A report from the Wall Street Journal on Florida. "Ivan Rodriguez leapt at the chance to buy a unit at the Cricket Club, an exclusive bay-front condominium in North Miami. In 2019, he liquidated his 401(k) retirement account to purchase a nearly 1,500-square-foot unit with water views for $190,000. But the condo board recently proposed a nearly $30 million special assessment for repairs, including roof replacement and facade waterproofing. It would amount to more than $134,000 per unit owner. Rodriguez, 76, didn’t have the money. So he reluctantly put his two-bedroom condo up for sale, joining dozens of others in the building who are doing the same. After originally listing his unit for $350,000, he kept marking it down until finally it sold for $110,000 last month, or 42% less than what he paid for it. 'These units are practically being given away,' said Sari Papir, a retired real-estate agent who has lived in the Cricket Club with her partner since 2018. 'Even if we found a buyer, what could we buy with the pennies we’d receive for our unit?'"

"In a number of these buildings, prices are beginning to plummet. While units built less than 30 years ago are selling for about 38% more today than they did in 2020, units 30 years or older are now going for almost 12% less than they did back then, according to a data analysis by brokerage ISG World. Owners are struggling to find all-cash buyers because mortgage lenders are increasingly unwilling to take on the risk associated with these units. 'It’s not the buyers that aren’t qualifying,' said Craig Studnicky, chief executive at ISG World. 'It’s the buildings that aren’t qualifying.'"

Yahoo Finance. "The frenzied homebuying days in Austin, Texas, that saw some buyers offer six figures over asking price are gone. The Texas capital, where the average home price soared by $170,000 during the COVID pandemic, is now seeing major price corrections. 'We mirrored what happened across the country: We saw a lot of demand, which drove up prices really quickly,' Kent Redding, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, told Yahoo Finance. 'But that [housing boom] was outside the norm. It was a blip on the map.' For instance, just 15 miles north of Austin, Round Rock saw average listing prices climb to a peak of $497,000 in 2022, falling to $399,000 in February. Despite that softening, they remain above the 2020 median listing price point of $259,500."

"Andrew Vallejo, Redfin agent based in Austin, said he put up eight homes for sale in the last two weeks, but only three received offers the first weekend. Two or three potential buyers visited, and only one made a good offer on each. 'Then the others where there was no traffic at all,' Vallejo said. 'And they're all priced competitively to market, so it's very much hit or miss where if you find the perfect buyer that happens to like your home, that could be great. But also, we could end up sitting for 45 or 60 days and have to have a price adjustment. It’s unpredictable.'"

Big Island Now in Hawaii. "Six years have passed since three families purchased their first homes on Kaua‘i – and began an ordeal they claim has yet to end. They and eight other households are now suing their neighborhood’s developer, Fortune 500 company, D.R. Horton, in a bid to resolve their troubles. 'It’s like a nightmare that we haven’t woken up from because it just keeps going,' said Lani Saiki. Christie Volkmer and her husband, Marc, also moved to Kaua‘i to raise a child. They were elated when their number was drawn in a lottery granting the option to buy a property in the Ho‘oluana development."

"However, the Volkmers’ finances have also been consumed by their attempts to free themselves from the black slime. They would even leave to escape the problem but are trapped in their own home. 'We literally cannot move,' said Marc. 'We’d have to fix it out-of-pocket before we could sell it and then possibly not be able to recuperate anything.'"

From Moneywise. "Many Americans have been ditching California and New York for Texas and Florida to save money. But even there, they’re struggling with housing and cost of living prices. Angel De La Rosa recently went viral for his video about how Americans are losing money — no matter where they live in the country. De La Rosa, who lives in Mexico but appears to also hold U.S. citizenship, argues that people make less money in his home country, but also spend less than Americans. 'Americans are so broke and they don’t even realize it,' he says. De La Rosa argues that the U.S. holds people hostage in the shackles of debt, while that’s not the case in Mexico since most residents own their homes and cars outright. According to OECD data, this is somewhat true."

