A report from the Baltimore Sun in Maryland. "The housing market landscape in Carroll County is showing signs of improvement after months of low sales, shrinking inventory and climbing prices. Housing sales are up, and prices are down when compared to the same time last year. The average sale price for a home in Carroll last month was $498,654, down 2.2% from last year’s average price of $509,948. Sharon Callahan, president of Carroll County Realtors, who is celebrating 40 years as a Realtor, said she’s seen the housing market go up and down over the last four decades. It’s something that goes in cycles, she said. 'I tell people ‘This is normal,’ but a lot of people look at me and think I’m crazy,' she said."

WXOW in Wisconsin. "September's housing market data reveals an encouraging outlook toward a more balanced market. The market is also seeing a cooling effect on pricing. While competition exists, offers are increasingly coming in at or below asking price, a stark contrast to the aggressive overbidding of the past year. Mike Piecrek, President of the La Crosse Realtor Association, said, 'This moderation is likely due to increased inventory and buyers becoming more price-conscious.'"

From KXAN. "The median price to buy a Texas home hasn’t changed since last year, according to a Texas REALTORS report, despite a 30.4% jump in listings over the third quarter of 2023. Home prices in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area saw a slight drop of 3.8%, but the median home likely remains out of reach for most residents at $437,925. Local listings are up 15%. Austin-area apartment units have also increased since 2023, which may be the cause of a 7% drop in Austin rent prices. Days on market only increased by a day, hitting an average of 100 days until closing — 10 days longer than the state average. 'We have seen listings taking longer to sell, so homes need to be market-ready and priced well in order to attract an offer,' said Texas REALTORS chair Jef Conn. 'Buyers generally have more choices and a little more time to make decisions than a few years ago.'"

KLAS in Nevada. "The factors that have led to the lower rental prices are also changing the landscape for buyers in the Las Vegas valley. Ignacio Martinez has worked as a realtor in the valley for nearly two decades. He’s seen the market fluctuate. Sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better, which is what he would call right now. '60% more properties are on the market right now than they were in March,' Martinez said. With interest rate changes and a major election coming up, changing times mean changing prices. Redfin reports that nearly 30% of home prices in Las Vegas saw price drops in September. 'In times of uncertainty. A lot of sellers, since they also don’t know when the shoe is going to drop on any of those, if they have a need for it, they are going to put the house out on the market, and that’s where some really good deals are,' Martinez said."

The Palm Beach Post in Florida. "What are licensed engineers and architects finding after inspecting condominium buildings? Three complexes in Palm Beach County offer examples of the type of work that needs to be done to keep them safe. The law also requires a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) to determine what short-term and long-range repairs are necessary. It no longer allows an association to waive setting up financial reserves for those future repairs. Lake Clarke Gardens condominiums, built in 1966, is a 55-plus community consisting of 855 units. As of Sept. 16, more than 50 units were listed for sale; some have been listed for more than six months, and many of them have been significantly reduced in price."

"The Plaza of The Palm Beaches, formerly known as Trump Plaza, needs some urgent care on the 525 S. Flagler Drive property. The 38-year-old complex consists of two 32-story towers with Intracoastal Waterway and ocean views. But like so many other buildings, some of the necessary maintenance was deferred, and now owners are paying the price. While the towers are safe to live in, the building will need to undergo a more stringent Phase Two inspection to identify the necessary repairs. Owners are expected to be hit with a special assessment for a multimillion dollar repair bill."

WFLA in Florida. "After taking a beating from back-to-back hurricanes, some neighbors in Shore Acres are putting their homes up for sale, at a reduced price. Real Estate broker and President of Shore Acres Civic Association Kevin Batdorf said the flooding affected over 80% of homes this time around, leaving residents questioning whether they can stay. Which is also why he said the home that sits on Indianapolis St. is for sale, as is. 'He has life ending disease. He’s going to stay in Portugal,' Batdorf said. 'He doesn’t have much time left, and he called and asked if I could sell his property.' For the homeowner, whose property flooded out, he is selling for lot value, a term for when the house isn’t worth restoring, but the land still holds its value. 'If you calculate the amount they’re selling your property for, plus the insurance amount, it may not make them whole, but it’s not strictly lot value that they’re selling for,' Batdorf said."

