A report from KTVB in Idaho. "Some homebuyers in our area are losing their homes, thanks to an unpredictable market and some bad advice. That advice, 'Date the rate and marry the house.' William and Ashley Kaiser are local realtors who are raising a red flag for homebuyers. 'It's a common saying that gets thrown around by many real estate professionals, 'date the rate marry the house,' and it is incredibly irresponsible,' according to Ashley. Ashley says it's dangerous to bank on future home values and mortgage rates, 'Things have to be perfect in order for you to refinance. Your house has to be worth more than you owe. Your debt-to-income ratio has to be the same. Nothing has had to change in your financial situation.'"

"Rates were supposed to have dropped to five percent by now, and instead, they're over seven-and-a-half! So, refinancing would only increase your house payment significantly. Also, home values have not gone up, they've gone down by seven to 15 percent. And if you owe more than your house is worth, you cannot refinance. So, Ashley says, people who were hoping to do that, are stuck, 'Those are the people that are in trouble right now. We're seeing a few short sales come up in our market, which has not been the case in quite some time.'"

"The Kaisers did some research on those short sales and found one person purchased their house for $100,000 more than they're trying to short sale it for. It looks like they had an adjustable interest rate. Again, rates have spiked, so their payment spiked. And with their home value dropping, they cannot refinance. 'So in turn, they are going to lose their house,' Ashely said. So, where are homebuyers getting this bad advice? William says, it's coming from real estate professionals who are feeling the pinch of a cold housing market, 'If they're in a tough position, where they need the business, they're not going to do diligence on your behalf like they should. When your back is against the wall and people are hurting, they might make decisions that are not what they would make in a clear mind.'"

KVEO Brownsville in Texas. "Realtors said a lot has changed in the last two years. They said that in the middle of, and right after the pandemic, the housing market was booming. Olga Munoz from the Munoz Real Estate Group, part of Keller Williams LRGV explained the situation. 'Houses were selling the day it was listed. There were bidding wars. No open houses at all. Houses were just selling way too quick,' said Munoz. She said that’s not the reality today. She said the market had cooled, but hadn’t hit a slump."

"Real estate agent Juan Munoz, also with the Munoz Real Estate Group, said changes in the market had caused sellers to change their behavior. He said prices are still higher than he normally saw in the RGV, but customers were adapting to the new reality of the real estate landscape. 'Because interest rates are a little bit higher. Payments are a little bit higher. Now they have to offer a little bit more concessions, or they have to lower down the price a little bit,' he said. When it came to re-financing, lenders said there was almost no market for that side of the business at this time."

KUTV in Utah. "More buyers are backing out of buying a house. Experts say if buyers feel like they're not getting a good deal, they’re walking away. 'I saw it myself,' Rick Anderton, a mortgage lender based in Lindon, told KUTV 2News in an interview. 'I had a client back out last week who said that it’s just, the payment’s too high.' According to Mortgage News Daily, interest rates for a 30-year loan are sitting at just under eight percent right now. Demand for mortgages is at its lowest level since the mid 1990s. 'From two years ago, I’m totally surprised,' Anderton said. 'No one thought they would climb this much this fast.'"

WMFE in Florida. "With October being Financial Planning Month, a group of financial advisors have urged locals to start saving money to purchase a home, citing Orlando’s skyrocketing housing prices. Last week, the group specifically referenced Hispanic families, which make up over one-third of Orlando’s population. 'Orlando home values are up more than 70% since the start of the pandemic,' a message from Northwestern Mutual said. Felipe Andrés Navarrete, managing director of Northwestern Mutual-Lake Nona, said that, for most workers, the best chance at accumulating wealth for retirement lies in homeownership."

