A report from Axios DC. "Vying for Washington's white-collar jobs has become uber competitive as laid-off federal workers flood the market. Some are having to take positions they're overqualified for, or do gig work to pay their mortgage or kids' tuition, says Chris Jones, founder of the political staffing agency PoliTemps. A Washington resident in their early 30s who lost their job at a nonprofit that implemented USAID and State Department grants tells Axios they've applied to between 50 and 100 jobs since February — and they've only landed one interview that didn't go anywhere. 'I would be looking at a climate job, and then would read about how the EPA [fired workers],' says the resident, who asked for anonymity as they job hunt. '[And it's like] 'Okay, now I'm competing with a bunch of people who are actual experts.' The job seeker and their spouse were about to start house-hunting before the DOGE firings. Now they're using their real estate savings to stay afloat. 'It kind of really threw a wrench in all of our financial planning.'"

"The real estate market during COVID-19, with low interest rates, is a thing of the past. But after a long period where seller’s were in control, the market has shifted to a 'buyer’s market,' according to local real estate agent Jonathan Daugherty and new data from Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR). Daugherty said new data shows there are no new construction homes in Duval County to speak of. The average listing price in Duval County is $380,00 and the average sold price is around $355,000, he said. The decrease in prices reflects the actual market across Florida. Hope Marini and her family lived in Hawaii for years. Recently, they traded one paradise for another and moved to Florida. 'We just moved back to Jacksonville and there are a lot of inventory and there’s a lot of buyers and so we felt like, because we had good representation and a good Realtor that we were able to get a good deal on the house,' Marini said. She is enjoying her new piece of paradise and was able to get a 10% price cut. 'To quote Warren Buffett, the best time to buy is when everyone else is scared,' Marini said."

Live Insurance News. "The condo market along Alabama’s Gulf Coast is facing a wave of challenges that’s left buyers, sellers, and real estate agents all staring down mounting obstacles. What’s behind the slowdown? Well, the short answer is insurance. The long answer? It’s a tangle of skyrocketing premiums, tougher lending guidelines, and an ominous 'blacklist' that’s thrown the local market into disarray. Fannie Mae—yep, that Fannie Mae—not only backs a massive chunk of mortgages but also decides which properties get their big stamp of approval. Now, nearly 70 Alabama condo complexes, including many in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, don’t make the cut. 'Insurance premiums have tripled,' said David Swiger, a Gulf Shores broker. 'And what we’re running into left and right are new insurance assessments. It’s eating into everyone’s pockets. It’s frustrating,' admitted Swiger. 'Some people bought these as investments and planned to rent them out. With rising assessments and insurance costs, it’s getting harder to make money.'"

From Bisnow. "The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing some of the steepest cuts, a 44% budget reduction from $75B to $42B. If approved, the adjustments at HUD would threaten to collapse the country’s affordable housing model, putting owners at risk of foreclosure and forcing people from their homes. There’s little expectation that state entities will backfill funding gaps left by the federal government at a time when state tax revenue is falling and major cities are already grappling with an affordability crisis. 'How are they going to make up the cuts to 35% of rental assistance and 44% overall of the HUD housing programs? It's like voodoo economics, it just doesn't work,' said Dan Cruz Jr., senior vice president at Cruz Development Corp., a subsidiary of a third-generation Black-owned affordable housing developer based in Boston."

Denverite in Colorado. "Metrowide rents are falling for the first time in years. A record number of new apartments are hitting the market, and population growth has slowed from a pandemic low. Many renters are still struggling to afford their leases. But many are hunting for better deals — and some are succeeding. 'Now would be the time to take a shot,' RiNo developer Andrew Feinstein said. 'I would say that we're in a market where the landlords need the tenants more than the tenants need the landlords.' The Apartment Association of Metro Denver, a landlord advocacy group, said the metro had become a 'renter’s market.' The drop in price comes as record numbers of new apartments are opening – more than 20,000 units have been completed around the seven-county metro area in the past 12 months. In short, supply is growing faster than demand. The result: the metro’s apartment vacancy rate has broken 7 percent, with a greater percentage of apartments sitting empty than at any time since 2009."

Bloomberg on Canada. "Homebuyers are starting to find deals in what’s shaping up to be one of the toughest spring seasons for the Toronto housing market in more than a decade. In April, 66 per cent of homes sold in Toronto went for less than the listing price, the highest percentage for that month since 2013, according to data compiled by real estate agent Robert Marsiglio. 'There’s no more FOMO,' said Marsiglio, using an acronym that stands for the fear of missing out. 'It’s just improving for buyers relative to sellers. That power balance is still shifting to buyers. It’s probably in the relatively early days of it.'"

"The shift has emboldened buyers to play hardball, according to Toronto broker Tom Storey. He’s seen initial offers that have come in 5 per cent below list prices at a minimum this spring, with buyers simply moving on if sellers don’t indicate at least some willingness to negotiate. In many cases, the buyers aren’t willing to negotiate their opening offers at all, he said. Storey said he’d never seen the Toronto market favouring buyers so heavily in his 12 years being a broker, outside of the pandemic. 'Buyers are holding their foot down,' he said. 'sometimes the seller just goes, ‘No, I’m not responding; this is way too low.’ And the buyer just goes, ‘All right. I have five other options. I’ll go try on the next one.'"

Radio New Zealand. "Real estate agent Caleb Paterson said a new 'try-before-you-buy' model was emerging locally, with some clients paying up to $30,000 a week to rent off-market homes while they 'awaited clarity' on New Zealand's foreign buyer ban. 'We're dealing with a lot of home owners in that luxury space and the market is not responding where they want [it], so now they're having to reassess all their options.' He had 'a lot' of clients looking at purchasing properties who had subsequently withdrawn. A lot of high-end vendors in the baby boom demographic were looking to sell up, and many were prepared to meet the market, he said. The vendors of one off-market property 'worth $20 million on paper' were happy to drop their price to $15 million but even the $5million price-drop was not enough."

From Vietnam Express. "Hong Kong’s prolonged property downturn is dragging down the value of real estate owned by celebrities and tycoons, including actor Nicholas Tse and the family of late Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho. In March, Tse leased out a retail space in Central Hong Kong for HK$60,000 (US$7,721) per month, 40% below the original listed price of HK$100,000, after the unit sat vacant for more than a year. Just last week, a high-end duplex apartment once owned by Chinese actress Vicki Zhao and her former husband also struggled to attract interest. The property went to auction at HK$49 million, a steep 32% markdown from its purchase price of HK$72 million, but failed to draw any bids. In the housing segment, prices have plunged nearly 30% since their peak in 2021."

Barron's on China. "Lu Yangling, 52, who is from the lower-tier southwestern city of Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan province, told Barron’s that three units owned by himself and his brother and sister have all lost value in the last several years. 'There is no real estate activity. Really, there seems to be little business activity overall,' he said by phone. When asked if these trends were affecting his consumer and savings activities, he said: 'Of course. Our money is in our homes. If they are losing value, we are going to spend less on things' like travel, dining out, and even in-city meetups with friends, he said."