They’re Under Financial Pressure To Sell In A Down Market

A report from the Bradenton Herald in Florida. “The most recent housing report for Manatee and Sarasota counties indicates a buyer-friendly market. In Manatee County, 500 single-family homes were sold in February, marking an 8.6% decrease year-over-year. The median sale price dropped 4.8% to $475,995. Manatee County townhomes and condos saw a price decline with the median sale price falling 8.4% to $319,990. There are 1,828 active listings for townhouses and condos, which equals an 8.3-month supply of inventory. In Sarasota County, there was a slight decline in the median sales price for single-family homes. That median sale price is $499,990, a 1.5 percent drop year-over-year. There was a 2.1 increase in single-family homes, though the monthly inventory supply increased to 6.8 months. The townhouse and condo inventory is a robust 9.1-month supply in Sarasota County. ‘With more condos and townhomes available and prices trending downward, buyers have a unique opportunity in today’s market,’ Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee president Debi Reynolds said in a news release.”

From NPR. “Federal authorities have arrested one of the founders of a real estate investment group accused of defrauding investors and abandoning hundreds of Cincinnati renters. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman signed an arrest warrant for Vision & Beyond co-founder Stas Grinberg on March 19 on charges he committed wire fraud and bank fraud and that he made false statements on loan applications. A federal inmate registry shows Gringberg is currently being held at FDC Houston, an administrative-level federal detention center. According previous press releases from the company, Grinberg founded Vision & Beyond with business partner Peter Gizunterman in 2018. The company solicited investment in specific properties that it maintained an ownership stake in. At its peak, Vision & Beyond is believed to have owned hundreds of millions of dollars in residential property, including more than 60 properties in Cincinnati.”

“Those investors allege in lawsuits that Grinberg and Gizunterman engaged in a complex scheme that involved fraudulently transferring properties away from the investors and then mortgaging them for roughly $36 million. The filing by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service seeking an arrest warrant against Grinberg in U.S. District Court alleges he and Gizunterman used a variety of fraudulent means to obtain loans and forestalling foreclosure on them, including misrepresenting how much rent they were collecting, mortgaging properties with multiple lenders at the same time, obtaining false documentation regarding payoff of mortgages, hiding who had ownership interest in the properties, how much the properties would sell for, and so forth.”

“‘According to Witness 1, Grinberg and Gizunterman began to acquire several multi-family commercial properties in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas,’ the filing reads. ‘Grinberg and Gizunterman began to ‘double pledge’ properties to obtain financial loans through different lenders for financial gain. Grinberg and Gizunterman were able to do this with the assistance of two closing agents who were complicit in the scheme.'”

The Oregonian. “The city never really recovered from COVID-19, even though deaths from the disease have slowed to a trickle. Portland settled into a social and economic malaise after 2020. The population boom of smart, young migrants the city rode to economic prosperity in the years just before COVID came to an abrupt halt. A summer of nightly protests and periodic riots, along with a surge in homelessness and homicides, battered the city’s national reputation. Remote work hollowed out downtown offices as boarded up windows supplanted restaurants and retailers. Portland ceased to become a destination for the upwardly mobile. For many, it became a place to avoid.”

“The state had some of the broadest and longest set of COVID restrictions of anywhere in the country. Oregon didn’t fully lift emergency mandates until June 2021. Schools were mostly closed for 17 months, far longer than in other states. Many storefronts are empty. Pedestrian traffic remains sparse, down 36% last year compared to 2019, according to the latest anonymized cell-phone data tracked by Placer.ai. Nearly a third of downtown Portland offices are vacant, the real estate brokerage JLL reported, one of the highest rates in the nation. The tech firms that helped spark downtown’s renaissance in the years after the Great Recession scattered to the wind. Some issues, like the rising cost of housing and growth in opioid abuse, began before the pandemic and weren’t unique to Portland, though the health crisis and the state’s response may have exacerbated them.”

“Observers say nurturing a small business culture that played a part in catapulting Portland to fame a decade ago should take priority, at a time when those companies now inhabit swaths of the urban real estate others left behind. ‘There has been lasting change,’ said Stephen Green, executive director of local business advocate Better Portland. ‘I don’t think we’ll ever see the same 9-to-5 foot traffic counts in downtown Portland.’ Green said, ‘Downtown’s on sale.'”

KFMB in California. “San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office Friday announced the administration will sponsor two proposed state bills aimed at cracking down on human trafficking. AB 63, authored by Assemblywoman Michelle Rodriguez, D-Chino, would make it unlawful to loiter with the intent to commit prostitution. ‘The unfortunate truth is that San Diego has seen a sharp increase in prostitution and human trafficking in the past few years, harming people and the communities where loitering is concentrated,’ Gloria said. According to the city of San Diego, prior to SB357, the police department would see on average four to eight individuals per day attempting to engage in prostitution. Based on recent data collected by the city, that count is between 12 and 30. ‘Families and business owners in affected neighborhoods are enduring the negative impacts of sex buyers circling the area for potential victims and deals for sexual activity take place,’ a city statement said.”

