Homes That Once Sparked Bidding Wars Now Struggle To Attract Attention

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “As temperatures cool over winter, so too is the metro’s housing market. Experts in Denver said they’re feeling the dip, too, but they’re not worried. ‘There are options. I wouldn’t say there’s a lot,’ said Keri Duffy, Market Trends committee member with the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. ‘It’s kind of like dating here in this town. Like, the good ones get taken. And then the ones, just because it’s on the market doesn’t mean it’s a good option for everybody.’ Right now, Duffy said interest from homebuyers in finding a home they love is cooling off. ‘People are taking their time and they’re waiting for the right one,’ Duffy said.”

“The U.S. housing market has reached its highest supply level in four years, according to Redfin. Realtor Zahide Wallace says the trend is evident in Central Florida. ‘In full transparency, we are seeing some areas where homes just aren’t selling,’ Wallace said. ‘At the end of the day, buyers don’t have to buy, but there are sellers who have to sell.’ In Florida, Orlando ranks third among cities with the highest percentage of stale listings, with nearly 60% of homes on the market for two months or longer. Miami and Fort Lauderdale occupy the top two spots. Wallace notes that this surplus of unsold homes is putting downward pressure on prices. ‘Inventory is high, so those prices will start to come down,’ she said. ‘When buyers are not interested in the home, we are forced to talk to our sellers about dropping the price.'”

“Nearly a hundred San Diego County homeowners say a local ADU contractor took out enormous construction loans under each of their names for work that in most cases never even started. The contractor, Multitaskr, was based out of Chula Vista and was licensed to work in the state of California. Dozens of Multitaskr clients are making thousands of dollars worth of loan payments each month for work they never got. ‘It’s expensive already to live here in San Diego,’ said Sinthia Garcia. ‘Let alone being able to have to pay monthly for a house I don’t have.’ Garcia says she has been paying construction lenders about $4,000 a month since July for an ADU she should already be living in. Garcia now says she is burning through savings to be able to cover the monthly loan payments. ‘It’s disheartening in a sense that I can’t move forward,’ said Sinthia Garcia. ‘Because I’m stuck essentially.'”

“‘You’re not protected at all by these safeguards that you think would be in place,’ said Robin Owen, who owns a home in Escondido and a rental property in downtown San Diego. Owen hired Multitaskr to build an ADU at each of his properties. The contractor took out more than $900,000 under Owen’s name. The permits were approved last year, but a shovel has yet to hit the ground on either project, and Owen says the company won’t respond to his calls or emails.”

“David Ortega thought he was a homeowner, but fears he may be a victim of real estate fraud. Ortega said he purchased his northwest Oklahoma City home from a private mortgage company, Home Masters LLC, based out of Edmond back in 2009. ‘I put $7,000 down, purchased for $70,000. I’ve been paying $665 a month for the last 15 years. When I did the calculations, it’s about $126,000 total that I’ve paid into this home,’ Ortega said. On December 26, Ortega was served with court papers from the Oklahoma Court Clerk’s Office. The documentation stated his home was in foreclosure. Apparently, Ortega’s mortgage hasn’t been paid by Home Masters LLC since March 2024. The mortgage company, now wanting the entire balance to be paid in full. ‘According to the paperwork, Home Masters LLC still owes them $44,000,’ Ortega said. He says he’s just a father and family man trying to make it. ‘I don’t have that much money. I put everything into my business and I’m really not sure what to do,’ Ortega said.”

“Two members of a New Jersey family that built a troubled affordable-housing empire — loading aging properties such as Philadelphia’s Brith Sholom House with debt, and then walking away as they tumbled into disrepair — have been sentenced to federal prison for mortgage fraud. On Thursday, Chaim ‘Eli’ Puretz, the scion of the family behind Apex Equity Group, received a two-year prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in New Jersey, the Real Deal reported. Puretz previously pleaded guilty to a role in a $119 million conspiracy to defraud a financial institution, using phony documents to inflate the value of a purchase. His father, Aron Puretz, was sentenced in December to five years in prison, plus a $250,000 fine and $22.2 million in restitution. He is appealing the sentence, though he has admitted guilt in the case, which involved a $54.7 million mortgage-fraud scheme.”

“Puretz — who was also involved in the ownership of a chain of Pennsylvania skilled-nursing facilities that have been forced into bankruptcy by creditors — said he was dazzled by the possibility of get-rich-quick deals. ‘Coming from a yeshiva background, and being able to acquire whether it’s 20 nursing homes in a year’s span or large swaths of real estate at a very fast pace … your judgment was clouded by the fact that everyone else around you was making big moves so fast, so easily,’ he told the Halacha Headlines podcast. ‘It makes it seem very kosher to do these certain gray areas.'”

