A report from the Washington Post. "Federal regulators have seized First Republic Bank and sold it to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a deal aimed at quelling renewed weakness in the nation’s banking industry. In a statement issued early Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said that all depositors of First Republic Bank will become depositors of JPMorgan and will have full access to their deposits. 'Normally, regulators don’t react to stock prices. But this one fell so precipitously. It became a zombie institution,' said John Popeo, a partner at the Gallatin Group, a financial consultancy, and a former FDIC attorney."

"Like SVB, First Republic blundered into trouble as the Fed began raising interest rates almost 14 months ago. It invested in long-term assets, such as home mortgages and government securities, when rates were low. Those now earn the bank a return of about 3 percent, even as it is paying around 5 percent to obtain fresh funds for its operations from the Fed and the Federal Home Loan Bank. 'Both of them essentially committed financial suicide by putting all these fixed-rate assets on their books and exposing themselves to a rising interest rate environment,' said Bert Ely, a banking consultant in Alexandria, Va."

5280 in Colorado. "Denver sellers, Times have changed. We know you thought you’d have five above-asking-price offers before the for-sale sign even hit your yard. We know you’d already spent that cash windfall in your heads. And we understand that the whole thing feels like whiplash. Honestly, though, it’s a little difficult to feel sorry for you. OK, it’s impossible to feel sorry for you. Especially because you seemed to relish the position you were mostly just lucky to be in. Yet you bilked us. Well, the situation has evolved, and local real estate agents say that, or the time being, we have all of the choices right now. And, maybe even more importantly, we have time—something there was so little of in 2021 and early 2022. Time to think; time to shop around; and time to make you sweat."

"'I had a listing the week before Easter, and the number of showings just dramatically dropped off,' says Colleen Covell, a broker with Denver’s MileHiModern. That shift led to a steady decrease in the median sales price, resulting in a market that’s more buyer-friendly. 'In the first half of the year, I had clients who had to bid $350,000 over ask in cash,' Covell says. 'In the fall, I got a client who was a twentysomething first-time homebuyer under contract for $440,000 under ask. It was just so diametrically different.'"

The Mountain Democrat in California. "The second quarter of 2022 was likely the peak of the real estate market. Quarterly housing sales for El Dorado County were 821 and the median selling price was $685,000. The market began its decline in the third quarter when sales dropped to 623 and the median selling price fell to $609,000. The fourth-quarter numbers were worse. County sales dropped to 431 with a median selling price of $570,000. During the first quarter of this year the anemic 320 county sales confirmed the recession continued. It was the slowest quarter for sales in the past 20 years."

"If you are considering selling a home this year, it’s best not to wait much longer. During the 2008 Great Recession sellers who got out of the real estate market early fared much better than those who waited to sell, expecting prices to get better. The median selling price for a county home in 2008 was $373,000. Two years later it was $295,000. Phoenix, Seattle, Austin and Boise have experienced significant price adjustments and high inventory levels. Home prices in San Diego and San Jose continue to fall. There may be buying opportunities in other previously not-price-accessible markets."

The New York Post. "Mindy Kaling has closed on the sale of her Manhattan home. Kaling parted ways with her two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo at One Kenmare Square, located at the intersection of Soho and Nolita, for $2.4 million, Gimme Shelter has learned. The sale comes seven months after she listed the dwelling for $2.75 million. Kaling purchased the apartment, at 210 Lafayette St. for $3.1 million in 2017."

From Bisnow. "Lenders are getting impatient. Check-in desks and rooms need a tuneup. These are the kinds of challenges coming to a head in the hotel landscape that are expected to help thaw the recent freeze in the industry's financing markets, several executives said. 'The lender is saying 'I’ve extended you for the last three years, you gotta pay me.' Brands are saying 'you haven't reinvested in your assets, you’ve gotta do that.' You can’t just keep kicking the can,' said Peachtree Group Chief Investment Officer Brian Waldman."

"'During Covid, the lenders, the brands, I think for the most part, everybody was playing nice in the sandbox. Those days are over with,' LW Hospitality Advisors CEO Dan Lesser said. 'There is this wall of maturing debt that's coming. That's a fact, that's not an opinion. And something's going to have to give.'"

Omaha WOWT in Nebraska. "Vacant lots and high-interest rates hurt more than just the property owners. They could hurt everyone that benefits from county programs. 'We have one source of revenue, and it’s property taxes,' said Douglas County Commissioner PJ Morgan. Morgan pointed to 90th and Dodge as an area of concern. 'You’ll see that almost every building has ‘for lease’ signs on it,' he said. 'There are floors in Regency that have been vacant for two to three years.'"

The Vancouver Sun in Canada. "Two years ago, when Canada kept interest rates low to spur on the pandemic-crippled economy, Sarah and Graeme Dueck sold their townhome and bought a house in Langley, one big enough for a basement suite they could rent out at a subsidized price to help vulnerable youth. Everything was going well with their altruistic plan until, spooked by rising inflation, the Bank of Canada jacked up interest rates eight times, from 0.25 per cent in early 2022 to 4.5 per cent a year later. That historic hike created a tidal wave of financial hardship for people with variable-rate mortgages, who signed those agreements at a time when no one predicted lending rates would rise so high and so quickly."

"Over the last year, the Duecks’ mortgage payments nearly doubled, increasing by $2,600 a month. The Duecks are far from alone. When borrowing rates fell to record lows in recent years, about three out of every five Canadian mortgage holders chose variable rates, up from the typical average of about one-third, said Brendon Ogmundson, the chief economist with the B.C. Real Estate Association."

"Going with a variable mortgage when interest was so low seemed like a logical choice for people like the Duecks, said Alex Pang, their mortgage consultant. 'It’s raining right now. We just need to survive today, said Pang, who also has two rental suites in his basement. 'There’s no shame in having to take a second job.' A 'trigger clause' is hit when the static monthly payment isn’t high enough to cover rising interest costs, and then the borrower has to start paying more or stretch out the amortization of the mortgage."

"Reaching that point had seemed impossible, Pang said, until last year, when it kicked in for many people. 'No one ever paid attention to (the trigger clause) because it was ‘when pigs fly’, he said. 'Well, pigs flew last year.'"

News.com.au in Australia. "A Melbourne woman who was made redundant when failed home builder Porter Davis collapsed, has delivered a rare insight into the company’s 'mind blowing' final hours of operation. Lottie Griffin recalled seeing managers in the boardroom 'crying' before her CEO informed the remaining staff to attend a meeting. 'The address from the CEO was basically him bawling his eyes out and apologising,' she said. 'It was the grimmest thing I’ve ever seen.'"

"It was in that meeting Ms Griffin learned she had lost her job. The first video was flooded with comments from friends and followers who sympathised with the former Porter Davis employee. One customer whose home was only 'a couple weeks away' from being finished, said while they’re now stuck paying rent they felt bad for the workers who lost their jobs. 'Paying rent and almost a full mortgage is a nightmare. I’m sorry you lost your job as well, very sad for the workers,' they commented."