A report from the Portland Press Herald in Maine. "Jon Fetherston looks through his neighbor’s sliding glass door at the sprawling farmland capped by a line of trees that still cling to their autumn colors. The 58-year-old was drawn to The Cottages at Pine Meadow in part for that idyllic backdrop, where he imagined sunrises and sunsets book-ending the days for him and other residents as they eased into retirement. 'This was our reward,' Fetherston said of the 55-and-over development where he and his wife, Wendy, live part-time. 'But it’s been a living hell.'"

"The Fetherstons bought their 610-square-foot condominium in April 2022 and say they’ve experienced nothing but problems since. They have replaced their heat pump twice already. There’s moisture in their basement. The stove was installed incorrectly and shot flames several feet in the air the first time they turned it on. Their list of grievances is long, and the costs have been racking up. Complaints to the developers and requests that the builder make repairs frequently went unanswered, they claim. And they’re not alone. Residents in more than half the 24 cottages say they bought the newly built homes thinking they would be stress-free. Instead, there has been nothing but headaches. The property developer and builder, meanwhile, have forcefully denied the allegations."

"When Dana and Anne Bengtson bought the house, their backyard faced a quiet, densely wooded area. They asked Goddard if the property was buildable and were told no, because of the wetlands, the Bengtsons wrote. A year later, there’s a 120-unit apartment complex under construction right behind the house. 'We are angry and disappointed, as we would not have purchased had we been told the truth,' they wrote."

"So, what’s next? Residents could move, and some have. One unit is currently for sale for the third time since it was built in 2021. But others either aren’t ready or aren’t able to give up. Marcia Thibeault, 67, bought the biggest house – a 1,100-square-foot corner condo with views of the neighboring Leary Farm from both sides – because of the location. Her husband, who has since died, was in a nursing home just down the street. Thibeault also is not confident she should or even could sell. At $411,000, hers was the most expensive house on the lot, and prices have only appreciated since then. What would be the dealbreaker for a potential buyer? The falling insulation in the basement? The pipes that keep freezing? The windows that leak? 'Even if I wanted to sell, I’d feel guilty selling,' she said. 'I feel like I would have to disclose a lot of things, and I wouldn’t want to do that.'"

The Real Deal. "Problems are mounting for multifamily syndicator GVA. The Austin-based firm is set to lose two properties to foreclosure after defaulting on nearly $125 million in loans. The apartment complexes, Falls on Bull Creek and Park at Walnut Creek, are the latest to go sideways for GVA. Founded by former golf marketer Alan Stalcup in 2015, the firm recently defaulted on $288 million in loans for Houston properties as well. Across the Sun Belt and in cities across Texas, multifamily syndicators are beginning to lose their properties or negotiate workouts with lenders."

"Multifamily investors poured into Texas in 2021 and 2022 as the population and rents kept growing. Many relied on floating-rate debt to buy lower-tier properties at a premium, though. When the Federal Reserve raised rates, their debt payments skyrocketed, and slowed rent growth has made it harder to make up the difference."

WFLA in Florida. "In November, Tampa real estate broker Michael Bogsted, who’s been featured in Better Call Behnken investigations, pleaded guilty to a felony charge involving stealing at least six homes. Prosecutors say he created fraudulent deeds so he could transfer ownership or sell to an unsuspecting buyers. One victim, John Jenkins, had to fight to get his home back. 'They just gave him my house,' Jenkins said. 'On probably two hours worth of work of electronically transmitting those documents.'"

