A report from the Santa Fe New Mexican. "Santa Fe home prices, which have soared into the stratosphere for the past few years, are moving a little closer to earth. A little. Across the city of Santa Fe, the median price sunk 8.3% from the fourth quarter of 2022 — from $599,750 to $550,000. Those numbers largely were driven by a 12.2% decline in million-dollar homes in the South Capitol area across to St. John's College and along Zia Road to St. Francis Drive. With soaring interest rates, 2023 was a jolting ride in the Santa Fe real estate world, with some neighborhoods seeing prices plummet 40% and 44% and others seeing gains of 2%, 3% and 9%. Overall, though, the scorching home price increases of the last three years settled down last year."

"Joshua Maes, president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors board is optimistic for 2024, with signals interest rates could come down and the presidential election looming. 'I think we're going to see more inventory,' he said. 'Some sellers are going to realize we're going to have to sell. Buyers are starting to come out again. It's a win-win for buyers and sellers. Interest rates are going to start making sense again.'"

The Journal Sentinel in Wisconsin. "A large site overlooking the Milwaukee River at East Brady and North Water streets is being listed for sale − five years after plans for condos there were announced. The 2.66-acre lot, 1693-1701 N. Water St., is owned by an affiliate of Wangard Partners Inc. The firm in December 2018 said it would build a six-story, 61-unit condo building there. The Journal Sentinel reported in January 2023 that not a single condo unit had been built since 2018, with only 25 condos built since 2011. 'In the last decade, bankers and developers have abandoned the condo business en masse, due to financing constraints and lingering fear from the last housing crash. Barring some 'upside-down math,' developers say they don't want to go back,' the Journal Sentinel reported."

"Wangard's site is listed with Barry Co. for $6.5 million. It includes more than 560 feet of river frontage. The firm bought the site in 2012 for $2.4 million. It was sold by a bank that had acquired the property from an investors group led by developers Boris Gokhman and Walter Shuk. That group gave the property to the bank to help settle a pending foreclosure suit. Gokhman and Shuk, of New Land Enterprises LLP, had planned to build condos on the site before the housing bubble burst."

The Real Deal on Texas. "The sudden collapse of Austin-based developer StoryBuilt last summer left many wondering how such a promising company could unravel so quickly. Now, as a receiver works to salvage what remains of the company’s assets, some of the errors that led to StoryBuilt’s downfall — and who could be held responsible for them — are coming to light. In its latest receivership report, Los Angeles-based Stapleton Group said it has discovered a pattern of sloppy bookkeeping and minimal documentation."

"The receivership reported that it has allowed one of StoryBuilt’s developments to go to foreclosure auction without protest. The situation highlights just how far the values of some StoryBuilt projects have fallen, with lenders on the hook. The development, called Bruno, was planned as a 42-unit rental project at 2001 South First Street. Moody’s Bank lent StoryBuilt $9.5 million for the project in 2022, but the developer imploded before building it. The property went to auction, where Moody’s was the highest bidder. The winning bid: just $3.2 million, according to property records, about a third of the loan value."

WSB 2 in Georgia. "With home inventory being so low in metro Atlanta right now, a newly constructed house has become an attractive option for many people looking to buy. But those new homes come with their own set of potential problems. Donald Hudson told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that he has found more than 30 serious problems in his new Ellenwood home. 'Pretty much every single room has flaws and defects from Day One. They continue to get worse as the days go on,' Hudson said."

"Other neighbors in the newly built community -- Tuxedo Estates -- also told Gray they are dealing with construction problems in their houses. 'We were given a gas fireplace but there’s no gas in the neighborhood. So we have a beautiful fireplace under our TV, but no way to use it,' neighbor Jamie Wilson said. 'It’s a purchase that you can’t just walk away from,' neighbor Erica Macon said. 'You stay up at night. I do, just wondering, ‘Did I make a huge, huge mistake?’ And it brings tears to your eyes,' neighbor Antonio Mahone said. 'You see a defect, they see a defect, and they just paint right over it,' Hudson said. Hudson's case is now in arbitration. 'Do you regret this purchase?' Gray asked Hudson. 'Absolutely, I do,' Hudson said."

The San Francisco Chronicle in California. "Real estate giant Brookfield has purchased a massive portfolio of loans tied to 76 San Francisco apartment buildings following one of the biggest mortgage defaults of the pandemic. Brookfield is now poised to become one of San Francisco’s largest residential landlords, with the option to foreclose on around 2,165 apartments across the buildings. The deal is one of the biggest of the pandemic amid major turmoil in the city’s real estate market, with numerous property owners defaulting, selling after steep discounts or seeking major tax cuts."

"Veritas’ empire had already shrunk: Another developer, Prado Group, bought loans tied to 20 different San Francisco apartment buildings owned by Veritas in September, after Veritas defaulted on $124 million in debt. Brookfield has also retreated from San Francisco, abandoning the former Westfield San Francisco Centre mall, which it owned with partner Westfield."

The Wall Street Journal. "The apartment rental market finally stopped clobbering tenants with big price increases in 2023. That trend will likely continue in the new year. When rents were on a tear, owners also benefited from soaring values as investors spent record amounts on apartment buildings. But that bull run for owners fizzled out last year as rents moderated. Investor appetite also has waned as higher interest rates have driven down values of all types of commercial property. Sales of apartment buildings were down 68% in November, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data provider MSCI Real Assets. Prices paid for apartment properties fell 12%."