"Mexico has the lowest household debt of all its 36 countries, whereas the U.S. is firmly in the middle, at 19th lowest household debt. De La Rosa also adds that most Americans can’t cover an unexpected $500 expense. And here he’s right again, a 2023 survey found that a whopping 67% of employees couldn’t afford an unexpected $400 expense. 'Living paycheck to paycheck your whole life and being in debt your whole life should be considered poverty, but it’s not,' De La Rosa says. 'At least here in Mexico, we own our things. We own our houses. We own our cars. We’re not in debt.'"

The Real Deal. "Real estate executives are admitting that multifamily borrowers are starting to see trouble — and that presents opportunity for some. 'Multifamily now is in the crosshairs,' Barry Sternlicht, who runs Starwood Capital Group, said at the Milken Institute’s annual conference in Los Angeles. Sternlicht is projecting a 'huge distress cycle,' thanks to pressures facing regional banks, he said on a panel discussing global real estate. 'This is really a balance sheet crisis,' he said. 'The Fed is very aware that it has a teetering regional banking system that loads about $700 billion, that are real estate loans [originated] in a low interest rate environment, and the small borrowers are going to have a hard time refinancing. We’ve gotten calls: ‘How can you help, can you take over banks’ assets?’ They’re trying to arrange recaps before they fail,' Sternlicht added."

Blog TO in Canada. "Condo sales numbers in and around Toronto have taken a drastic tumble so far this year, and now that the market is starting to lean towards buyers who can choose from thousands more homes available, sellers are growing uneasy, even desperate — especially developers. Some companies have gone as far as indefinitely deferring entire complexes that were already underway, while a few in-progress communities are going into receivership, with those behind them unable to attract enough buyers to fund their completion. In this landscape of still-high interest rates and market inactivity, many individual owners are having to sell for less than their asking price, or even at a loss. And, local project leads are trying all sorts of tricks to lure people to buy pre-construction condos."

"One firm, Camrost Felcorp, launched a 'Mortgage Madness' campaign in March through which it offered to cover an entire two years of mortgage bills for anyone who bought a unit (under $1 million) in three of its forthcoming buildings in the GTA. Others, like Verge Condos, are reducing the minimum down payment amount, while still others are advertising free (or cheap) parking, rental guarantees, or other incentives — some of which you have to sign up for more information to find out. It is reminiscent of the rental discounts and perks that landlords were extending during the pandemic when so many people vacated the city, and demand and prices plummeted."

Echo News in the UK. "A desperate man says he has been 'living in limbo for 20 years' on an unfinished Basildon estate which is described as 'looking like a warzone.' Colin Parkins, 65, who lives on the Basildon Craylands estate purchased a ground floor maisonette two years before Swan Housing announced a £250million regeneration of the estate in 2006. The ambitious project to raze the estate to the ground and build 1,310 new homes was initially a success but the project was later left abandoned and unfinished. Mr Parkins says he is facing a 'nightmare' as he and other residents have been left in limbo about whether their homes will be bought out and demolished or left."

"He claims he is unable to sell his property and does not want to spend money repairing his home if it will be demolished. He said: 'It is a nightmare; my hands are completely tied now. It is limbo, and I cannot escape it. I had a sale fall through years ago when the buyer found out about the regeneration plans. I will look for other places to live but will I ever be able to sell this property?' Mr Parkins bought his property as part of the right to buy scheme for £38,000 and has recently been forced to fork out £6,000 on urgent bathroom repairs. He said: 'We don’t want to spend any more and what I want is for everyone affected, which I estimate at 43 homeowners, brought together and told if we can move on. I am 65. I cannot get another mortgage.'"

Domain News in Australia. "Property owners in mortgage-belt Sydney suburbs are feeling the financial strain, and have the highest rates of distressed sales across the city. Thirteen interest rate rises in the past two years are taking their toll and some owners are choosing to sell their homes or investment properties before their lender forces their hand. In the Blacktown area, distressed listings reached 13.2 per cent of total property listings in April, Domain figures show, a sharp rise from 8.7 per cent a year earlier. Distressed listings are high in the Parramatta region at 8.3 per cent, and are at least 7 per cent of all listings in the Merrylands/Guildford, Richmond/Windsor and Fairfield areas."

