A report from Go Banking Rates. "Although Florida has made headlines lately due to the rising cost of home insurance premiums, it’s not the only state suffering. Robb Lanham, Chief Sales Officer for HUB Private Client listed California, Texas, Colorado, New York, Louisiana, and Montana as other states at risk of rising premiums. In fact, he said that some insurance in these states may now be the costliest line item when it comes to homeownership. Lanham said he has clients deciding where they will purchase their next property based on home insurance prices. 'We had the CEO of a large company tell us that the monthly cost of insurance on a property he was buying in Colorado was more than the mortgage, and it no longer made sense to purchase it,' he said."

From Realtor.com. "Maryland home inspector Welmoed Sisson recently met homebuyers who were about to purchase a house at the very top end of what they could afford. '“They told me at the start of the inspection that they had pretty much no budget for repairs,’ Sisson says. Although their finances were stretched thin, they were hoping it would be OK since, as Sisson recalls, 'the real estate agent swore the house was move-in ready.' Even though the house looked fine to the untrained eye, Sisson could instantly tell the property was riddled with problems that would cost a bundle to fix. 'Just in walking around the exterior, I spotted at least $50,000 worth of critical repairs—failing chimney, foundation cracks, rotted siding, and trim,' she says. 'The client was shocked, but grateful that I was honest.' Sisson doesn't know if these buyers moved forward with the deal; however, if they did, they at least went in with their eyes open (and some leverage in terms of negotiating repairs with the seller). Unfortunately, many homebuyers aren't so lucky to get a clear preview of the costs coming their way."

Newsweek on California. "San Francisco's condos were hit particularly hard by the housing market downturn which struck the Bay Area during the pandemic, with the city's condo values plunging by 12.8 percent between February 2020 and February 2024, according to Zillow, from $1.14 million to $997,000. During the same timeframe, the city's single-family home values fell from $1.44 million to $1.36 million as remote workers left in droves, looking for cheaper properties elsewhere. Vacation rental investor Rohin Dhar, who often shares Zillow listings with significant price drops on social media about several condos in San Francisco which recently sold for less than they were purchased for about a decade ago. A condo at the Four Seasons in downtown San Francisco sold on July 11 for $1.25 million—less than the $1.65 million it fetched in 2005. The two-bedroom property at 765 Market Street, located on the 33rd of 40 floors saw a price drop of $380,997 or 23.4 percent in the past 30 days."

Times of San Diego. "We ask ourselves: Why, after spending tens of billions of dollars, are California’s twin problems of homelessness and housing affordability decidedly worse? You might be tempted to think that the reason we rely on temporary housing is that it is cheaper. However, that is not even the case: Los Angeles is spending $4,500 a month to place homeless people in hotels on a temporary basis. If you gave them $4,500 a month, they could rent a luxury apartment for themselves. We like to brag about being the fifth largest economy in the world, but we are the poorest state based on our cost of living. We are also the homeless capital of America and arguably the world, as I travel extensively to developing countries. I have seen many shanty towns, informal settlements, and refugee camps, but nowhere I have been has as many people sleeping on the sidewalk as California."

The Wall Street Journal. "Brad Sumrok, all smiles and promise, for years chartered buses filled with people wide-eyed at the prospect of ditching jobs for a life of freedom and wealth. Doctors, engineers, warehouse workers, retirees, married couples and tattooed 20-somethings took seats and rolled through the outskirts of Sunbelt cities, stopping to inspect apartment buildings for sale, one after another. The route was simple: Raise money, take out loans and buy a multifamily rental building. Make cosmetic repairs and raise rents as high as the market will bear. 'Whatever the eff you do, do not miss the bus,' he said during a typically inspirational presentation. 'Get on the freakin’ bus.'"

"More than any single salesman, Sumrok drove the business known as apartment syndication to new heights. From his base in Dallas, he spawned a generation of landlords who now own tens of thousands of apartment buildings that have a collective worth in the billions of dollars. Sumrok encouraged students to outbid competitors based on the expectations of future profit. When interest rates started to rise in 2022, he coached his students to keep buying. The former hospice salesman in Phoenix recently saw a number of his mortgages flagged for potential trouble. The young mother in Seattle has lost some of her buildings to foreclosure."

"Charles Lemaire, a retired engineer and Sumrok student, said he and his family members have made more than $4 million investing in apartment rentals. He expects to lose money in a couple of properties because of the increase in interest rates and said Sumrok should have warned students about variable-interest loans. 'As soon as we were supposed to go to floating rates, I think he should have been putting the brakes on with a whole lot more red flags,' Lemaire said."

The Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. "When Timothy Sharpe moved into his studio apartment at Brith Sholom House, a senior complex in Philadelphia’s Wynnefield section, he believed that he’d finally found a peaceful, safe place to call home. What followed were two harrowing years of discomfort, and even danger. Sharpe’s 400 square feet of misery is just one small corner of the crisis at Brith Sholom: Its owners have defaulted on a $36 million mortgage, racked up 275 code violations, siphoned off $1 million in residents’ utility payments, and enabled an influx of squatters who have terrorized the senior residents."

"And Brith Sholom, it turns out, is only one part of a vast empire of neglect tied to a New Jersey real estate dynasty that has made a lucrative business of stripping the equity from affordable housing complexes — more than 100 of them, scattered across Pennsylvania and at least 20 other states. The Puretz family — Yehuda 'Lieb' Puretz, his sons Aron and Chaikel 'Chaim' Puretz, and Aron’s son Chaim 'Eli' Puretz — used a web of hundreds of corporate entities, and, in some cases, falsified documents to hide its involvement, as they became one of the nation’s largest affordable housing providers."

