There’s Not The Pressure To Make A Quick, Irrational Decision

A report from CBS News. “Five years ago, one in three American families could afford a starter home in 63 of America’s largest 100 cities, CBS News found. Now, it’s down to just 10 cities. Felicia Ellis is actively looking to buy her first home by the end of the year. A three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on a tree-lined street in Houston seemed like it could be a perfect fit. But the starter home Ellis desperately wants seems to be priced like a forever home she can’t afford. Someone else put in an offer, and it was accepted. ‘[It was] the one that got away,’ Ellis said. Ellis is determined to buy a home, and a Post-It note in her bedroom serves as a reminder. ‘You will be a homeowner,’ the note reads. It’s the American dream on a Post-It note — and it has sticker shock.”

WFIE in Indiana. “F.C. Tucker Emge Realtor Laureen Ludwig says the Evansville market is beginning to level out, after home prices ballooned over the past several years. ‘You don’t have to act as quickly as maybe you did have to a few years ago when you were considering purchasing,’ Ludwig said. ‘You may be in a bidding war with four other people for a property, those situations have definitely cooled out.'”

Arizona’s Family. “‘Right now, we have a 50% increase in the number of active listings over this time last year, so a dramatic increase in the number of homes hitting the market,’ said Trevor Halpern, realtor with Halpern Residential at eXP. As for prices, the median sales price in the Phoenix metro was $440,000 in August, according to the MLS. If you’re looking to buy, he says you should negotiate heavily and ‘do what’s comfortable.’ If you’re hoping to sell, Halpern says you likely will have ‘to give on price,’ noting there is some ‘give and take’ in this market.”

The Express News in Texas. “Heading into fall and winter — typically the slowest seasons for home sales — the supply of houses for sale in the San Antonio area is at its highest since early 2013. The median sale price dipped 1.85% to $313,995 in August and was flat at $320,000 in July, the Board of Realtors data shows. Homes are also sitting longer. For sellers, the sluggish market has prompted some to reduce their asking price to try to attract offers and others to decide to give up selling and rent out their home until the market picks up steam.”

From Chapelboro.com. “Exactly one month ago, the national real estate industry experienced a shift as a new set of rules went into effect for the National Association of Realtors. Sammy Martin is the broker in charge at Franklin Street Realty, which is independently owned and operated in Chapel Hill. ‘As long as they won’t allow that buyer commission to be rolled in and added to the price of the house, it is really going to hurt first-time homebuyers,’ says Martin. ‘Unless sellers agree, ‘nothing was really broken in North Carolina, so there’s no real reason to change anything here.’ The only thing that’s changed is when I look in the MLS, there’s no longer a number there that says what one of my agents or I might be paid.'”

The Palm Beach Post in Florida. “Question: I have resided in my HOA neighborhood for over 31 years. We have a new board and therefore we are facing new rules. Among other things, the board has passed a rule stating that we need to clean our roofs. I have a 2-story home and I don’t want anyone on my roof. What can I do about this? The cost alone to send out 300 violations letters is crazy! They have done nothing but spend money and make new rules. Signed, R.G. Dear R.G. The vast majority of homeowner’s association covenants provide that owners are obligated to keep their homes in a neat and well-maintained condition. Further, the board usually has the power to promulgate more specific rules regarding the use of the property, including the manner in which homes are maintained. Rules requiring owners to keep their roofs clean are commonplace. Frankly, I can’t offhand recall an HOA community where that wasn’t the case. There is frankly nothing that you can do about this.”

The Sun Sentinel. “For Carlos Villalobos, the press conference last March in Miami offered hope that things would finally change for residents of troubled community associations. Standing in front of news cameras, he described life in the Hammocks, a sprawling community west of Miami where prosecutors say board members embezzled millions of dollars, maintaining power through lawsuits and questionable election practices. With prosecutors and elected officials by his side, he endorsed legislation to crack down on community associations that steal, cheat or threaten residents. But a few weeks after the news conference, after the Florida House and Senate finished revising the community association legislation, Villalobos and other Hammocks homeowners were furious — and lobbyists for HOAs and condo managers were expressing satisfaction with the outcome.”

“The bill that would finally win approval had been cut from 60 pages to 16. Protections for condo owners had been stripped out, leaving the bill addressed exclusively to homeowners associations, which typically include only single-family homes. Villalobos called the final version of the anti-corruption legislation, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a ‘huge disappointment.’ ‘I saw the original text, and it was really good — really, really good,’ he said. ‘What was left is something like 10 percent of what we were promised would be done. So any corrupt board has a free hand to do whatever they want still. We’re talking about powerful management companies and lawyers and all sorts of interests,’ he said. ‘We’re at the end of the food chain, the residents.'”

