A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. "Late last year, sales of luxury homes in the Seattle area dropped more than 50% from a year earlier, according to a Redfin report that defined luxury homes as those in the top 5% of a local market’s values, or $2.5 million in the Seattle area. Zillow estimates that values for the top 5% of homes in the Seattle area, averaging $2.5 million, were down 12% in June compared with a year earlier. That was a larger drop than among the most affordable homes, averaging $490,600, where values were down 2.5% and among midtier homes, averaging $704,600, where values were down 6.5%."

"One of the Seattle area’s most expensive homes is back on the market — this time with a $15 million price cut. The five-bedroom mansion on more than 4 acres in the Eastside town of Hunts Point was listed in spring 2022 for $85 million, then removed from the market after it didn’t sell. The listing is back this summer for $70 million, a sign that even the most lavish homes in the Seattle area are not immune from the cooling housing market. 'Even though this home is singular … a trophy property and very unique, it’s still part of the housing market,' said Windermere listing agent Anna Riley. 'If the market in general has come down, that can also affect the upper-end properties.'"

The Idaho Press. "The rolling 12-month median sales price for Gem County home sales was $433,258 in June 2023, a 7.2% decrease from the year before but mirror image of last month. Due to the smaller number of transactions that occur in the area, we use a rolling 12-month median sales price to get a better idea of the overall trends. June followed a three-month trend in sales price cuts, contrasted with the consistent increases we’d seen between May 2016 and March 2023."

From KSAT. "The real estate market is continuing to see a decline in sales as mortgage rates remain high after a somewhat volatile few years in the housing industry. According to the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR), home sales are down 9.7% across Texas and down 9% in San Antonio compared to this time last year. Median home prices for the San Antonio area are also down. Data from SABOR shows the median price of a home dropped 6% from June 2022 to June 2023. 'Another noteworthy trend observed is the significant increase in the number of days on the market, which rose by 121% to reach 64 days,' said SABOR’s 2023 Chair of the Board Sara Briseño Gerrish. 'This suggests a more deliberate decision-making process among buyers, potentially due to increased scrutiny or the need for a more thorough evaluation of available options.'"

WFLA in Florida. "A group of Tampa Bay area homeowners told 8 On Your Side they’re having to pay more for property insurance – nearly 10 times more. Carol Cameron, who recently purchased her home, feels blindsided. 'We had no idea any of this was happening until a week ago,' said Cameron. 'Most of us are not going to have insurance.' 'If a big storm comes and hits everybody?' asked Investigator Mahsa Saeidi. 'Yes, we’re going to be done,' said Cameron."

The Real Deal. "M&T Bank emerged from the murk to report a stabilized deposit base and earnings growth. But office distress rose in the second quarter as a pain point on the bank’s balance sheet. Buffalo-based M&T reported that net-charge offs — a measure of debt unlikely to be paid off — spiked 156 percent year over year to hit $127 million in the second quarter. Three office buildings in downtown New York City and Washington, D.C., plus one large healthcare company in New York state drove that uptick, Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible said on a Wednesday morning earnings call. The bank’s dollar volume of foreclosed assets rose nearly 50 percent to $43 million in the quarter, up from $29 million a year ago."

"Analyst Brent Erensel of Portales Partners asked Bible how the firm had handled the uptick in troubled office debt. 'Some of these big names are just mailing in the keys, are you experiencing that as well?' Erensel asked. Bible said clients were 'really holding in there' and though owners might have one troubled asset, most were willing to work to throw in more capital to rightsize struggling properties."

From CBC News. "The rising cost of borrowing is leaving some homeowners and small businesses on P.E.I. with a feeling of uncertainty. In efforts to slow inflation, the Bank of Canada has increased its lending rate nearly five per cent in the last year and a half. Charlottetown mortgage broker Kim Reddin said that has many of her clients worried. 'I'm getting emails in my inbox all the time. They're very concerned,' she said. 'Their mortgage is coming up for renewal in the next year. They're worried about maybe not being able to afford their house. I don't want people to panic like that.' Anyone renewing now, after a five-year term, can expect to pay about 30 per cent more each month, Reddin said."

Place North West in the UK. "The owner of Leighton Halls, a 298-bed complex in the heart of UCLan’s campus, said an oversupply of student accommodation in the city is making it difficult to compete. In response, Leighton Halls Management Company has asked Preston City Council for permission to let rooms to key workers, as well as students, going forward. It is becoming 'increasingly difficult to ensure the occupancy of Leighton Halls is sufficient to guarantee the ongoing viability of the development,' the statement adds."

