A report from Mises.org. "The apartment investment industry—like many other asset classes—recently experienced a massive bubble. Peaking in the period from 2020 to mid-2022, this particular bubble was driven by multiple factors. As a proximate cause, risky bridge loans came to dominate apartment investment. These loans made short-term, high leverage, floating-rate debt the norm when acquiring apartment properties. As an ultimate cause, however, the American fiscal-monetary milieu of taxation, redistribution, artificially-low interest rates, and easy money—culminating in the creation of trillions of dollars out of thin air in 2020—provided the driving force."

"Besides malinvestment and mispricing, the apartment bubble of 2020-2022 predictably gave rise to charlatans and crooks of many varieties. Riding high during the bubble, some of the most conspicuous syndicators have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Tides and GVA—led by their respective founders—are just the two most visible cases among apartment syndicators of poor decision-making and lack of moral clarity leading to massive financial loss. In a sector where 95 percent of the underlying property loans are facing some level of distress, innumerable apartment syndicators not only lost billions in equity for their investors, but are seeing their personal finances dissolve as well."

Lost Coast Outpost in California. "A little over a week ago, the renters living in the Hillsdale Apartments, a three-story, 106-year-old building on E Street in Eureka, found a notice on their doors from the new owner, a corporation called Dwivedi Tower LLC. It says renters who do not agree with quoted fair market rent amounts 'can choose to vacate the property on or before February 28th, 2025,' adding, 'A move out Notice is required by January 31st, 2025' — a date just a few days after the notice appeared. Don Swall, a retired school teacher has lived in the Hillsdale Apartments for 18 years. Nearly 85 years old (his birthday’s in April), he said he’s been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and only recently finished treatment for esophageal cancer. 'Everybody in the building is getting f#cked by this,' he said. Swall has been paying $621 a month for his third floor, one bedroom apartment, and he said the $1,132 fair market rent — an 82 percent increase — would quickly make him homeless. 'He’s been in the building, but the people I know who are as pissed off as I am just won’t talk to him,' Swall said."

"Before moving to the United States about a dozen years ago, Anil Dwivedi was a a Hindu priest and student of Sanskrit in his native India. Late last month Dwivedi closed escrow on the Hillsdale Apartments, which he bought for $1.65 million — more than half a million under the $2.2 million asking price. He said he posted the notices with fair market rent amounts so tenants could see that they’ve been paying way below the going rate. 'I am struggling a lot,' he said. 'You know, my insurance, if I don’t pay the mortgage, which is, like, really huge for that building, if I don’t pay on the first it would go [into] foreclosure. If I don’t play sixty-plus-thousand dollars a year just on that building, it will go in foreclosure. So I am trying to stay afloat, sir.'"

The Washington Post. "It’s too soon to say how many of the thousands of homes destroyed in Los Angeles last month had too little insurance coverage. But surveys done by regulators and consumer advocates after past wildfires in California and Colorado suggest the majority of people who lost their homes in the fires will probably face this problem. 'We fully expect it to be higher than two-thirds underinsured in L.A.,' said Amy Bach, the co-founder of United Policyholders, a public interest advocacy group. When William Chandler’s grandfather died last year, he inherited a home in Altadena that had been in his family since the 1970s. He also inherited a roughly $2,700 bill from the insurance company to renew the policy on the house. Chandler said he couldn’t afford to pay it — he was already struggling with nursing home bills and funeral expenses."

"He decided not to renew, thinking he would find another insurer. But every company he called was uninterested. 'It was like an automated, ‘Oh, we don’t cover that area.’ he said. Chandler’s house was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, as were the homes of nine of his family members in Altadena. Like many other disaster survivors, he is hoping a combination of support from the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe and a federal disaster loan will let him rebuild. Three days after the fire, his wife learned she is pregnant. 'We’re definitely going to stay,' he said. 'I know it’s going to be a long road, but that would be my grandfather’s wishes.'"

From WFLA in Florida. "While many homes sit gutted or vacant because of insurance and funding delays, people who live on Lake Bonny are urging all leaders to work together to prevent another disaster. On Thursday morning, Diana Hoagland received her first payment from her insurance company so she can begin work on her flood-damaged home. She knows her neighbors are not as fortunate. The Lake Bonny Drive area is not part of a flood plain so flood insurance is not required. 'We don’t want to be stigmatized as flood prone communities and watch our property values tank,' said Hoagland."