"The same pattern can be found across many of their properties: They bought older buildings with substantial renovation needs. They saddled the buildings with enormous debt — in some cases, by deceiving lenders about the value of the property. Then, they defaulted on loans, stiffed utility companies, and slashed maintenance contracts — squeezing out profits while allowing properties to fall into decline."

From Bisnow. "In late October, Denizens Brewing in Silver Spring poured its last beer of the night for the final time. The suburban Maryland staple had served craft brews for a decade, but when its lease came due, founder Julie Verratti decided she wasn’t willing to commit to another 10 years. Her uncertainty is a symptom of a larger plague spreading across Silver Spring, where a once-vibrant downtown commercial district is now lined with vacant storefronts and half-empty office buildings. 'There's nobody there,' Verratti said. 'It's crazy.' Silver Spring has suffered five straight years of negative net demand, with a net occupancy loss of 248K SF since the beginning of 2020, according to CBRE."

Simcoe.com in Canada. "While two real estate associations that service Simcoe County are hesitant to call it a 'buyer’s market,' Terry Irwin isn’t. Irwin and his wife are selling their Collingwood home on Chamberlain Crescent and planning a move to Thornbury to be closer to family. He said the home has been on the market for a week and they’ve had a few showings but not a lot of interest. 'It’s a buyer’s market right now,' he said. 'It’s making a little bit difficult for us. There’s a lot of inventory.' They have a bit of time as their new home will be ready in October, but the situation is becoming slightly stressful, Irwin said."

"Bonnie Looby, president of the Lakelands association said the sky-high prices from the pandemic are still impacting some sellers. Looby said when she’s listing a property, she’s hesitant to give a specific price too soon. Looby said prices are dropping around five per cent in her area and changing rapidly. 'I think people still have that pie in the sky idea of COVID pricing,' she said. ’I can get a million dollars for my property.’"

The Sarnia Observer in Canada. "Police are conducting an arson investigation after millions of dollars in damage was done to several homes being built on Pottruff Road off Powerline, near the Brant County Sports Complex on Sunday morning. 'Three new homes under construction are basically destroyed,' said Brant County Fire Chief Darren Watson about the early morning fire that saw flames shooting into the sky. Watson said several other unoccupied homes had more minor damage and one or two homes on a street backing up to the fire also had minor damage."

City AM in the UK. "Scandal-hit social housing investor Home REIT is set to wind down after failing to pay off a huge debt pile and struggling under the costs of a slew of legal battles and a probe from the City regulator. In a statement to the market this morning, the former FTSE 250 firm said it had concluded its 'stabilisation strategy' was unworkable and the company would now look to offload its entire portfolio and enter a 'managed wind down.' The plans come as a sharp u-turn for the company after its investment manager, AEW, said it had been pushing ahead with plans to raise cash via property sales and refinance its debt as recently as two months ago. City A.M. has revealed that a string of its tenants were withholding rent and that swathes of its portfolio were dilapidated and did not qualify for ‘exempt housing benefits’, on which the company said its business model relied. Home REIT said today that after failing to refinance its debt with lender Scottish Widows, the 'considerable challenges' and high cost base facing the company made a turnaround unfeasible."

Radio New Zealand. "The housing market cooled further in June, with prices and sales falling, while buyers have more options as listings continue to rise. Real Estate Institute chief executive Jen Baird said there was a 'notable decrease in buyer activity' and a 'reduced sense of urgency.' 'As more listings come to a well-stocked market, those who are in the position to buy are taking their time to carefully select their ideal home,' she said."

9 News in Australia. "NSW building company Stevens Construction has collapsed two months after going into voluntary administration. The firm had a portfolio worth more than $400 million, ranging from luxury apartments and affordable housing to retail projects, but on Friday formally went into liquidation, according to documents filed with ASIC. Stevens is the latest in a long list of construction businesses that have collapsed since the pandemic, with supply chain disruptions, skilled worker shortages and high material costs all taking their toll."

The Courier Mail in Australia. "A three-bedroom house has hit the market at just $99,000, a massive 58 per cent discount on its last sale price, in a town where entry level jobs can pay as much as $130,000 a year. Local real estate agent Janessa Bidgood of Outback Auctions & Real Estate, who is taking the home to market under instruction from the mortgagee, shakes her head when she sees families struggling to rent 'out east' when they could be heading west where there are jobs waiting and empty homes available. Ms Bidgood has three houses for sale in Cloncurry priced under $100,000 – including a three-bedroom house on an 809sq m block at 7 Short Street, Cloncurry, which is now priced for sale at just $99,000 by the mortgagee in possession."

The Washington Post. "Through the period of explosive growth in the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese families poured their life savings into real estate as they moved into cities and up the property ladder. With house prices consistently rising, it was a fast way to get richer. Today, owning a house is more likely to destroy wealth than create it. A prolonged slump in the property sector over the past three years has sparked widespread financial insecurity among the middle class in particular."

"'It’s a painful lesson,' said Clara Liu, a 36-year-old civil servant who lives with her husband in Hangzhou, the eastern Chinese city famous for its tech scene and picturesque West Lake. In 2022, they invested their savings in another apartment they hoped to rent out or resell. Instead, the 960-square-foot apartment sits empty as house prices have plummeted. They can’t find a buyer without taking a huge loss. 'I will never consider buying a house as an investment again,' Liu said."

"They are not alone. With 70 percent of family assets in China stored in property, every 5 percent decline in prices could destroy as much as $2.7 trillion in wealth, Bloomberg Economics has estimated. 'Those who buy houses today are all people who really need them,' said Teng Lai, a real estate agent from Foshan. No one buys as an investment and even those who buy out of necessity 'are waiting and watching to see if prices will be cheaper tomorrow,' he said."