A report from the Naples Daily News in Florida. "If the Naples area had been part of a Redfin study, it would likely show up as leading the nation with the largest pileup of unsold housing inventory year over year. There were 2,667 price decreases for NABOR during March, the highest number of reductions reported in more than five years, and a less strong housing market had a lot more inventory than even now. Overall, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Managing Broker Sherry Stein finds the market returning to pre-pandemic patterns. 'People were buying anything during the pandemic,' Stein said. 'Buyers are now finding more homes to choose from.'"

Banker & Tradesman in Massachusetts. "The Cape Cod housing market has seen a surprising bump in new home listings, kindling hope that the era of ever-declining inventory might be coming to a close – at least in Barnstable County. In April, new listings were up 20.3 percent in Barnstable County compared to the year prior – and new listings were up 20 percent year-to-date compared to the first four months of 2023, according to data from the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors. 'I don’t know what’s causing it, but something seems to be breaking the cycle' of ever-declining inventory on the Cape, said Ryan Castle, chief executive officer of CCIAOR. 'We starting to see cracks in the market, a beginning of a thaw.'"

"There are other curious developments, if not worrying signs, in the Cape market. Castle said the number of people pulling out of contracts – referred to as 'falters'– has been on the rise of late. In the first full week of May, there were 20 recorded 'falters,' or deals under agreement at the start of a week unraveling by the end of the week, he said. At the same time last year, there were zero falters. Besides buyers running into last-minute loan problems, one explanation for the rise in falters: delayed buyer regret over agreed-upon high prices for perceived lower-quality homes. Meanwhile, some sellers on the Cape are still asking too much for homes, leading to later price reductions – despite generally strong demand for homes on the Cape, Castle said."

The Arizona Republic. "The Phoenix-area neighborhoods that posted the biggest price increases span from Apache Junction across central Phoenix, north to Scottsdale and Fountain Hills and west to Glendale. The areas with the biggest median home price decreases span from south Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, to Mesa and Tempe in the East Valley and Surprise in the West Valley. South Scottsdale’s 85251 area had the biggest drop in its median, which fell 15% to $455,000. In Wickenburg’s 85390, prices dropped 13% to $425,000. Paradise Valley’s median price in 85253 sagged 13% to $2.62 million."

"85377 in Carefree saw an 11% drop in its median to $975,000. The central Phoenix area 85007 had a 10% decline to $433,000. Located in central Mesa, the 85210 ZIP experienced a 9% price slide to $315,000. South Tempe’s 85284 area saw an 8% drop to a median of $577,000. The 85355 ZIP in Surprise and Waddell had an 8% dip to $439,000. The median price across Surprise’s 85378 saw an 8% decline to $329,000. And in central Phoenix’s 85006 area, prices slipped 7% to $435,000."

Business Insider. "Alex Moeller was having a great month, and he wanted to share it with his 2 million followers on Instagram. In one photo from October 2022, the millennial entrepreneur/influencer posed on his private jet, the fawn leather seats embroidered with the logo for his red-hot business, WiFi Money. For Jasmine Sadry and Joey Martin, that October was decidedly less enjoyable. The Texas couple were staring down more than $100,000 in debt, much of which they had poured into WiFi Money. Overwhelmed by stress and guilt, Martin went into a deep spiral and was hospitalized several times after binge drinking and using drugs. As Moeller partied it up, Sadry and Martin were preparing to move out of the Dallas-area home they could no longer afford."

"In an attempt to make ends meet, the couple refinanced and rented out their home, moving from an upscale Dallas townhouse to a mold-ridden apartment near the airport. In November 2021, Martin filed for bankruptcy protection, and Sadry prepared to follow suit. They were far from WiFi Money's only dissatisfied customers. Since its founding in 2020, the company has left a trail of lawsuits alleging fraud, bankruptcies, mental breakdowns, and financial devastation."

"Daemon Budkowski, a former actor and model in Los Angeles with multiple sclerosis, said his investment in WiFi Money put his mortgage at risk. 'Legally, I'm disabled,' he said. 'I'm not able to work. I'm tired of being a debt to society. That's why I wanted to invest — to make a living. Now, honestly, they ruined my life.' He filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission but never heard back."

From NPR. "Zombie second loans can be perilous for homeowners because they were real mortgages, signed 15 or 20 years ago, and often there are still liens recorded on the properties. NPR looked at foreclosure data across several states where records were available. In New York, NPR found at least 10,000 old second mortgages that foreclosure activity had been initiated on in just the past two years. Those loans originated back during the subprime-lending housing-bubble days of 2004 to 2008. In Maryland, where more detailed information was obtainable, NPR found at least 500 old second mortgages that had been in default and unpaid for more than a decade but now a company has taken the first step toward foreclosure. In other words, more than 500 zombie mortgages in a single state that are now coming back to life as companies file a form with the state indicating they intend to foreclose on the property."

