It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "'Existing home sales have fallen off a cliff,' Lu Liu, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News."

"'I tell every one of my sellers to have an open mind and put on their buyer's hat. Nine times out of 10, buyers are asking for a concession in their initial offer right now–and usually the seller needs to accept it to seal the deal,' Shauna Pendleton, a Redfin Premier agent in Boise, said in a statement. 'The most common concession buyers are asking for is a mortgage-rate buydown. Requests for sellers to cover the closing costs are also common. I most often see buyers ask for concessions for more affordable homes–anything under $500,000 here in Boise–but I see some concessions on expensive homes, too.'"

"Home sales in Alabama continue decreasing, although the average sales price is lower. The Alabama Association of Realtors released a new report for January 2024, and it showed home sales were down 42% in January 2024 compared to the previous January. The average sales price in January 2024 was just under $221,000, a 10.5% decrease from January 2023."

"Pending sales are a leading indicator of housing activity based on signed contracts for existing single-family homes and condominium sales in the region monitored by the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors. Sellers reduced their original list price on 35% of the homes that sold last month. Of those that sold 41% saw a price reduction during negotiations. The average reduction was $20,000. The typical reduction was $9,900. The median listing price last month was $299,999. The mid-month median sales price was $239,000."

"A lack of inventory, particularly a dearth of affordable homes, dominated the conversation last week during a panel held at Page at 63 Main in Sag Harbor. 'We’re seeing tons of new listings right now, which is great for our market. If things are priced well, if it’s compelling, it’s still selling very quickly,' said Dana Trotter, the managing partner of The Agency Hamptons. She added that pricing homes is difficult for brokers right now, because sellers still want to put 'really lofty numbers' on their properties. In some cases, there are comparable sales that support those prices, she said, 'but there’s just not the same kind of demand.' As for rebuilding the inventory, she said that now there are six or eight new listings coming on the market daily. 'That’s a lot.'”

"Today, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is around 7 percent, give or take, and barring another nationwide shutdown or severe recession, it is not expected to drop back into the 3s. 'People do realize that that was a false sense of reality,' Trotter said of the ultra-low rates seen during the height of the pandemic. 'The rates never should have been that low. I think once rates come down in the 5s again, people will start to trade. Even 5 is incredibly historically low.'"

"A local homebuilder that switched course in the past few years to focus on multifamily development is set to sell off four area properties along with assets in three other states as part of its bankruptcy process. Harbor Custom Development, which relocated its headquarters from Gig Harbor to Tacoma in 2022, announced late Friday that it plans to 'continue to wind down its operations and voluntarily liquidate all of its assets through an approved Chapter 11 Plan.' It added, 'Subject to approval of the Bankruptcy Court, the company now intends to complete an orderly wind-down of its business, including sales of its remaining assets in Washington, California, Florida and Texas, to maximize any potential recovery for the company's creditors.' In a final blow, the company said in its release that it 'believes it is unlikely that the liquidation process will result in any material return to its equity shareholders.'"

"It was a turbulent 2023 for the commercial real estate market, and Central Valley farmland was no exception. Another challenge this year was low almond prices. In 2022, tree nut prices fell to their lowest levels in at least two decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Almonds sold for $1.10 per pound that year, down from a peak of $4 in 2014. Sullivan Grosz, ag division president for Pearson Realty in Fresno noted a significant influx last year of distressed sales across various commodities. Large properties — including nuts, table grapes and stone fruit — hit the market, signaling a shift from previous years."

"One particular portfolio of note has hit the market with the collapse of bankrupt stone fruit giant Prima Wawona. Pearson Realty is marketing nearly 14,000 acres of land with a total list price of $370 million in southeastern and west Fresno County — an offering Pearson Realty Senior Vice Presiden Dan Kevorkian said was 'once in a lifetime.' Just this week, private equity-owned almond grower Trinitas Farming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with about $188 million in debt and 17 ranches covering 7,856 acres including Fresno and Tulare counties. Situations such as what happened to Prima Wawona, with the giant collapsing under the leadership of a private equity fund, have revealed weaknesses in long-term holding capability."

