A report from the American Statesman. "Just as it is a buyer's market in Central Texas' single-family housing market, so too is it a renter's market in the Austin-area apartment market. Likely to the dismay of landlords and delight of tenants, Austin saw the second-steepest yearly decline among metros in the latest study by Rent.com. Rents in Austin dropped 12.5% in December compared with December 2023. Asking rents in Austin were $1,985 a month in December, versus $2,270 a month the prior December, the study said. Austin's decline was followed by Raleigh, North Carolina, where rents dropped almost 12.2% to $1,873, and the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro, where rents fell by about 9.3% to $1,638 a month. Leading December's declines was Salt Lake City, where rents dropped sharply, by almost 21%."

"A separate study released Thursday said Austin is still facing the effects of a glut of apartment units. Of the 12 Sunbelt markets MRI ApartmentData tracks, Austin had the lowest level of occupancy (86%) in January, and it saw the biggest decline in rents over the past 12 months. 'It becomes apparent that Austin’s low overall occupancy is a function of its large number of new units delivered (26,718) in relation to units (leased),' MRI's Bruce McClenny wrote. 'Also, Austin’s number of deliveries rivals that of Houston (27,252), a metro that is almost two and a half times larger than the size of Austin in terms of (overall apartment supply). This illustrates the oversupply that is being experienced in Austin.'"

The Telegraph. "In some US cities, a fall in rents has come hand-in-hand with an influx of new apartments. In Boise, the capital of Idaho, rents fell by as much as 6.2pc last year – just as construction of apartments in the city increased by 5.3pc, according to data firm RealPage. Developers have been building so much in some states that nationwide apartment occupancy levels in the US hit a ten-year low at the end of 2023. Hugo Machin, portfolio manager of Schroders Global Cities fund, said there has been 'an unprecedented supply' of housing in the US – particularly in states on the sun belt where more jobs are being created. He added: 'In Austin, Dallas, Charlotte and Florida, too many apartments have been built. From 2014 onwards, the rate of building has more than doubled in the US. Now, you’ve got a supply glut in the southern regions.'"

The Wall Street Journal. "Turmoil in commercial real estate is sending jitters through regional banks and other lenders. In the past, regional banks often provided loan extensions to developers of completed projects even if they were behind schedule in leasing up. But these days, regulators are warning these lenders that they need to reduce real-estate exposure, and regional banks are pulling back. Take the case of Harbor Group International, which has spent more than $600 million over the past year on seven apartment-building developments—including Pine Ridge and Locklyn West Palm, both in West Palm Beach, Fla. Some of the properties it purchased weren’t leasing up as quickly as expected. 'Given the pressure on regional banks, those extension options were not necessarily available to developers,' said Richard Litton, president of Harbor Group, which is based in Norfolk, Va."

"'At some point, that avalanche is going to hit,' said Lonnie Hendry, Trepp’s chief product officer. If higher interest rates persist, many owners struggling to hang on might eventually have to capitulate. 'Just because you can secure some equity or you can get an extension, doesn’t change the underlying dynamics,' said Hendry. 'At some point, the math is just the math.'"

Colorado Public Radio. "Dozens of people gathered hours before Lakewood’s city council meeting Monday night, and as the meeting time approached, the chambers and overflow areas were full. It was an example of something becoming more common in Colorado’s cities. Along the Front Range, some residents see Denver spending large sums of money in order to support new immigrants, and are increasingly voicing concerns the same will happen in their cities. 'This community cannot afford this,' said Ramey Johnson, a former city councilwoman who has helped organize the people voicing concerns. 'It’s not that we are not a compassionate community. We are,' Johnson said. 'But we cannot care for the world.'"

KDVR in Colorado. "A Denver woman said she has been left with an unexpected mess after she sold her van to an undocumented migrant. She learned the new owner of her vehicle can’t register the van or insure it in his name. Kamelah Miller was looking to do some renovations on her home. So, her friend recommended someone who could do the work at a reasonable price. Miller gave him a price on her Volkswagen Routan and he gave her the money. She believes more issues will arise because of the migrant influx. 'My friend had a house for rent and a Venezuelan migrant wanted to rent his home. It’s hard enough to evict Americans, how are you going to evict someone if they pay you the rent that has no documentation?' Miller asked. 'If they sign a lease what does that even mean? Can we take them to court, like what do we do? So, no this isn’t going to get better. Colorado has a homeless issue. These young people are overdosing on fentanyl. There’s a housing crisis, we have 99 problems, and I don’t know if the migrant problem needs to be one.'"

The Daily Signal. "Today’s Democrats treat the American people like a spouse who has grown routine, sometimes ungrateful, and decreasingly alluring. And they cannot forgive America for running off for four years with that damn contractor. But Democrats swoon over the 8.8 million illegal aliens who they have helped invade the country on President Joe Biden’s watch. Army veteran Frank Tammaro, 94, was disappointed when his Staten Island senior center closed last March and booted 52 others. Tammaro grew enraged when he learned last summer that the facility reopened, to house illegal aliens—for free."

