It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "A bond rating agency’s downgrade of U.S. government debt roiled markets — and created just one more reason for mortgage rates to stay firmly near their highest level in two decades. 'That is not good news,' National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. 'That is going to make the mortgage rate a little higher.' 'This could have serious consequences,' says Dick Lepre, a loan agent at CrossCountry Mortgage in Alamo, California."

"According to Redfin, the median sale price of a starter home in San Francisco decreased 13.3% to $910,000; in Austin, decreased 12.2% to $347,300; and in Phoenix, decreased 9.7% to $325,000. 'With mortgage rates being so high, not as many people are making that decision to buy a home in San Francisco right now,' said Sheharyar Bokhari, a senior economist with Redfin. 'I think the story there is that demand is just gone. There were a lot of iBuyers in Phoenix and when rates went up, those investors made losses on their properties,' he said. As demand falls and interest rates remain high, those investors are trying to reduce their presence in the market, which has helped to bring prices back down."

"Redfin shares dropped more than 10% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company reported a 21% drop in revenue as it continues to face headwinds from a slumping housing market. 'Sales volume is near rock bottom,' Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said on a call with analysts."

"On the bottom line for the second quarter, Zillow Group posted a net loss of $35 million, vs. a profit of $8 million in the same quarter a year ago, as calculated using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)."

"July was another slow month for the housing market in the Denver metro area, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Denver Realtor and DMAR Markets Trends Committee Chair Libby Levinson-Katz said in the report that seller concessions have increased in the current home buying climate, where activity from buyers remains slow. Seller concessions have gone up from 29.2% last June to 48% this June to an average of $7,295. In addition, the close-price-to-list-price ratio dropped below 100% in July. 'This may be the best time to buy in recent history as buyers can finally negotiate after enduring years of a strong seller’s market,' Levinson-Katz said."

"'Realtors and their clients must take a deep breath, relax and expect both buying and selling to take longer than in recent months and return to pre-pandemic normalcy,' Denver Realtor Susan Thayer said in the report. DMAR includes data from the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park in its monthly reports."

"Home prices are continuing to decline in Liberty Hill and Leander, and homes are sitting on the market longer compared to last June, according to Austin Board of Realtors data. In June, the median price of homes in Leander was $483,400 compared to $511,185 last year in June, which is a 5.4% decrease, ABoR data shows. The median home price in Liberty Hill was $471,645 in June—a 9.5% decrease compared to $521,035 in June 2022. Additionally, homes are sitting on the market longer in both cities. 'It is important to remember that the market continues to moderate in the wake of unsustainable price growth and sales activity during the pandemic, but remains robust,' ​​ABoR Housing Economist Clare Losey said."

"Despite strength in occupancy and sales at its core malls, PREIT’s financial situation — and its relationship with shareholders — continues to deteriorate. The Philadelphia-based mall REIT lost $9.73 per share in Q2, nearly triple what it lost in the same period last year, according to its quarterly report. 'Right now, I think we’re dealing with PREIT rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,' longtime PREIT analyst Sheldon Grodsky told Bisnow after the earnings release. 'I think the board includes some very knowledgeable and good people, but they’re in a situation that may have no good way out for them.'"

"Private investor Scott Bishins, who co-authored a July 6 letter calling on the seven board members to resign, told Bisnow at the time that PREIT’s lack of detailed communication about its refinancing efforts was the source of his frustration. For retiree and shareholder Claire Pare, the issue is one of priorities. 'In my opinion, PREIT’s management doesn’t appreciate the fact that many retirees are in part dependent on the dividends,' Pare told Bisnow. 'And I think they’re being very … it’s very unfair to ignore that fact.'"

"Amid a South Beach retail slump, Northeast investors bought a Collins Avenue building at a deep discount, with plans for a Michelin-starred chef to open a restaurant at the long-vacant site. Garfield and Rebecca Spencer bought the two-story building at 624 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach for $6 million, or 75 percent less than the property’s sale price seven years ago, according to the broker and records. South Beach’s heyday as a high-fashion retail hub is long gone, leaving Collins Avenue riddled with vacant storefronts. In January, Shire Realty sold the mostly vacant building at 826 Collins Avenue for $5 million, or a 41 percent discount from the property’s price tag a decade ago."

"Downtown Toronto’s office hub has become a tenant’s market, as more businesses try to get rid of space, pushing the real cost of rent down. Tenants and commercial real estate brokers agree that rent has gone way down, as landlords offer inducements that effectively reduce the headline rent number. 'Landlords don’t want to reveal the discounts and incentives they may need to use to lure in tenants, especially in tenant market situations like today,' said Carl Gomez, chief economist with CoStar Group. One financial services firm negotiated its lease in 2021 and estimates that it is paying 30 per cent less than it would have had it negotiated its lease in 2019. Because of the glut of available space, landlords are offering other incentives to lure tenants. The result is that renters are finding better deals than they’ve seen in years."

"The Quebec government and short-term rental platforms, such as Airbnb, are at odds over how to identify illegal listings as the deadline approaches for the companies to comply with provincial law. The new regulation is part of a crackdown on illegal tourist accommodations after a March fire in an Old Montreal building that killed seven people, six of whom were staying in unlicensed short-term rentals. But three months is simply not enough time, said Dany Papineau, CEO of WeChalet, a Montreal-based short-term rental startup with 2,200 listings."

"'We’re definitely not prepared,' he said. 'It’s a bit like if you ask (the) Titanic … to stop right away at a stop light and turn right on the spot. It’s simply impossible.' Papineau said such fines could be detrimental to his business as it continues to grow. 'It’s really like putting a gun in your face,' he said."

"A South Australian construction company has been stripped of its licence after more than a dozen complaints of substantial delays and shoddy workmanship. About 27 properties with builder 7 Star Construction have been left without a completion date, with homeowners saying they have been left in the dark about the future of their 'dream home.' Zara Sanders picked 7 Star to build her home, but three years on, she says the experience has been a nightmare. 'A year and a half in, that’s when the neighbours all collectively started to communicate to each other and we realised we’ve really got some problems here,' she told 7NEWS."

"7 Star owner Qamil Veseli told 7NEWS he sympathised with his customers, blaming out of control prices that have put him under pressure. 'I feel so bad for them,' he said. 'Everything has gone out of control. At the moment, we’re under big pressure.'"

"Auckland house sales fell nearly $1000 a day, if the average sale price drop by the city’s largest real estate agency is anything to go by. Barfoot & Thompson reported June’s average sale house price was $1.097 million but in July that dropped to just $1.067m, indicating prices were down by $994 a day from one month to the next. Peter Thompson, the agency’s managing director, said nothing unusual was happening because it was the traditional winter lull. 'The Auckland housing market once again showed a consistency in line with traditional seasonal expectations during July with sales numbers up on previous months, but prices falling back a little,' he said."