"Bogsted struck a controversial plea agreement. In exchange for $177,000 in restitution, he’ll face probation and avoid prison time. And Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken found his fate got even better: despite the guilty plea, Bogsted’s real estate license is in good standing. Records show that in August, the state placed him on a 90-day probation, charged fines and fees of less than $600 bucks and assigned him to undergo a three-hour education course. Bogsted complied with everything and his probation was terminated on Oct. 31. His website shows business picked right back up, with active listings and homes under contract. It was just weeks earlier that Bogsted changed his not-guilty plea to guilty. That admission of guilt, according to state regulators, had no impact on his real estate license."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "40750 Tantalus Rd., No. 18, Squamish, B.C. Asking price: $1.138-million (Aug. 28). Selling price: $1.1-million (Sept. 6). Previous selling price: $1.3-million, (April 28, 2022). The home sold in April, 2022, for $1.3-million. The agreement to sell for $200,000 less this September shows how much the market has changed in the past year. 'When the previous purchase took place, we were experiencing a busy seller’s market‚' said Cheryl Davie, the buyer’s agent. '[That’s] different than the market we are experiencing now.' She said her clients made the only offer on the property."

The BBC in the UK. "A building company has reportedly been charging customers thousands of pounds for work that was either sub-standard or never completed, the BBC was told. Multiple clients of Transform Dorset Ltd have claimed to have been left out of pocket after hiring the firm for household renovations and repairs. Customers have described having 'sleepless nights' after the company claimed to have gone bust. The owners of Transform Dorset Ltd have not responded to requests for comment. The BBC later found evidence that the firm has not gone into liquidation."

"Jismon Varghese saved for months, worked extra hours and gave up time with his wife and children to pay for a living room extension. The 37-year-old, from Poole, said he signed a contract with Blandford Forum-based Transform Dorset Ltd in January 2023 and work began at the end of that month. But he said builders stopped turning up regularly after four weeks. He paid £25,000 as a deposit in January, according to bank statements seen by the BBC. He then transferred the £25,610 balance in the following three months - in the hope of speeding up the work."

"Instead Mr Varghese said it became harder and harder to contact the company and said he lost his life-savings. 'I had no peace at all. I couldn't even speak to my wife, speak to my kids,' he said. 'I felt guilty because I think I am the one who is responsible for all this, even though I didn't do anything though.'"

South China Morning Post. "With international investment banks predicting 5 to 10 per cent price declines in Hong Kong homes next year, property agents believe now is an opportune time to consider buying. Victoria Allen, founder and managing director of real estate agency Habitat Property, said it was a good time to buy property provided it was for self use and the buyer was planning to live in Hong Kong for the mid-to-long term. 'Prices are off 20 per cent from their highs. We haven't seen this much negotiability, particularly in the high end of the market, for 15 years,' she said. The luxury market, where homes are priced above HK$20 million, saw a 21.4 per cent drop in residential prices in December compared to its historical peak in 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield."

From Yicai Global. "Chinese regulators are starting to accept bigger property price cuts amid real estate developers' liquidity woes. Officials are not opposing recent price decreases even though the unwritten rule used to be that new homes should cost no less than 85 percent of the price filed with the government, Yicai learned. Local governments used to set bottom prices for new homes so that selling prices could move just 15 percent up or down from that. As real estate developers started to resort to bigger discounts in recent years amid their liquidity pressures, local governments began to intervene. When the market was booming, sales prices used to be limited to equal the filed price."

"For example, one residential home in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, was sold at about CNY2.1 million (USD292,300) or 75 percent of its filed price, whereas the average price for this project is 80 percent of the filed price or over CNY2.2 million, according to a netizen. A government official in Suzhou's Xiangcheng district, where the project is located, said to Yicai that if a developer offers discounts to promote sales it does not violate China's laws on prices. Suzhou used to have housing price limits, but the government has not recently restricted price cuts too much, a real estate sales director in the eastern city said to Yicai, adding that developers are destocking and collectively slashing prices."

"Lowered housing prices are common in Suzhou and discounts go from 5 percent to 8 percent for new projects in urban areas, whereas projects with sluggish sales are subject to 15 percent price reductions, and projects in outer suburbs are offering discounts of at least 30 percent, Yicai learned from a source at another property developer in eastern China."