Statehouse News Service. "Massachusetts’ immigration policies have made it a 'magnet state' for new arrivals fleeing into the United States and policymakers ought to consider making the state 'less attractive,' Republican Sen. Peter Durant said Sunday. 'You cross the border in Texas or New Mexico, wherever you happen to be, you’re greeted by a bunch of NGO’s — nongovernmental organizations — that say, ‘Where do you want to go? You can pick a state, say, South Dakota, that doesn’t have any benefits. Or we can send you to Massachusetts where you get free housing, free health care, free food, free education, cash benefits. Where would you like to go?'"

Bisnow on California. "The Oceanwide Plaza project in Downtown Los Angeles, unattended by security, incomplete and seemingly abandoned by its developer, has become a magnet for taggers in the last few months, collecting graffiti up and down its towers. Now, the city has moved to force the developer's hand to secure the site and clean up the paint. The developer is facing an additional lawsuit from EB-5 investors in the project who say they are owed $157M. They are attempting to force a foreclosure sale in court to be repaid and are also in a legal battle with Oceanwide's contractors over whose liens have priority, or who will get paid first in the event of a foreclosure sale."

"In Friday's council meeting, Council Member Kevin de León alluded to the existing liens and debts on the property in response to calls from stakeholders during public comment to take the building via eminent domain. 'Easier said than done,' de León said, noting that estimates to finish the project of around $1B plus the fair market value of $500M and the amount of the existing unpaid debts make it financially impossible and unwise for the city to purchase. The completed building will contain 504 units. Buying it and finishing it alone would put the cost for that housing at a staggering $3M per unit, he estimated. 'You do all the math and you know it is not possible,' de León said."

From CP 24. "Canada is seeing 'early signs' of a housing market upturn and Toronto could see prices bottom out this spring, a recent report from the Royal Bank of Canada says. 'For now, prices continue to drift lower,' the report continued. The average selling price of a Toronto home across all property types peaked at $1,334,062 in February 2022 before dropping to a low of $1,037,542 later that year, according to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB)."

The Telegraph in the UK. "Susie and her husband James appeared to be living the dream. They welcomed two lively young children and, a few years ago, the couple bought a beautiful cottage in a chocolate-box village in the West Country with a 'rock-bottom mortgage interest rate.' Reality hit last year when they split up – but that was only the start of their problems. They are now unhappily trapped in their once-idyllic home because they can’t afford to move. 'There are nine months to run on the mortgage and we obviously wouldn’t be able to get such a good deal now, so we can’t afford to sell up and buy two new homes,' says Susie, a nurse. 'It’s really hard to share a two-bedroom cottage when you’re in the middle of a divorce.'"

From AFP. "Soaring food costs, economic stagnation and deteriorating living standards risk pushing voters into the far right's arms in European elections later this year, which could shake up the political agenda in Brussels. EU citizens are reeling from multiple crises. Amid the cost-of-living crisis, Europe's far right has prospered, with the 2022 victory of Italy's Giorgia Meloni, then Geert Wilders in the Netherlands last year. Nearly three in four Europeans believe their standard of living will fall this year, while almost one in two say it has already deteriorated, according to the European Parliament's Eurobarometer survey. Factory closures are rising in the car industry, especially in Germany. 'German industry is heavily affected by high energy prices and is suffering from the electric transition in the automobile industry, currently we do not see a turnaround in order books,' said Charlotte de Montpellier, an ING bank economist."

A Current Affair on Australia. "A young family are barely making ends meet as they pay rent and a mortgage while their half-built dream home stands idle, with no signs of when it will be complete or their financial burden will lessen. Emma and Nathan Doecke purchased a house and land package near Newcastle for $525,000 and were excited to own a four bedroom, two bathroom property for their growing family. The home should have been completed by Christmas 2021, but delays prolonged the process before building company Oracle Platinum Homes went into liquidation in August 2022 — completely halting plans. Now, the couple work five jobs between them to pay their rent and escalating loan repayments."

"'We're working so much and we don't get to see our kids,' Emma tearfully told A Current Affair. 'I'm still breastfeeding my 18-month, and there's days I don't even see them. My mum raises our kids, we don't. There's no hope left it doesn't feel like a dream anymore…it's just caused us too much grief,' Emma said. 'We're just at breaking point.'"

From Barron's. "China’s now four-year real-estate crisis continues to rile investors who haven’t been paid, and buyers whose homes were never completely finished. The problems appear to be getting worse. Online venting reveals a slew of people who have little options after paying for units that were never completed. Chinese websites are heavily censored, but many comments slip through or can be seen before China’s online 'sanitizers' delete posts. A user going by the name Momo posted on China’s hottest new social site, Little Red Book, that her Country Garden unit’s completion date came and went, so she went to the local government housing bureau to complain. A Country Garden representative told her they would complete her unit in three months. She eventually updated her situation under her original post. 'There’s no sign of construction progress. So all we can do is wait.'"

"A user named Madam Ren wrote on Little Red Book: 'I accompanied my husband to [our employer] Country Garden for a meeting today. Many people must have heard about the recent severe thunderstorms. I am also one of the victims and almost lost my salary. My husband is also working hard and cannot get any projects.' In Chinese social media verbiage, the term 'thunderstorm' is now commonly used to refer to a property firm’s situation that has encountered distress. She added: 'Do you have the same situation as malicious arrears of wages? So many villas in Country Garden are empty or unfinished. I don’t know if anyone will buy them. It’s a waste of land and cost.'"