed her duplex penthouse condo in Manhattan’s artsy and affluent West Chelsea Arts District. A few quick tabulations on the abacus suggest that with improvement expenses and real estate fees factored in Winslet didn’t make much, if any, profit on the just over 3,000-square-foot urban aerie that she and now ex-husband picked up nearly 17 years ago for $4.995 million."

From Socket Site in California. "Purchased for $1,419,478 in April of 2016, a price which didn’t include a storage unit in the building which was purchased separately and was included in its most recent sale, the re-sale of the 'rarely available top floor plaza unit' #C8H at 333 Beale Street, a 985-square-foot, one-bedroom LUMINA condo with 12-foot ceilings, two full baths, a private balcony, a den and parking, has just closed escrow with a contract price of $1,375,000."

From KVUE in Texas. "'We're anticipating a pretty large wave of foreclosures and evictions, and it's not clear when it's going to happen, but you can already feel it occurring,' said Boone Almanza, a partner at ABDM Lawfirm who deals with real estate cases. 'There are more foreclosure cases going on. Central Texas may be a little more immune to it than others because of the general economy, but they're still going to be a lot of those there.'"

From Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. "With the median price of a single-family home on Oahu now almost $1 million dollars, we may be approaching a very dangerous moment in our local economy. There are also many people in Hawaii who not only like the high cost of housing, but hope it will go even higher because they view homes not as places to live but as a form of investment. Many of my friends who are in Hawaii real estate are in full tulip mania now and are telling everyone to buy a house right now, no matter what it takes, 'because the price can never go down.'"

"While things may seem like a free-for-all right now, with a shack of corrugated tin roofing, termite-infested wood and a strip of dead grass priced at $1 million dollars on Oahu, the market ultimately knows that just because that property is priced at a million doesn’t mean it holds $1 million dollars in value. That should worry all of us."

"I hate to break it to some of you, but an Oahu shack isn’t a Veblen good, and it is only a question of time before the market reveals this in a very embarrassing and painful way for everyone. It would be better to fix this situation now, while we still can, than to let this runaway train go off the rails and destroy things for everyone."