A report from NBC Washington DC. "A viral social media post that appears to show hundreds of homes hitting the market in the D.C. area after federal worker layoffs is bogus, real estate experts confirmed to News4. The post shows dozens of new houses on the market in the areas of Arlington County and Falls Church, Virginia. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the Beltway bubble hasn’t popped and likely won’t any time soon because direct federal government employees make up just 9% of the region’s workforce. Ashleigh Wehmeyer, a real estate agent with Compass Realty, said the viral post is bogus and real estate professionals are scrambling to set the story straight. 'Some realtors have been posting because they’ve been getting calls from clients saying ‘What’s going on? Is this true? Should I put my house on the market right now?' she said. The largest increase in new home listings was in Loudoun County, which saw 24% more compared to that two-week period in 2024. 'In Loudoun you are seeing that, but you have the new builds, the new construction, but you also have people who have been ordered to return to work and so they’re looking at maybe we should come back in and be closer now,' she said. Bottom line: Experts say homeowners shouldn’t panic sell."

From Michigan Live. "Clareeta Burton worked for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for 28 years. The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System officer was four years from retirement. Now she’s out of a job along with a handful of federal employees for the Ann Arbor health system. As President Donald Trump’s administration cuts more than 1,000 federal employees from the VA nationwide, local workers like Burton are shocked from losing their jobs. 'I’m kind of scrambling,' the 52-year-old U.S. Army veteran said. She and her husband bought a new house recently and had been doing remodels, which they have put on hold due to 'the uncertainty,' she said. 'Unfortunately, I had a double-edged sword, being DEI and probationary.'"

From WFLX. "Seniors from Lake Clarke Gardens, near Lake Worth Beach, are taking their concerns over the rise in condo costs into their own hands. Fees that are hitting many of their budgets as condo owners throughout Florida are being forced to pay thousands to cover the costs. 'I thought this was going to be my forever home when I retired from up north,' said Betty Uveges. She has lived in Lake Clarke Gardens for over eight years and said her fees went from $293 to $1,150 in less than two years. She worries she may have to move like many of her neighbors. 'I love it here at Lake Clarke Gardens. It's kept quite beautifully, and we have a lot of amenities, but the cost when you run out of money, you run out of money,' said Uveges. 'I don't have another place to go. I think it's very unnecessary to be paying for the future. When this is the present and many people have to leave here, because they did not have the money to continue on living here and that's sad.'"

Maui Now in Hawaii. "A Maui County Council plan to contract its own study of the economic impacts of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of Maui County vacation rentals has fallen to the wayside, and Council legislative analysts will conduct research in-house instead. Committee Vice Chair Tom Cook said the study’s goals and objectives should be clear. 'My understanding is to free up as much housing for our local residents that they can afford, and that also is suitable,' he said. 'I think, you know, saddling local residents with a 30- or 40-year-old building that needs a lot of maintenance isn’t a good idea.'"

"A downward trend of condo sales volume first became evident in August 2024 after the May 2 bill announcement and falling numbers of closed sales in May, June and July of that year. Condo median sales prices held steady for about half a year. Then, in November 2024, median sales prices fell 19.7% from $890,000 to $715,000 in and dropped 15.6% from $800,000 to $675,000 in January 2025. The last time condo median prices were in the mid $600,000s was in January 2023, and before that, prices were in that range during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Condo owners who bought units at recent, high prices may find themselves 'under water' if they owe more money on their units than they’re worth for sale at current market values."

From WGME. "Maine has nearly 2,000 community associations made up of homeowner associations, condominiums and co-ops, according to the Community Associations Institute, which estimates those residents pay $278 million a year to maintain their properties. An anonymous viewer asked the CBS13 I-Team: 'I think you guys should start looking into monthly maintenance/HOA fees for condos in the Portland-area. They vary so widely and some are incredibly expensive. Is this regulated at all?' Two attorneys specializing in Maine condo law say the answer is no. The I-Team looked at condos listed for sale in Portland and found monthly dues ranging from $285 to well over $1,000. Attorney Chris Neagle says well run condo associations also put monthly assessments toward 'reserve funds' to pay for major repairs and replacements like paving, painting and new roofs."

Cowboy State Daily in Wyoming. "Local residents Bill Lembke and Susie Degner are going through insurance hell for something completely out of their control. The couple are rebuilding their home after a truck crashed into it during a freak accident last October, leaving a huge hole in the side of their house and at least $30,000 in damage. The event happened when a pickup hopped the curb and smashed into their central Cheyenne house. Now, they're about to lose their home insurance coverage over what happened. Lembke had originally expected the damage from the crash to be covered by the insurance company covering the driver who crashed into their home, but since that driver was not at fault for causing the accident, that company has refused to cover the home damage. The driver who was at fault in the accident is a transient with no known home address, so State Farm didn’t want to pursue having to get money from that unlikely source, Lembke said."

"State Farm Insurance has informed the couple it will drop their home insurance coverage once it expires April 1, but will still pay out the property damages related to the car crash. It will also cover the losses Lembke filed on a separate claim when his work trailer was broken into before the crash in August. 'You can pay them, but if you use it (insurance), that’s a no-no,' Lembke said. Lembke said it was communicated to him that since he had made two claims in the same year, State Farm was dropping him because the quality of his policy was deteriorating for the company. 'It doesn’t make sense,' he said. 'They (State Farm) should be forced to carry you until the claim is closed because they know they wouldn’t do it themselves. State Farm wouldn’t accept you as a client if you had an open claim on your house. They full-well know they’re screwing me.'"

