A report from the Naples Daily News. "For the first time this decade, yearly median sold prices for all three of Southwest Florida's bigger real estate groups sunk in the same month in the latest data. 'Now cannot be compared to 2021 and 2022 when sellers were asking and getting a premium price on properties that were not in premium condition,' said Jerry Murphy, managing broker of Downing-Frye Real Estate's Bonita Springs office. 'Now we are seeing a disconnect between some sellers who are still trying to do that and buyers who are not willing.' BER has nearly 60% more homes available than a year ago with sales down 5%. The NABOR and Royal Palm supplies are up around 30%, with a drop in sales close to 20%."

The Miami Herald in Florida. "As lawsuits, foreclosures and eviction notices pile up against a Coconut Grove developer accused of fraud, buyers who have waited years to move into their homes say the entire multimillion-dollar mess could have been averted if city of Miami officials had acted on their complaints. The case against Doug Cox, his business and live-in partner Nicole Pearl and their companies Send Enterprises and Drive Development is in Miami-Dade Circuit Court under Judge Jennifer Bailey, who in May appointed receiver Alan Fine to follow the trail of some $20 million in missing money."

"Double and even triple purchase contracts continue to come to light as buyers claim in lawsuits that Cox and Pearl hid the fact they were signing deals for properties with existing contracts. As real estate values soared, unsuspecting buyers signed contracts for higher prices and paid higher deposits that did not go into escrow but into the pockets of Cox and Pearl, lawsuits allege. The house at 2960 Coconut Ave. has had four contracts on it, three currently, with deposits ranging from $500,000 in 2020 to $1.52 million in January."

The Oregonian. "In the normally busy summer, the Portland-area housing market remains in something of a slump. Sales are down from the last two years, and houses are staying on the market nearly twice as long as they did this time last year. Drops in home prices aren’t enough to make up for soaring mortgage interest rates, now above 7%. Portland isn’t alone — cities up and down the West Coast are seeing home prices decline, with San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles seeing even bigger price drops than Portland, according to the Case-Shiller Index."

"This May, the median sale price for the Portland area was $550,000. While prices are up from the past few months, following seasonal patterns, the median cost is below where it was this time last year, around $575,000. And homes are sitting on the market for a whopping 122% longer than they were this time last year. Chris Suarez, the principal broker of PDX Property Group, said there are two types of buyers on the market right now. The first are ready and willing to move, but can’t afford the high interest rates. The others, he said, are ready and financially able, but aren’t willing to let go of their low interest rates in order to move into a home where they’ll pay more to get less. 'People are truly stuck,' he said."

Beat of Hawaii. "In the past few months, data shows a shift in Hawaii vacation rentals has started. Could Hawaii tourism be finally less robust, or is this only an adjustment in relation to the ridiculous increases the Hawaii vacation rental market has seen over pre-Covid pricing? Other places in the US that have also reported recent rate drops include Nashville, Phoenix, Myrtle Beach, and Florida beach destinations of Panama City and Orlando. Vacation rental owners feel squeezed by high costs and, in some cases, mortgages that leave them holding out for top dollar as long as possible. Vacasa said that it simply isn’t seeing the volume of return visitors to places, like Hawaii, that performed well over the past couple of years. They said, 'We are in a very different demand environment than we were a year ago.'"

The Brooklyn Reader. "Airbnb hosts in New York City will soon find it harder, if not impossible, to open their doors to guests, as a short-term rental restriction is soon-to-be enforced. Laurie K., a superhost, does acknowledge the reason behind the city’s decision. 'Real estate folks, developers, and individuals turned thousands of [apartments] into STR and ruined it for the tiny [home sharing] community…Yeah, I’m bitter,' she admits."

The Real Deal on California. "The building was an office buyer’s dream. In 2010, Union Bank Plaza, next to the 110 freeway on the edge of Downtown Los Angeles’ financial district, had 'all the characteristics investors want,' JLL broker David Doupe said at the time. How things have changed. The tower is now about 40 percent vacant. This past March, New York-based investor Joel Schreiber’s Waterbridge Capital picked up Union Bank Plaza for $110 million — about half what seller KBS bought it for in 2010.  Downtown L.A.’s prognosis is even more acute, with some, including Boston Consulting Group, estimating losses of up to 55 percent. That equates to a $4.6 billion loss in value for Downtown L.A.’s Class A office space, according to a TRD analysis of L.A. County data."