"Navarrete said some of the best tips he can offer workers is to budget and save their money. For families who are spending 100% of their income, or might even be spending more than they bring in, Navarrete suggests, 'make more money.' While he said he understands this is 'easier said than done,' he said negotiating higher wages is one of the most powerful tools workers have. Only this way, he said, could saving for a downpayment become possible. 'How do we change a metropolitan area that is growing in value but everyone is just getting paid the same?' Navarrete said. 'Everyone needs to start asking for more money for their hours’ worth.'"

The Lookout in California. "Fall is typically a busy time for the housing market, but it’s off to a slow start in Santa Cruz County, with home sales and prices weakening across parts of the region in September. Sales activity fell the most in pricier markets such as Santa Cruz and Aptos compared to August. 'We’re seeing a little bit more of a lull than we’re probably used to, and rates going up a bit again didn’t help,' said Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors President Jennifer Watson. 'That causes people to fall into a fear mentality and many start to pull back.' Buyers’ preference for smaller homes and fewer sales over asking price brought the Watsonville median sale price down significantly to $727,500 from $810,000 in August — about a 10% drop."

The Real Deal California. "Neil Shekhter’s NMS Properties defaulted on a loan tied to three of the firm’s apartment complexes in West Los Angeles — and now the lender wants to sell the property through a receiver, according to a lawsuit filed late last month. Ladder Capital alleges an NMS-controlled entity defaulted on a $15 million loan last month, after breaching a number of covenants in the loan agreement, in a complaint filed with L.A. Superior Court. NMS has owned the properties, located at 1901 Overland Avenue, 10750 Missouri Avenue and 11665 Mayfield Avenue, since the early 2000s, according to property records. The firm bought the Overland and Missouri complexes for $3 million in 2004 and the Mayfield property for an undisclosed sum in 2006."

"The New York-based REIT is asking the court to appoint a receiver to take over the properties and help collect rents. The receiver will also be tasked with marketing the complexes for sale. Ladder is preparing to foreclose on the properties, it said in the complaint, and hopes to sell them swiftly after taking them over. At the end of the second quarter, Ladder Capital reported about $89 million in non-accrual loans, meaning the borrower had stopped making payments, according to an SEC filing. In December, the REIT reported $53.8 million in non-accrual loans."

Bisnow Boston in Massachusetts. "With interest rates showing no signs of declining in the near future and lenders tightening their grip by the week, many real estate firms aren't able to finance new projects. Coming from ultra-low interest rates early in the pandemic, The Mount Vernon Co. founder Bruce Percelay said that as loans mature, borrowers are coming into a completely different environment, with rates double what they previously secured. For many, this realization will be costly when it comes time to refinance. 'We all got hooked on cheap money,' Percelay said at the event. 'Cap rates were down because rates were down, and a lot of people are going to get caught because if you borrowed at 3%, your purchase price was predicated at 3%, and now you're paying 6.5% or 7% and your loan rolls over, you’ve got a problem.'"

"As interest rates remain high and costs persist, Percelay said an adjustment in the market will come either in the form of rates coming down or owners handing the keys to lenders. He said that the next two years will provide opportunities for cash buyers and that these deals are already starting to happen. 'The vultures are starting to gather, and there will be significant pain. And the people with cash and funds will be in a position to purchase assets,' Percelay said. 'For those people that have cash or funds that have not deployed, the next two years could provide real opportunity.' Across office, industrial, apartments and retail, transaction volume dropped 70% year-over-year. 'There aren’t going to be any deals,' said Kendin Carr, vice president at Colliers. 'It’s a massacre out there. The only upside I can see is we are not San Francisco.'"

Market Place. "Out of that $2 trillion government budget deficit that’s been popping eyes recently, some portion of it is due to the Federal Reserve. The Fed is actually losing money right now after a long stretch in which it was making money. This was the Fed’s strategy to help the economy, in the Great Financial Crisis and again during the pandemic, by going out and buying tons of bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Today, the Fed still owns trillions of dollars’ worth of those bonds and securities, which pay interest. Not a lot, but …'It’s now paying interest on reserves of 5.5% or so, so the interest expense is now greater than the interest income and the Fed has lost on the order of $100 billion since last fall,' said Bill English, a professor at the Yale School of Management."

