A report from the New York Post. "Some of the Big Apple’s ritziest ZIP codes are seeing home values plummet amid the sustained exodus from the city caused by the pandemic, spiraling crime and ballooning taxes, experts told The Post. 10013, which encompasses parts of Tribeca and Soho, dropped from the fifth priciest ZIP in the country with the typical home value plummeting from $3,667,770 to $2,880,322. Tribeca’s 10007 went from 16th place in 2019 to 47th this year, as average prices dipped from $2,964,729 to $2,880,322. Soho and Greenwich Village’s 10012 — which includes Washington Square Park and parts of New York University– fell off a cliff from 27th in 2019 to 77th this year, with values decreasing from $2,636,977 to $2,391,539. 'For now, I would look at this as an opportunity to buy – as what goes down must come up,' the ever-optimistic real estate agent Eric Benaim."

Market Watch. "Dear Quentin, I’m 54 years old, not married, and have no children. I earn $115,000 per year. When the pandemic hit, my company, which is located in San Diego, transitioned to being fully remote. At the time, I shared a one-bedroom apartment with my girlfriend for $2,500 a month. I loved our neighborhood, but working in a small shared space was a nightmare for both of us. In 2022, I decided to try to buy a home in Charlotte. Prices in Charlotte skyrocketed as the area became a hot market. I was outbid at least four times on homes. As the rate moved closer to 5%, I panicked and settled for a townhouse. It wasn’t the single-family home that I wanted, but it was in a safe and affluent neighborhood."

"When I told my girlfriend the news, she was angry and dug in her heels. We have tried to maintain a long-distance relationship. But the distance is slowly eroding our relationship. Two years into owning my townhome, I have serious buyer’s remorse. I don’t love my neighborhood and have zero connection with my neighbors. Did I blow up my life to buy the wrong real-estate investment? Wham (What A Mess). Dear Wham, you did not blow up your life to buy the wrong real-estate investment, you changed your life to get a leg on the property market, and you achieved it. You are living the dream and have something for which millions of Americans would give their front teeth. There’s almost no such thing as the wrong real-estate investment in a hot market."

The Providence Journal in Rhode Island. "An embattled Rhode Island developer, who has been sanctioned multiple times by the Rhode Island contractors’ registration board, had construction of his 38-unit condominium development in East Greenwich halted after the town’s building official said he had 'grave concerns' about the work being done there. Debbie DeCarlo, of Riverside, contacted The Hummel Report after our investigation ran last month, saying she bought a single-family home Sathuan Sa had renovated in 2018. DeCarlo said Sa initially came back and made an attempt to repair some of the things that were not done correctly, but then he disappeared. 'I had water pouring through my electrical fixtures, and I had a roof that was leaking, even though it was brand new,' DeCarlo said. 'There are all sorts of people who have been hoodwinked by him.'"

The Daily Mail on Colorado. "A wealthy Aspen investor sued by by First Western Bank for allegedly failing to repay his loans has been sued by another bank that is asking a judge to let it claim his $39 million house as compensation. Daniel Burrell, 45, was first sued by First Western Bank in November for defaulting on $56 million in loans, according to The Denver Post. The bank said they gave four loans to the investment fund founder between 2019 and 2022, and they are suing to foreclose on Burrell's properties as collateral. The businessman has countersued First Western Bank when they sued him, arguing they violated federal lending laws, are interfering with the sale of his property and invading his privacy. 'First Western did not make a reasonable and good faith determination at or before consummation that Burrell had a reasonable ability to repay,' said the countersuit. Public records show Burrell owns property in Nantucket, Massachusetts, two homes in Basalt, Colorado and the mansion and ranch in Aspen."

Post Independent in Colorado. "In February, the Town of Carbondale announced their plans to reduce immigrant services by the end of winter. The closures began toward the end of March, with many of the services closing within the last week. 'Some of them actually had families that were being sheltered in Denver, but they couldn’t find work,' explained Carbondale Town Manager Lauren Gister. 'They’d heard that there was work in the Roaring Fork Valley, especially in the winter, and they sort of came en masse.' Others have expressed wanting to return to Venezuela due to family emergencies, though Gister said the town has not been able to find a way for them to return, as missing documentation had led to rejections from airlines. 'One of them actually took a bus to Texas and said, ‘I’ll walk back,' she said. 'We really tried to figure out a way to do it, but we could not fix them on an international flight.'"