Mansion Global. "The disconnect in the South Florida condo market deepend in the third quarter, as newer inventory continued to fly off the shelf at higher prices, while older stock piled up and lost value, according to a report from ISG World released Thursday. Condos older than 30 years have lost 21% of their value since last year, and 41% since 2020. There were roughly 20,000 active condo listings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in the third quarter, of which 17,000, or 85%, were for older stock. 'Most of these condominiums don’t have the cash to repair these structural defects,' said Craig Studnicky, CEO of the South Florida-based brokerage ISG World. 'If there’s no cash in the account, they send an invoice to all the unit owners—that’s called a special assessment.' The fear of the special assessments has led to a glut of inventory as sellers try to offload their older condos, while buyers are opting to avoid the confusion by going for the rapidly dwindling newer stock, Studnicky said."

The Sacramento Bee in California. "Sacramento’s housing market should benefit from expected declines in mortgage rates, but the region may be challenged by large, Bay Area employers’ commitments to bring workers back to the office, industry experts said. Sanjay Varshney, founder and principal of Goldenstone Wealth Management, said Sacramento benefited from the rise of remote work during the pandemic, but the pattern may be poised for a reversal as large firms like Amazon call workers back to the office. 'That trend is going to hurt us,' Varshney said. 'My neighbors, who moved here from the Bay Area, are hitting the road two to three times a week.' Varshney said he’s doubtful that mortgage rates will fall as far as 3% or 4%, as some consumers expect. 'Anybody who’s been waiting patiently, hoping that they’re going to see those kinds of rates again, is probably going to be disappointed,' Varshney said."

CBS Bay Area in California. "For six years, residents near downtown San Jose have put up with a blighted piece of private property that has attracted drug dealing, homeless squatters, trash dumping and even a pair of fires. Now, the city has had enough and has taken the owner to court to force a change. The property at the corner of Fourth and St. John streets is along the route that Xzander Smith takes to his classes at San Jose State. 'So, I've walked past this lot pretty much every day and seen the debris and have wondered every day what happened,' he said. 'Just kind of seeing the debris and trash and everything around it, it's an eyesore for sure.'"

"There used to be a pair of empty Victorian homes on one end, but they both burned to the ground in March in a fire started by some homeless squatters. Brian Coria lives in a duplex right next to the lot where the houses burned. 'It got lit on fire twice, actually,' he said. 'Somebody burned the house down and then somebody came back a few months later and they lit the rubble on fire. So, that rubble was lit on fire twice.'"

Boulder Reporting Lab. "Boulder’s Housing Advisory Board is eyeing a new solution for the city’s housing shortage: converting vacant office buildings into homes. About 40% of office space in Boulder is vacant, according to a 2023 report by The Colorado Group. The Housing Advisory Board, which advises the Boulder City Council on housing issues, is exploring how recent zoning changes could make converting these spaces into homes easier, though hurdles remain. 'There are empty office buildings and they’re just burning cash,' board member Stephen Hennessy, an attorney, said at the board’s meeting on Sept. 25. 'We don’t have a bunch of empty land in Boulder where you can build. But we do have empty offices.'"

"Still, city building codes and financial realities pose challenges that developers say can make these projects nearly impossible to justify financially. It’s often cheaper to start from scratch. 'You might have to rip so much of the framing out that you’re basically starting over,' said Ryan Hanneman, an architect with RHAP Architecture and Planning. 'Everyone thinks, ‘Oh we have all this commercial space, let’s just put people in it.’ But the code doesn’t allow it.' Separately, in Denver, where nearly a third of downtown office buildings are also vacant, the city has launched an Adaptive Reuse Pilot Program in Upper Downtown."

