It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Last fall, Natalie Peitsmeyer sold her house in Colorado, said goodbye to a community she’d known for decades and started a dream education job in Kansas. She became a park guide at the Fort Scott National Historic Site. Peitsmeyer, 59, was in the middle of developing new programming around the disappearance of monarch butterflies when she got fired — just four months after her first day. Now, she’s out of a job and is considering selling the home she just bought. Peitsmeyer said she can’t wait for a long court battle before seeking work elsewhere. 'It’s been a month and how long can people wait without health benefits?' she said. 'I moved here specifically for the position, and at this point I’m considering — actually, I was ready to put my house on the market this weekend.'"

"Life in Diana Brisebois’s mobile home community used to be a lot more fun. Her little park in St. Petersburg, Fla., used to be home to many snowbirds. Today, Ms. Brisebois, originally from Montreal, says her next-door neighbour is the only other Canadian left. While she made her disdain for U.S. President Donald Trump abundantly clear – 'I’m not fond him, not one bit' – the high U.S. dollar and the rising cost of living in Florida are her primary reasons for leaving. Richard Poirier, from Sudbury, said he loved coming to Florida twice a year with his wife in an RV. Just two years ago, they bought a new one so they could ensure another decade of travel down south. Instead, the vehicle is now for sale: this year, they cancelled their autumn and spring trips to Florida. The community they stayed in near Tampa, Fla., was still lively and enjoyable, but they simply can’t accept the political rhetoric about annexing Canada and don’t feel safe in the U.S. any more. 'At one point, we thought about buying property there, and we’re so happy that we didn’t,' said Mr. Poirier, who is planning to travel to Mexico instead in the colder months."

"Darryl Brown stands next to the burned-out husk of the home he used to own in the 1800 block of North Chester Street in East Baltimore. He told WJZ Investigates he sold his home because he could no longer deal with vandalism and squatters. 'I did everything right,' Brown said. 'This would have been a perfect home for somebody who could have enjoyed warmth and security, but because of the red tape and the blockage from Baltimore City, I was forced to sell.' Brown said squatters broke in and set the place on fire. And it is not the first time. 'Get out of it. Right now, it's like a sinking ship because I don't see anything coming from the ashes,' said Brown, about what he would tell the new owners of both of his properties."

"Unfinished homes in south Austin, that had broken windows and tattered roofs, are now torn down. The homes were covered in graffiti, with tall weeds growing in the driveway. The city of Austin’s Development Services Department told KXAN as of March 12, all the residential structures on the property were demolished. Neighbors in the area said construction abruptly stopped awhile ago, and people started vandalizing the homes. 'You just understand what happens with vacant properties,' said neighbor, Brendan Turrell. 'It’s always going to lead to broken windows, some interesting art.'"

"Nearly 700 condominium complexes around California have been placed on a 'mortgage blacklist' that has created a headache for owners looking to sell their properties and, in many cases, forced them to lower their asking price. The list is maintained by Fannie Mae. In January 2024, business screeched to a half for real estate agent Larry Spiteri when Fannie Mae blacklisted the majority of units in Rossmoor, an upscale retirement community of 6,700 homes south of downtown Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County. 'For a while there, we were in a panic — no one was lending,' said Spiteri, who specializes in the area."

"The other most-listed Bay Area cities are San Francisco, with 21 properties, and San Jose, with 18 properties. In Southern California, Los Angeles had 37 condos on the list, and the Pacific Palisades had 28. Jackie Giffin, a real estate agent who works in the Rossmoor community, estimates that it would end up costing property owners an average of $300 more per month — or an extra $3,600 a year — to meet Fannie's insurance requirements. 'Already, the monthly fees are going up,' Giffin said. 'To add $300 more per month, we would probably end up losing a lot in property values because there would be so many people selling.'"

"Lafayette agent Melissa Case represented a seller of a condo in San Pablo that she suspects is on the blacklist — she got three different buyers into contract on the property, but each time, lenders wouldn't approve a loan. Eventually, the seller wasn't able to pay her mortgage any more, and the property fell into foreclosure. 'There are many condos that are rotting from within. They need reconstruction,' said Tyler Burding, a Walnut Creek-based lawyer who specializes in condos. 'By the time HOAs get the numbers of what that's going to cost, there's no way to raise the money. Banks won't lend it. The owners can't afford to pay it.' This week, Case was contacted by a condo owner looking to sell in Antioch, but she suspects that she could have trouble finding buyers. 'I'm advising him to rent it out instead of sell,' Case said."

"'Our industry is just not good right now,' said Windsor and Essex County Association of Realtors’ president Maggie Chen. 'Everything is up in the air.' 'Everything was lined up for a great selling season,' said Manor Realty general manager Rob Agnew. 'Rates are down, prices have come down, inventory was up and consumer confidence was up. It was all great until the Trump effect. The realtors I have spoken with aren’t as much worried as they are angry about the way he’s brought everything to a halt.' While the receding prices are driving to the sidelines some potential sellers who don’t have to sell, more attractive prices may be enough to lure some buyers to take the plunge. 'If I’m a buyer with some job certainty, such as a government worker, teacher or policeman, it’s probably a good time to think about jumping in and buying,' Agnew said. 'Otherwise, buyers are contemplating whether they’ll have a job, get laid off, take a wage cut. Affordability doesn’t matter if you don’t have a job to pay the mortgage.'"

