It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "It’s been more than four months since residents were forced out of their homes at the Villa Del Sol Condos in Martin County, after an inspection found three of the buildings were unsafe. 'Nobody wants to spend any more money,' said Christine Chico, a resident on the property. Chico said the COA also sent out a survey asking if owners would like to continue working on the repairs to the buildings — which costs over $6 million split between 72 units. Chico said she'd rather sell. 'I absolutely cannot pay that,' said Chico. 'I'm looking at possibly going into foreclosure, not being able to pay this. And I know there are other people in the community that are looking at the same thing.'"

"Two months after Hurricanes Helene and Milton damaged thousands of homes across Tampa Bay, the cleanup process is still in its early stages. Some families are cutting their losses and selling their homes as-is, but that could come at a cost to their buyers. Some are upfront, saying they're being sold for land value only, but some say it is still unclear whether the home is salvageable and is subject to FEMA’s 50% rule. Some are less transparent. 'There are some (homes) that are currently on the market listed as an ‘investors dream,’ ‘fix and flip,’ and those agents and those sellers probably don't know at this point what the damage of that house is listed through FEMA,' said realtor Ashley Stout-Fuchs. A quick search of our area in Zillow will find dozens of homes listed for sale with damage from Helene. 'Most of these properties are cash, and that is a big amount of money to lose with such an uncertainty,' said Fuchs."

"Home insurance on Martha’s Vineyard is getting harder and harder for locals to obtain, as several mainstream providers have pulled their coverage from the Island. Paula O’Connor, the vice president of Vineyard Haven–based Mone Insurance stated that most of their clients at Mone are seeing an average price increase of about 30 percent this year. One homeowner, for example, just saw an increase in their premium from $13,000 to $35,000. Often agents are the bearer of bad news for local homeowners when larger companies decide to pull coverage or hike their prices. 'People get upset, and obviously don’t like us very much right now, but we can only sell what we are offered from the carriers,' O’Connor said."

"Jerry Lewis’ former house has sold again for $1.53 million adding to a long list of transactions related to the property over the past few years. Nathan Strager, a Las Vegas-based real estate agent said the sellers were Brumbies Capitol, a private equity firm based out of Australia. 'They financed a flipper three years ago that was going to renovate the property and turn around and sell it. Brumbies ended up foreclosing on the property in November of 2023,' said Strager. 'I listed the property for sale in January of 2024 and after almost twelve months of being on the market it sold.'"

"A Los Angeles estate owned by the late record-label executive Jerry Moss has sold for $28.95 million—some $24 million, or 45%— less than the original asking price of $53 million last year. The luxury market in Los Angeles is recovering from the impact of a new mansion tax that went into effect in 2023. In Bel-Air and nearby Holmby Hills, the number of single-family home sales rose 47.1% in the third quarter from the same period of last year, after a 51.4% year-over-year drop during the third quarter of 2023. The median sale price for the third quarter of 2024 dropped 9% year-over-year."

"When San Luis Ranch was first approved to break ground in southeastern San Luis Obispo, the promise of a significant expansion of market-rate housing came with a goal of adding several acres of commercial space within walking distance. Now, those priorities appear to be changing. Applicant Williams Homes proposed exchanging the 150,000 square feet of commercial space originally planned for Lot 7 of the master planned community for 276 units of rental housing. 'We think that bottom line, the commercial component of this does not work anymore,' Williams Homes representative Glenn Adamick said. 'This large commercial center just isn’t feasible — San Luis Ranch marketed this site for two-and-a-half years, and the only interest they got was a gas station or fast food restaurant.'"

"One resident who spoke during public comment said as one of the early San Luis Ranch homeowners, she felt 'misled' by the change in uses because her property backs onto the lot. 'I’m worried about renters,' the resident said. 'They don’t respect their community, they have no investment, they might be college kids, they could be from out of the area, but you don’t take care of a place like your actual place that you bought.' Resident Chad Allen, who purchased a house bordering Lot 7 in 2021, said he was disappointed that the new site use may obstruct views of the hills and that a large commercial space would not be coming to his neighborhood. 'As a purchaser, you’re thinking ‘This is the property I’m going to get,’ and so that doesn’t really look good for us,' Allen said. 'We came in early trying to really enjoy this area, and it’s not what we signed up for us as a resident.'"