From Bisnow. “President Donald Trump returned to the White House with promises to deport up to 20 million people, touching off a wave of intense fear among unauthorized immigrants. On construction sites, where workers without permanent legal status number approximately 1.5 million, the anxiety was palpable, with many people afraid to report for work. ‘There’s definitely a huge fear out here,’ Huntington Estate Properties founder Ramtin Nosrati said of his workforce in California. ‘A lot of these guys are worried to drive and go pick anything up, worried about if they pass a stop sign, are they getting pulled over, are they getting deported if they don’t have the proper documentation?'”

Barrie Today in Canada. “It’s every landlord’s worst nightmare — a tenant who stops paying rent and refuses to leave. That was the reality for Bradford’s Michelle Taddeo and her partner, Tony Natale, for more than two years. Worse still, even after they were finally able to get an eviction order from Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board and have the tenant removed, they discovered their fully finished basement apartment had been badly damaged, leaving them with an estimated $10,000 in repairs on top the $25,890 in unpaid rent identified by the tribunal, plus about $3,390 in legal fees. ‘This place, we’re not going to rent it anymore, because of what happened,’ she said.”

“When asked what she plans to do now, Taddeo was blunt. ‘Not much,’ she said, adding that applying to small claims court doesn’t seem worth it. ‘I’d be wasting my time, because even if I get the bloody order, I can’t collect from him,’ she said. Meanwhile, Taddeo and Natale are still without any rental income from the apartment, and as a result may need to make changes to their lifestyle. ‘What can we do? We need to stretch the budget,’ Taddeo said. ‘It hurts. It hurts a lot.’ Based on self-reporting, Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario claims their members have lost roughly $21.46 million combined as of March 14, and estimates between 50 and 75 landlords leave the Greater Toronto Area each month. Taddeo’s advice to others considering renting out their properties paints a bleak picture for the future of the rental market. ‘The best thing is not to rent anymore, especially in the same house,’ she said. ‘I know the rent is helpful, but it’s not worth it.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “Eight years ago, Aaron Duff and his partner bought their first home using the First Home Buyer’s Scheme, a decision he regrets. Mr Duff, 41, bought the home for under $600,000 to take full advantage of the First Home Buyer’s incentive offered in Victoria. Under the scheme, stamp duty is abolished for first-time buyers who spend $600,000 or less. Melbourne’s median house price is now over $1 million, but back in 2017 when the couple were buying, it was $750,000. Mr Duff had more time and he started listening to a property podcast, and it dawned on him that he wanted more. Neither he nor his partner have massive incomes, but they worked out that if they budgeted, they could buy another home in Queensland.”

“The couple started taking equity out of their primary residence to buy elsewhere and, once they saw that the formula worked, they decided to go all in. Within four years, Mr Duff, managed to buy 12 investment properties. He manages 13 tenants and one property has a granny flat that he also rents out. Right now, Mr Duff’s property portfolio is negatively geared. When the interest rates were lower, he was generating income, but now each property costs him about $100 per week to keep going. Mr Duff has avoided feeling the full brunt of that cost, though, because some of the investment properties are held in the couple’s self-managed superannuation fund, and therefore, their yearly superannuation contributions cover the costs. Mr Duff said the properties have also increased in value. The property portfolio is now estimated at $7.4 million and, while he’s carrying $4.8 million in debt, if the couple decided to sell everything tomorrow, they’d be making upwards of $2 million in profit, which they’ve created within just four years. ‘We’re stoked and blessed to have achieved that,’ he said.”

Domain News in Australia. “Home sellers in affluent suburbs have been slashing their price expectations, as houses stay on the market for longer and buyers are in no rush to purchase. Houses in Chatswood, Lane Cove, North Sydney, Mosman, Manly and the northern end of the eastern suburbs, were discounted by up to 13 per cent over the six months to February 2025, Domain data showed. ‘Conditions across Sydney’s housing market have softened, and it’s the premium end that tends to feel the weakness,’ said Domain’s chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell. Powell said sellers might be more willing to test pricing when there is less of an urgency to sell. On the flipside, buyers have less urgency to purchase and might be willing to play the waiting game. ‘It can take some time for a seller to adjust pricing to meet the market,’ she said.”

“Lawyer and business consultant Belinda Coniglio is looking for a Sydney investment pad and hopes now is a good time to buy. ‘I thought I should get into the market now while it’s a downturn,’ she said. Coniglio owns two properties in Perth, and said she’s found Sydney sellers to be open to negotiation but not on the terms of sale. Coniglio believes vendors want buyers who have their deposit and finances ready. ‘I feel they’re under financial pressure to sell in a down market, unless they’re doing something else with the money,’ she said.”