A report from Islander News in Florida. "Setting that bar a little too high when establishing a sales price for your home? You're probably not alone. According to a recent study by Stacker, the Miami metro area, which includes Key Biscayne, is ranked second in the country (behind Naples and just ahead of West Palm Beach) when it comes to recent acceptance offers falling below the original asking price. Of the 50 top-ranked metro areas for sales falling below asking price, a total of 19 came from Florida, including: Naples (1st), Miami (2nd), West Palm Beach (3rd), Punta Gorda (6th), Port St.Lucie (7th), Sebastian (11th), Palm Bay (12th), Cape Coral (13th), Deltona (15th), North Port (16th), Ocala (17th), Homosassa Springs (19th), Panama City (20th), Fort Lauderdale (21st), Pensacola (31st), Tampa (33rd), Lakeland (42nd), Crestview (48th) and Jacksonville (49th). Miami also was ranked second for March listings, behind West Palm Beach that month."

"For top-ranked Naples, 1,051 homes were sold in April, with a median list price of $800,000 and a median sale price of $675,000, reflecting a 0.96 average sale-to-list ratio, and 8.2% of the sales were above the asking price. For Miami, there were 2,367 homes sold in April, with a median list price of $550,000 and a median sale price of $500,000, also a 0.96 ratio, with 16% of the sales coming in above asking price. For West Palm Beach, there were 2,517 homes sold in April, with a median list price of $495,000 and a median sale price of $450,000, also a 0.96 ratio, and 10.8% of the sales were above asking price. On Key Biscayne in April, 81% of the 21 homes sold were under the asking price, while four (19%) were sold at the asking price, according to data collected by Rocket Homes. No sale came in over the asking price."

Coastal Illustrated in Georgia. "The number of available homes on the market in the Golden Isles remains low, based on the current market demand. St. Simons Island had 124 listings, 36 of which have undergone price cuts – the result of the current market slowdown, driven by inflation and higher mortgage rates, that has caused properties to take longer to sell compared to a year ago, said Realtor Diana Fisher. 'As a result, a stabilization in pricing trends has been noticed,' she said."

Martha's Vineyard Times in Massachusetts. "We finally broke through the one hundred count for single family homes. There are 140 homes on the market, and 13 are still being shown, but they already have accepted offers. Homes that come on the market in the most desirable locations, and are priced right, still get offers quickly. We are seeing more and more price reductions on homes that have not had enough activity at the offered price and have considerable room to negotiate. One can almost feel the prices tugging higher and lower by the limited inventory and increased financing costs. Many of these properties have not sold in reasonable days on the market, which is the primary reason for lowering prices. Click here for a list of this week’s price reductions."

Black Mountain News in North Carolina. "According to AirDNA, a company that provides “short-term rental data analytics,” there are 644 active rentals in the 28711 zip code, which includes Black Mountain. There is no data for rentals within town limits specifically. Chip Craig, who owns Greybeard Realty said he feels like, investment wise, it is a mistake on the part of the homeowner. 'In my opinion, long-term rentals are better investments than short-term rentals,' Craig said. 'The homeowners, in most cases, are making a mistake.' Craig said homeowners may read that they could make money by operating a short-term rental, but they do not take into consideration the costs associated with it, including but not limited to furnishing the space, paying to clean after each rental and paying utilities."

"He also said the season most people want to visit Black Mountain and Western North Carolina is too short to make any real money. 'If you’re doing a vacation rental, it’s going to be dead from January ‘til April for sure,' Craig said. 'The season is too short in our area to have a positive cash flow.'"

The Lake Powell Chronicle. "The troubles began on May 13, 2016, when Arizona’s then-Governor Doug Ducey signed SB1350. The new law stripped power from cities and municipalities. They could no longer prohibit short-term vacation rentals. Ducey’s SB1350 – dubbed 'the Airbnb bill,' the law purporting to help homeowners make extra money – opened the doors to out-of-town investors. A new, largely unregulated investment opportunity was born in Arizona, and cities struggling with housing shortages could do nothing to rein in the consequences. Arizona, an outspoken advocate for state rights on the federal level, took away city rights on the state level."