"Both Chen and Agnew agree the next few weeks or even months will likely see tariffs put a drag on sales during what is traditionally the busiest period of the year. 'I don’t think March’s numbers are going to be pretty,' Chen said. 'I’ve seen a number of clients, who are buyers, questioning themselves as to whether this is the right time to buy.'"

"During the pandemic, there were massive backlogs at Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (OLTB), and wait times for hearings were taking as long as a year. After clearing the backlog, the board can now hear a case within three to six months, but some landlords say tenants are still abusing the system. 'It looks like he is a professional tenant,' said Moniechand Latchminnarine of Brampton. Latchminnarine told CTV News that five years ago he bought a house for his children to live in, but he decided to rent it out for a few years before they moved in. 'When I asked for my rent, he says ‘We are in court and when we are in court I don’t have to pay', said Latchminnarine."

"Latchminnarine claims he is owed $25,000 in back rent and said he is stuck paying the mortgage, property taxes and some utility bills. 'I have to continue paying the mortgage. I had to sell my RRSPs to keep the mortgage going. He is not paying a nickel,' he said. Latchminnarine said he is fed up and no longer wants to be a landlord. 'I give up. I want out of it. No more.' Latchminnarine said he’ll never be a landlord again and worries the tenants will stay in his home for months longer and not pay the rent they owe. 'He came here and told my wife we will be years in court. I’ve had enough and I can’t do this anymore.'"

"An unfinished housing estate that has created a 'horrendous chalk scar' on the landscape has now been abandoned - after the developer went bust. Residents fear the chained-off site with 29 empty new-build homes in Folkestone Road, Dover, could become a 'ghost town' and be targeted by vandals. It is not known whether any of the homes have already been bought off-plan, as often happens with new estates. The houses are still being marketed on Enzo’s Homes’ website for the development, called White Cliffs Court, ranging from £300,000 for a three-bed to £550,000 for a five-bed. Maxton ward councillor Michael Nee (Lab) is concerned about the current state of the sprawling plot of half-finished houses. 'I have huge fears for the immediate future and that it could be local people who are burnt. It could be a big hit to contractors or anyone who placed an offer on one of the houses, and they could have to pay the price. It could become a ghost town if the site is left to fall to rack and ruin and become derelict.'"

"Residents living in Maxton have also taken to social media to express their concerns. Lance Payne said: 'Great, now it will be even longer before it is finished.' Millie Marshall added: 'Whoever takes on the site now has to sort a massive pile of unstable chalk. The view from my house shows how deep the chalk is - it should never have been allowed.' The development - described on its website as 'a collection of 29 new-build homes on the White Cliffs of Dover' - has been fraught with problems. Council leader Kevin Mills (Lab) described it as a 'horrendous chalk scar' and remarked it was 'probably the only site you can see from the moon.'"

"Rising district heating costs are forcing Narva residents to put empty apartments up for sale. Most of the properties in question are unrenovated apartments that no one wants to buy. Narva's real estate market currently has an oversupply of properties for sale and there is little interest from prospective buyers. Narva, which used to have the cheapest district heating prices in Estonia, has seen the cost rise threefold in the past few years, with another new price increase due to take effect from April 1. According to the local electricity network provider, three years ago Narva had approximately 1,000 apartments for which electricity consumption was almost at zero. Many of these properties are now being put on the market."

"'The supply has increased around three-fold. People who were saving the apartments for themselves or for their children have now put them up for sale,' said Sergei Gorlatš, head of real estate company Trianon. According to Gorlatš, a lot of apartments in the city were put up for sale in the fall, just before the rise in district heating prices. This means there are now a large number of unrenovated apartments on the market, which nobody wants to buy. 'Buyers are taking a look around the secondary market, and they are looking for a very long time. They're taking a really long time to make a decision. A lot of apartments remain for sale,' said Gorlatš."

"Owners of The Ridge apartments in St Marys Bay have won court approval to cancel their unit titles so they can sell the land beneath their wrecked homes and walk away. Justice Ian Gault approved their application in his March 20 judgment from the High Court at Auckland, saying the owners of the 33-unit properties at 23 Hargreaves St had exhausted all other options. The owners were represented by leaky building specialist barrister Tim Rainey. Rainey said today: 'This really was a situation where the owners are salvaging what they could from what was a disastrous situation. It is a good outcome in the circumstances because this was a highly complicated ownership and not an easy situation for them.'"

"Jagoda Jezowska and her husband Denis own an apartment in the block. Last year, the anaesthetic technician told how she and her family were considering leaving New Zealand because of the heartbreak caused by buying a unit in what turned out to be a defective building. 'This was our first home. It’s a disaster. We are in constant stress because we cannot pay the half a million dollars that they are expecting from us for a 65-square-metre apartment,' she said about initial plans to fix the building, which were abandoned when cost estimates were received. Today, she said: 'We got nothing. We were scammed out of our own apartment and ended up with zero dollars.'"

"But Rainey said in response that Jezowska and her husband did not contribute to levies to pay for repairs. 'They will get nothing simply because the sale price for the land has been insufficient to pay all the owners. It is tragic but there’s no other way the court could fairly distribute the proceeds of sale.'"