It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Wildfires spared Tim Scanlon’s Altadena home as of Wednesday afternoon. But the music licensing executive worried that the firestorms rampaging across Los Angeles County still will affect his pocketbook, pushing already rising insurance premiums even higher. 'After this, who knows if I’m insurable anymore,' Scanlon said. 'If we can’t get insurance up here, our property values will plummet, and in California, that’s our nest egg.'"

"Even before the fires were sparked, millions of homeowners in the Golden State, especially those in the path of the L.A. infernos, faced double-digit insurance-rate increases, nonrenewals or a dearth of any available private coverage. State Farm last year announced plans to nonrenew 30,000 property policies in California, including 69% of those in Pacific Palisades. Brett Dedeaux, whose house went up in flames, wondered Wednesday, 'What’s going to happen to insurance now.' Dedeaux, a commercial real-estate developer who built the home seven years ago, said few home insurers were willing to offer coverage in fire-prone areas. 'Does it even make sense to own a house here when the insurance is so much?' It was an attitude echoed by some of the area’s prominent residents. Actor James Woods posted on X that a major insurer 'canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago.'"

"As the market for documentaries and other content slowed and work dried up in Hollywood, producer Kourtney Gleason was already worried about making the mortgage payments on the home she bought last year with her boyfriend. Now, as raging fires have halted film and TV production in Southern California and many in the industry have lost homes, she's terrified that the entertainment business will be set back yet again. Though she's been in the industry for 12 years, Gleason is now reluctantly looking at restaurant jobs to get by. The complications with fire insurance, combined with the region's problems with housing affordability and supply, will only be exacerbated by these fires, said Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Milken finance institute, leading some to reconsider whether they can stay in California. 'It adds up,' he said. 'How many more people decide they can’t afford to stay?'"

"A Braintree couple has joined the list of more than a dozen people suing the owner of Success Real Estate weeks after he abruptly shuttered the business. Stacey and Christian Ballerino filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court this week against Stephen Webster, who had real estate offices in Marshfield and Braintree. Webster last month abruptly closed the real estate business, which employed approximately 140 agents. According to the lawsuit, Webster and Success have faced 'serious financial difficulties' in recent years due to a slowing real estate market, outdated business model and overleveraged expenses. In order to fund the business and his own life, Webster started borrowing money from friends, business associates and agents who worked for him. The lawsuit states that he received the loans by falsely representing that he would have the ability to repay them in full."

"'In actuality, Webster obtained these loans no different than a 'Ponzi' scheme as he was simultaneously embezzling over $1 million from Success' coffers in order to fund business operations and support his extravagant personal lifestyle,' the lawsuit reads. The Ballerinos are also seeking an ex parte real estate attachment of $157,000 on three properties owned by Webster to prevent him from selling the property while the lawsuit is ongoing. "

"Southwest Florida builder Beattie Development has collected dozens of lawsuits and millions of dollars in debt. He has left many with unfinished homes and drained bank accounts. In September, we told you Beattie said his company was in $11 million of debt. In October, in a liquidation court hearing, he blamed the downfall of his company on his CFO. Since then, dozens of customers have filed what’s called a 'proof of claim.' It’s a way to try and get some of their money back. The Lee County Clerk of Courts website shows 48 proof of claims filed. Others not listed on the website also say they filed. Those asking for money are homeowners and subcontractors, even the City of Cape Coral filed a proof of claim."

"David Bucci, a former customer of Beattie Development hopes for results after filing the claim saying, 'Anything is better than nothing.' Bucci said he knows, he probably won’t get much. 'We just don’t think there’s just crunching the numbers and doing the math real fast. We don’t think there’s going to be, I mean, he’s $11 million in debt. I mean, I don’t think there’s anything left. You know, it’s just like, I don’t know. We’re just gonna have to see how that pans out. But I just don’t think the money is there,' Bucci said. It’s still a mystery where the money went. As of now, Paul Beattie is no where to be found. Neither is the money. "

"Fairfax County has tens of thousands of federal workers and a huge government contracting sector, leaving it vulnerable to potential spending cuts from the incoming Trump administration. Trump tapped business leaders Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body that will find places to cut government spending. The president-elect said in December that federal employees who did not return to the office would be fired, and in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece in November, the DOGE team wrote that the wave of terminations such a policy would ignite would be 'welcome.'"

