A report from the Missoula Current in Montana. "It's the third straight year that sales volumes have decreased year-over-year. 'Last year there were 952 residential sales in our (area),' said Brint Wahlberg with Windermere Real Estate. 'That's on pace with numbers we saw in 2011 and 2012, which was Missoula's floor of the bubble. The volume is way down while the median is at a new record high.' The slight improvement in supply has had an equally slight impact on cost, Wahlberg added. 'This speaks to why you see that the increase in our median sales price has slowed,' Wahlberg said. 'Increased supply has led to this situation where median sales-price gains have cooled off.'"

The Green Bay Gazette in Wisconsin. "Consider, for a moment, the home inspection. It’s a longtime staple of the home-buying process. A couple of hundred dollars, easily overshadowed by what’s now on average a $300,000 purchase, to have a professional look over the property so you — and your lender — know you picked a dream home, not a money pit. Or at least so you know how much of a money pit you're buying. Then three years ago, the housing market became so competitive buyers began to waive them in the hopes of gaining a competitive edge. 'Without question, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the home inspection industry,' said Julie Arnstein, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of Home Inspectors. 'To be the chosen one, buyers were overbidding and waiving contingencies. Needless to say, that heavily impacted the industry.'"

"At the least, an inspection gives buyers peace-of-mind about the condition of their prospective home and what repairs may lie ahead. At the worst, an inspection can identify serious, costly issues from the basement foundation to the roof. For wealthier buyers, that could mean skipping a vacation to pay for repairs, Arnstein said. 'For (other) buyers, that’s devastating news. That’s sleepless nights. It’s money they don’t have,' she said."

The Denver Post in Colorado. "The studs of Jennifer Miller’s Erie dream home carry in them her family’s hopes for the future, with messages literally inked with permanent marker onto the bedroom beams while the two-story house was under construction in 2019. But the dream home turned into a money pit for the family of four as they tapped savings and equity from their down payment to fix problems she said were caused by rushed construction. The soil under the foundation wasn’t properly prepared, Miller said, causing the house to twist and stretch as the dirt settled under its weight. Drywall and floor tiles cracked. Doors stopped shutting all the way. The basement heaved and strained against itself. All after the warranty had expired, she said."

"Three years and some $45,000 later, Miller now finds herself taking sides in the latest legislative fight over an otherwise esoteric area of law: construction defects, and how to find the balance between encouraging new builds and protecting people who’ve poured their savings into what’s often the biggest asset people will own. 'We really, really hope that things will change so the homebuying process doesn’t have to be a fight-or-flight experience,' Miller said. 'That’s our hope, that people can see there’s a real face and real people with lives that are perfect, and we need homes that are safe to live in. We need that security. And someday I hope housing will be available to everybody because everybody needs a home.'"

Building Salt Lake. "A Utah County-based drywaller is seeking nearly $300,000 from a Salt Lake City developer for work completed in May 2023 at The Austin Townhomes in Draper. Kyco Services, in business since 2004 and based in Springville, filed a complaint in Salt Lake County District Court against Wasatch Residential Builders and South Point Towns. Kyco is claiming that its gypsum assemblies work at The Austin Townhomes, 604 W Park Presidio Way in Draper, was not paid according to the terms of the parties’ contract. Kyco put a mechanic’s lien for foreclosure on the property in August 2023, and filed its suit in February 2024."

Axios on Texas. "Austin saw the biggest decline nationally in the sales price of luxury homes, according to Redfin. Just as the giddy highs of the pandemic housing market touched everyone in town, apparently the decline is, too. The typical Austin-area luxury home sold for $1.69 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, an 8.6% year-over-year drop, per Redfin. The Redfin report defined luxury homes as those estimated to be in the top 5% of their respective metro area based on market value. Nationally, the total number of luxury listings increased most in Austin — 44.5% year over year — as a glut of houses stuck around the buyers' market."

The Real Deal on Texas. "If you slam the brakes on a speeding bicycle, you’ll flip over the handlebars. For the past three years, Texas apartment developers have been riding one such bike. In Dallas, Austin and Houston, builders have pumped out more apartments than almost any other big cities in the country. By now, the story is familiar: High rates, expensive debt, slowed rent growth and an unprecedented supply surge have caused some distress. But farther down the road, where long-term players tend to find their greatest profits, there’s a huge opportunity. Almost nobody is taking it. 'What we’re feeling right now in 2023 and 2024 is that extreme year of 2021,' said Cindi Reed, an expert with MRI ApartmentData."

"The areas that have slowed down most are downtowns, where a glut of newly built, similar apartments is expected to take years to be absorbed. Some 81 multifamily projects have been proposed for the Austin metro area, according to MRI ApartmentData, and just 17 of those are downtown. Another six will rise near the University of Texas’ campus."

The San Francisco Chronicle. "Low almond prices have driven 17 California almond farms to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Last month Trinitas Farming, LLC — which is a farming management group based in Oakdale — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 7,856 acres of almond orchards it owns throughout Solano, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Fresno and Tulare counties. A total of 17 farms were included in a filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of California San Jose Division as a result of high costs to maintain almond orchards and 'record-low almond prices,' the filing read."

"Last November, the U.S. Agriculture Department said that tree nut prices fell to the lowest levels in two decades, with the price of almonds dropping to $1.10 per pound. Since 2014, when almond prices hit a peak of nearly $4 a pound, they have been mostly on the decline, according to the agency. According to the Times, Trinitas Farming and its affiliates are in debt for $180 million and are expected to sell the orchards."

