A report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "The metro Atlanta housing market stumbled in September under the weight of the highest mortgage rates since 2000. 'There has been a fairly significant drop-off from last year,' John Ryan, chief marketing officer for Georgia MLS. 'And now we are going into the usual seasonal decline.' The total value of homes sold last month was $2.1 billion, a drop of 18.1% from a year ago. That means much less money for many people whose business depends on sales: brokers, lenders, appraisers, accountants and attorneys. 'We’ve seen a decrease in the number of appraisers,' Ryan said. 'I think that is a sign that the market has really pulled back.' The latest chill came as mortgage rates climbed again, he said. 'I think 7% has been a demarcation line.'"

The Dallas Morning News. "North Texas homebuying activity and prices slumped in September as mortgage interest rates surged to their highest point in more than two decades. Amanda Rupley, a real estate agent in Frisco for Compass, said she is seeing multiple offers on some properties while other sellers are having to drop their asking price. 'It’s really all who you talk to,' Rupley said. 'I’ve spoken to some agents who are totally panicking because they have nothing going on, and I’ve spoken to agents who feel like they’re drowning because they’re just full of so much business.'"

NBC New York. "Popular radio host DJ Envy is under scrutiny for promoting a real estate venture of a friend that some investors now say was a scheme. On his syndicated iHeartRadio show, Envy has often promoted the real estate venture of his pal, Cesar Pina. But it's more than just a passing endorsement. Envy and Cesar teamed up for seminars, including one at the convention center pitching opportunities to flip properties, often in distressed areas of New Jersey. Jose Santiago and his wife, Jessica Ortiz, say they believed investing in a real estate venture in a Paterson neighborhood would be their ticket to the American dream. 'That's the reason I got into real estate, so we can actually start flipping properties, buying properties so we can have something for our kids in the future,' Ortiz told News 4. 'He's advertising this all over radio and television, so I thought this was legit,' Santiago said. 'We invested $200,000 and it looks like we won't ever get it back.'"

"Then there's record producer Anthony Martini, who invested in what he thought was a promising apartment project. 'I lost a million dollars,' he said. Martini said he invested because of Envy, someone he'd known for years. His attorney has filed a lawsuit."

Material Handling and Logistics. "In recent months those involved in industrial real estate (IRE) development have taken a hard look at recent industry trends and what the future holds. Warehousing and distribution services have boomed in recent years, and investors rode that boom. But changes taking shape are resulting in a slowdown in new construction, rising costs and increased technology requirements. 'Construction loans are expensive and difficult to secure. With most banks tightening lending standards and interest rates doubling during the past 18 months, the era of ample, low-cost financing ended abruptly in 2022,' the researchers note."

The Boston Globe in Massachusetts. "In the middle of West Street, a one-block stretch between the Boston Common and Downtown Crossing’s main drag, sit two conjoined, nondescript buildings that encapsulate the current struggles of the downtown office market. Seven years ago, this pair sold for $16 million; late last month, they fetched just a quarter of that at $4.1 million — a warning of the possible distress facing much of the city’s older, less full office stock. At a City Council hearing last week, Councilor Michael Flaherty expressed concern about the impact of increasing vacancy rates — and the decline in real estate values that would likely follow — on city revenues."

"'That’s how we pay for our schools. That’s how we pay for our parks, and our playgrounds, and our police department, and our fire department, and public works, snow plowing, tree pruning, snow removal, trash collection, all of it,' Flaherty said. 'That’s how Boston ticks.' And it’s a warning, he said. If property taxes start to fall… 'that’s a holy-bleep moment for Boston.'"

Yahoo Finance. "JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently warned about the possibility that interest rates could surge as high as 7%, exposing those in the financial world who took too much risk when rates were low. 'I am not sure if the world is prepared for 7%,' he said last month, adding: 'That will be the tide going out.' Dimon, according to a person familiar with his thinking, is concerned that some banks didn’t do enough to fix their balance sheets following the events of this spring. The current period reminds him, this person said, of the months following the March 2008 fall of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan also purchased with help from the US government."

The Globe and Mail. "Richmond Hill, Ont.-based real estate developer Sunrise Homes has defaulted on a court-ordered settlement to repay the millions of dollars it owes to lenders caught up in the collapse of Canada’s one-time largest syndicated mortgage company Fortress Real Developments Inc. Among the Fortress-connected funds FAAN is seeking to recover were 10 mortgages worth about $95-million (borrowed from 2,900 individuals) that had been administered by Derek Sorrenti and the Sorrenti Law Professional Corp."

"Naveed Manzoor, managing director at FAAN Advisors Group Inc. stresses that this is not a simple financial dispute; the syndicated mortgage lenders FAAN is working for often invested their life savings into the Fortress/Sorrenti loans. 'Having dealt with this matter for five years it is really, really sad,' Mr. Manzoor said. 'We’ve had people come to our office and say this is my last retirement savings and I need the money otherwise I’m eating canned tuna.'"