"From 1995 to 2017, a Sedona ordinance prohibited short-term rentals less than 30 days. With SB1350, the state stripped the city’s right to enforce its law. Sedona has 6,426 housing units according to the U.S. Census bureau. AirDNA reported 3,230 active short-term rentals in Sedona for the first quarter of 2023. In three years, short-term rentals in Sedona grew by 815 units."

Bisnow Dallas/Fort Worth. "Tides Equities has joined the league of multifamily investors in Texas that got in while the going was hot and are now suffering the consequences of the market’s precipitous decline. The firm is calling on its limited partners to inject equity into its portfolio as falling values and soaring debt payments stymie profits. More than half of the firm’s 43 properties are in North Texas, while another three are in Austin, according to The Real Deal. Tides went on a buying spree during the pandemic, amassing an apartment portfolio of $6.5B, mostly throughout the Sun Belt, where double-digit rent growth and strong in-migration attracted a wave of investment."

"Now, as maturities loom on 47 loans comprising $1.5B, executives said some of its holdings are in negative cash flow territory. One of those properties, Tides at Lewisville, has a debt-service coverage ratio of less than 1, per TRD. Tides on North Plaza and Tides on Copper Creek, both in Austin, are in the same boat. 'Increased costs on the bridge loan are almost doubling our mortgage, which is by far our largest expense,' Shakti C'Ganti, CEO of Dallas-based multifamily investment firm Ashland Greene, told Bisnow. 'You’re having a cash crunch at all properties.'"

"That pain will likely lead to a spike in defaults in the coming months as owners of floating-rate debt struggle to refinance, leaving many to choose between selling or handing the keys back to the bank. Close to 40% of the $2.6T of loan maturities scheduled through 2027 are concentrated in the multifamily space."

Bisnow New York. "The Related Cos. has exited a troubled office property in Long Island City. Los Angeles-based credit firm BrightSpire Capital, Related's lender at 21-00 49th St., has acquired the building after the borrower had trouble managing the debt, Crain’s New York Business reports. Related Cos. sold the 130K SF Paragon Building for $64.3M to Brightspire in a deal that closed last week after months of whispers that Related intended to hand over the property in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure arrangement. Related bought the building from Samson Management in 2016 for $104M as part of a two-asset deal with BentallGreenOak. The joint venture spent $45M renovating the property, but defaulted on the loans backing the buildings earlier this year after being unable to sign tenants up for space."

The Daily Mail on California. "San Francisco could become the first city in the country to require every pharmacy within its boundaries to carry Narcan, as the drug crisis spirals in the liberal city. San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will introduce a bill on Tuesday that, if approved, would require every pharmacy to always have in stock at least two nasal sprays containing the drug or face fines. The city has struggled for years with rampant fentanyl use and fatal overdoses, and is on pace for its deadliest year yet. San Francisco has suffered heavily since the pandemic, as drug addicts have taken over the city, causing businesses to shutter their doors."

"HRD Coffee Shop opened its doors in 1953 as a modest establishment serving workers in the city's downtown area - and eventually became a staple caterer to the city's tech giants. Sydney Saidyan, its current owner, told The San Francisco Standard the situation in the city became untenable, and he and his advisers decided to shut down the place back in May. 'I would love to remain in San Francisco as a business. But the question is, would any sane person?' Saidyan told the outlet."

The Birmingham Mail in the UK. "Fed-up homeowners living on two unfinished estates in the Black Country say they have been abandoned by their local council and accused it of failing to help end their new-build nightmare. Dozens of residents have been left 'trapped' on the Thomas Cox Wharf and Alexandra Grange estates in Tipton which has been left frozen in time after the developers went bust. Families are having to live on the development which partly resembles a building site with unfinished roads and sewers. Sandwell Council has told them it can't do anything to help, and if they want work to be completed they must pay for it themselves."

"The exasperated neighbours fear the value of their homes is plummeting because of all the issues on the estate that need fixing. Unsurfaced roads are filled with potholes and not level with the drains, meaning they are often flooded as rainwater hangs around for days. Others are considering packing up and leaving but wonder who would want to buy their house, or at least at anywhere near what they paid for it. Dejected resident Aman Kaur, who has lived on the Thomas Cox Wharf estate for four years, said: 'We're still in the same position. Sandwell Council said the developer didn't do as they should have before they went into liquidation. It's going to cost £100,000 and they want us to pay for it.'"