"Empty restaurants have become a post-COVID hallmark of downtown Boulder. With fewer workers commuting in, eateries are struggling to stay afloat, and large employers that once leased offices in Boulder’s downtown aren’t returning. Boulder leads U.S. metropolitan areas in remote work, with 28.1% of Boulderites working from home — more than double the national average of 13.8%. 'COVID has been a disaster for office space, quite frankly,' said Nate Litsey, a commercial real estate broker at Market Real Estate. 'It was a huge disruption overnight. And today, downtown is about 33% vacant. Before COVID, we were at about 8%.' 'There’s a reset in office space,' said Daniel Aizenman, director of development and design with Boulder real estate firm Conscience Bay Partners. 'My guess is 20 to 25% of office space will never be back as office space.'"

"Toronto’s condo market is stirring slightly after a long period of dormancy. In the resale condo segment, a combination of interest rate decreases and depressed prices is drawing more interest from buyers, but industry players caution that weighty inventory will prevent sales and prices from taking off. Andre Kutyan, broker with Harvey Kalles Real Estate says the segment is saturated with inventory. Mr. Kutyan sold suite 4602 to his own client for $1.5-million, which is the same amount the seller paid when they purchased it from the developer in 2017. 'As a seller, it’s very difficult to swallow,' he says of the downturn in the condo market. To get the deal done, they sold it turnkey, right down to the kitchen implements in the drawers."

"While buyers are circulating, they remain hesitant, Christopher Bibby, broker with Re/Max Hallmark Bibby Group Realty says, and most sellers need to be patient and willing to negotiate. Many still can’t grasp that the market pace has changed from the frenzy of previous years. 'Their view is, we have to sell this in a week or two and that’s just not going to happen,' he says. Bibby says agents need to give sellers the most precise information about market dynamics available so that the seller can decide on a realistic asking price. In some cases they interview multiple agents and become stymied when they receive conflicting advice. 'Sometimes they make mistakes,' he says. 'There are still some people that are chasing a market that’s long gone. If their expectations are out of line, maybe it’s not the right time for them.'"

"A 'ghost town' of half-built flat-pack homes has been completely demolished after standing unfinished for more than a year. The Meadow Grange development in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, was due to see 131 homes built. Dozens of empty shells of half-built houses, by developer Guinness Homes, have now been razed to the ground. Frustrated residents had repeatedly branded an 'eyesore' after the properties were left partially-built when specialist contractor Ilke Homes was placed in administration. Urban explorer Martin Halliday, who visited the site, said: 'The land just looks ragged now - a mix of semi-abandoned building materials and wasteland. I hear there are plans for more new-builds to take the place of the ones recently demolished, maybe the new new-builds will actually conform to health and safety standards.' It is not known how much the houses on Meadow Grange estate were going to sell for but they are part of the government's shared ownership scheme. A local estate agent said they would estimate the 2-bedroom flat pack builds would sell for around £350k."

"Pompano House, the Suffolk Park investment holiday home of The Block interior designer Darren Palmer and husband Olivier Duvillard, has gone under offer. The duo seem set to have incurred a loss of a $1m-plus on the property. After the couple bought Pompano House for $3.85m in the pandemic-induced 2021 regional property boom, it went to market with an initial $3.1m to $3.3m guidance in its September listing. It was then reduced to a range of $2.95m to $3.245m. It subsequently had an offer after the latest price guide of $2.55m to $2.8m. There have been a growing number of listings and discounts in Suffolk Park, with the time on the market trending up to 83 days from 60 days a year ago."

"A 40-year-old man shared on social media that he’s starting to regret buying a resale HDB flat for S$1.1 million. '[I am] single, never married, salaried employee. I had just completed the purchase of my resale HDB flat, which cost me SGD1.1M, and I am taking over the house next month,' he wrote on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, on Wednesday (Dec 11). 'A sudden feeling of remorse has fallen over me since signing of the completion process at the HDB Hub.' The man explained in his post that he couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have overspent on the property and feels uncertain about what to expect as he prepares to move into the new house next month."

"Reflecting on these emotions, he wondered whether this was simply ‘buyer’s remorse’ or a sign that he had made a mistake. 'Am I over worrying or is it what they call the buyer’s remorse? Have any one of you been in this similar situation like a sudden feeling of ‘maybe I should not have purchase it’ just simply appear etc.' he wrote. In the comments section, a few Redditors reassured him that experiencing buyer’s remorse after a big purchase is completely normal. Some, however, expressed concerns about the high price he paid for the flat, questioning whether it was a sound financial decision. One Redditor remarked, '1.1m ? You are part of the problem lol keep raising prices higher.' Another wrote, 'Erm, 1.1m to shoulder solely alone. Not a very prudent decision.'"