"Pam Smith provided pictures of her gutted home, which flooded for weeks after the hurricane. She said her homeowners insurance denied her appeal and a $10,000 check from FEMA will not cover the repairs and upgrades required. She said the city of Lakeland is not providing financial relief. Down the road, Misty Wells and her husband are also at a standstill. 'Our flood insurance company is trying to deny fixing the foundation, and we obviously can’t rebuild the inside of the house without the foundation being fixed,' said Misty Wells in January."

From City News. "Quebec snowbird Michel Dubois and his wife Mariette have spent their winters in Florida for the last 14 years. But U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of a trade war with Canada has left a bad taste in Dubois’ mouth. He says he will change his habits when he leaves his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home in April to return to Saint-Lin–Laurentides, Quebec, about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. 'We feel like our best friend betrayed us. And for me, when I return to Canada, I will discipline myself,' said Dubois. 'I won’t buy any Tesla. I thought about buying an electric car. I would buy the EV from Kia or from Toyota,' he explained. For now, amid Trump’s mandate, the 78-year-old says he’ll keep his U.S. property, but won’t encourage others to come down south."

"With a weaker loonie, Montreal-born real estate agent Alexandra Dupont, based near Fort Lauderdale, says snowbirds are trying to get rid of their Florida properties. 'Right now, a lot of the Canadians are selling, no matter where they’re from, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto,' she said. 'A lot of people are selling, mainly due to the dollar, the exchange rate, but there’s so many factors right now,' she added. 'The tariffs going on this week, Trump, a lot of different factors that I’m seeing, and unfortunately we’re not having enough buyers, especially in the condo market,' explained Dupont."

From USA Today. "The last thing Shane Poole wanted was to turn his back on the military life he loves. But Poole, an Air Force veteran who now works as a civilian trainer, says he's lost all trust in the government as President Donald Trump pushes a now-or-never buyout on federal workers and Democrats seem powerless to stop him. More than a dozen federal employees told USA TODAY about their decisions to stay or go. Few were willing to go on the record, saying they were concerned about retribution. Some said they feared their buyout offers might be rescinded if they are quoted in the media. They're weighing questions about mortgages, health care and college tuition, versus whether they could walk away with nothing if they stay and the administration follows through on threats of furloughs and layoffs."

"Tony Yang, a 51-year-old IT specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Minnesota, decided to take early retirement rather than face a 125-mile commute each way to his office. Yang, who has worked for the federal government for eight years, had hoped to hold on until retirement and collect a full pension. Leaving now, he is giving up about $1,000 a month. At first, his wife did not want him to walk away from the security of a government job, worried how they would afford the mortgage, credit cards and other monthly bills. But after late-night conversations, they decided this was the best path forward, Yang said. 'It was a hard choice. Honestly, I love my job and I didn't want to leave yet. I am sad to leave my team,' Yang said. 'But I feel like I have to settle for this.'"

"A Health and Human Services employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation said some are worried about finding a new job if the market is flooded with thousands of former federal employees at the same time private companies are laying workers off in multiple industries. Even though pressure has increased on federal employees, with some agencies warning that layoffs are likely if not enough people take the offer, she and her husband − who both work for the federal government − don’t plan to do it. She said their work helps the American people. They also need their jobs to cover their mortgage, student loans and other financial obligations."

Business in Vancouver in Canada. "Mortgage brokers and alternative lenders are playing a bigger role in B.C.’s residential real estate sector, as cost-conscious homebuyers seek more financing options and turn to non-traditional products that suit their needs, goals and wealth strategies. Meanwhile, alternative mortgage products have shed their stigma and are increasingly prevalent, especially for short-term strategies or shortfalls. The disparity between interest rates on traditional versus non-traditional mortgages has narrowed, as industry players grow in size and sophistication."

"The value of outstanding residential mortgages issued or held by non-bank lenders rose 19 per cent from $338 billion in Q3 2020 to $401 billion in Q3 2024, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. 'Alternative banks … have been seeing an increase, definitely, in volumes over the years, and I think that trend will continue, especially because qualification is not getting any easier. 'The alternative space has definitely grown over the years,' said Eddy Cocciollo, president of Dominion Lending Centres and DLCG Mortgage Group. 'I think Canadians are becoming more stretched.'"

"Dean Koeller, board chair of Canadian Alternative Mortgage Lenders Association (CAMLA), said alternative mortgage products are intended for what can be called 'non-bankable' transactions. Alternative lenders, who must comply with securities, anti-money-laundering (as of October 11 last year) and other regulations, can also provide the capital for equity take-outs, or the funds needed to close on a new home when one’s old place hasn’t yet sold, staving off default and litigation. 'Mortgage-holders in our products tend to be between 18 and 24 months in length of time that they are using our products, so it’s a much shorter timeframe than you’d be with a bank or a credit union,' Koeller said. 'We really focus on the short-term opportunities and then transition people back into the bank where it makes sense and where it’s possible.'"

