A report from KERA in Texas. "Critics of short-term rentals want Dallas officials to pass an out-right ban on the rentals in single-family zoned areas of the city. But city staff says right now, enforcement of the proposed ordinance would be difficult and costly. 'This is not a problem I created, I should not be punished for it,' short term rental owner Denise Lowry said during Wednesday’s meeting. 'My intention is to run my business for the benefit of our community.' Jack Kocks lives in District 11. He says a rental in his neighborhood was the scene of at least one party that turned into chaos. 'The event, posted on social media, drew hundreds of underaged teens that converged on our neighborhood,' Kocks said. 'They brought with them guns, drugs and alcohol.' Kocks said before the night was over, one person had been shot and yards were littered with 'beer bottles and shell casings.'"

The Washington Post. "Across the country, there are signs that Americans are pulling back on restaurant outings, hotel stays and airline tickets, after months of exuberant consumption. Geoffrey Jaime, an Airbnb host in California, says demand for his six apartments in the San Bernardino Mountains has fallen sharply, as fewer travelers venture to the area. He’s lowered prices by 22 percent, from about $500 a week to $388, and has started advertising on other sites. Still, it’s been tough to make up for the loss in bookings that began in March 2022 and intensified this year. 'There’s been a definite drop-off,' he said. 'Two, three years ago, the market was on fire. People had unemployment money, there was stimulus money going around. I remember thinking, ‘This business is incredible.’ But now it’s just completely flattened.'"

From Newsweek. "Struggling with rampant homelessness, a drug crisis, surging crime and several business closures, San Francisco is no longer the thriving city it used to be. Its decline in recent months has led some to say the city "is dying"—especially as its citizens move elsewhere. A quarter of a million people have reportedly fled the Bay Area since the beginning of 2020. San Francisco's booming housing sector has also suffered a hit in recent months, with the city being second only to Austin, Texas, for the rate at which home prices have fallen. In April 2022—the zenith of the pandemic-era housing market boom—the median sale price of a home in San Francisco was $1.6 million, according to Redfin—11 percent more than the previous year. In April 2023, the median sale price of a home in San Francisco had dropped to $1.3 million, Redfin figures showed, 17.3 percentage points below the level reported a year before."

"Darren Stallcup, who has lived in the Tenderloin all his life, told Newsweek that he feels 'traumatized' by the number of people who's seen dying in the streets of his neighbourhood. 'I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, this is my home,' Stallcup, who regularly records with his phone camera and then shares. 'And I've seen my home go from being the cultural capital of the world to the technological capital of the world and then, somewhere between the homeless crisis and the pandemic, we've become the fentanyl capital of the world.'"

"In terms of housing, Laura Ratz, another economist at Moody's Analytics, said San Francisco's best days are likely to be behind it. 'For the whole of its recent history, San Francisco has been an incredibly expensive place to buy a home and to live and to do business—and right now we're seeing some correction,' she told Newsweek. 'I think that the high-flying days of the past two decades are definitely in the rearview for San Francisco.'"

From Willamette Week in Oregon. "People are leaving Portland, they’re taking their money with them, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Those are the conclusions of Colliers, the Toronto-based real estate firm. 'Portland and Multnomah County face a grim near-term outlook,' Jamison Shields and David Kotansky say in their report. 'Vacancy rates downtown, especially among office and retail properties, will continue to climb. Concerns about a lofty tax burden, public safety, and changing realities around how and where people work has resulted in businesses looking outside of the city to the surrounding suburban counties.' They peg the vacancy rate for downtown offices at 26.2%."

The Boston Globe in Massachusetts. "I ran out one afternoon to grab a Diet Coke, and ran into downtown Boston’s identity crisis. In pre-pandemic days, I would head downstairs to the Martin’s News Shop in the lobby of 53 State St. for my late-day soda fix. But that closed after COVID-19 hit. So did a nearby alternative: the mini CVS on Post Office Square, which morphed into a COVID testing site, and then a Chase bank branch. Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, faces the tough task of rejuvenating 34 COVID-stricken blocks spanning Downtown Crossing and much of the Financial District."

"Consider the stats. Nichols counts 90 to 100 empty storefronts scattered throughout the BID area — three to four times as many as before COVID. That does not include the quieter stretch between Post Office Square and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, where there are many additional retail vacancies. There’s plenty of empty space upstairs, too. Real estate brokerage Colliers reports a record-high downtown office vacancy rate of 23 percent and rising. Three-plus years after the Great Exodus, most office towers remain about half-full on a given weekday (and much less on Fridays). The businesses that relied heavily on the daily ebb and flow of office workers suffer the most."

The New York Post. "Empty office buildings have set New York on an “urban doom loop” that will destroy the quality of life in the city and drive residents out. That is the conclusion of a team of economists from NYU Stern Business School, Columbia Business School and the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2020, office occupancy fell from nearly 90% to 10%. But it’s only bounced back to 48.4% in New York. In response, fewer companies are renewing their leases, which lowers the value of office buildings. The researchers developed a valuation model that tells us how much these properties will be worth in six years’ time — a level of destruction that would make the Four Horsemen blush."

