A report from the Real Deal on Illinois. "The luxury market is bouncing back in Chicago, save for one key submarket. Downtown there’s more than 26 months of inventory priced at $1.5 million and up. The condo market’s downturn was triggered by the pandemic, which reduced vibrancy and exacerbated crime in downtown. Condo owners looking to offload their once-coveted units are often forced to lower asking prices or sell them for less than what they paid. For example, a 6,100-square-foot condo spanning the entire 78th floor of the St. Regis tower changed hands for $7 million last month, $1,147 per square foot, down from its last trade of $8.2 million in December and its initial ask of $10 million. The owners of a Pearson Street condo listed their five-bedroom, 27th-floor unit in January for $1.75 million, the same amount they paid five years prior. They ultimately sold it for $1.55 million, marking an 11 percent loss, said Brian Loomis, the Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty agent who represented the sellers. 'It’s a very frustrating market for sellers,' he said."

"Then again, Chicago’s luxury market is seeing price cuts across the board. For example, Chicago Trading’s Andre Hall sold his Gold Coast condo in January for $4.6 million under its March 2023 asking price. Real estate agent Melissa Siegal, who listed her own condo at a break-even price of $1.35 million, attributed crime as the primary deterrent for downtown buyers."

The Denton Record Chronicle in Texas. "Two Robson Ranch couples are claiming the retirement community is not honoring their warranty policies on their new-build homes. Michael and Carol Shannon, who moved from Pennsylvania into their new home in Denton last year, claim Robson Ranch is refusing to rectify issues under warranty. Another couple, who asked to not be named, claim Robson Ranch has simply been ignoring their requests for repairs on issues also under warranty. 'It’s very, very frustrating,' Carol Shannon said. New homes in Robson Ranch are advertised as starting in the $430,000s, while homes resell at an average of $515,000 and up to $800,000, according to Realtor.com. 'And knowing that we spent all this money for this house [that] was still under warranty. Why can’t you just fix it?' The anonymous couple says they aren’t the only residents who are facing warranty issues that are ignored. 'When we get to meet with our neighbors and stuff at different social events … all people talk about is how bad [Robson] warranties is,' the anonymous husband said."

USA Today. "Three years ago, when a local developer hatched plans for a 352-unit apartment building in West Philadelphia, the project was a no-brainer. Since then, Philadelphia’s housing crisis has grown more dire. Total costs had ballooned from $103 million to $131 million, according to Leo Addimando, managing partner of the developer, Alterra Properties, which announced last August that it was canceling the six-story apartment project. 'The final blow was definitely the spike in interest rates,' Addimando says. 'Even if you gave me the property for free, we still couldn’t make the math work.' By ditching the project, the company lost $2 million in preconstruction costs, Addimando says."

From WPBF. "Condominium owners in Florida may have to dig a little deeper to pay their homeowners association fees and special assessments. Michael O'Connor, a condo board member of Harborage Condominiums in Stuart, believes the assessment fees are too costly. 'For a building of nine condominiums,' O'Connor said, 'the engineering company is recommending a $3,000 a month increase for the condo reserve just for roofs and painting and waterproofing.' The president of Harborage Condo Master Association, Mario Marino, believes the description of the bill is vague. 'We have prices that are three times the amount of the actual cost it took us to get it done,' Marino said."

NBC San Diego in California. "Construction on the massive Riverwalk housing project in Mission Valley is on hold. The pause is due to market conditions and interest rates, according to Hines, the developer of the project. Now that the project is on hold, it remains unknown when all of the planned housing units will hit the market. 'When a project like this gets stalled, goes down or doesn’t happen, that’s less homes for you or I to live in and that makes everything more expensive,' Will Moore, policy counsel at Circulate San Diego, said. According to published plans, the project is expected to be a 200-acre master-planned community. The area will have 4,300 multi-family units — 430 of which will be affordable homes."

Business Insider. "I retired in 2012 from my investment-banking job of 13 years at the age of 34. Since then, I do nothing. Well, I don't do nothing. I have been an author and a stay-at-home father since April 2017. I thought I could buy this nicer home because I believed inflation had peaked and the Fed was going to cut rates in 2024. I didn't want to buy the house in 2024 because I thought bidding wars would return — because mortgage rates would come down. About 70% of the reason I bought the home was emotional. Thirty percent was because I believed we're past the bottom of the San Francisco real-estate market, with mortgage rates coming down, so I do foresee a rebound in prices over the next 10 to 20 years."

"I bought my new home in October — 14% below its original asking price. My old home was four bedrooms, three baths, and 2,800 square feet. My new home is five bedrooms, four baths, and 3,500 square feet. I was able to get a deal on the home. In San Francisco, rates were up since 2022, so prices came down in 2023. My new home will cost about $60,000 more a year, or $5,000 more a month than my previous home."

The Star Tribune in Minnesota. "Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing a Twin Cities real estate broker of preying on Muslims and buyers with poor credit ratings with illegal and deceptive contracts for deed that concealed the cost and risks of the loan and balloon payments. The lawsuit accused Chadwick Banken and multiple businesses he owns of violating state and federal laws by offering contracts for deed with 'egregiously unfair terms to the point that the contracts are designed to fail,' Ellison said. The unfair terms compel would-be buyers to walk away from their homes without assets, allowing Banken to collect the proceeds and re-market the same home to new prospective buyers on similar terms, according to the lawsuit."