The Helsinki Times. "Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Hungary are projected to see a significant decrease in completed dwellings. In Germany, the shortage of orders in residential construction continues to worsen, with a record high proportion of companies reporting insufficient orders. Additionally, cancellations of existing orders have reached new heights. These challenges are indicative of the overall cooling down of the residential construction sector in Europe."

"In Finland, particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area, the housing market is facing difficulties. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the sale of new apartments has significantly decreased over the past six months, leading to a growing inventory of unsold units. This phenomenon is reflected in the emergence of 'ghost buildings' – newly constructed buildings with a large number of unoccupied units. For instance, a recent apartment building constructed by YIT in Töölöntullinkatu remained nearly empty in early June."

"The situation is not limited to a few isolated cases but appears to be a broader trend. Several upcoming construction projects in Helsinki, including one in Länsi-Pakila, show a substantial percentage of unsold units. These developments raise concerns about the market's ability to absorb new housing supply."

West Australia Today. "Not a pebble looked out of place as Jean Nassif’s immaculately maintained mansion on the Chiswick waterfront in Sydney’s inner west was bathed in winter sunshine on Wednesday afternoon. It was like salt in the wound for dozens of furious creditors gathered at Drummoyne Oval. They were within view of the palatial home as they met administrators who are sifting through the carnage of Nassif’s collapsing construction empire. Up to $1 billion in assets and liabilities are at stake across the 75 companies in the Toplace group that have now been placed into the hands of the administrators."

"Gordon Henderson’s mobile crane hire business is owed about $100,000 by Toplace. Henderson, who has been in the industry for 40 years, was pessimistic about his prospects of recouping the money. 'Imagine the enormous number of companies involved; there’ll be a lot of dark lanes to go down, I think, before they get it all worked out but hopefully at the end there’s enough left over … there’s a lot of little blokes in there,' he said."

From AFP on China. "Gao Zhuang says he has refused to pay his mortgage for months, a desperate protest against the Chinese property developer he blames for endless delays on the unfinished apartment he bought years ago for his son. He is one of many victims of a long-running housing crisis still wreaking misery on the lives of homebuyers, many of whom have little legal recourse on what has become an ultra-sensitive subject for the government. The 49-year-old labourer from central Henan bought an apartment in the provincial capital Zhengzhou for 1.2 million yuan ($170,000) in 2019, and said he was told it would be completed in two years."

"He staked much of his savings on the flat, hoping it would improve his son's marriage prospects and allow his family to start leaving their poorer rural hometown behind. But the developer announced delay after delay, and construction work ground to a virtual halt late last year. 'The main impact has been on my son,' said Gao, who requested his name be changed to avoid repercussions. 'How can he get married without his own place?'"

"Gao's case is not uncommon. A wave of mortgage boycotts spread nationwide last summer, as cash-strapped developers struggled to raise enough to complete homes they had already sold in advance -- a common practice in China. Cut off from the easy money that had fuelled the boom of the last few decades, many companies began floundering under accumulated debts. A slowing economy was hammered further by pandemic-era health curbs, adding to low consumer confidence and a slump in housing demand."

"Disgruntled homeowners say the compound's estimated 100 undelivered homes and shoddy finishes are evidence the company is struggling. AFP journalists visiting in June observed crumbling exterior masonry, holes in interior walls, loose wiring and unsecured fire doors. For others, initial fury has given way to helplessness. 'There's no point getting angry, because there's nothing I can do,' said 24-year-old homebuyer Wang, using a pseudonym. The online store operator purchased a home in the wealthy eastern city of Ningbo for 690,000 yuan in 2021, but work stopped later that year. When AFP visited the site, empty towerblock facades surrounded mounds of overturned earth and piping, with rusty vehicles parked chaotically among the rubble. Around a dozen workers mooched among stone slabs and upturned trees waiting to be planted, roots drying out in the summer sun."

"Wang said he had 'no confidence' in the latest promise the property would be finished by August's end. 'After this, I'll never buy a house that isn't finished already,' he said. 'And I won't believe all the rhetoric the government and others come out with.' Both Gao and Wang said they had been contacted by local officials to dissuade them from petitioning the government or speaking to the media. Multiple other buyers said they had received calls from the police, who they feared were also monitoring their private social media groups. 'There's nothing I can say about this,' one initially receptive group administrator told AFP before abruptly breaking off contact. 'The state is controlling this too strictly right now.'"