“A Vancouver homeowner saw a disappointing sale of their nearly brand-new condo, which sold for $234,800 less than it did just three years ago. Unit 2108 at 5058 Joyce Street was listed in August 2023 at an asking price of $699,000. That listing was terminated in December 2023. The condo remained off the Vancouver real estate market until it was relisted in August 2024 for $649,999 and sold in December 2024 for $485,000. It was built three years ago and features one bedroom, one bathroom and 439 sq ft of space, which is not exactly large considering it sold in 2021 for $719,800. The condo was built three years ago. It has also generated some conversation online, with some believing the original 2021 sale price was an overpay.”

“While major Latin American capitals see property prices soar, a few hidden gems offer surprising affordability. Cities like Rosario, Cordoba, Panama City and Quito stand out as wallet-friendly alternatives, blending charm with lower living costs. Meanwhile, some big cities are feeling the heat of a cooling market. Santiago de Chile saw property prices tumble 10.6% in late 2024, with Monterrey and Guadalajara experiencing 9.7% and 9.6% drops. Panama’s affordability stems from an oversupply of properties and relaxed financial regulations, keeping prices in check. Panama’s reputation as a safe haven has not only bolstered its bank deposits but also fueled its property market. For over a decade, foreign investors have built high-end apartments without concern for rising prices. This unchecked development has led to a glut of empty apartments.”

“The City of London is grappling with a dramatic slump in property values, leaving investors and homeowners questioning the future of this once-thriving residential hotspot. After years of steady growth, with property prices climbing 40.5% between 2013 and 2022, the City, located in London’s financial district, has seen a sharp reversal, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sale prices in the area have tumbled by more than 10% in 2024 alone, far outpacing the modest 2.5% decline seen across inner London during the same period. The City ‘has really died a death,’ Tom Kain, a buying agent with Black Brick told the Journal. ‘That whole environment where people worked in the City for really long hours and wanted an apartment there is just not what people do anymore.'”

“The result is a buyer’s market where homes that once sparked bidding wars now struggle to attract attention. ‘When I started, you could literally put a property on the market on a Friday, book in 10 viewings over the weekend, and have a sale agreed on the Monday,’ Karl Graham, head of sales at John D Wood & Co. told the outlet. ‘Now it is the other way around. You have five properties for every buyer.’ Peter Brewer, a semi-retired hedge fund manager, is one of the many homeowners caught in the City’s property slump. In November, he listed his six-bedroom penthouse apartment for $5.02 million, hoping to turn a profit after a decade of ownership. ‘Given the amount we paid for the flat and have invested in its renovation, I would have expected to put it on for £5 million ($6.25 million), not £4 million ($5.02 million),’ Brewer said. ‘You’d be hoping for a pretty significant uplift after 10 years, but that is not the case.'”

“Australia’s housing market is in a downturn for the first time in almost two years after the average national price of a property sold dipped slightly in December. Melbourne dropped off heavily in 2024 and is now the third cheapest capital city in the country. Mark and Candace D’Souza sold their investment apartment in Sydney’s blue-chip suburb Potts Point in December, after their interest repayments moved off a fixed rate to a much higher variable one in mid-2024. The self-funded retirees had owned the apartment for a decade, and had been balancing the rent they received from their tenant with various tax concessions to create an income stream into retirement.”

“‘With the higher interest rates, it was just not viable at all,’ Mr D’Souza said. ‘The numbers just did not stack up. We would have to dip into our super.’ The couple bought the one-bedroom apartment for $650,000 and had hoped that they would sell it for much higher than that a decade later. ‘Only one person turned up at the auction, and the property got passed in,’ Mr D’Souza said. ‘We were looking for about at least $850,000 and we had to lower our expectations to around $800,000. ‘And it was on the market for a couple of months, and then we finally were able to sell at $790,000. I think it’s just a general nervousness in the market.'”

“Further north, a property investor with two rental apartments in Brisbane and Cairns is feeling more optimistic. ‘I am feeling confident about the future even if growth isn’t as strong,’ Tukyi English said. ‘I’m breaking even on one of them and taking a loss on another, which is mainly because of overheads like body corporate (fees).’ While the D’Souzas were disappointed at their Potts Point sale price, the couple also has children and acknowledges how hard it is for younger Australians to break into the market today. ‘Our kids have got properties with high mortgages, and it’s a big challenge,’ Mr D’Souza said.”