You’ve Got To Come Out At A Price That’s Too-Good-To-Be-True To Get Some Traction

A report from CBS News in Florida. “Condo owners in the Heron community in West Kendall are facing a steep $3.4 million special assessment following a mandatory 40-year recertification, leaving many fearing financial ruin as they brace for a vote that could determine how or whether they will be able to keep their homes. ‘They’re not against the special assessment,’ said Mayra Rodriguez, a resident speaking on behalf of several homeowners. ‘They’re just saying, why so much? That’s $3,300 every three months. Most people here just can’t afford that.’ Homeowners like Jose Redondo question how their monthly dues — $260 per unit — have been managed. ‘Where is all the money we’ve been paying for?’ he asked. ‘I’m on a fixed income,’ said Lillian Bernal, who also cares for her elderly mother. ‘There’s no way I can pay something like that.'”

A press release. “Active listings of homes for sale in Washington, D.C. jumped 25.1% year over year to the highest level since 2022 during the four weeks ending April 27—the largest gain on record. ‘Quite a few people in D.C. are selling their homes because they’re losing their jobs,’ said local Redfin Premier real estate agent Mary Bazargan. In Alexandria, VA, for example, active listings jumped 40.9% year over year during the four weeks ending April 27—the largest increase among the eight counties Redfin analyzed. Next came Montgomery County, MD (38.5%) and Loudoun County, VA (36.8%). Some places are seeing even larger supply growth than Washington, D.C. For example, nine of the 47 major metros Redfin analyzed posted a bigger increase in active listings during the four weeks ending April 27, led by Denver. Four metros saw a larger increase in new listings, led by Phoenix.”

The Seattle Times in Washington. “Seattle’s typically boisterous spring housing market turned up more modest this year. Sales were sluggish and homes lingered on the market last month as some buyers got cold feet, spooked by economic volatility and high mortgage rates. ‘We have a very mixed market right now,’ said Seattle RE/MAX agent Reba Haas. ‘The No. 1 word I can say is tariff,’ Haas said. ‘All that stuff hit in April and made a bunch of people go, ‘Whoa.’ ‘Overall, this spring seems a little bit slower than I would have thought,’ said Seattle Redfin agent David Palmer. Stock market volatility also looms large. Palmer recently worked with a client planning to tap into her stock options to fund her down payment. As the market plunged last month, she backed out of plans to buy a Bellevue condo and paused her search.”

From Golf Digest. “The Coachella Valley, known to most with the blanketed title of ‘Palm Springs’—home to 120 courses across a 40-mile spread of SoCal. Snowbirding Canadians, namely those from the nation’s western provinces, account for more than seven percent of Valley homeowners. As a form of protest, the Gordie Howe-inspired chant of ‘Elbows Up’ has translated into ‘Wallets Paused’ for countless travelers. Dave Majeski, a snowbird from Edmonton, has been wintering in the Valley pocket of Palm Desert for 14 years, where he’s a golf club member and homeowner. He and his wife echo the real-time sentiments of innumerable Canadians in the desert. ‘We’ve all got feelings, right? Our feelings are hurt, and we don’t like the uncertainty,’ Majeski says. ‘We can tolerate the economics side of it. But, when push comes to shove, if we run into challenges as far as our mobility between the two countries—that’s when big decisions will be made in terms of where we go.'”

“Noting that two of his Canadian neighbors quickly listed their country-club homes following the Trump inauguration, Majeski further illuminates the current Canadian concern with reference to singer/songwriter Jimmy Cuddy’s ‘We Used to Be the Best of Friends.’ Says Majeski: ‘Just listen to the song; it sums-up a lot.’ Donna Evans and her husband are members at The Lakes C.C. in Palm Desert. The pair have been snowbirding to the Valley from Calgary since 1999 and have been homeowners at their current club for 17 years. ‘We have several Canadian friends who have sold their homes at other local golf clubs, and we came very, very close to listing ours,’ Evans says. ‘And we’ve never considered renting our place before, but now, for November, we’re giving ourselves options. We’ll follow the news and go from there.'”

From Marketplace on California. “The two big Los Angeles-area wildfires in January destroyed more than 11,000 single and multifamily homes. For those with insurance and a mortgage on a property came what was probably a new piece of personal finance information: Turns out the mortgage lender gets to hold the money until the property owner can show they’ve reached various stages of rebuilding. It’s in the fine print of your mortgage document … what, didn’t you see it? And here’s the other surprise: The insurance payout money (it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more) pays little if any interest even if it sits for months or years on hold.”