CBS News on California. "Homelessness is often a serious consequence for immigrant families, especially those who come to San Francisco because of its designation as a sanctuary city. On some afternoons, Karla Margarita Solito Sorto spends hours in a 24-hour laundromat in San Francisco's Mission District, washing load after load for her family of six. Her family fled El Salvador some six months ago and came to San Francisco, where they were attracted by the promise of protection under the city's designation as a sanctuary city. But her four children and her husband had nowhere to go, and have been homeless since they arrived. 'I would just ask a sanctuary city like this -- because that's why we came here, to be more protected -- just for a place for us and for a little support,' she said."

KOMO TV in Washington. "Neighbors in north Seattle say they got tired of waiting for the city to help with a troublesome homeless camp so they turned to a group called We Heart Seattle instead. In the span of two days, all the tents and cars associated with the encampment were gone. 'The foot traffic was horrible and scary at the same time, said Deborah Wright, whose home butted up against one side of the camp. 'Under the carport, sometimes they'd be under there sleeping and going to the bathroom.' Others in the area described the encampment as a haven for drugs and stolen items. 'It was absolute mayhem. There was the main drug dealer car that was here and they'd have 10-15 people swarming around that every single hour that were getting their fix and they were passing out in the middle of the roadway,' said Erika Nagy, a QFC shopper."

From Bloomberg. "The junkiest corporate debt is becoming increasingly hazardous for investors amid mounting signs that a default cycle is picking up steam. The holding company of Thames Water Ltd. this week failed to make payments that had come due on a £400 million bond ($504 million). It follows a plunge in the bond prices of Altice France last month. 'There is going to be some pain ahead,' said Raphael Thuin, head of capital market strategies at Tikehau Capital. 'Perceived wisdom is that it takes 18 to 24 months for rate hikes to take effect. We are in that period now.' 'After a decade of free money and negative rates, some capital structures are unsustainable,' said Nicolas Jullien, a high yield portfolio manager at Candriam SA."

The Toronto Star in Canada. "Two years ago, Ryanne Stuart watched in horror as her million-dollar home purchase turned into a nightmare. In February 2021, she and her husband signed an agreement of purchase and sale for a preconstruction detached house from an Ontario builder, Mariman Homes. It was a $1.1-million, 2,600-square-foot single-family property in Pelham, in the centre of Niagara Region. The couple took out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) against their existing Hamilton house to pay the $160,500 deposit on the new home. But to Stuart’s shock, in 2022 she found out construction on the home hadn’t even begun and she began to doubt whether she could get her deposit back if she backed out of the deal. Their HELOC was ballooning and they realized they wouldn’t be able to pay it off, so they sold their Ontario home and moved to Manitoba last year. 'We essentially took out a second mortgage for a house that didn’t exist,' she said."

"Ryan Macdonald put a $144,000 deposit down on one of the Scotland lots in September 2020, before any lots went into a power of sale. The closing date on his home kept getting pushed back, Macdonald said. The experience has been 'painful and emotional' for Macdonald and his family. 'They’ve taken millions of dollars away from many others,' he said. 'This has led to severe financial strain.' For now, Macdonald is continuing to fight and get his deposit back, but he says he’s lost hope, believing he’ll 'never' see his $144,000 again."

CTV News in Canada. "A condo building under construction in Arbour Lake was destroyed by a fire on Friday evening. The building, located in an unfinished condo complex on Arbour Lake Road N.W., was engulfed in heavy flames when firefighters arrived on the scene around 5:15 p.m. Since the complex was under construction, no occupants were living in the building yet. According to the Calgary Fire Department (CFD), 28 people were forced out of nearby homes due to embers and blowing smoke. They have since been allowed back home. No injuries were reported. The three-storey building was near the end of construction, but following the blaze is considered a total loss."

The Telegraph. "Nestled on the coast where the river Dyfi meets the blue waters of Cardigan Bay, the Welsh village of Aberdyfi has always been a popular choice for second homeowners. Now, the Welsh government’s policies designed to deter second homeowners are forcing some to sell up. Gillian Miranda, 57, has lived in Aberdyfi for 24 years and runs a boutique on the seafront, where most of her customers are second-homers. 'The Welsh government thought, ‘We’ll get rid of all the second homeowners and make housing stock available for locals.’ But locals can’t afford it anyway,' she says. Properties in the area used to be so in demand they were sold before they even made it to an estate agent’s window – now, they’re 'sitting there for years.'"

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that those who are choosing to sell are struggling to do so. 'People phone me to complain… that they’re trying to leave and can’t,' says Craig Ab Iago, the Plaid Cymru cabinet member for housing in Gwynedd. 'They bought an expensive place and now that the only people looking to buy are locals who can’t afford it.'"