"He now worries the only insurance he’ll be able to get for his home to avoid a coverage gap is force-placed insurance, which tends to be more expensive than standard home insurance. Force-placed insurance also only covers the property itself, so if the couple’s home were to burn down in the future, only the physical property and none of the possessions inside would be covered for damage. In addition, in that event, only the mortgage company would be reimbursed for the loss of property. 'I would walk away with zero dollars and no home,' Lembke said. He expects his home mortgage company is going to 'flip their lid' when it finds out about his insurance dilemma."

Silicon Valley in California. "Less than a year after Concord adopted a hard-won residential tenant protection program that outpaced similar state and local housing laws, some of its most strict regulations have reignited debate. Concord's complex set of regulations for renters took effect in April, increasing 'just cause' eviction protections to most of the city's tenants, establishing rent stabilization for roughly half its rental stock and generally dictating what landlords can do with their units and how renters can respond. For example, property owners cannot increase rents by more than 3% or 60% of current inflation index rates, whichever is lower. Rami Kahlon, an immigrant and 51-year resident of Concord, was one of many 'mom and pop' landlords who outright rejected claims that opposition to the city's current tenant protections is based on anything besides a mathematical equation."

"He said that it's become more difficult for rental property owners — particularly retirees like him who rely on rental income — to cover increasingly high bills for a insurance, sewer, water, garbage, utilities and building maintenance. 'You want me to subsidize increased costs, but (the rent cap) does not cover those expenses,' Kahlon said. He argued that Concord's limit of 3% or 60% of CPI, whichever is lower, is prohibitively strict compared to rules approved in Richmond and Berkeley, which more closely align with the 2019 California law that limited rent hikes to 5% plus CPI or 10% annually. 'Basically, my retirement income will decrease each year, and I'll keep deferring capital improvements like paint, roofs and concrete. There won't be enough money left over. You have a chance to fix this policy mistake.'"

CBC News in Canada. "Sam Biasucci walks around the brand new three-bedroom house pointing to en suite bathrooms and tall basement ceilings like a real estate agent. But he actually owns the company— Sault Ste. Marie-based SalDan Developments— that built this home in the Hanmer area of Greater Sudbury that's about to be listed for $600,000. He says that of that $600,000, his company will get around $30,000 in profit. 'People think builders make out like bandits and that's not the case,' he said. 'If you look at the risk that it takes and the longevity that it takes to take a raw piece of land to having keys for a house, sometimes I wonder if there's a better way to make a living.' He says a housing lot goes for about $160,000 and building the actual house runs about $400,000; costs that have climbed steadily in the past few years as 'the pandemic was the best excuse I've seen in 45 years to raise the prices and unfortunately we all know income hasn't kept up.'"

Insauga in Canada. "Video released by police appears to show the moment two houses were deliberately set ablaze in an Ontario town north of Toronto over the weekend. York Regional Police said it happened early Saturday in the Township of King. At around 6:30 a.m., officers responded to a new-build residential area near 15th Sideroad and Charles Baker Drive, east of Keele Street, police said. Two homes were engulfed in flames when officers arrived. Both houses were under construction and unoccupied at the time, police said. No injuries were reported."

From BBC News. "House prices in a county where the council has introduced measures to crack down on second homes have fallen by more than 12% year-on-year, according to new figures. The local authority in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, recently introduced a requirement to obtain planning permission to turn residential properties into second homes or holiday lets. Tom Williams and his family, who live in Lancashire, are struggling to sell the second home they own in Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd. Mr Williams and his wife put the house on the market in April 2024 but said they had had little interest from potential buyers, despite dropping the price by £40,000. 'I put it down to all the other properties in the village that are up for sale at the moment,' he said. 'I've spoken to a lot of families who have had homes there for generations and they're saying the same thing - how can we carry on with this?' said Mr Williams."

The Birmingham Mail. "Majorca has issued a warning to 'rich' foreign property buyers - demanding they: 'Go to Hell.' The Osborne Bull, situated between Algaida and Montuïri, has been used for a fresh political and social message as tension over overtourism increases in the Balearic Islands. The bull has been used to voice opposition to the overcrowding of the island and the ongoing housing crisis in Majorca. On Monday, the bull was found with graffiti that read: 'Rich foreign property buyers go to hell.' The slogan has sparked significant attention, with some social groups, like SOS Residents, applauding the message. One social media user asked: 'And who is selling these houses to them?' A second added: 'Greedy Mallorcan sellers, you could also go to hell!'"

Domain News in Australia. "Northcote home owner Emmanuella Grace bought her forever home close to the peak of the market, and has been feeling the pressure of interest rate rises. She welcomes the Reserve Bank’s decision on Tuesday to cut the cash rate to 4.1 per cent, and says even a small reduction in her mortgage will help her family. But she’s concerned the savings won’t make up for other rising expenses. Grace, a singer and communication consultant, and her financier husband bought in February 2022; they took on a large loan to buy a large house on a big block that needed to be renovated to meet their needs."

"'We really put all the eggs in this basket,' Grace said. 'I remembered every week or so we’d get a letter [which said repayments were increasing] … you kind of just go: ‘Oh god again, oh god it’s happening again, and how far can this go?' Modelling from loan comparison platform Canstar shows an owner-occupier who took out a $500,000 home loan in April 2022 would be paying back $3190 a month by now. That’s $1238 more a month than when they took out a loan. One rate cut will save them $77."

"Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said stressed borrowers would take any savings they can and either pay it off their mortgage or bring it back into their household budget. 'In the context of things, it’s literally a drop in the ocean, when you put it against how far the monthly mortgage repayments have risen,' she said."