The Daily Mail. “A Colorado homeowner has taken to TikTok to vent on the ‘nightmare reality’ of owning her ‘dream home’. The distraught mother exposed the shocking state of the house she says she bought in Colorado two years ago. Built by Oakwood Homes, the property has since turned into an ‘absolute nightmare,’ she told her followers while pouring out her frustrations in a tearful video. Despite paying $3,400 per month for the property, the homeowner claims the house is ‘falling apart,’ with a host of serious issues including plumbing leaks, mold, uneven flooring, and garage flooding. ‘Man, I didn’t want to take this to TikTok,’ she said. ‘But feel like I have no other option. I’m at the end of my rope.’ Oakwood Homes has properties across Colorado, including Aurora and Colorado Springs, according to its website.”

“The predicament leaves her family with no choice but to consider legal action, she said, joining neighbors are facing similar issues. ‘We’re going to have to use what money we have left to sue them like our neighbors have to do,’ she said. ‘We want to sell our home and move, but we can’t, because it needs to be fixed to sell it, to move, and they will not fix it,’ she explained. ‘Unfortunately for us, the economy has put our family in a really sh—y spot the last couple years, and we didn’t really want to shell out our savings account and our emergency money to fight our home builder in court, but now we don’t have an option,’ she said.”

The Voice of San Diego in California. “Homelessness policy across much of San Diego County is rapidly changing direction. Yearslong efforts to reach out to homeless residents and connect them with services suddenly are taking a back seat to encampment bans and stepped-up enforcement. Four of the county’s five largest cities now either outlaw public camping or are actively considering a ban. Advocates for the homeless say they have mostly stopped contesting the bans and are recalibrating in the face of hardening public opinion. City officials say residents are forcing their hand by demanding tougher laws.”

“A little more than a year ago, encampments were permitted throughout the county and the consensus of experts and policymakers was that outreach and affordable housing, not enforcement, were the keys to solving homelessness. ‘It’s a domino effect,’ said John Brady of Lived Experience Advisors, a San Diego organization that advocates for the homeless. ‘It’s a foregone conclusion that pretty much every city is going to [outlaw encampments…] We have to rethink what we’re thinking and saying as advocates because we’ve lost the narrative.'”

The Los Angeles Times. “One year ago, the Santa Monica-based homeless housing and services nonprofit Step Up On Second Street seemed like it was about to become a national player. The politically connected organization had helped come up with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ‘Homekey’ homeless housing grant program and then, along with its for-profit real estate partner, had become a major recipient of Homekey funds. Together, Step Up and its partner, Shangri-La Industries, pulled in more than $114 million to convert seven California motels into apartments for formerly unhoused tenants. By the summer of 2023, Step Up was ready to take that model nationwide, with similar projects lined up in North Carolina and Denver.”

“Instead of creating hundreds of badly needed apartments, the properties went into foreclosure and were taken over by lenders. Four remain empty and unfinished. Officials in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Asheville and Wake County, N.C., have scrapped plans for motel conversions with Step Up and Shangri-La, according to Blue Ridge Public Radio. In April of this year, officials with Denver’s Department of Housing Stability also terminated negotiations with Step Up on a hotel conversion. In a lawsuit pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, Shangri-La has accused its former CFO, Cody Holmes, of embezzling housing money and spending it on personal extravagances, including tickets to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, jewelry and rent for a Beverly Hills mansion. Holmes, through his attorney, declined to comment.”

“According to multiple people who have either worked closely with or for Step Up, President Tod Lipka also appeared to enjoy the high-flying lifestyle of Shangri-La executives like CEO Meyers, a one time NFL player, who sometimes flew private jets to out-of-town engagements. ‘Tod got high off flying in Andy’s private jet,’ said one insider who worked closely with Lipka around that time and still works in the homeless housing sphere. ‘The organization was overextended, enamored of growth everywhere.'”

From CBC News. “Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced changes to some mortgage rules as part of an effort to make housing more affordable. The federal government will increase the cap on insured mortgages to $1.5 million from $1 million, effective Dec. 15, which would allow more people to buy a house with a down payment below 20 per cent. Previously, Canadians who do not pay at least a fifth of the cost of the house as a down payment need to take out mortgage insurance, but the insurance was available only for homes priced at $1 million or less. That limit is now $1.5 million. In addition, purchasers will be able to take out loans for a 30-year period if they are first-time homebuyers or if someone is buying a newly built house, Freeland said.”