"When Sprout Mortgage filed for bankruptcy it was not driven only by market conditions, but allegations that CEO Michael Strauss siphoned off millions of dollars for himself and his family, according to a recent court filing. A trustee for Sprout Mortgage reported to the bankruptcy court that millions of dollars were transferred to holding companies and then back to Strauss, his wife, and daughter. The Non-QM lender, according to insiders, abruptly ended negotiations with Citibank for financing that would have saved the company in 2022. The company was averaging $380 million a month in loan volume when it shut down. A former wholesale account executive told NMP that the company was trying to sell off $190 million in loans, but was able to sell only $90 million. 'Wall Street wasn't buying up Non-QM loans,' the account executive said."

"Sunterra Custom Homes is owned and operated by Ranbir Nahal, allegedly also known as Ranvir Nahal, and is based in Vernon. But the company and Nahal have recently been hit with multiple court filings from homeowners and businesses spanning from the North Okanagan to Osoyoos, alleging hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid debt and unfinished work. Wendy Richmond broke ground on her Osoyoos house in November 2020. 'Towards the end, we could tell that Sunterra was stealing from Peter to pay Paul because we paid invoices and then months and months later we’re getting calls from the [trades companies] saying this invoice isn't paid and we're gonna put a lien on your house,' she claimed. Richmond estimates she is now $1M over budget on the home and out at least $75K from money she claims was paid to Nahal, but not paid to the contracted companies."

"Another construction company has also placed a lien on her home, after not seeing payment for their services. Richmond provided the invoices for completing that payment as well, even though the company is still claiming to be owed $11.5K from Sunterra. 'Sunterra keeps sending us cursed gifts from the grave. We are struggling to get even the smallest items completed, as the trades that were stiffed are all quite pissed off and have no one to take it out on.' Another Osoyoos-area homeowner, Lloyd Lockhart, said he last met with Nahal on Jan. 4, 2024, and then two or three days later, noticed communication was cut off with no return phone calls. 'We have paid him for a lot of the work, for the electrician and plumber and all that and I think a lot of them have not got paid so he's just taken off with the money,' he claimed."

"Customers of an Ayrshire trader say they feel ripped off after paying tens of thousands for building works that were not completed. Russell McMaster, who traded as Alex McMaster Builders and VJL Builders, was paid at least £220,000 for seven home renovation contracts over two years. But his clients said the works were left largely unfinished and have called for him to be prosecuted. Chris Jardine sleeps in a bedroom which looks more like a building site after the tradesman he hired took his money and never finished the work. The 46-year-old can see the frost on his breath when he wakes up on a mattress on the floor of his unfinished loft conversion in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire."

"Grant Kilpatrick, 53, said he hired VJL Builders in July 2022. Mr Kilpatrick reported the matter to Police Scotland but was told it was a 'civil matter.' 'I think he should be prosecuted. He's stealing people's money, he's causing misery for people, he's putting people in financial hardship, emotional hardship - it puts a big strain on people,' he said."

"Rental prices for office space in Israel plunged by 16 percent last year, as tech firms — global and local — have been downsizing and driving up the supply of commercial property. Prices for office space surged in these boom years, with developers initiating new and ever more luxurious projects for their clients, propelled by the lowest-ever interest rates and sky-high demand. Then, suddenly, last year, it all came crashing down — much like the Israeli tech market, which saw investments plunge 56% to $6.7 billion in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to IVC Research Center which tracks the industry."

"'Demand for office space has frozen,' said Yoram Blumenthal, the managing partner of Cushman and Wakefield Inter Israel. If the economic crisis continues because of a prolonged war which may expand to other fronts, the glut of office space that is expected to come onto the market in 2026 and 2027 – from construction started in the years of record low interest rates and the tech boom – could create a further supply and demand imbalance in city centers, he warned."

"The number of foreclosed properties for sale in China rose at a faster pace in January, in a sign of the country’s continued economic slowdown. New listings of foreclosed properties nationwide rose 48% in January from a year earlier, compared with 37% in 2023, according to a report by real estate agency China Index Holdings published Thursday. The 100,400 properties listed for sale last month include residential, commercial and industrial real estate. China’s economic downturn has resulted in a growing number of debt-saddled property owners who are forced to sell, especially as real estate loans account for a large majority of the country’s non-performing debt."

"For the past two years, distressed pricing has allowed homebuyers and companies to snag cheap residences, warehouses and land. Foreclosed residential properties were sold at an average discount of 23% in January, China Index Holdings data showed. 'We forecast the enthusiasm for distressed properties to heat up after Lunar New Year as the overall real estate market is forecast to be on a downward trend and discounts are expected to widen.' the agency said in the report."