"'So compared to last year, we are more than $100 billion down,' said Marc Goldwein with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Now, that only accounts for around 5% of the current deficit. 'And it really is the Congress and president who should be held accountable for our level of borrowing,' Goldwein said. It’s not the Fed’s job, he said, to be a golden goose for the Treasury."

CTV News in Canada. "An Ontario woman is out of more than $100,000 after paying a contractor for her dream kitchen, which was never completed. 'I've been in my house 20 years, and I never liked my kitchen and wanted something better, but I never should have trusted this guy,' Toronto resident Mary Austin told CTV News. After she handed the last installment cheque - totalling nearly $20,000 - she said nobody returned to work. The new fridge, stove and dishwasher she bought have also been sitting unused in her hallway and living room since last year. 'I gave him $107,000. I made a mistake, a big mistake, and it cost me so much money, and I borrowed money I have to pay interest on,' said Austin. 'I feel depressed. I feel cheated. I feel like a fool because I should not have trusted that guy.'"

High and Ham in the UK. "First-time buyers who bought apartments at 53 Agar Grove in Camden Town have been told by surveyors that their block is moving and may have to be demolished. The building – less than five years old – has been plagued by moving walls, collapsing ceilings and water leaks. Their homes have been valued at £0 and deemed 'uninsurable.' Their plight generated national headlines, prompting a visit from Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). But months on, the buyers say there is no resolution in sight. Last week they hung a huge banner from their windows, reading: 'Give us our money back Gove, deregulation defrauded us.'"

"It isn’t just the buyers who think this. During a recent episode of BBC1’s Rip Off Britain, Mr Gove called the residents’ situation 'absolutely appalling' and 'unacceptable.' Likening the 'terrible' building to 'a set from Crossroads,' he said: 'You get more consumer protection when you buy a washing machine than when you buy your own home.'"

ABC News in Australia. "Best friends Pauline Duffy and Cobie van Dommele moved into a caravan to 'save their pennies' while their duplex was being built. The ladies, who are single and in their 70s, have now spent two years in cramped conditions after their builder collapsed before their home was finished. They are set up on a cane farm in northern New South Wales, next to a friend's abandoned flood-damaged home. 'We're thankful for what we have but it does wear you down,' Ms van Dommele said. Ms Duffy added: 'But we really don't know what's ahead, it's a horrible thought. I call it homelessness, that sums it up.'"

"When Stroud Homes Northern Rivers entered liquidation in May, a building inspector found dozens of defects in Ms Duffy and Ms van Dommele's new home. Another customer Zoe Croft, who is a self-employed single parent, sold her family home in Sydney's east to afford a $94,000 deposit. The build, in the seaside village of Lennox Head, was to be an investment until she could retire there. Glossy brochures assured Ms Croft she could 'build with confidence that Stroud Homes Northern Rivers will take care of you' and that her local franchise had won several industry awards. When Stroud Homes Northern Rivers went under, she said she lost every cent. 'I've cried a lot of tears; it's been emotionally quite devastating,' she said. 'I thought I'd done all my due diligence. I felt very foolish. There's at least 12 of us that had no insurance.'"

From Bloomberg. "Hui Ka Yan has already lost his freedom. Now, China Evergrande Group’s founder is no longer a billionaire. Hui’s net worth has fallen to $979 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with shares of his debt-laden real estate firm trading at just HK$0.24 (3 cents) each. Shares of China Evergrande have dropped 86% since its trading resumption in late August. Once Asia’s second-richest man and worth $42 billion at his peak in 2017, Hui’s wealth has plummeted 98% since then, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index. The founder is now under police control, leaving his empire in limbo with no clear restructuring plan in sight. A further test later this month has the potential to almost wipe out his fortune. The world’s most indebted developer will face an Oct. 30 court hearing in Hong Kong over a petition to liquidate the firm."