A report from Click Orlando in Florida. "Residents of Dockside At Ventura Condominiums in Central Florida are still waiting to return to their homes nearly three years after Hurricane Ian caused severe flooding and damage. Nicole Kolling-Carter, a resident, expressed her frustration over the prolonged recovery process. Despite having insurance and following all necessary protocols, she has been unable to return home and continues to pay her mortgage, homeowners association fees, and rent for her temporary residence. 'Frustrated,' she said. 'Because I did everything I was supposed to have insurance. Make sure. And that’s the first time the place has been flooded. And then we get hit with all this other stuff and people doing crooked things, and then we’re stuck with a hole in the bag.'"

From NBC Boston. "As homeowners dealing with crumbling concrete foundations implored Massachusetts lawmakers Tuesday to deliver financial assistance, House Democrats declined to support a budget amendment to create a relief fund seeded with $100 million. 'Obviously, we're trying to help House members particularly understand our issue as much as we live it everyday,' Michelle Loglisci of Monson, who founded the advocacy group, told the State House News Service. 'We're trying to make sure that people who are out there voting on amendments and bills in this session, in the budget, are going to understand that our lives have been on hold for years,' Loglisci added. 'I am working on Year 8 of not being able to sell my house, not being able to move, not being able to afford to replace the foundation.'"

A press release. "The typical home for sale is listed for 9% more (or $38,672) than the typical home is selling for—the biggest gap since May 2020. Redfin’s report is based on home listing and sale price data in March, when the typical newly-listed home had a price tag of $469,729—a record high. The typical home that sold last month fetched $431,057—below the June 2024 record high of $442,529. A lot of homeowners who are selling now also bought during the peak of the market in 2021 and 2022 and are trying to recoup their investments, according to Redfin agents. 'Homebuyers today have the upper hand because they’re outnumbered by sellers, and that’s a tough pill for sellers to swallow,' said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. 'When buyers and sellers are on different planets, one side eventually has to give in, and it’s looking like it’s going to be sellers this time. Rising inventory, price drops and seller concessions indicate this is already starting to happen, and sale-price growth will likely continue to slow as a result.'"

"There are eight metros where sale prices fell from a year earlier in March, and they’re all in Florida, Texas or the Bay Area. 'A lot of sellers are bringing up comps from a year ago, and I have to tell them that’s no longer the environment we’re in,' said Chaley McVay, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Portland, OR. 'They’re holding onto this idea that they lost money. I explain that they didn’t lose money because however much money they could have made in the past is hypothetical money. The most important thing you can do as a seller right now is fairly price your home. If you overprice, chances are you’ll get no activity, and then it will become even harder to recoup your investment.'"

From My San Antonio. "Everything's bigger in Texas — and that's especially the case for four cities in the Lone Star State that are home to some of the biggest home sale price drops in the country. A Redfin report found 11 of the country's 50 most populous metros recorded decreases in their median home-sale prices. Texas laid claim to four of those metros, including the No. 1 spot. San Antonio led with the largest median home-sale price declines, reporting a 3.7% year-over-year decrease. Following in its wake was: Oakland, California, with prices down 3.5% year over year. Jacksonville Florida, home to a 2.2% year-over-year dip. Phoenix, Arizona, down 2% year-over-year. Austin, Texas, reporting a 1.3% decrease. Outside the Top 5, Dallas and Fort Worth joined the Texas capital and the Alamo City as additional Texas metros to see home prices decline."

East Valley Tribune in Arizona. "Gilbert may be heading toward a balance residential housing market, meaning neither sellers nor buyers have any distinct advantage at the bargaining table. But the Cromford Report earlier this month also warned that if inventory Valley-wide continues to build at its current rate, sellers may well have to give a lot more than their counterparts have had to in the last few years. 'If conditions stay on their current track, sellers will have even more of a challenge in the second half of 2025 as each seller will be competing with too many other sellers who are equally anxious to attract a firm offer. Price cuts and concessions are going to hit new highs under these circumstances.'"

"Data for March from Phoenix Realtors indicates the number of homes for sale in Gilbert soared by 89.3% over March 2024 to 833. Pointing to an uptick in sales, however, it expressed alarm over a steady increase in supply and said: 'Although there are more buyers about at the moment, they have a lot of choice and growing bargaining power, especially in the outlying and less expensive areas. With patience and care, they should be able to secure a good deal if the seller is realistic about market conditions. If the seller is unrealistic, there is no harm in walking away. Pricing finally shows signs of weakening for the bulk of the market. We deduce that a clear downward trend in home prices has now been established. With the hottest months still in front of us, that is not likely to reverse anytime soon.' The Cromford Report also said homebuilders are hitting a challenging time. 'The cost of building a home is rising quickly because so many of the physical components are sourced from abroad, but new home selling prices will have to come down when supply exceeds demand to the extent we are now seeing,' it said."

CBS News on California. "As many as two-thirds of fire victims are uninsured or underinsured, according to the consumer advocates at the non-profit United Policyholders. After turning in 40 applications, Kevin and Annemarie Pazmino finally found a new place to live, after the home they shared with two children, Lucille and Joaquin, burned to the ground in Altadena. KCAL News met the family in January as they returned to see what was left amidst the rubble following the Eaton Fire. 'I have anxiety over everything. So, it's really, really hard,' Annemarie said. 'I've learned with insurance that we didn't ask any of the right questions.' The answers they're getting now during the rebuilding process weren't what they expected. 'So, we are grossly underinsured, and our insurance agent said that's very common,' Kevin said."

