It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Industry leaders say national reports decrying Cape Coral housing stats lack local context. Bob Quinn, with RE/MAX Realty, said sellers who are having difficulty are generally starting at a listing price that is too high for the current market. 'I would say sellers and a lot of Realtors are pretty frustrated with how long it takes to get homes sold,' he said. Quinn provided an example of the current highest priced single-family home listed for sale in Cape Coral; a new construction riverfront home built in 2023. The home was listed at $11.9 million from Oct. 25, 2023, to Feb. 27, 2024, before being taken off the market because it did not sell. It came back on the market in 2024 for three months at $10.9 million, again not selling. On June 20 it was listed once again at $8.9 million, a $3 million price reduction in less than two years. 'For a lot of people, incomes are not high enough. Income has to go up quite a bit, or home prices need to come down more,' he said."

"An ongoing insurance crisis has hurt condo sales on O‘ahu: Prices are down and properties are lingering on the market more than three times longer than in 2022. The biggest factor is the rising price of insurance. Many condo associations have experienced insurance premium increases ranging from 300% to 600% over the past two years. Trevor Benn, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors notes O‘ahu’s changing buyer demographics. 'The strong U.S. dollar has made Hawai‘i real estate less attractive to Japanese investors, who were once a significant part of the condo market. In some cases, they are now selling off their properties instead of buying.' Compounding the problem is the aging infrastructures of many of Honolulu’s condo buildings. Fannie Mae is also keeping a 'blacklist' of condos, including in the Islands. 'Some condos have chosen to comply with Fannie Mae guidelines, and others have determined that the costs do not justify the benefits,' says Benn."

"In a heartbreaking turn of events, a young couple is staring down the possibility of foreclosure just months after purchasing their first home, a move they now deeply regret. The 27-year-old woman, who shared her story anonymously online, said she and her husband used their entire savings to purchase a home in March this year. 'We put everything we had into it,' she wrote. Soon after moving in, she lost her job when the nonprofit she worked for was impacted by sweeping funding cuts. The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had restructured federal spending, pulling financial support from numerous NGOs and US funded initiatives. Just weeks later, her husband’s job was also eliminated. With no income and a $5,000 monthly mortgage looming over them, the couple is now in financial free fall. 'I've tried so hard to compartmentalize and stay strong,' she said. 'But today, I broke.' Now bracing for the possibility of foreclosure, she says she feels scared, hopeless, and uncertain of what lies ahead. 'We don’t know how we’ll make it. I’ve never felt this powerless before.'"

"An investor with billboards stating, 'Yes! I buy crack houses,' is standing by the advertising even though it’s sparking some controversy. John Williams has billboards in Cleveland, Ohio, to promote his business. Some neighbors believe the messaging is offensive. 'Why he picked, ‘Yes, I buy crack houses,’ we don’t know, but it’s in poor taste,' a neighbor said. 'What we do is buy homes, generally, that are dilapidated, abandoned. They are not occupied. No one is living in them,' Williams said. 'Some people may say using that specific word is not good, but the properties do exist. We all see them.' Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said the billboards are not a good way to do business in the community. 'Maybe it should be with some people that are reputable, but not with somebody like this coming to clearly make a mockery of our neighborhood,' Griffin said."

"It’s been an emotional ride in the Phoenix real estate scene. For the better part of the last five years, we’ve been living in a high-stakes game where sellers held all the cards and buyers were left scrambling. But lately, the tide has shifted, and that’s not a bad thing. Inventory has grown, giving buyers more choices and, for the first time in a long time, a bit of breathing room. Part of this uptick in listings can be traced to changing circumstances for sellers. Adjustable-rate mortgages are beginning to reset. Some investors who once cashed in on short-term rentals are seeing diminishing returns. For sellers, it means adjusting expectations and pricing to market. When a home is priced correctly it will often sell quickly. But those who hope to set a new record for the neighborhood may find their listings sitting."

"Santa Cruz County’s housing market saw its May business carry over into June, with plenty of homes on the market and a lot of them getting sold, too. Home sales rose 16% in June compared to a year ago, while the median price was lower than in June 2024, down about 9%, to $1,450,000 from $1,595,000. The number of properties listed for sale also rose slightly, adding to what agents say was already a lot of inventory on the market. For people looking to purchase a home, 'there’s definitely some leeway there now, which there didn’t used to be,' said Sereno Group agent Jennifer Watson. She stopped short of calling it a buyer’s market, but said she can’t deny the extra power that buyers have right now: 'If a seller can hang onto the property for a few months, then you can just wait and see what happens. If you’re going to have to sell quickly, you’re probably going to lower your price.'"

