A report from WFTS in Florida. "Jenna Crosley’s front and back yards are both great spots for birdwatching. The only problem? Her Zephyrhills home isn’t adjacent to a nature preserve. Instead, an overflowing holding pond has turned her yard into a swampy mess popular with wading birds. The holding pond beside Crosley’s home on 9th Ave. belongs to the City of Zephyrhills. However, she said the city has done little to fix to fix the problem, even after the pond badly overflowed during Hurricane Milton, putting feet of water in her home. It’s put her in a tough spot. Should she even rebuild? Should she hire an attorney? Or sell the home and take a huge loss? 'I can’t sell it. Who am I going to sell a flooded home to knowing it’s going to flood again next year?' she said."

Long Island Press. "Have you seen the news reports lately about Florida? Due to these catastrophic events, it has caused an exodus out of Florida. Moreover, prices have been plummeting, and this is mainly due to the overall excessive cost of homeowner insurance, increased common charges and assessments by the condo associations. The financial burden on retirees have been monumental and devastating, causing many to leave and others now considering selling and getting out. This is having a direct impact and effect on prices and sales, as inventory has been skyrocketing. I have several friends that had their insurance costs triple from $9,500 to over $30,000 per year."

New York Post. "The Hamptons, the exclusive beachfront communities on New York’s Long Island, is known for the celebrities and ultrawealthy who flock to its shores — but is there trouble in paradise? Sales of trophy homes have plummeted by nearly $200 million in 2024 from a year earlier. 'The resetting of luxury high-end property prices often takes time. Sellers sometimes need time to become more realistic about pricing,' says Tim Davis of Corcoran, who was co-agent for the year’s biggest sale: two homes on Gin Lane in Southampton that sold for $89 million. Davis says another of his trophy properties — 623 Halsey Neck Lane in Southampton — is going to get a price cut. The 10-bedroom, European-style villa with 450 feet of frontage on exclusive Taylor Creek will be reduced from $53 million to $34 million in January. And while exclusive waterfront properties in other areas like Nantucket are seeing values plummet due to coastal erosion, the South Fork isn’t suffering from the same fate. Too valuable to become shark bait, the Long Island shoreline is regularly 'rejuvenated' by the Army Corps of Engineers."

KXAN in Texas. "Redfin mentioned Austin for having more than half of home listings not sell for two months or more in November. The report said 62.4% of Austin homes sat on the market for 60 days or longer without going under contract in November. Twelve Rivers Realty Owner Paul Smith, said a home’s price plays a major factor. 'A home will sell within one day if it’s priced correctly,' Smith said. 'So ultimately, though, the thing is, is that a seller has to be willing to accept that price.' Smith pointed to the construction boom that started during the pandemic. 'Everything that we’re seeing right now that’s hitting the market is because of things that happened two to four years ago,' Smith said. Realtor with Fathom Realty, Miriam Moorman, said more homes were being built because people were going to remote work. 'Now you see a lot of these people being called back to the office,' Moorman said."

From ABC News. "The man suspected of carrying out the New Year's attack in New Orleans, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had a checkered marital history punctuated by multiple divorces and financial difficulty, according to court records reviewed by ABC News. In 2012 in Harris County, Texas, ex-wife Nakedra Charrllee Jabbar successfully sued him for child support payments for the couple's two girls, who were eight and three years old at the time, according to court records. In court records Jabbar laid out some of his financial difficulties as he explained why he sought a divorce settlement that would have the couple selling their house and splitting the proceeds. The property management firm Jabbar founded, Blue Meadow Properties, was failing to produce any revenue and was in fact losing money, per his submissions to the court. 'Time is of the essence,' he wrote in an email to his wife's lawyer on Jan 6, 2022. 'l can not afford the house payment. It is past due in excess of $27,000 and in danger of foreclosure if we delay settling the divorce. The home was not in default at the time we agreed to the temporary orders. l misunderstood the terms of the loan modification I had applied for at the time.'"

Mansion Global. "A sprawling coastal estate on the Pacific Coast Highway in California with a helipad, stables and vineyards has found a buyer after almost 15 years on the market. Located outside Cambria in San Louis Obispo County, the 78.5-acre property was last asking $28 million before it went into contract earlier this month, and closed for $17.225 million last week, according to Neyshia Go of Sotheby’s International Realty, who represented the seller. The property first came to market in 2010 with an asking price of $58 million. In 2019, it was asking $60 million before going to auction with no reserve, but didn’t find a buyer. In 2021, when it was asking $40 million, it again failed to sell at auction. The difficulty in selling the property was twofold, Go said. First, the area has few comparable properties at this level, making it difficult to price. Second, the maintenance for such a varied property is significant, and can be a turnoff for some buyers."

National Post in Canada. "Kathy Paquette had been following the Facebook posts about the vessels in Ontario’s cottage country for about a year when she and husband Wayne decided to pack up, sell their century-old house in Midland, Ont., and sink their savings into a home that floats on the water. The vision Joe Nimens, the builder of those floating accommodations, pitched of life on the water sounded idyllic: 'No lawn to cut,' his website promises. 'No driveway to shovel. No hydro bill. No water bills!' 'Before we gave Joe money he was as sweet as pie. Man, you would have thought he adored us,' Wayne said. 'And then, as soon as we gave him the money, things started to change. It became one nightmare after another.'"

"The couple is one of several now claiming Nimens left them high and dry. The Paquettes are claiming more than $389,000 in damages in a dispute over a float home that now squats, unfinished, on dry land at a marina lot in Port Severn on the shores of Georgian Bay, effectively held hostage in a legal muddle over allegations Nimens defaulted on a lease agreement with the marina. The couple spent the summer living in a makeshift apartment in their daughter’s garage before recently moving into an in-law suite in the basement. 'Joe left us stranded without a hope of completing our home,' said Wayne, 66. 'I can’t even buy Christmas gifts for my grandchildren,' said Kathy, 62. 'I paid him $25,000 for solar panels and a water treatment system and never saw them,' Wayne said. 'I paid $29,000 for a shed, and there’s only an empty sea can worth $1,500 to show for it.'"

ABC News in Australia. "Brisbane City Council has approved a new St Lucia apartment development despite complaints from nearby home owners that it could cause their property values to fall. The proposed four-storey development at 7 Ryans Road, St Lucia, received stiff opposition from residents in the seven-storey Jerdanefield Towers next door. One of 51 residents who wrote to the council raised concerns the new building would reduce their amenity and property values. 'My apartment currently enjoys city and river views, a quiet neighbourhood, and an outlook that includes many mature trees,' the resident wrote in their submission. 'This is the basis for the economic value of my property.' Another resident's submission said, 'The proposed four storeys will severely impact the river views and property value of the owners and occupiers of the next-door building.'"

"Brisbane City Council, when handing down its decision, said it was satisfied the proposal would not significantly harm neighbourhood amenity. University of Queensland urban planner and associate professor Dorina Pojani said housing affordability should be prioritised over existing property prices. Dr Pojani said Queensland had a problem with 'NIMBYism' — where home owners opposed new developments in their suburb to protect their own interests. She said homeowners losing out on capital gains was a 'fair price to pay' to ensure more people had a roof over their heads. 'If new developments cause housing prices to go down, I — as a planner — am completely fine with that because we want prices to go down,' Dr Pojani said."