The Guardian. "Is the British staycation boom over? Short-term holiday rentals experienced a surge in recent years, especially during the pandemic, when Britons stayed at home in the UK, leading to a spike in rates. However, holiday-let owners across the UK are reporting a significant fall in bookings so far this year as the sector feels the effects of the cost of living crisis, poor weather and an increasingly saturated market. Helen Angove, 58, managing director of Woodland Collection Holidays in Townshend, Cornwall, about 10 miles from tourist hotspot St Ives, said demand in January and February fell by about 80% across her four three-bedroom holiday lets on the same period last year. 'This year we had hardly any bookings at all in January or February. March and April bookings are down 20%.'"

"She attributes much of the sluggish demand to the poor weather. 'So many [people] are fed up with the wet weather. They are going abroad to get some sunshine. The second big factor is the massive oversupply of holiday lets. A lot of people thought they could make easy money because of what happened during Covid.' Yvonne Turnbull, 58, who lives in Horsham, West Sussex, has been letting out a three-bedroom apartment in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, for between £150 and £175 a night, including through Airbnb, for the past six years."

"She said demand was significantly down on previous years, with no bookings for January, February or March, including half-term, and fewer bookings over Easter. Turnbull said Scarborough was now oversupplied with holiday lets. 'When we started there were about 200 Airbnbs in the town. Now you’re looking at 1,000.' Nor is the problem limited to seaside destinations. Veeve, which offers short-term rentals, has seen a 21% drop in booking values across its London portfolio of more than 500 properties from January to 19 March since the same period last year."

"Miriam Vanags, 60, and her husband have run a one-bedroom holiday cottage on their 18-acre smallholding in St Clears, Wales, for the past 17 years. She said people were demanding a lot more for their money. 'They expect more of a hotel experience. Now we see a huge number of requests for hot tubs and wood burners, which seem to be deal breakers. Trends change.' She added: 'We have considered long-term letting and that is something we may revisit. Selling up may become a necessity, depending on whether things pick up.'"

ABC News in Australia. "A GJ Gardner Homes brochure promises customers 'peace of mind' and gives guarantees about the quality of work. But for customers of its Hobart franchisee, their experiences have been years-long nightmares. There have been defects appearing as soon as the build starts, approved plans not being followed, almost complete stoppages of work, contractors alleging money owed, and finished houses that require months of costly remediation work. In 2021, Akinola Ekundayo was considering his retirement. They chose to move to Tasmania due to it being a 'safe haven', and settled on a block of land south of Hobart to build their new home. 'When we saw the view, we thought 'wow', you can't allow yourself to miss this one,' Mr Ekundayo said."

"'It looks abandoned, my site is abandoned. Nothing is going up here,' Mr Ekundayo said. 'Emotionally, you are drained, you are lost, you are degraded.' He now rents in a nearby suburb, where he can almost see the site from the front door, visiting every Monday to check if any work is occurring – but it never is."

"Owen Knight chose GJ Gardner Hobart because he needed his new house at his vineyard in the Huon Valley built to schedule, so his wine business would only miss one growing season. Mr Knight moved into a cellar door – a small shed, where he has now lived for almost two years. It's right next to the house site, so he could keep an eye on the works. After being 'slow walked' through the council approval stage, he saw problems almost immediately. 'I noticed all of these defects, some of them serious structural defects, being built into the house,' Mr Knight said. 'But the builder just kept building.'"

"Another home owner – who did not want to be identified – at least has a completed house to live in. But he describes his experiences with LV Built, trading as GJ Gardner Hobart, as a nightmare right from the start. 'The corners of the slab had sort of chipped away and fallen in, and then it wasn't square. We were told, don't worry about it,' he said. 'When the frame was put on the slab, the two didn't line up. It was very, like, 'that's normal, it's not going to cause any issues'. We were still really naïve about the whole thing.' The extent of his issues became apparent when he was told the house was 'finished.' 'It was absolutely ridiculous that they were telling us that our house was finished,' he said. 'When in the bathrooms, there were no taps on the walls, and the bath had no plumbing at all underneath. It was just a hole to the ground. It was nothing like a completed house.'"

"He said his dream of building a home had turned into a nightmare. 'I struggled a lot, mentally, to the point where I said to my partner, 'We're going to have to sell this house,' he said. 'That our first home. It was supposed to be an exciting journey to bring that to life. And the whole thing was just totally stressful.'"