From Euro News. "Around the world, countries are cracking down on Airbnb. The popular platform has been accused of inflating house prices, pushing out locals, straining resources and fuelling overtourism. From Europe to the US, cities have started to place restrictions on short-term rentals in order to counteract this. Last week, Florence in Italy announced a ban on new Airbnb listings and other short-term holiday rentals in its historic city centre. The country is now considering tightening rules nationwide. It’s not the only destination to put its foot down. This week, the popular Malaysian island of Penang introduced a ban on Airbnb-style accommodation."

"Parisians seeking to rent their primary residence on a platform like Airbnb need to register with the local town hall. Berlin previously introduced a ban on Airbnb. This has now been lifted but strict rules - enforced with hefty fines - remain. In Munich, short-term rentals of entire homes are limited to eight weeks per year, after which permission must be obtained. In Stuttgart, hosts renting out more than half of their property on a short-term basis are limited to 10 weeks per year without a permit."

"Florence recently joined Rome in imposing restrictions on Airbnb-style rentals. The city is set to limit new tourist accommodation in its historic centre. Venice and Milan are also debating introducing restrictions. And the trend looks set to spread. Italy’s tourism ministry has drafted a law to curb short-term holiday lets across the country. In Amsterdam, hosts can only rent out their properties for a maximum of 30 nights per year. Anything above that requires a permit for short-term stays. To combat rising rental prices, Portugal has stopped issuing new licences for Airbnbs and other similar holiday lets - except in rural areas."

"In 2021, Barcelona became the first European city to ban short-term private room rentals. Palma, the popular Mallorcan capital, has banned tourist rentals in apartment buildings. Valencia is currently battling with the courts to ban short-term holiday lets in its historic centre. In London, Airbnb hosts are only allowed to rent out their property for 90 nights or fewer per year without applying for a change of use. In Edinburgh, planning permission is required to rent out a second home on Airbnb. The city’s 10-year development plan, announced in December, could allow the council to refuse short-term lets altogether in future."

"Canada, too, is putting its foot down on Airbnb-style rentals. Some boroughs of Montreal, Quebec have banned new short-term lets altogether to ensure there is enough housing for residents. Vancouver, too, imposes a 30-night cap on each stay and the property must be the owner’s primary residence. In Toronto, Airbnb hosts can only welcome guests for 180 days per year. In Sydney, Australia Airbnb hosts are limited to renting out their properties for 180 days per year. Bookings above 21 consecutive days are exempted from this limit."

"Plagued by overtourism and inflated house prices, Honolulu is targeting short-term holiday lets. Hawaii has cracked down on Airbnb by banning rental stays under 90 days on the island of Oahu, home to the famous Waikiki Beach. Counties on the island are also permitted to introduce their own rules for phasing out short-term rentals as of this year. Palm Springs, California has capped the number of days that a property can be rented out short-term at 26 days. It has also limited such rentals to 20 per cent of homes in residential areas. Elsewhere in California, San Francisco has a 90-day rental limit and strict compliance rules for Airbnbs."

From Your Tango. "A user on the Reddit subreddit r/AskReddit posed an interesting exercise to followers, asking them to list things that were normal 20 to 30 years ago that are now considered luxuries. One person shared that in the 90s, 'paying no more than 30% of your income in rent' was normal; now, it’s almost unheard of. Others echoed that sentiment, stating, 'single-income families buying a home' and 'buying a home in general.'"

"'A lot of double-income families struggle to own a home,' noted one user. Someone else explained that they’re 'Double-Income-No-Kids [and] still can't afford a house.' The high price of housing in our current time is coupled with the extremely high cost of having children. Another person mentioned that people used to pay '$1.15 average per gallon gas prices in the 90s,' showing just how much times have changed, and how expensive modern daily life really is."

"'New furniture made out of real wood,' commented one Reddit user as something that was normal in the past. 'Nothing angers me more than paying luxury prices for fiberboard-framed garbage,' someone else responded. 'Good quality fabric in clothing,' another person said. 'I have clothes from the 90s (and 80s from my mother) that still hold up today. These days, I'm lucky if my shirt isn't saggy and misshapen within a year.' Another person gave the example of 'household products that didn't break within the first few years of use.'"

"Healthcare was another item on the list that seems like a luxury when it’s really a basic human right. 'Going to the doctor' was normal, explained one person. 'I’m 28 but even when I was a kid you could go to the doctor when you were sick or hurt. Now I won’t go to the doctor unless I’m dead.' Most people’s complaints about modern-day life seem to revolve around the lack of accessibility to getting their basic needs fulfilled, such as taking care of their health and having a stable place to live. And though the 90s were only a few decades ago, such drastic changes have left most people bewildered."