"Their homeowner's policy hadn't been updated since 2017, when the cost to build was well below what it is now. They also took money out of the house for renovations and didn't increase their policy. Those common mistakes will cost them at least $100,000. 'There are so many aspects of insurance that are so unknown to people and that can't be singular to us,' Annemarie said. The Pazminos don't know how they'll ever afford to own a home again. 'I don't have any money to start rebuilding. I can't get a construction loan without money down because all our money was in the home,' Kevin said."

Silicon Valley in California. "The University Park apartment complex, a couple of blocks from the main UC Berkeley campus, has tumbled into a real estate loan default, according to documents filed on April 22 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office. The delinquent loan for the 97-unit, five-story multifamily complex located at 1709 Shattuck Ave. totals $28.3 million and was provided to an affiliate of Academy West Investments, county records show. The University Park loan default is not the only East Bay complex that has been jolted with loan issues. In recent months, lenders have seized multiple apartment buildings to satisfy delinquent or failing loans."

"Among the problem properties: A 206-unit, 24-story housing tower at 1700 Webster St. in downtown Oakland was taken back on Aug. 28, 2024, by its lender due to a delinquent $90 million loan. The Logan, a 204-unit apartment complex at Telegraph Avenue and 51st Street in Oakland, was taken by a real estate firm that had bought the property’s loan and then foreclosed on the financing vehicle on Nov. 27, 2024. In September 2024, Bayview, a 186-unit apartment complex in Emeryville, was seized by its lender, CIM Group, through a deed in lieu of foreclosure procedure. In April, Orion, a 241-unit apartment complex in the Brooklyn Basin area of the Oakland waterfront, was taken back by its lender, UBS Realty Investors."

The Weekly Voice in Canada. "Condo prices have seen a major decline in Brampton South, with a new report showing a 26 per cent drop since the last federal election. The findings, released by real estate website Wahi, compared home price trends across Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ridings from the third quarter of 2021 to today. While some regions posted gains, Brampton South recorded the sharpest decline in condo values across the entire GTA. The report reveals that the median price for a condo in Brampton South now sits at $551,250."

The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. "A Perth family’s quest to build a home has been thwarted by the dramatic collapse of not one but two residential construction companies. In 2021, Cara Godwin and her husband Jason employed Modco Residential – the building company helmed by glamour couple Yusuf Khan and Cynthia Lu who left behind a trail of shattered hopes, unpaid bills, and unanswered questions when the empire crumbled. The company entered administration in July 2023 and was later put into liquidation. This month, liquidators revealed Modco faced nearly $9 million in creditor claims and regulatory bodies were also pursuing disciplinary action."

"Godwin said after the company collapsed she and her husband decided to cut their losses and put up their three-lot Doubleview subdivision for sale to avoid haemorrhaging even more money on land tax, rates and mortgage repayments. The couple then spent the next six months unsuccessfully trying to buy an established property. The couple then signed in February 2024 with Ultimo Constructions, one of WA’s best boutique builders and five-time winner of the HIA Australian Professional Small Builder of the Year award. They were told the house would be built within nine months. Fast forward a year – and through what Godwin describes as 'many delays, money wasted, numerous emails and calls' – and all they have is a concrete slab. 'We found out from the internet that Ultimo had gone into liquidation,' she said. 'No calls, no emails, no information. Just left to fend for ourselves again.'"

"Godwin said they were in the process of getting builders’ insurance paid through QBE; however, out of 15 builders contacted, none were interested in finishing the job that would now cost significantly more than initially projected. 'It’s been four years,' Godwin said. 'So much wasted money, court cases, so many tears and so much stress, and we are in no better position than when we started. 'We got married and had two children in this time … but still no house.' Meanwhile, they are dealing with spiralling rental costs to keep a roof over their heads on top of the costs associated with the two building disasters."

From BBC News. "China is not behaving like a nation facing the prospect of economic pain and President Xi Jinping has made it clear that Beijing will not back down. But the truth is Trump's brinkmanship and tariff hikes are pushing on pressure points that already exist within China's own struggling economy. With a population of 1.4 billion, China has, in theory, a huge domestic market. But there's a problem. They don't appear willing to spend money while the country's economic outlook is uncertain. This has not been prompted by the trade war – but by the collapse of the housing market. Many Chinese families invested their life savings in their homes, only to watch prices plummet in the last five years."

"Housing developers continued to build even as the property market crumbled. It's thought that China's entire population would not fill all the empty apartments across the country. The former deputy head of China's statistics bureau, He Keng, admitted two years ago that the most 'extreme estimate' is that there are now enough vacant homes for 3 billion people. Travel round Chinese provinces and you see they are littered with empty projects – lines of towering concrete shells that have been labelled 'ghost cities.' Others have been fitted out, the gardens have been landscaped, curtains frame the windows, and they appear filled with the promise of a new home. But only at night, when you see no lights, can you tell that the apartments are empty. There just aren't enough buyers to match this level of construction."

"There are also fears about whether their sons, daughters and grandchildren can get a job as millions of college graduates are struggling to find work. More than one in five people between the ages of 16 and 24 in urban areas are jobless in China, according to official data published in August 2023. The government has not released youth unemployment figures since then. The problem is that China cannot simply flip a switch and move from selling goods to the US to selling them to local buyers. China will have to tread carefully. Some countries will be nervous that products being manufactured for the US could end up flooding into their markets. Trump's tariffs in 2016 sent a glut of cheap Chinese imports, originally intended for the US, into South East Asia, hurting many local manufacturers. According to Prof Nie Huihua at Renmin University, 'about 20% of China's exports go to the US - if these exports were to flood any regional market or country, it could lead to dumping and vicious competition, thereby triggering new trade frictions.'"