"A sluggish luxury market has led to a Del Mar mansion price drop its asking price by $15.5 million. The newly built mansion at 2920 Camino Del Mar went on sale in November for $75 million but recently had its price changed to $59.5 million. A multi-million dollar haircut isn’t unheard of for a final sale price, as luxury properties are often listed high but make concessions as it comes time to sign on the dotted line. Alicia Keys’ purchase of the Razor House in La Jolla in summer 2019 for $20.8 million was a roughly $9 million discount from its original listing price. Yet a big price change before a sale could indicate continued unease over the economy from potential buyers, said Steven Thomas, of Reports on Housing. However, he said the Del Mar mansion is still wildly expensive even in the luxury space. 'I know it sounds like a fire sale,' Thomas said. 'But it is still a $60 million house.' San Diego County homes costing $6 million and up were taking an average 633 days to sell as of late May, according to Reports on Housing, up from 400 days last year. Homes from $4 million to $5.9 million were taking 308 days, up from 147 days last year."

"An Ontario couple in their 60s, ready for the next phase in their lives, found their perfect next move. Unfortunately, they came up against the realities of the cottage market in the province. David (whose surname has been withheld to protect his confidentiality) and his wife put their waterfront cottage on Catchacoma Lake in the Kawartha Highlands for sale in the spring of 2023. The couple purchased their old cottage in 2004 for $500,000. The problem was that they couldn’t find any serious buyers for the place, which they first put up for sale at $1.6 million. 'The pandemic buying period had sort of died off, and so we had a few tire kickers,' David said. 'We did start at a pretty high price, and we did knock that down a bit, and still no takers.' He finally got an interested buyer who ultimately purchased the property for $1.2 million in November. But David said the selling process was long and arduous. 'I had to refinance and carry two places,' he said, adding that he gave the buyer two extensions on the closing date. 'It was a nightmare.'"

"David said his Facebook group has swelled to reach more than 18,000 members. 'You can see the prices being knocked down daily on people’s cottage properties,' he said. 'Unless it’s a perfect property at a reasonable price, nobody’s buying.' The Kawartha Lakes area has seen some cottages languishing on the market for well over a year, according to Alex Blenkarn, a real estate salesperson at eXp Realty, based in Peterborough. He’s seen five listings sell significantly below their original purchase price this year. One three-bedroom cottage sold for $735,000 in April — a 33 per cent loss for the previous owner who purchased it in 2021 for $1.1 million. 'You’ve got to be struggling financially to take a $300,000 loss,' Blenkarn said. 'Nobody wants to sell for a loss like that.'"

"Hundreds of homeowners claim they have been left in limbo and stuck in their homes amid a dispute about essential repairs to a quay wall at the River Clyde. Many living along Windmillcroft Quay have been unable to sell their homes and have huge interest rates on their mortgages because of the dispute. The public walkway along the Clyde has been closed off over public safety concerns due to the deteriorating quay wall. Local resident Edwina Cramp told STV News the challenge of the repairs feels 'insurmountable.' Edwina added: 'In all honesty, I felt sick to my stomach. I’ve been wanting to move on but all my savings are here, I’ve not been able to remortgage as I’m on a really high interest rate because they’ve seen the state next to the backdoor and I feel so stuck. I don’t know what to do.' Another resident, Rahul Rabariya, moved into his flat in December 2023. Just months later he learned that despite promises the wall would not be repaired. He told STV News: 'I’m stuck. I spent my life savings buying my first home. Now I can’t do anything about it other than worry about when it’s going to get fixed.'"

"The average Auckland dwelling value of $1,232,340 in Q2 was down by 1.4% compared to Q2 last year and down by 18.8% compared to the market peak in late 2021. Auckland Registered Valuer Hugh Robson said high levels of stock in most Auckland suburbs was helping to keep prices stable. 'For now, buyers have the upper hand, with many agents continuing to report low attendance numbers at open homes,' Robson said. 'Some buyers are making cheeky offers to see what might be accepted in the current market.'"