"The lawsuit claims Banken designed the contracts to fail and provide him a profit and opportunity to churn properties. He did so by requiring very large down payments for homes at 'dramatically inflated' values, putting the buyers immediately underwater and unable to refinance out of the loans, the lawsuit said."

Maple Ridge News. "Many home buyers are waiting on the sidelines until interest rates come down. That was the finding of a recent survey by BMO, which says 72 per cent of aspiring homeowners are holding out until interest rates drop before purchasing a home. The survey came after The Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged in April – but left the possibility open for a rate cut by June or July. Locally, that has meant a slowdown in sales of properties priced at $1.5 million or higher, according to local Realtor Steve Hamilton. 'That part of the market has been put on hold,' he said."

"The result has been a spike in listings. According to the latest stats from Greater Vancouver Realtors, listed homes for sale on the MLS in Metro Vancouver continued climbing in April, up 42 per cent year-over-year, almost 12,500 – a number not seen in the region since the summer of 2020. Locally, April saw 262 houses listed in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows, which was among the highest in the region, and second only to 303 houses listed in East Vancouver."

The Conversation. "There are 8.5 million households in the UK who own a home with a residential mortgage, often with fixed interest rates from two to five years. Usually, when that mortgage deal ends, the borrower will move to another deal from the same or a different lender. But not everyone can do this. Changes in regulatory measures after the 2008 financial crisis have left tens of thousands of borrowers in the UK trapped in unfavourable mortgages with higher rates. One interviewee, Diane*, said her mortgage was the 'bane of her life,' leading to harmful mental and physical effects. Another interviewee, Helen, captures the feelings of many: 'Never being able to escape from that original loan has had a snowball effect on everything.'"

"My interviewees understood that a missed mortgage payment would lower their credit score and might even lead to the loss of their home. Helen described it as 'an axe hanging over you.' Another interviewee, Lisa, tried on several occasions to remortgage because she desperately wanted to move for the sake of her son. She recognised her inability to do so was 'absolutely down' to her credit score, and described this as 'soul destroying.' One interviewee’s monthly payment doubled to £1,800 due to rate hikes, making arrears inevitable: 'My whole focus on my credit file was to repair any damage that had been caused, so that I could remortgage … I feel now, it’s hopeless. I have no way of getting out of this … My credit score has defeated me.'"

The Punch in Nigeria. "A businesswoman, identified simply as @lashiskin_ on Instagram, has been traumatised after a demolition notice was issued by the Lagos State Government on the building her family purchased in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of the state. The fair-skinned lady, who, based on her Instagram profile, indicated that she was into the skincare business, was seen shedding tears uncontrollably over the development in a viral video she posted on her page late Sunday. In the video, the businesswoman was heard lamenting that her family purchased the property in February 2024, adding that all their hard work was expended on its purchase."

"She said, 'We bought our property in February and we have only been there for two months. All the hard work, all the sleepless nights, everything… If you are in Lagos, you know how much property in Eti Osa costs. Each time my son sees me crying, he always asks me why I am crying: ‘Mummy, you’ve been crying.’ How do I explain this to my son? How? What do I tell my children? I am trying to be a strong woman but this is very painful and I don’t wish anybody pain like that. I don’t wish anybody to work so hard, so tirelessly and face something like this. I don’t.' Reacting to her post on Instagram, one Olabimpe Adeyemi appealed to the businesswoman to take things easy because of her children. 'Oh God!! So sorry, Lashi. Please take it easy for the sake of your children. You are alive, and you will get more properties in your desired places. Dead people don’t buy properties. Please take care of yourself! Sorry, dear,' Adeyemi wrote."

From News.com.au. "The New Zealand version of The Block has been cancelled ahead of its scheduled 11th season. The renovation show’s dumping is part of a restructure at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns the Three network – broadcast home to The Block. Four properties had already been bought by the local free-to-air network, with teams also locked in to start filming in Browns Bay, north of Auckland, in coming weeks. But after the show was postponed in 2023 following a disastrous finale in 2022 – the difficult housing market in the area has seemingly made the format untenable."

"Indeed, the 2022 final auction proved the nail in the coffin for the franchise, with winning couple Chloe Hes and Ben Speedy netting a record-low $NZD4000 following three months of labour. Their reserve price was set at $NZD1.141 million, with the home ultimately selling for $NZD1.145 million. Thankfully, they received $NZD100,000 in prize money for coming out on top. But the couple who came in second place, Maree and James Steele, made just $NZD100 once their home sold. 'We’ve got petrol money,' Maree joked at the time."

Vietnam Investment Review. "Last month, Danang People’s Committee said it would approve the conversion of several condotels into apartment units, and developers will now be allowed to negotiate with homebuyers to cancel old condotel purchase contracts and re-sign contracts to buy apartments for residential use. One project affected by the move is the two towers of Danang Times Square, located opposite Bien Dong Park and My Khe Beach, after recognition that it boasted the conditions for mobilising capital last month. The project began in 2017 and was set to provide thousands of condotel units, expected to be handed over in 2019. The venture was frozen because of the pandemic, and the government had not yet permitted granting ownership for condotels."

"Danang is also home to another project which was permitted to be converted into apartments for residence in 2022. The Empire resort and housing project, also known as Cocobay, has seen more than 1,000 out of 1,860 hotel apartments converted to apartments. In the first quarter, there were 45 condotel projects opened for sale, of which only two were new projects, with a supply of around 4,850 units. Overall market demand recorded the lowest level in the past five years, with the majority of projects showing slow sales. Some 90 per cent of condotel projects did not record any transactions in Q1."