CTV News in Canada. "Creditors have moved to take ownership of most of the properties in northern Ontario owned by a group of 11 insolvent companies. They were one of the largest real estate owners in northern Ontario. The properties are located in Timmins (290), the Sault (200) and Sudbury (78), as well as 63 units in Kirkland Lake, Capreol, Temiskaming Shores and Val Caron. Including apartments, the companies owned 631 units. Initial estimates of their debts when they declared insolvency in January of this year were as high as $144 million, but the firm overseeing the process said the actual amount is about $90 million. The entrepreneurs involved in the companies include former YTV child actor Robby Clark, Burlington business owners Aruba Butt and Ryan Molony and Hamilton real estate agent Dylan Suitor."

"While the companies told investors they were buying the properties to renovate and rent or sell them at a profit, CCAA documents showed a number of questionable business practices. For example, at least $1 million was spent on luxury purchases and trips that had no relation to the business. A company owned by the directors of the company was paid high fees to oversee the renovations and high dividends were paid despite the companies losing money. A recent report in the Sault said many of the properties in the city have been fined under the vacant property bylaw. And one of the companies owned a derelict property in Timmins known as a drug den that was demolished earlier this year."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "15 Killarney Rd., Toronto. Asking price: $6,280,000 (June, 2024). Selling price: $5,475,000 (July, 2024). This 2½-storey house near Upper Canada College was briefly owned by former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney more than 20 years ago. About 20 groups passed through before one guest made a $5.475-million bid at the end of July. '2024′s summer was not great for the luxury market,' said listing agent: Jane Zhang. 'This was one of the only successful sales, in that period of time, over $5-million. Everything else was just sitting.'"

Domain News in Australia. "Richard Swanson faced a tough choice: sell the South Yarra investment property he had owned for six years for a loss, or hold on and hope it recovered in value. He chose to hold. That was five years ago and since then prices have only fallen further. After about 11 years, he has just sold the apartment for $156,000 less than he paid. This is the puzzle at the heart of Melbourne’s housing affordability crisis: property prices have soared over the long term, but not for all properties. Of the homes that sold in Stonnington in the June quarter, 25.8 per cent traded at a loss, figures from CoreLogic show. Stonnington runs second to the Melbourne City Council area, where 39 per cent lost money."

"The Beechworth-based public servant, 63, and his wife bought their two-bedroom apartment off the plan about 11 years ago for $691,000. They settle to the new buyer on Monday for $535,000. Taking into account holding costs, he estimates conservatively they have lost $200,000. 'It’s a lovely apartment in a lovely complex where we are in South Yarra but what we weren’t aware of is at the same time there was a lot of other developers who were also building lots of apartments,' he said. 'I think the apartment market is overcrowded.'"

"He sold through Woodards South Yarra, which handles sales of a mix of homes, from apartment towers, art deco unit blocks to multimillion-dollar houses. Director Luke Piccolo says large two-bedroom boutique apartments there can cost close to $2 million. 'Some first home buyers have bought a one-bedroom apartment for $450,000 to $500,000 and it’s now worth in the high $300,000s or $350,000,' he said. 'Losing $100,000 on your first purchase sets people back a long way, a very long way.'"

"As for investor Richard Swanson, he also owns a Queensland apartment, but asked if he would invest in a Melbourne apartment again, he is blunt. 'No, never,' he said. 'There is no incentive to own more than one property in Victoria.' The apartment was supposed to be part of their retirement plans. Instead it cost $200,000. 'It has just been a nightmare. I just want to put it behind me.'"

From Barron's. "China’s biggest stimulus package since the 2008 housing crisis has caused a dramatic upswing in stocks—and much of that is being fueled by young, headlong retail investors who see their prior investments in China’s embattled property market as a no-win game. 'It’s like the California gold rush,' one broker from the city of Chengdu told Barron’s. China’s youth have had an unexpectedly rough ride since the end of the pandemic. Their unemployment rate ballooned to more than 20%, and burnout was rife in the entry-level tech and education sectors. Despite infamous pressure from parents for children to invest in property as a pathway to forming a family, many found China’s housing market out of reach financially."

"'My parents helped us buy our apartment, but the value has been declining over the last two years,' said newly married Ailene Wu, who works at a financial consulting firm in Changsha, the capital of centrally located Hunan province. Wu said she has about $50,000 to 'play with' on the mainland markets now that property has proved a 'dead-end investment venue.'"