“Toronto realtor John Pasalis called the changes ‘a terrible policy,’ criticizing the changes as ‘a quick fix to satisfy some younger buyers.’ ‘It’s a stimulative policy designed to increase home sales and really just drive the market forward,’ Pasalis said. ‘The reality is that there’s no quick fix to our housing crisis … the housing crisis is going to be solved with long-term [measures].’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s polling numbers have slumped to an almost all-time low of 30 per cent in September, which analysts and economists have said is primarily because millions of people are wrestling with high prices, especially of homes and rents.”

The Globe and Mail. “The new policies are seen as an attempt by the Trudeau government to win over young voters who have been priced out of home ownership by high prices and higher interest rates. It also means that homebuyers will carry their mortgages for a longer period of time. ‘Longer amortizations don’t improve affordability,’ said Robert Kavcic, senior economist with Bank of Montreal, adding that it pushes Canadians into higher debt burdens for longer. One preconstruction expert likened it to a ‘nothing announcement.’ That is because buyers already qualify for a 30-year amortization if they make a down payment that is at least 20 per cent of the property’s purchase price, and most developers require buyers to put down a 20-per-cent deposit. ‘The large majority were already getting 30-year amortizations,’ said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, a preconstruction-condo research firm.”

The Canadian Press. “The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely ‘stuck in a holding pattern’ despite borrowing costs beginning to come down. Mike Heddle, a broker for Royal LePage State Realty in Hamilton, Ont. described the current balance in the market as one favouring would-be buyers. ‘I’m of the position that it’s a great time to buy if you’re in the market and you can afford and it’s the right house because you can negotiate,’ he said. ‘There’s not the pressure to make a quick, irrational decision. I think some of those buyers are coming to that conclusion as well.’”

Blog TO in Canada. “Many homes — including this four-bedroom property in Innisfil, Ont. — have sold well below their listing prices, as some buyers continue to struggle to make a profit on their investments. The home was first sold in February 2022 for $1.55 million, at a time when cheaper borrowing rates contributed to skyrocketing demand and prices across Ontario’s real estate market. Two years later, the home was put back on the market for $1.1 million. The home was re-listed in August 2024 for $999,900 and finally sold for $970,000 earlier this month, representing a loss of $580,000 when compared to its price just two and a half years earlier.”

ABC News in Australia. “When Adelaide Designer Homes was placed into liquidation last month electrician Ralph Czabayski was one of more than 80 creditors left out of pocket. It also left 20 home owners like Joanna and Henry Clough without a completed home. They’re now living in their friend’s tiny spare room and are expecting a baby next month. Mr Czabayski is $80,000 out of pocket. ‘No-one likes to lose money, without a doubt, because … I paid the wages for our electricians, materials for all of those jobs. So yeah, of course I would have loved to be paid,’ he said. ‘Luckily we’re busy and we can work our way through it but, look, it definitely hurts.'”

Scoop in New Zealand. “For the first time in close to four years the average asking price for properties in the Auckland region has fallen below the one million dollar mark. New Trade Me Property data shows in August 2024 the average asking price in Auckland was $986,750, down 1.3 per cent from July and the first time since September 2020 it sat at less than one million dollars. Trade Me Property’s Customer Director Gavin Lloyd said that August marked the fifth consecutive month of declining prices for Tāmaki Makaurau. ‘September results should be able to give us an indication as to whether we’ve just endured a difficult winter, or if drops are as a result of a more structural weakness in the housing market,’ says Mr Lloyd. ‘We’ve not seen prices drop to this level since April 2021 and if we keep seeing consecutive falls, as we have done over the past five months, we could see the average price go below $800,000.'”

“Auckland first home buyers Sam and Pam Gaviola recently purchased their 600sqm, four-bedroom property in Henderson Heights for $900,000 with a 20% deposit after a long search – Pam estimates they attended at least 50 open homes found on Trade Me before they came across their new home. Pam says they were able to get the home at a good price after it had been on the market for a while. The vendor had initially wanted $1.1m, but after a few months advertised the asking price as $999,000. The Gaviolas offered $930,000, knowing that there were moisture issues with the monolithic cladding, but they were confident that Sam, a registered builder, could remedy that. A building report uncovered further issues such as a roof that needed repairs, so they negotiated to drop the sale price to $900,000.”

“‘Bigger properties in Wellington and Auckland have both recorded falls down 8.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent, whereas Christchurch remained fairly flat down 0.2 per cent,’ says Mr Lloyd. The situation isn’t much brighter for 1-2 bedroom properties in the Capital with prices falling 9.7 per cent to $651,800 in August. ‘It’s a grim picture particularly for apartment living in Wellington with the average apartment shedding over $150,000 of its value since April.'”