"Nearly one million apartment units are under construction, and most of them are set to open during the next 12 months, according to a report from real-estate firm CBRE. Nashville, Tenn.; Austin, Texas; Dallas and Atlanta are among the cities adding the most new units, CBRE said. Some investors think prices will fall even further this year and are putting off plans to buy buildings. 'You don’t want to catch a falling guillotine,' said Marcel Arsenault, CEO of Colorado-based property investment firm Real Capital Solutions."

CBC News in Canada. "The pace of home sales in Ontario in 2023 hit lows not seen the turn of the century, and with little evidence that mortgage rates will drop significantly any time soon, forecasts are predicting the sluggishness to continue into early 2024. While prices have dropped somewhat from their pandemic-driven highs, the combination of high-interest rates and buyers waiting for prices to tumble further has created a slow sales market throughout much of the province, according to a range of industry information. Condominiums are the segment of Ontario's housing market that looks to be in the roughest shape in 2024, in part because a large proportion are owned by investors."

"John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty Inc., adds that sellers have yet to bring down their asking prices deeply enough to offset the increased borrowing costs that buyers face. 'As their mortgages come up for renewal, it's going to be harder to afford those condos,' said Pasalis. 'Over the next 12 to 18 months, we'll probably see more investors unloading properties just because they can't afford to have so much debt at today's interest rates,' he said. Ron Butler, a broker with Butler Mortgage adds he expects to see many investors trying to sell off small condos in urban centres because their plans to turn them into short-term rentals fell through."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "Ontario’s real estate market is beginning the New Year with buyers and sellers in a stalemate. Many industry watchers are cautiously optimistic that both sides will find some common ground in early 2024. John Lusink, president of Right at Home Realty and Property.ca says the two camps have conflicting interpretations of the market statistics. Buyers pointed to low sales volumes as grounds for negotiating a reduced price; sellers pointed to flat year-over-year prices as a reason to hold firm. 'The market is stuck,' he says."

"Mr. Lusink says inventory has risen substantially from the very low levels of the two previous years. Listings at his company sat 40-per-cent higher in December compared with the same month last year and 100-per-cent higher compared with December, 2021. Even when sellers are willing to budge, buyers have a tough time qualifying for financing with interest rates so high. Another cohort of homeowners rushed to buy while ultralow rates were on offer during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have seen their mortgage payments soar and some are now deciding to sell – but not in a panic, says Mr. Lusink. The sellers saying ‘get it sold’ are typically investors who need to cash out, he says."

From Globes. "Israel's real estate market in 2023 was in a deep recession and there are major concerns that the recession could continue throughout 2024. The number of deals in the first nine months of 2023 totaled 58,000, down 36% from the corresponding period of 2022 and down 46% from the same period in 2021, which was a record year for Israeli real estate. At the pace of deals in the first nine months of the year, 2023 was shaping up to be the worst year in Israeli real estate for 20 years. The outbreak of the war at the start of the fourth quarter will make the final quarter figures even worse than the preceding three quarters of 2023."

"Ashkelon unsurprisingly saw the number of housing deals in October slump 90% to 37 from a monthly average of 300, while in Nahariya the number of deals fell 73% in October from a monthly average of 112 to 30. Numbers were also exceptionally low in the Tel Aviv region in October. Yankele Zini from the Ish Maftayach in Hadera says, 'Whoever doesn't drop the price today doesn't sell the apartment.' He adds that prices in the city have risen substantially in recent years and probably no longer match demand."

The Associated Press. "Homebuyers stuck in limbo due to unfinished houses have been thrown a lifeline, with West Australian government loans to help struggling builders complete projects. The $10 million program will provide interest-free loans of up to $300,000 for builders with houses that have been under construction for more than two years. Treasurer Rita Saffioti said that with a fast-growing population, housing remained a key issue in the state. 'There are hundreds of homes that are out there that are not being completed by builders leaving families stranded,' she told reporters on Thursday. 'Homeowners who are left in limbo living with family members (or) continuing to rent when they've got a property that they'd like to move into.'"

"Opposition housing spokesman Steve Martin said it was too little and too late. 'This will do nothing for the hundreds of people who have half-built homes because their builder has already gone broke,' he said."

The Korea Times. "Three local ratings agencies are coming under heavy criticism for slashing credit ratings for Taeyoung Engineering and Construction, only hours after the troubled builder filed for debt workout, on Dec. 28 of last year. They are Moody's Investors Service-affiliated Korea Investors Service, Korea Ratings and NICE Investors Service. Market watchers say the collective last-minute rush barely explains months of stalling and failure to closely monitor rapid corporate deterioration developments and make prompt revisions accordingly."

"Also at play are claims of deliberate oversight, amplified in large part by the ratings agencies’ exclusive reliance on corporate issuers for hefty evaluation fees. Few ratings bodies are incentivized to make timely downbeat projections. This almost always comes at the expense of retail investors whose primary source of information is from the supposed fairly assessed creditworthiness of corporate issuers."

"Taeyoung is the latest reminder of past ratings fiascos, as evidenced by the case of Korea Investors Service downgrading Legoland’s rating to the lowest D from the top A1 in just a matter of weeks after reports of default last year. In 2012, ratings agencies downright stalled the downgrade of Tongyang Group until after the conglomerate filed for court receivership. 'Everyone in the market knew about Taeyoung’s financial soundness deteriorating,' an industry official said. 'The agencies should have lowered to at least around BBB grades to limit market impact. Whether intentional or not, they simply did not do their jobs.'"