"In Blacktown, Harcourts Unlimited managing director Andrew Chrysanthou said he has seen a lot more investors putting their properties on the market as there may not be as much benefit in owning them compared to when interest rates were low. 'If it is not positively geared, and they are out of pocket by $2000, $4000, they can carry it for a while,' he said. '[But] because of land tax, because of interest rate rises – some properties are not worth holding.'"

The Hindu on India. "Officials of the Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing on Friday busted a real estate fraud in Sadasivpet of Sangareddy by nabbing Obili Papannagari Rama Chandra Reddy, the proprietor of Obili Housing for defrauding 50 victims of approximately ₹10-₹15 crore. Efforts are underway to trace and nab other members of the racket. Rama Chandra along with V.B Gupta, Managing Director of Prathista Properties and other marketing agents were selling a pre-launch offer on unregistered open plots under the name of ‘Highway Paradise’. 'The racket enticed people by declaring they were developing land in 200 acres and launching the project in Venkatapuram village within a span of three years. After collecting the deposits from many investors, they went incommunicado,' the officials explained."

Vietnam Express. "Despite offering a discount on her 63-square-meter apartment in Hanoi, Van has been unable to sell it because the market for old apartments has nosedived. Van and her husband first wanted to sell their two-bedroom unit in Hoang Mai District’s Linh Dam urban area in early March when the market was booming. But believing that prices will continue to rise, the couple decided to wait for their five-year-old apartment to appreciate further. They finally listed it in early April for VND3.05 billion (US$119,800), nearly double their purchase price of VND1.6 billion."

"Van asked several brokers to advertise her property and received nearly 20 calls from interested people in just the first week. Many of them negotiated with her, trying to lower the price, but she refused, confident that old apartments were scarce and in high demand. Then interest in her apartment waned, and her brokers suggested reducing the asking price by VND200-300 million to attract buyers. Van relented and lowered the price to VND2.95 billion last week, but she has only seen three potential buyers since and no takers. She said: 'My husband regrets not selling a month earlier when old apartments were quickly selling out. Who could have thought the market would change so fast?'"

"Trung Duc of Ha Dong District listed his 74-square-apartment on To Huu Street for VND3.3 billion, nearly twice its purchase price, three weeks ago. The price was low given the limited apartment supply and that an identical unit on the same floor sold for VND3.4 billion two months earlier. He has hired three brokers, but has been unable to sell it. Le Vuong, a broker in Nam Tu Liem District, said the demand for old apartments has been declining over the last month. He used to take a dozen people a week on apartment tours in early March, and most would seal the deal after just one or two visits for fear that prices would rise further. But since mid-April most units he has been trying to sell have received very little attention. 'A few people make inquiries, but most lose interest as soon as they hear the prices,' he said."

"Pham Duc Toan, CEO of property firm EZ Property, said the short-lived surge in transactions and prices in the Hanoi apartment market was due to prices being inflated. Apartment prices are susceptible to being inflated by speculators due to their low supply in recent years, he said. Now that more buyers have become aware of the bubble and overcome their 'fear of missing out,' the segment is gradually becoming inactive, he noted."

From CNBC. "A group of around 1,500 homebuyers in the Chinese city of Tianjin, near Beijing, have yet to see — let alone move into to — the apartments they said they paid for about eight years ago. As is common in China, the apartment complex in Tianjin sold the units before they were completed. The promise was that they would be ready by 2019, but the majority are still unfinished, according to five of the homebuyers, who spoke to CNBC via telephone but requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. The buyers are a mix of people who paid in full upfront but also in smaller installments. Their concerns are just one example of the wider challenges that persist in pockets of China's property sector."

"Following early efforts to recoup their money or to garner information about their property purchases, a few buyers said police visited their homes, sometimes in the middle of the night. 'I feel like I've been tricked this whole time,' one buyer said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. 'My only request is that I can return the house and get my money back,' the buyer said. 'Even if I am able to get the house, I will feel bad.'"