"Whatever the solution, no one wants to book the loss. 'It becomes a game of chicken,' Joseph Faulkner, the co-CEO of brokerage NAI Capital, said. 'Everyone has a shotgun to each other’s heads to see who blinks first.'"

The Toronto Star in Canada. "As you load up the car to head to the lake, there’s no better time to think about the legacy of your cottage — and how, with the right financial planning, you can keep it in the family for generations to come. While prices for cottages have been plummeting across Ontario, according to the 2023 RE/MAX Cottage Trends Report, the report also found that more than 50 per cent of people who own or plan to buy a cottage said the chance to pass it down to family was a key motivator in buying."

The Telegraph in the UK. "Property sellers are being forced to slash their asking prices in droves as the housing market struggles under the weight of surging borrowing costs. A third of all homes for sale in the fourth week of June were listed with discounts on their asking prices – up from 18pc in the same week a year earlier and even higher than during the Covid crisis, according to property website Rightmove. Matt Johnson, of Johns&Co estate agents in London, said some vendors were being forced to cut asking prices by 10pc in order to secure a deal. His customers have cut prices on 160 properties in the past two months, up from 51 in the first two months of the year."

"Some buy-to-let investors are particularly motivated to make quick sales because mortgage rate rises have hit their profit margins, Mr Johnson added. He said: 'We have seen more people take a bit of a hit on their price because their view now is that the investment doesn’t make as good sense as it has previously.'"

"Mike Staton, of Staton Mortgages, a broker in Nottinghamshire, said there is also a huge difference between advertised prices and those which sellers are actually able to achieve – even after a cut. Mr Staton blamed 'ridiculous marketing valuations' for unrealistic prices that do not reflect the current state of the market. He said: 'Many vendors still believe it’s 2018, whilst buyers think it’s 2008. We have seen a lot of down valuations.'"

The Guardian Australia. "Andre Lattouf bought his first home in the middle of last year but after facing eight interest rate rises he is already looking to sell. 'It’s choking us,' the father of three says. 'It’s frustrating and sad. We spent so much time renovating this place and putting so much into it, but my mortgage repayments have almost doubled and it’s becoming a joke.' Blacktown is one of the centres of the country’s mortgage stress and, with his plumbing business slowing down, Lattouf says he has 'bitten the bullet' and accepted he just can’t keep up. 'If rates keep going up, it’s just not worth it for me. I have to think about my family.'"

"A real estate agent in the area, Riza Kamerakkas, tells Guardian Australia that 90% of his sales are due to mortgage stress, with many seeking to avert financial disaster. 'It’s not that they are under extreme financial stress now but that they are acting preventatively, before it’s too late,' he says. 'They are selling because they feel they won’t be able to afford it in a couple of months.'"

"As for Lattouf, he hasn’t given up on his dream of home ownership but says he’s likely to move further west for a better price. 'They want to stop us spending but the housing market is still on fire. People here will never stop spending.'"

The South China Morning Post. "Wang Hua is already making plans for her daughter's education in Beijing, after delivering her second baby earlier this year. To enrol in a prestigious public school in Haidian, she would need to own a property in the district as a prerequisite. Stressed by the impact of Covid-19 on job security and economic fallout, the teacher in her 30s is struggling with the decision. 'The pandemic has brought about too many uncertainties and I don't feel now is the right time to buy a home,' she said, worrying about the family's future income stability. 'We will just wait until we save up enough for a decent home, rather than rushing for something small and old. We don't want to lower our quality of life.'"

"That hesitation does not bode well for China's housing market, a pillar of the economy that is cracking under the weight of shrinking demand and weaker prices. Liquidity crunches and debt defaults among the nation's private developers, from China Evergrande Group to Kaisa Group, have dented confidence among buyers as home delivery suffered."

"Vivian Hu, a tutor in her 20s in Beijing, believes more Chinese women are opting to stay single, shunning marriage to avoid being tied down by mortgages. This summer, she will spend some of her income for lessons on riding a motorcycle. 'There are many homes for rent and rents are low,' she said. 'Why would I need to buy one?'"