A report from KSNV in Nevada. "Housing analysts are starting to see a foreclosure uptick once again, and unfortunately, Las Vegas is at the tip of that financial spear. Veteran real estate broker Kristen Riffle says she's seeing it. 'People aren't making their mortgage payments due to numerous factors, the economy inflation all the things you can imagine,' she says. So how bad could it get? Probably not too bad, because economists and real estate professionals saw it coming."

The Baltimore Sun in Maryland. "A Baltimore Circuit Court judge approved the foreclosure sale of Kevin Spacey’s condo overlooking the Inner Harbor in August. The actor’s last $20,230 monthly mortgage payment was for June 2022, according to court records, and he owed $171,727 and counting in back payments in February on the unit in the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Inner Harbor Baltimore. The townhouse cost around $5.6 million, and according to court records, Spacey still owes the bank around $4 million. The Pier Homes at Harborview Council also is seeking money from Clear Toaster, claiming the LLC owes more than $43,000 for unpaid expenses."

From The Street. "We are also finally starting to see major cracks developing in the housing market. Home prices have largely dodged the highest average mortgage rates since the turn of the century, but I don't think that lasts much longer -- and the next direction for average selling prices will be down. Thirty-two percent of homebuilders reported lowering prices compared to 25% in the prior month. In addition, 60,000 home orders were cancelled in August, or 15.7% of all orders. This is the highest level since October 2022 when mortgage rates similarity spiked. On Tuesday, housing starts were reported to have plunged 11.3% in August from July's levels, badly missing expectations."

"AirBnB is also facing increasing challenges. The company's business is getting scapegoated by politicians and others for the huge hikes in home prices and rental costs over the past couple of years. I have noticed that here in South Florida about one in every 12 new listings seem to be around an abode that was previously used primarily as an AirBnB property. This tells me the business is not nearly as lucrative for hosts here as it has been."

From Fortune. "As mortgage rates began to spike last year, homebuilders across much of the country began to reduce their profit margins—which had grown to record levels during the boom—to do things that would entice buyers back into the market.' KB Home's CEO Jeff Mezger says that Denver—where Lennar is offering its 4.25% mortgage rate buydown—is still their weakest housing market. 'The [housing] market where the premium to resale got too far out there, and the market has been correcting, and it has been difficult for the industry, would be Denver. Where prices just moved very quickly, and moved away from affordability, and we're continuing to adjust there and demand remains a little more sluggish than average,' Mezger says."

My San Antonio in Texas. "The San Antonio market has had its ups and downs over the last few months, but it appears to be slowing from a sellers market to a buyers market. The month of August saw a total of 3,168 listings sold — 175 more than July. However, there were 137 fewer home sales than August 2022. Of the homes sold, 2,160 were existing homes and 1,008 were new constructions, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors market report. With new construction homes consisting of nearly a third of the properties bought in August, more buyers have been attracted to newly constructed homes than before. 'Depending on the price point, the market has slowed way down,' said Doug Curtis with The Curtis Team at Keller Williams Realty. 'We're in the middle of a transition from a seller's market to a buyers market. We've been in the seller's market since 2008, so it's a long time coming for the shift to happen.'"

San Diego Metro. "As insurance executives might see it, the 21st century gold rush is outside of California. To others in the Golden State, it could appear they’re settling a score. San Diego County homeowners, plus many in California, are seeing as much as a 100% increase, sometimes more, in their annual property insurance costs. Homeowner’s insurance is so challenging the sale of a mansion for about $20 million in ritzy Rancho Santa Fe hasn’t closed yet because not a single carrier, so far, will write a policy to cover the home. 'The availability of insurance is what’s affecting the closings in our state right now,' said CAR President Jennifer Branchini. 'The cost of insurance is affecting some of the closings because the borrower is maybe not able to qualify any longer because of what the insurance cost is. Let’s say if normally a policy was going to be $1,500 or $2,000 a year, maybe those quotes are coming in triple or more than that.'"

"San Diego mortgage broker David Stein says the increase in insurance premiums 'doesn’t affect affordability because if you can’t afford a $50 increase a month, you shouldn’t be buying a home in California. You probably overextended yourself to the point where you’re in trouble,' he added."

The Real Deal. "Troubled loans tied to office buildings across the U.S. are on the rise, with commercial borrowers in Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco among the hardest hit. The rate of delinquent or specially serviced commercial mortgage-backed securities 2.0 loans rose to 6.8 percent in August, up from 4.5 percent in June last year, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported, citing figures from Kroll Bond Rating Agency. More properties face foreclosure as landlords struggle to fill vacant offices, while refinancing office towers becomes a tougher challenge. Chicago tops the list for troubled loans at 22.7 percent, followed by Denver at 19.1 percent, Philadelphia at 14.2 percent and San Francisco, where a third of its offices are empty, at 13.9 percent. The rate of distressed commercial debt was nearly 14 percent in Houston, more than 7 percent in New York, and approaching 6 percent in Los Angeles and nearby Riverside, according to a KBRA chart."