"There are also expectations that the Trump administration could again try to move some agencies out of the D.C. region, as it did under the last administration. 'I actually had a nightmare about the DOGE. I’m not kidding you,' Cityline Partners Managing Director Donna Shafer said said at the Bisnow event. 'I have no idea what the impact will be, when, how, how much, but it definitely keeps me up at night.'"

"Canada’s lacklustre real estate market may see a rebound in 2025, Bay Street forecasts, but so far buyers in the Toronto area are not bringing the heat. The homes that have been sitting tend to be built on speculation, says Patrick Rocca, broker with Bosley Real Estate. Builders bought teardowns a couple of years ago as interest rates and construction costs were climbing, he says. Meanwhile, home prices have softened. The sellers insist on setting an asking price that will give them a profit on their investment but the market has shifted, Mr. Rocca says. 'They need $4-million to get out and they’re not worth $4-million.' One such builder consulted Mr. Rocca, who evaluated the house at about $3.4-million. The seller listed with another agent for $3.9-million. 'It hasn’t sold,' says Mr. Rocca. 'That’s one of dozens.'"

"Work on Tadpole Garden Village began just over a decade ago and it has since seen hundreds of homeowners move in. Recently, a sign welcoming visitors to Tadpole Garden Village and advertising Crest Nicholson’s involvement in its construction has had a smaller notice stuck onto it which highlights problems with the area. It lists unfinished and unmarked roads, 'non-existent' street lighting, building and construction material dumped 'on every corner,'and sewerage that is 'not fit for purpose.' One unhappy neighbour told the Adver: 'Residents have had enough of the countless broken promises by Crest! We need to hold these building firms accountable.' This is not the first time that these issues have been raised."

"The average Australian property investor will lose money in their first year, with those in the nation’s two largest capitals likely to be more than $23,000 out of pocket in just 12 months. With a mix of stamp duty and land tax outstripping rental returns and major capitals thought to be approaching home value peaks, in many cases it could be years before landlords turn a profit. Property Investors Council of Australia director Ben Kingsley's figures show that after 12 months owning a $937,289 investment in Melbourne, out of pocket expenses are likely to leave an investor there $26,798 in the red — the worst figure in the country."

"In Adelaide the $811,059 typical house purchase would leave an investor $17,144 out of pocket a year on, while in Brisbane there would be a $5114 shortfall after investing in the city’s $937,479 median home price. 'If your capital gains return is 5-6 per cent in Sydney, those numbers look okay,' Mr Kingsley said. 'But we know Sydney has run out of puff. And Melbourne is retreating.'"

"A liquidation petition was filed against indebted developer Sunac China Holdings in Hong Kong amid its efforts to restructure its offshore debt for the second time, marking the latest drama for China’s cash-starved property sector. Sunac’s Hong Kong-listed shares slumped 21 per cent to HK$1.38 at the noon break on Friday, after falling nearly 29 per cent in the morning session. The company has told some of its bondholders that it may not be able to meet deadlines for repayment on a dollar bond maturing in September, which was part of the first tranche of the restructured notes."

"More than 700 billion yuan (US$95.5 billion) worth of property bonds are due for repayment in 2025, down from the 770 billion yuan that matured in 2024, according to the China Academy Index. But home sales of the top 100 developers in China fell 28 per cent in 2024 from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the China Real Estate Information Corporation. A series of bond defaults led to a surge in liquidation lawsuits in 2024 with a total of 13 cases – all related to property bonds – entering the courts, according to a report published by S&P Global Ratings in November. No cases 'were able to settle out of court,' as the property downturn and slowing growth pushed defaulters into deeper distress, while about 56 per cent of legal cases related to defaulted property bonds remain unresolved, the ratings firm said."