“‘Marketplace Morning Report’ host David Brancaccio spoke to Assemblyman John Harabedian, a Democrat. Harabedian: And as anyone in this position knows full well, there are a lot of needs financially, and most people are underwater. They don’t have the bank account to pay for everything, they were underinsured, and so anything that we can do to protect the financial rights of these homeowners and of these victims is really critical.”

Bisnow on California. “The Ross Dress for Less building became the fourth San Francisco property that ASB Real Estate Investments has sold at a loss in less than a year. The 145K SF building sold to San Francisco-based Sansome Street Advisors for $44M, about $300 per SF, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The tower at 799 Market St. sold for just a third of its 2016 purchase price.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Sellers in Toronto are rushing to list properties for sale now that the federal election is in the past and the traditional spring market has only weeks left to run. At 210 Gowan Ave. in East York, broker Andre Kutyan of Harvey Kalles Real Estate listed a two-bedroom detached house with an asking price of $699,000. That’s far below the $1.05-million the homeowners paid for the 11/2-storey house in 2023. The homeowners had listed the house one year ago with an asking price of $1.199-million but failed to find a buyer. They listed again in the fall with a different agent with an asking price of $999,000 without success. In April, Mr. Kutyan advised the homeowners that the market is telling them something. ‘I was very frank with them – you’re not over $1-million,’ was his advice. ‘You’ve been overexposed. You’ve got to come out at a price that’s too-good-to-be-true to get some traction.'”

“Mr. Kutyan says 20 potential buyers booked showings and two weekend open houses were busy, but only seven offers landed by the deadline and none were acceptable to the sellers, who were reluctant to sell at a loss. The following day, Mr. Kutyan urged the agents of the top two bidders to come back to the table. Only one did, but the improved offer resulted in a firm deal for $986,000. Homeowners who need to sell are in a bind because prices are not likely to rebound soon, he adds. ‘In the short term I don’t see anything that’s improving our market in price.'”

“Davelle Morrison, a real estate agent with Bosley Real Estate, recently listed a detached, two-storey house in the area near Eglington Avenue West and Keele Street with an asking price of $799,000. The price for the three-bedroom house was set below market value in order to attract eyeballs. On offer night, not one bid landed. ‘It was not what we were expecting at all,’ she says, because typically a detached house below $1-million is a strong draw. Now she is planning to relist with a new price and offers welcome any time. She says buyers across various price ranges are rattled by the volatility of the trade war with U.S. president Donald Trump. ‘I haven’t seen it like this before,’ she says of the slow pace. ‘It’s the Trump tariff curse.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “A major financial institution has unveiled a ‘bold’ new mortgage product with a significant difference – borrowers won’t actually pay anything off their home. Instead, AMP’s new offering is a 10-year, interest-only loan, which it said provides customers with ‘more choice, long-term financial flexibility and greater control over their cashflow.’ ‘First and foremost, I strongly disagree with the offering for homebuyers, especially first home buyers,’ Andrew Mirams, managing director of brokerage Intuitive Finance, said. ‘If they can’t afford a 30-year mortgage, then the servicing for this loan is over 20 years and would reduce, not boost, borrowing power for these applications.'”

“Social media users were more scathing, with AMP’s post on X announcing the product flooded with criticism. ‘I am waiting for ‘no income, no job’ loans,’ one wrote. ‘Ahem, let me give you a hand and say the quiet part out loud,’ another said. ‘If you’re paying an interest-only loan, you don’t build any equity through your regular loan payments, since you’re only covering the interest and not reducing the principal.’ In reference to the Global Financial Crisis, sparked by the collapse of subprime mortgages, one said: ‘How does this not end up like ’08?'”

Interest New Zealand. “Property prices and most other housing indicators are falling as autumn takes hold of the market. Trade Me Property Customer Director Gavin Lloyd said buyers would still have plenty of properties to choose from. ‘We had several thousand more properties listed onsite in April this year compared to April 2024,’ Lloyd said. ‘That means buyers continue to have plenty of leverage, and to secure a sale, vendors are going to need to meet the market, particularly in regard to price expectations.'”