The Globe and Mail. "Consumers in Ontario and British Columbia increasingly missed payments on mortgages and credit cards in the fourth quarter of 2023, Equifax Canada said. The fourth quarter saw a continuation of what’s been happening for a while now as the impacts of higher interest rates and inflation continue to weigh on consumers, said Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, in an interview. These effects are becoming more visible as people renew their mortgages, she said, and in areas where housing prices are more expensive in Canada. 'We’re seeing that strain start to increase, and really starting to see missed payments coming out more and more on the credit side for individuals,' said Oakes."

"Mortgage delinquency rates soared in those provinces, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, the agency said. In Ontario, the mortgage delinquency rate was up 135.2 per cent compared with a year earlier, while B.C.’s rate rose by 62.2 per cent. 'What we are seeing in Ontario and B.C. in particular is that as consumers are coming up to the end of their term periods on their mortgage, whether that’s fixed or variable, and they’re renewing their mortgage, there are payments shocks that are happening for individuals, and that’s something we knew was coming,' said Oakes. 'And for some individuals, unfortunately … it’s a tipping point.'"

The Guardian in the UK. "An annual gross income of £74,000 puts Scott, 28, a software engineer from Leicestershire, in the top 10% of earners nationally. But, he says, it doesn’t feel that way for him and his family. 'Ten years ago we’d have been laughing with my salary. Now, it feels like our heads are barely above water. There’s an attitude that at this level of income you’ve plenty of money, but it’s not true at all,' he says. The couple’s mortgage uses up more than a third of Scott’s take-home pay, the family’s monthly grocery shop costs more than £500, his student loan repayments are £300 – 'money I now desperately need,' he says."

From Reuters. "Some big Chinese developers are set to offload more real estate in Britain to raise cash, property agents say, making the most of a slowly thawing market and buyers betting on a recovery. Data compiled by MSCI Real Assets for Reuters shows that Chinese developers have been net sellers for three years, shedding UK real estate worth 1.4 billion pounds ($1.8 billion). That contrasts with the 12.8 billion pounds Chinese developers splashed out in Britain between 2014 and 2020. Commercial property values have also tumbled globally due to steep borrowing costs and the post-COVID home working trend, leading to a collapse in deal activity. 'Right now you wouldn't be selling unless you really had to,' said Chris Gore a veteran London property adviser at Avison Young, highlighting that commercial real estate prices in London had corrected by 15%-20% in the last couple of years."

The Korea Times. "Financial services companies in Korea are drawing concerns over the risk of potential massive losses from their overseas real estate investments as the slowdown in the global property shows no sign of letting up. Mirae Asset Global Investments has invested in several office buildings abroad, including State Street Financial Center in Boston. The investment, worth 180 billion won ($134.9 million), was made in 2017 on behalf of the land ministry’s real estate-related fund, for which Mirae Asset Global Investments serves as one of five outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs). The term refers to a third-party firm that serves as an extension of the client asset owner."

"According to industry sources, the value of the building plummeted by more than 30 percent from 2017, as State Street, a U.S. financial firm that was housed in the building, moved out and the vacancy rate increased at a sharper pace as a result. A source said the vacancy rate was 'as high as 100 percent at one point.' ARA Korea, a Seoul-based a real estate investment trust management firm, meanwhile, is facing a loss from a prime office building in Fornebu, a city near Norway’s capital of Oslo. ARA Korea spent 23 billion won to buy 25 percent of the common shares of the building. The company expected to secure an annual return of 8 percent, as the building was wholly leased by Norway’s largest energy firm Equinor. It was considered a safe and lucrative investment. The value of the building then declined to 500 billion won, down from 590 billion won at the time of the contract date. The property’s creditors required an additional capital injection from shareholders to avoid a loss, which they failed to secure, according to market insiders."

"IGIS Asset Management posted an 80 percent loss in the Frankfurt-based skyscraper Trianon building in 2023 after investing 500 billion won, as the building's value fell due to high interest rates and other unfavorable property market conditions."

From Time. "China is in the midst of a profound economic crisis. Growth rates are flagging as an unsustainable mountain of debt piles up; China’s debt-to-GDP ratio reached a record 288% in 2023. But even that eye-popping figure does not capture the uncomfortable fact that much of it was borrowed to buy assets that no longer yield enough income to repay the debt. This is especially true in the housing sector, where sales have fallen by a third since the pre-pandemic peak, and new construction is down 60%. This is one of the worst housing crashes in the world over the last three decades."

"The eventual collapse of China’s bubble has always been inevitable. All boom-and-bust business cycles must end, because the rapid expansion of debt creates opposing interests: bull and bear parties. The bullish developers in China today want ever rising mortgage lending so real estate prices continue rising. Yet the bearish creditors—mostly big banks and bond owners—are concerned that price inflation reduces the value of their debt assets."

"As the most indebted Chinese bulls go bankrupt or panic sell to repay their loans, prices are falling further as their bear counterparts jump back in and buy assets at fire-sale discount prices. That will eventually put a floor on the price collapse but it is also redistributing wealth rapidly from debtors to creditors. Bears feast on the bulls during every crash. Many pundits blame governments whenever economies crash, but the real cause of China’s slump is the long period of fast growth that piled up vulnerable and unsustainable debts. The higher they fly, the harder they fall."