Blog TO in Canada. "Companies like Royal LePage may have wanted to dream that 2025 would be a year of improvements for Toronto's real estate market after a rough many months, but so far, that wishful thinking has yet to become anywhere near reality. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) there were 7.9 per cent fewer homes changing hands over the course of last month than in January 2024, even with an astounding 70.2 per cent more active listings than the same time last year — a total of 17,157. New listings were up by nearly 50 per cent year-over-year. This is not a devastating blow to stakeholders at this point, but more a continuation of a very concerning trend, with dismal sales volumes continuing month by month in an overvalued, overhyped city that seemingly nothing could bring down."

Domain News in Australia. "Nervous home sellers aiming to get the upper hand in a buyer’s market are starting to avoid holding auctions and choose private sale methods instead. More property owners are selling than usual for this time of year as investors offload assets, interest rates take a toll, and home owners take advantage of a slower market to upgrade, but private treaty sales are coming into favour for sellers. SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said the rise in listings appeared to be concentrated in the private treaty market. 'It appears as though proportionally auction activity as a percentage of total listings is down,' he said. 'Normally in slower markets, or markets where vendors start to lose some confidence, they’ll generally tend to move to list towards a private treaty market rather than the auction market. The start of the year does suggest a little bit of loss of confidence by vendors.'"

"Some owners who decided to sell months ago still have not found buyers, which he said also affected vendor confidence. There are 20.7 per cent more stale listings – homes that have been sitting on the market for more than 180 days – in Sydney than this time last year and 19.2 per cent more in Melbourne. 'That does suggest an ongoing decline in overall participation,' he said. 'So potentially less buyers out there, more than anything else.'"

"Buyer’s agent Nicole Jacobs, managing director at Cohen Handler in Victoria, has also noticed some sellers reluctant to go to auction in a buyer’s market. 'Vendors are trying to protect their assets because they’re not on one day having a very public showing of what the market thinks it’s worth,' she said. She said selling a home could be quite emotional for an owner-occupier, and some might take a lack of buyer interest personally."

From Metro. "Getting on the ladder might seem like the ideal property step, but what happens if the moment the removal van drives away, you’re filled with regret rather than joy? That was just the case for Redditor @Adorable-Ad5715. After initially viewing their one-bedroom flat in Tromsø, Norway, they decided to put an offer in, which was accepted. ‘Everything felt right’ until a few days after they’d picked up the keys. That’s when the grief began to sink in.' Looking back at the market, they felt that they overpaid and instantly regretted buying a one-bedroom flat, labelling it ‘not the right decision.’ 'I’ve been extremely depressed. I feel like I’ve made the biggest mistake in my life, mainly due to the feeling of overpaying,’ they wrote in the r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer Reddit thread. ‘[I feel] that I should’ve gone for something larger. Now I just want a way out, [and] if that is paying 10,000 [Norwegian Krone] to cover the expenses of doing a new sale, I would pay that.’"

"They’re not the only buyer who regrets their purchase. @BiscottiTrick6497 is a first-time buyer and completed on their London flat in July 2024. The first few weeks in the flat were particularly difficult, as they discovered ‘various issues that didn’t come up in conveyancing and trouble with neighbours,’ but at the time, they decided to persevere as they simply had ‘no other choice.’ ‘I’ve been here just over six months now and I hate it here,’ they wrote in the r/HousingUK thread. ‘It doesn’t feel like 'my' flat, I avoid spending time here, and I’m living paycheque to paycheque because of the mortgage costs [£1,700 per month].’"

"Likewise, @treemun1 instantly hated their flat when they moved in. When they bought a flat three months ago, they paid more than they were expecting to as in their experience, ‘everything was selling quite fast at the time.’ As such, they were able to complete within just over a month – something which initially appealed to them. ‘A flat has gone up for sale in the same building and has been reduced to £7,000 cheaper than what I bought [for] because it isn’t selling,’ they penned. ‘I can’t help but feel like I overpaid now and it’s really affecting me day to day. I’m scared when I come to sell, I’m going to lose £10,000+ because of my own mistakes. I’m lucky that I have a well-paying job so I can probably absorb the loss, but it still hurts. I know I haven’t sold so it’s technically not a loss, but I keep thinking that way. All this is playing in my mind constantly and I just feel like an idiot.’"