When It Comes To Housing Prices, The Principle Of What Goes Up Must Come Down Historically Applies

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Thus far, it’s unclear how many Pennsylvania feds have been laid off. ‘I see lots of experience,’ boomed the day’s organizer, Charlie Elison, a bearded Army veteran turned civilian public affairs officer, scanning the turquoise-painted room. Before him sat a former civil engineer for FEMA, a former children’s nutritionist for USDA, a former attorney for HUD — the sign-up sheet stretched depressingly on. Elison, 41, was relieved to see no real estate agents. A couple had lurked with business cards at a similar meeting in Maryland, he’d heard, in case any of the freshly unemployed wanted to off-load their homes. ‘We can lean on each other,’ Elison continued.”

“Federal workers in Howard County impacted by the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce will have access to additional county resources, County Executive Calvin Ball announced Tuesday. Decisions by DOGE to slash the federal workforce will have a ‘devastating’ impact on the county’s economy, Ball said. As people are suddenly unemployed, every time a house is foreclosed on, housing values will be affected, Ball said. And as people struggle to pay for food and shelter, they may look to the county for help, which will affect the economy. Ball said that is why the county is offering ‘as many resources’ as it can to promote job access and economic growth. ‘We are working to meet cruelty with compassion, pain with purpose, and through division, we can make a difference,’ Ball said.”

“The guidance from OPM to create a remote-work carve-out for agency-employed spouses of U.S. Armed Forces members comes after weeks of uncertainty and outcry from military families in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s day-one executive order calling federal workers back to the office. In an interview last week with FedScoop, a military spouse and federal worker said that the daily 200-mile trek to her agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters would not be doable for her family. ‘We have a mortgage to pay. We have bills coming every month, and it’s dependent on two incomes,’ she said. ‘So we should not have to be penalized because the government and the military said to my husband, ‘you have to move.’”

“Ten years ago, walking through downtown Whitefish or the parking lot at a popular trailhead in the Flathead Valley, you might be forgiven for thinking you had accidentally crossed the border into Canada. During the summer and winter — and especially on long holiday weekends — it seemed as if the number of red and white Alberta plates outnumbered Montana ones. Many even bought second homes in the area, with places like Meadow Lake Resort near Columbia Falls becoming unofficial Canadian enclaves (or ‘Little Canada’ as one researcher described it). But after the pandemic, things had flipped and suddenly it was more expensive to buy just about anything in Montana. While many Albertans loved the area, said Donna Townley, a Canadian economist and instructor at the University of Lethbridge, those who sold their condos or homes during the pandemic simply cannot afford to buy back into the market. ‘I think the glory days of all the Albertans in the Flathead Valley are over,’ she said. ‘You have a few who held on to their properties and still come down, but the boom is over.'”

“After the Surfside condo collapse, laws changed requiring inspections and mandating reserve funds, but many condo owners and homeowners are now facing increased fees. ‘Now all of a sudden it’s like hey we have a special assessment, but it’s not just to comply with the 30-year, it’s also to fund our reserves. Well, where did our reserve money go?’ said Arlen, a Kendall condominium owner. After questioning her condo board, Arlen said she was met with pushback and harassment at Kenland Walk Condominiums. Among other issues, she said she’s had cracks in her concrete balcony for more than two and a half years and there’s been no resolution. ‘If they haven’t taken care of my issue, then what are they doing with our reserve money?’ said Arlen.”

“When it comes to housing prices, the principle of ‘what goes up must come down’ historically applies. And to that end, Gov. Ron DeSantis says that a dip in home values can’t be ruled out. ‘Maybe there will be a correction in the real estate market. Although I’ll tell you, I think that there was more authentic demand in Florida this time than in 2000 and 2007. There was a lot of speculation then, I’m not saying there’s none now, but … a lot of people have wanted to come here,’ DeSantis said, suggesting that the ‘authentic demand’ existed but is now in the past tense.”

“Florida’s inventory of homes for sale as of February was at a record high, up 40% year over year and more than 7% over January’s number. The average home price is down more than $100,000 year over year in Bradenton and Sarasota. Other regions show the same problems. The Elliman Report, which tracks closed home sales monthly, showed Miami-Dade and Broward sales were down more than 45% year over year in January. And the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) shows a 39% year over year decline in Jacksonville and surrounding counties.”

“Tensions are high at a Las Vegas condominium complex as one man tries to buy all the units and convert them to rental apartments. Several remaining property owners have refused to sell their units to the majority owner. ‘I’m stressed out,’ Robert Rice told the 8 News Now Investigators. Rice said he used his life savings to purchase the studio on the Las Vegas west side in 2019, but shortly after, he felt pressured to sell the unit. Rice is not alone. ‘We are being bullied,’ Kammie Thomaseec said. Thomaseec and her husband, Larry, own one unit as an investment, they said. ‘It’s been pure hell since the day I met this guy,’ Dan Tschetter property owner said as he referred to the majority owner Daniel Wright. Some of the remaining property owners claimed Wright was not offering them enough for their units, while Wright insisted he is offering fair market value.”