The NL Times. "Investors are withdrawing from the Dutch housing market, buying far fewer homes than four years ago. That is good news for people looking to buy a home, housing market professor Peter Boelhouwer told AD. This week, Canadian investor Eres, who rents out 6,900 apartments and terraced houses in the Netherlands, announced that it wants to sell. That is expected to hit the free sector. Sophie Kraaijeveld of ING Real Estate also thinks that the prices of investment properties will fall."

"According to Rabobank economist Nic Vrieselaar, the Dutch housing market lacks balance with falling purchase prices, rising interest rates, and sky-high land prices. He, too, expects that investors’ withdrawal will cause home prices to fall further. 'If there is more supply of owner-occupied homes, it will be beneficial for first-time buyers, but not for people who want to rent.' Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge’s plans to also regulate part of the free rental market and changes to wealth and asset tax in box 3 also have private landlords looking to sell their homes. Owning a second home to rent out is simply no longer profitable, professor Boelhouwer said."

Stuff New Zealand. "Liquidations of companies are accelerating in number as more businesses succumb to the toxic mix of a troughing property market, high inflation, spending-shy households, and a tougher stance by Inland Revenue. In the first five months of the year, 699 companies were put into liquidation, data from credit reporting company Centrix shows. In the same period last year, it was 539, and in the year before 597, but even so, liquidation numbers remain lower than before Covid-19 first made landfall, said Kare Johnstone, chairperson of the industry body for insolvency professionals."

"Construction companies top the liquidation chart, with construction company liquidations up 72% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year. Only one sector had a bigger percentage rise, which was retail, but while 55 retail companies went bust in the first five months of the year, 199 construction companies hit the wall. The construction sector might be over-represented in liquidations because the sums of money were often large, and many companies were involved in projects, so when one fell over, many firms were left chasing debts, veteran credit reporting boss Keith McLaughlin said."

The Sydney Morning Herald. "More than one in 10 home sellers in some of Australia’s biggest cities made a loss on their property sale in the March quarter, and a growing number are reselling within only two years of purchasing. Loss-making sales in Melbourne are at their highest level in almost 25 years, CoreLogic’s latest Pain and Gain report shows, as 10.2 per cent of vendors resold for a loss last quarter. Sydneysiders made a loss on 10.7 per cent of property deals, the highest rate since 2009. Meanwhile 13.8 per cent of Perth sellers made a loss – though this was below the decade average."

"Nationally, 7.7 per cent of homes sold at a loss, up from 5.8 per cent the previous quarter, and there was also an increase in the number resold after less than two years – at 8.4 per cent. 'The implication may be that some sellers are choosing to incur a loss from resale in order to avoid particularly high mortgage repayments in the current rate-hiking environment,' said CoreLogic Australia’s head of research Eliza Owen, noting hold periods typically increased during market downturns as sellers tried to avoid losses."

"Apartment owners were more likely to sell at a loss, as 15.4 per cent of units resold for a price cut compared to 3.8 per cent for houses – a record gap between the two. This climbed to 21.9 per cent of apartments in Melbourne, and 17.5 per cent in Sydney. Investors and high-density markets were particularly hard hit as a result, with investor resales (12.6 per cent) three times more likely to be at a loss than owner-occupier (4 per cent) sales."

"In the Melbourne City Council area, 46.6 per cent of properties resold at a loss. Capital losses were also common in the Boroondara (35.9 per cent), Stonnington (29.2 per cent), Yarra (22.3 per cent) and Port Phillip (21.1 per cent) regions. In Sydney, the highest proportion of loss-making sales was in the Strathfield (35.1 per cent), Botany Bay (33.8 per cent), Burwood (31.9 per cent) and Parramatta (28.8 per cent) regions."

"AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said it was no surprise more people resold for a loss after a market downturn. 'When rates go up people can often find ways to cut back their spending, even though it’s a struggle ... but if they lose their job it’s a different story, and we’re coming into a period where that may be more of factor,' he said. 'That will cause a problem for some home owners, particularly those who may have [purchased] in recent years.' An increase in investors exiting the market, would also be contributing to the proportion of loss-making sales, Oliver noted."