"In Oxnard, Calif., Liz and Paul Chavez spoke to NPR just a week before a foreclosure sale that was scheduled by a company trying to collect nearly $250,000, counting retroactive interest, on a long-defunct second mortgage. That was about $100,000 more than they had originally borrowed. 'It just feels like highway robbery because that is our equity,' Liz Chavez said."

The Toronto Sun. "Canadians’ standard of living has declined to a level not seen for nearly 40 years. The average Canadian is now only as well off as when another Trudeau was in the prime minister’s office. The last time our standard of living was this low, the top movies were Footloose, Terminator and Ghostbusters and the top pop hits were 'When Doves Cry,' 'What’s Love Got to Do with It' and 'Karma Chameleon.' (Remember Boy George?) The cause of this disturbing decline is Liberal government economic illiteracy. One of the clearest examples of what I mean is liquefied natural gas (LNG). Our prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who would prefer to virtue signal about trendy causes, repeatedly says there is no 'business case' for Canada to sell LNG to the world."

"Forget the fact the PM wouldn’t know a business case if it fell out of an overhead bin onto his head. In the time Trudeau has been prime minister, the Americans have built more than 20 LNG export facilities. Canada has built none. Is that because Americans are too dumb to see there is no business case? Liberal policy and tax failures have driven down productivity, investment, incomes and the dollar while driving up the cost of nearly everything — especially food, housing and energy. Under the Liberals, the cost of mortgages and rents have doubled. Where it once took 44% of the average Canadian income to afford a house, it now takes 63%."

"In U.S. dollars, the median Canadian income is just $25.70, or about a quarter less than in America. And on a purchasing-power basis, Canadians make about one-third less. And I’m sorry, we’re not going to grow our economy by taxing away everyone’s shrinking incomes to subsidize international car-making giants to site EV battery plants and assembly lines here. I am reluctant to bring up immigration again. I am not a nativist or xenophobe, but the math is unavoidable."

"The best estimate stateside is that about 1.6 million illegals enter every year and 1 million legal immigrants. That’s 2.6 million into a country of 330 million. The Canadian equivalent, per capita, would be 323,000 immigrants a year. Yet, last year under the Liberals we took in 1.4 million – more than four times the number per capita of the U.S. – and our economy and housing markets aren’t currently as robust as theirs. This isn’t bigotry, it’s mathematics. And we aren’t doing the newcomers any favours, either, by bringing them into a country with declining living standards."

The Stoke Sentinel in the UK. "A family has been left living in a building site and thousands of pounds out of pocket - after a construction company collapsed into liquidation. Joanne Hughes paid £36,000 for the extension to her Staffordshire home and was awarded a £30,000 disability facilities grant (DFG) from her local council because eight-year-old son Benjamin is severely autistic. But the extension is still only half-completed, there is a hole in the kitchen wall, and building materials in the garden. The 52-year-old has also only received £15,000 of the grant - and the remaining £15,000 can no longer be accessed without a new application."

"Joanne said: 'It feels like a nightmare. Over time it has worn me down. When it happened, I don’t think I realised the enormity of it. I don’t think I was accepting that I'd be left in this mess knowing I was a single parent with a disabled son. The house is just a mess.' A council inspection carried out last month detailed a hole in the kitchen wall, issues with the boiler, and loose wires hanging out of ceilings and walls. Joanne added: 'We’ve got no way out. The rest of the DFG fund has expired, so we can't access it. I thought this renovation would finally give us our life back, give us independence and make a big difference. We’re left living in this mess.'"

South China Morning Post. "After Beijing introduced its most ambitious effort to date to revive the property sector and bolster the country's economic recovery, analysts and economists find the plan's scale too small and remain uncertain about its effectiveness. Market experts suggested that initiatives to solve the long-standing property crisis will need more meat on the bone. Homebuyers in Shanghai, meanwhile, were not enthused by the stimulus measures announced on Friday, as they bet on a further price drop owing to a bearish economic outlook."

"'The government's incentives are the result of a crisis of confidence because consumers are wary of buying property amid worries about job and income,' said Kiki Qian, a 40-year-old Shanghai resident who anticipates another 10 per cent plunge in housing prices. 'Would-be buyers like me will not sign any purchase contract unless homeowners agree to further slash prices.'"

"Property brokers in the city described local residents' reaction to the new policies as lukewarm. 'Few people came to us to show their home-buying interest today,' said Yan Zhancai, a consultant at an outlet of Lianjia, mainland China's largest real estate brokerage, on Nanquan Road in Shanghai. 'It looks as if lower mortgage rates are not enough to inspire them to make purchase decisions.'"

"Unlike other cities like Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, that removed all home-buying restrictions to encourage home ownership, Shanghai has yet to scrap the austerity measures, which bars households from owning a third flat, that was introduced in 2011 to rein in the city's then-red-hot property market. 'Even if a home-buying spree takes place on the back of the eased home-purchase restrictions, it will turn out to be short-lived because most homebuyers remain cautious and expect a downward spiral to continue,' said You Liangzhou, owner of property agency Baonuo in Shanghai."