“According to a report by Greater Palm Springs, Canadians contributed over a billion dollars to our local economy in 2023. Monte and Bev Graham love winter in the desert. Hailing from Sydney, British Columbia on Vancouver Island, near Victoria. They bought their place in Indio two years ago and love the weather and getting outside during the winter months. Even before tariffs were imposed, we saw fans of team Canada booing the American National Anthem at a hockey game. President Trump repeatedly saying Canada should become the 51st State. That not going over well with Canucks. Graham says that’s a lot of rhetoric. He’s more concerned about his pocketbook. Even now the Canadian dollar is weak and he says they pay a premium to stay in the U.S. ‘If the tariffs stay in place for a long period of time, I think that, and if our dollar drops, well, then we have decisions to make in terms of where we’re going spend our winters,’ said Graham. And that’s where the valley could take a financial hit. They don’t just visit, 8-10% of all properties in the area are owned by Canadians.”

“The San Diego City Council on Tuesday backed off an earlier effort to repeal the city’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bonus program. The marathon meeting saw dozens of homeowners in single-family neighborhoods urge the council to repeal the program, citing concerns about traffic congestion, parking, fire safety and more. Daniel Horton, chief of staff for Councilmember Henry Foster III, said projects built under the program ‘resemble slave quarters or camps.’ ‘There are 12 units back there, one on top of another in rows, in what used to be a backyard,’ Councilmember Jen Campbell told her colleagues as she projected a picture of an ADU development in Clairemont. ‘This is ridiculous and it’s got to end.'”

“71 Charles St., E., No. 704, Toronto. Asking price: $939,800 (July, 2024). Selling price: $920,000 (August, 2024). Previous selling prices: $950,000 (August, 2022). Agent Sandra Pate can’t recall the last time she didn’t have any properties listed during the fall, so she kept busy helping buyers late last year. One of those clients waited until they had the proceeds from their condominium sale before browsing lofts downtown and modern suites closer to the subway line, shops and services. ‘I don’t think any agent would say they had a great year [last year],’ Ms. Pate said. ‘Everybody was down, and in retrospect, I was glad I was really just working with buyers and didn’t have sellers to worry about.'”

“Homeowners on West Chilton Terrace, Chilton, say they have repeatedly alerted both Durham County Council and contractor Westdale North Ltd from 2022 onwards about defects that appeared in their homes after the solid wall insulation (SWI) was installed. A total of 153 homes were encouraged to take advantage of the scheme advertised as a ‘face lift to older properties’ in 2021 which would reduce energy bills and had a 20-year guarantee. Susan, 65, a recently retired teacher, says she has been unable to sell the home due to its current condition – leaking, damp and plagued with mould. She claims she first alerted Westdale North Ltd to ‘unfinished work’ and damage to internal walls at the home back in summer 2022 as she was ‘looking to put the house on the market.’ She told The Northern Echo: ‘I’ve been travelling up to the house every few weeks for the last three years – it has been like banging my head against a brick wall. I feel like for the last few years my life has been on hold – when you have worked all your life, you look forward to those early retirement years.'”

“South Perth residents are sick of the out-of-control antisocial behaviour taking over their neighbourhood. Neighbouring residents of a social housing property have taken to the media to share their frustrations as they believe their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. Although residents were told that ‘threats’ to go to the media were not advised, they feel as if they have run out of options. One local resident is at their wit’s end, being unable to sleep and in constant fear of her safety, the situation taking a significant toll on her mental health. ‘I sleep with a golf club under my bed, I’m that scared,’ one resident said. ‘We are living this nightmare for almost three months now with no end in sight.'”

“As one enters the expansive complex of the 3,000-plus one-BHK flats in Ghogha village in Delhi’s Narela—some 40 km from Connaught Place in the heart of the national capital—one encounters strange graffiti on the wall of one of the many decaying buildings that have stood uninhabited there since 2010, when they were built. The graffiti says ‘zaroori soochna’ (important information). Everyone is advised that the buildings of this housing are in a bad shape. Nobody should go close to them. These buildings can collapse, and cause damage to life and property. Please stay away from these buildings),’ it says. The flats in Ghogha, though, are hardly an exception.”

“What happened to the thousands of flats constructed for the poorest of Delhi’s citizens—at least 1.7 million of whom live in jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) clusters—is a story of ivory-tower policy-making, political one-upmanship, multiplicity of authorities and a colossal waste of national resources. The over-50,000 flats were planned at the turn of the new millennium. India had just been liberalised about a decade ago, and it was Delhi’s moment of modernist euphoria. In 2010, Sheila Dikshit, who had by now been the city’s chief minister for more than a decade already, echoed the euphoria. ‘When I became the Chief Minister in 1998, I had one dream—to make Delhi a world-class city. Today that dream is coming true,’ she said. ‘The government will also finalise its policy of allotment of low-cost houses, which will go a long way in making Delhi a slum-free city.'”

“‘The scheme was started with much enthusiasm,’ a former official in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said on the condition of anonymity. ‘That time the focus was on somehow making the people from slums come to these places… little attention had been paid to how or where they will work if they come to these houses built in the middle of nowhere,’ the former official added. ‘Obviously, we couldn’t manage to convince people to shift here.’ ‘A lot of people who got houses allotted also put them up on rent, and went back and started living in JJ clusters,’ the former official said. ‘It was a question of livelihood for them.'”

“The construction of 24,524 flats is complete, and 28,060 flats are under different stages of construction. Yet, more than 90 percent of these lie vacant, unused and in ruins.”