"A smaller number of loans backing large office properties has generally driven distress rates higher in major markets, Roy Chun, senior managing director and head of CMBS surveillance at KBRA, told the Business Journal. But he said some markets show an increase in distressed loans because of other properties. In Houston, for instance, the hotel delinquency rate hit 56.1 percent."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "Real estate deals are slower to come together in Ontario’s Prince Edward County these days as the rush to small-town and rural living that led to an influx of new residents at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Sales have slowed considerably in Prince Edward County in 2023, says real estate agent Miranda Miller of Harvey Kalles Real Estate. This year’s spring surge that pushed up prices in Toronto and other cities did not materialize in Prince Edward County, she adds. New listings are increasing now that the fall market has begun, Ms. Miller says. But buyers who waited out the frenzied bidding contests of the past are careful not to overpay in today’s cooler environment, Ms. Miller says. 'They say, ‘if this one doesn’t work out, there are 329 more we could look at.'"

"She is also seeing some sellers cut their asking prices as they adjust to a dip in sales. Homeowners still had high hopes heading into the spring, she says, but many have now seen several months of declining values. 'People are just trying to meet the market where it is,' she says. 'They tried their summer price.' The average number of days on the market is now approaching 50, she says, and the average price has dropped to about $790,000 from more than $1-million at the peak, she says. Houses in need of some refurbishment were changing hands at about $800,000 at the peak, she says. Now buyers can find a fixer-upper close to the $500,000 mark."

"Some city dwellers have also realized they haven’t settled into a slower lifestyle as easily as they anticipated. Some aren’t prepared for the quieter winters, says Ms. Miller, when many activities shut down until maple syrup season revives the social scene in March. 'We always like to have a great conversation,”' Ms. Miller says of new potential buyers. 'How much do you know? Is it the right fit for you?' In many cases, investors were taking out a second or third mortgage on an existing property, she explains. Ms. Miller adds that some existing owners of short-term rentals have grown weary of the constant turnover. They are turning to the long-term rental market instead. Some sellers who have seen their property sit have also decided to offer the home for lease."

The Irish Times. "The Government has 'played the part of spectators' as mortgage holders have been hit with rising interest rates, according to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who said it is 'farcical' for Fine Gael to claim it supports home ownership. During Leaders’ Questions, the Dublin Central TD said she had spoken with a 'stressed out' father-of-two from Co Cork who said his mortgage repayments have increased from €800 to €1,200 per month. 'I could feel the pressure in his voice when he told me that his family have now started to cut back on essentials to try and keep up with the massive hikes,' she said."

The Citizen in South Africa. "While buyers are able to find good deals in the market and secure a favourable rate on a mortgage loan, the challenge in the market for sellers right now is how to sell in a buyer’s market. One of the first things that happens in a buyer’s market is that there are fewer buyers around to compete for the greater number of properties on offer. This usually means offers are slower to come in, and when they do, buyers tend to offer lower prices. If you really need to sell, the first thing to consider is to avoid the temptation to overprice your property. According to Seeff’s agents, the days of fast offers and high prices are now largely gone. Instead, the market is now dictating prices. If you are selling right now, you may well be competing against 3-4 similar properties in your area or property category in the same price range. Thus, unless your property offers something more than those competing properties, your chances of success may depend on your price."

Yahoo Finance. "More new homebuyers are selling off their property at a loss, as they try to avoid the pain of rising mortgage repayments. Looking at properties sold within just two years, CoreLogic found the portion of homes selling at a loss had increased to 9.7 per cent, up from just 2.7 per cent a year ago. The median amount lost was $30,000. However, the losses were even bigger in some Aussie suburbs. In Sydney’s Strathfield, for example, nearly a third of all sellers made a loss of $65,000, on average. Meanwhile, in the Melbourne CBD, two in five sellers failed to make a profit, losing $47,500, on average."

"CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said the deep dive into short-term resales highlighted more pain for recent home buyers. 'Two years is a significant time period because we are two years on from the height of pandemic-related lockdowns, low interest rates, and have just passed the peak of transitions from low fixed rates to high variable rates,' Owen said. There’s also a higher portion of new homebuyers selling up, with the number of homes sold within two years of purchase increasing by 1 per cent to 8.5 per cent over the past year. 'This suggests more sellers are willing to incur a loss at the moment, which could in part be the result of high interest rates,' Owen said."

From Barron's. "The forces that powered China’s growth over the past 20 years have stalled or shifted into reverse. There’s no doubt that China’s feeble recovery from a three-year period of strict Covid restrictions and crackdowns on property and the private sector has battered business and consumer confidence. Slower growth combined with Xi’s increased intervention in the economy and more aggressive stance globally—including military exercises over Taiwan and raids on foreign businesses—have shined a harsher light on problems that have long worried U.S. executives and investors. Foreign direct investment in China has dropped from $100 billion a quarter about five years ago to $5 billion as companies repatriate profits rather than reinvest, says Nicholas Lardy, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a China economy expert. 'That’s a marked change from when companies used to think China was a great place to invest,' he says."

"The MSCI China has lost almost $2 trillion in value since its peak in February 2021, with the index down 54% since then. Since 2019, U.S. investment in Chinese private equity and venture capital has fallen by more than 50%."