The Mirror in the UK. "A half-built seafront housing estate has become a 'disgusting dumping ground' occupied only by pigeons, rabbits and vandals, despite its huge £20million price tag. The Sands, a new-build estate in St Mary's Bay on Romney Marsh, was expected to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2019 but supply issues delayed the build. More than four years on, contractors are nowhere to be seen and the prime site now sits silent, with the incomplete buildings left open to the elements. Bob Thomson, who lives a few doors down from the abandoned estate says the whole 85-home development needs pulling down. He said: 'It would cost more to put right due to the state it is in. You can see the pigeons living in the buildings with all the broken windows. We used to have security guards living in static caravans to stop people entering the site, but since work stopped anyone can wander on there. Loads of people have been fly-tipping. I think it's a disgrace.'"

From News.com.au. "Owners of apartments in a defective Sydney building have been left in limbo following the collapse of the block’s builder and developer, Alpine Projects Australia. Rachel Fong-Sim, in her early 30s, owns an apartment in a Campsie building in the city’s southwest, where she lives with her husband. Alpine Projects Australia collapsed into liquidation on September 19 costing all 26 employees their jobs and with debts that “look to be in the millions”, according to liquidator Mohammad Najjar of Vanguard Insolvency. Ms Fong-Sim told news.com.au that after receiving a clean building and strata bill of health when they bought their three bedroom apartment for $685,000 in 2019, problems started to emerge in the 58 unit complex a year later which 'the owners corporation has had to fork out large amounts of money' to fix."

"When Alpine collapsed into liquidation, they had failed to pay at least one of the contractors. Ms Fong-Sim said this contractor is owed $40,000 and has 'threatened to come in and remove all the fixtures he’s put in.' She added that they have not heard anything from Mr Najjar and it is not clear whether fixing the remaining defects will be covered by insurance."

Radio New Zealand. "Golfers blindsided by the sudden closure of a prestigious club on Auckland's Whangaparāoa Peninsula are taking matters into their own hands and continuing to use the abandoned course. In July, the Gulf Harbour Country Club closed with immediate effect, leaving some members who had already paid hefty fees feeling short-changed. Keep Whangaparāoa's Green Spaces president Nigel Varey, whose house backed onto the ninth hole, said residents around the course were strongly opposed to more large-scale development at the end of the already congested peninsula."

"Varey said the golf club was one of the main reasons people bought property in the area. 'It's not having to commute for your leisure activity, and we believe we paid a premium for the property on that basis. If you were on the back of a Pak'nSave, the price would be lower, and if you're here, you pay accordingly.' Varey said his property had dropped in value by about $200,000 since the club's closure."

From Vietnam.net. "Prices have plummeted by over 30 per cent, as many businesses in the city centre have been forced to close down due to poor business operation, leaving landlords with no choice but to accept lower prices in order to attract tenants. Nguyễn Thái Phong, a property owner on Nguyễn Trãi Street in District 1, told Việt Nam News he had to reduce the rental price for his spa salon space from nearly VNĐ100 million per month to VNĐ65 million per month. A number of streets in the downtown area such as Lý Tự Trọng, Hai Bà Trưng, Trương Định and Nguyễn Trãi streets, which were previously bustling with businesses such as hair salons and fashion stores, now remain vacant. With an oversupply of available properties and a decrease in demand, tenants are now in a position to negotiate significantly lower rental prices."

From Friday Digital. "Malaysia is a tropical country straddling the southern Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo Island. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of the country, which has been ranked the best place to live for 14 consecutive years. It is 'Forest City,' a cluster of luxury condominiums located on the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula. Originally, Country Garden, the largest real estate company in China, began developing Forest City about 10 years ago as a luxury residential area for several hundred thousand people, but now construction has come to a halt."

"When I drove to Forest City to conduct on-site interviews, the first thing that jumped out at me was a cluster of white luxury condominiums. The rows of condominiums are spectacular, as they are designed for the wealthy, but weeds are growing thickly from the walls of the buildings, and it is easy to see that there are no residents in the area. According to a local real estate agent, 'Many of the owners originally purchased the condominiums as investment condominiums, and few people live in them.'"

"Entering the sales exhibition hall in Forest City, one could hardly see any customers, except for a few staff members and security guards. A model of the entire development project proudly displays 'SOLD OUT,' meaning that all the apartments have been sold out, but one cannot help but feel suspicious. On the sandy beach adjacent to the pools, 'Crocodiles out, no swimming!' No barbecues, fishing, fireworks, camping! and all leisure activities are prohibited, and it must be said that the attraction is reduced by half. The model of the exhibition hall for sale at the previous site gave the impression of a bright, sandy beach where one could play freely, and I am afraid that some people may have bought the house without knowing it."

"A local real estate agent told us, 'In the past, rooms priced at 20 million yen or even 100 million yen or more per room sold like hotcakes,' but what became clear during our on-site visit this time was the lackluster apartment complexes that could truly be described as a ghost town."