There Was A Basic Belief That Prices Could Go Up Forever, Now All The Chickens Have Come Home To Roost

A report from Storeys. “As they settle back home in Canada, the big question among the snowbird-set is whether or not they’ll return to Florida for the next winter season. The current political climate – one where the term ‘elbows up’ has become as commonplace as American President Donald Trump’s annexation and tariff threats – has snowbirds reevaluating their winter escape plans. Ontario resident Jackie inherited her Fort Meyers-area Florida condo from her parents, who originally purchased it in 2002. A slew of activities and amenities – not to mention, the weather – have made the property a reliable second home. This year, however, no shortage of Trump signs, politically-dominated conversations, subtle neighbourhood tensions, and, frankly, the President’s behaviour, has her questioning her return next winter, as well as the potential sale of the home. ‘We’ll decide closer to the time,’ she says. Some of her long-time snowbird friends, however, have made up their minds to boycott the States and list their vacation homes.”

“Realtor David Hutchinson says interest from Canadians in Mexico has ‘dramatically increased’ as of late. ‘I think that not only the political shifts here, but the shifts in the US as well, have driven Canadian snowbirds away from Florida and Phoenix and into Mexico,’ says Hutchinson. ‘Not to mention, those real‑estate markets are not doing so well.’ While there’s no ignoring the reality that Mexico experiences high crime rates (and is currently under an advisory), Hutchinson highlights that no place is immune to crime. ‘I’ve had my Range Rover stolen from my downtown Toronto condo, and many friends [in Toronto] have had their cars stolen too,’ says Hutchinson. ‘Shootings happen every weekend in Canada. In Mexico, if you’re friendly and mind your own business, I’m confident you won’t have any issues. I walk around every day and feel safer in Tulum than on some streets in Toronto.'”

Insurance News Net. “Diana Hill is paying nearly one month’s worth of Social Security benefits just to insure her Wilmington, N.C. property. She is considering whether to dial back her coverage to save money. ‘Admittedly, it is a gamble, but a gamble that a senior on a fixed income must consider,’ Hill, 84, told members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. ‘It’s almost like we’re on a pay-as-you-go plan,’ she said. ‘We old timers paid when there was very little threat to insurance companies’ bottom line, and now we’re paying even more. Many of us seniors, if not hurting … are struggling to keep up with the cost of protecting our homes.'”

“‘Miami Dade County is at $17,000 on average,’ said the ranking minority member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. ‘If you triple that or quadruple that, you can see how a carrying cost of, say, $50,000 a year to pay for property insurance is going to knock down the value of the property dramatically. You’re not just signing up for that property when you buy it, you’re signing up for that $50,000 a year expense.'”

From Fox 13. “In the aftermath of the 2024 hurricanes, Florida homeowners whose homes are underinsured are encountering steep costs in their efforts to rebuild. Hurricane Milton ripped gaping holes through Barbara Barth’s house in Mount Dora. ‘It was horrific,’ she said. ‘And almost a year later, I’m still displaced from my house.’ An engineer examined the damage and estimated it would cost up to $304,000 to repair. She found a contractor who would do it for $289,000, but her policy maxed out at $241,000. After the costs of tree and debris removal, she’s around $60,000 short. ‘You’re out of pocket a lot of money that you never thought when you signed up for home insurance,’ she said. As underinsured as she was, Barbara does not think her policy is paying out what it should. ‘If you didn’t pay your premium, they’d be at your door pretty fast. But when you want the money that you’re entitled to, nobody even returns your phone calls,’ she said.”

From CBS Bay Area. “California’s insurance crisis is affecting all areas of the state, but if there are places where the full depth of the problem can be felt, it’s in towns like Orinda. Tom Stack is a real estate agent in Orinda. He won’t even show a house unless the buyer shows some ability to insure it. He said just about every aspect of his business is now being driven by insurance — or rather, the lack of it. ‘What we know on a micro level in this area is that all of Orinda has been cut off. Swaths of Lafayette have been cancelled,’ he said. ‘And with State Farm having the largest footprint in town, if they were to leave, this would be a crisis beyond…beyond definition.'”

“Stack said one of his clients was recently ordered by his insurance company to put stairs and handrails on a hill behind his house based solely on satellite images. ‘And all he did was say yes. It’s going to cost him 20 grand. He said yes. He did not want to lose his insurance over it. So we are at their mercy, right now,’ Stack said. Grace Regullano lives in Pasadena near the Eaton fire. Her home survived but now has such toxic levels of asbestos and lead that she cannot move back. She said State Farm has dragged its feet in paying claims, claiming its California affiliate company is broke, while ignoring the assets of its massive parent company. ‘Frankly, I feel furious,’ Regullano said. ‘I’m furious because we cannot ‘rate hike’ our way out of this climate-change caused insurance crisis.’ It may simply be a matter of political leverage. State Farm has become too big to fail. ‘We don’t know what they’re going to do,’ Stack said. ‘They may wake up one day and say, ‘we’re out of California.’ And if that happens…I’ll be talking to you again. It will be awful beyond words.'”

The Denver Post. “Denver’s typically bustling spring housing market experienced a surprising slowdown in April as higher interest rates and economic uncertainty kept buyers at bay. Despite an inventory increase of 33% compared to last year, Colorado realtors report a cautious buyer pool nervous about rising prices and market unpredictability, according to April’s Market Trends Housing Report from the Colorado Association of Realtors. Although more homes are available than have been for over a decade, it would be logical to expect buyers to jump into a market filled with options. ‘However, finding motivated buyers in April wasn’t exactly an easy task,’ said Cooper Thayer, a broker associate with the Thayer Group in Castle Rock.”

“Moving into a balanced market can seem boring, said Chris Hardy with Elevations Real Estate in Fort Collins. ‘Compared to the heyday of post pandemic purchase pandemonium, buyers now have the luxury to look at multiple houses for sale in just about any price range; they also have more time to make a decision since more homes are available and only buyers with the stoutest of hearts (and pocketbooks) are actively buying,’ he said. ‘Negotiations for things like seller concessions for interest rate buy-downs and inspection items to have repairs completed before closing have once again become commonplace.'”

9 News in Colorado. “Two downtown Denver skyscrapers recently sold for just $3.2 million, more than 90% below their estimated 2019 value of approximately $200 million, highlighting the dramatic decline in commercial real estate values following the COVID-19 pandemic. Developer Asher Luzzatto purchased the buildings at 621 and 633 17th Street on April 1 and plans to convert them into more than 700 apartment units. ‘These buildings were probably worth close to $200 million in 2019,’ Luzzatto said. ‘I think that’s reflective of where the office market is today.'”

“‘Everybody went home,’ said Jeff Peshut, Assistant Professor of Finance and Director of Real Estate Program at MSU Denver. ‘Things began to return to normal, unless you were the owner of an office building.’ Experts estimate that office buildings in downtown Denver have lost 40-50% of their pre-pandemic value. The city’s central business district currently faces vacancy rates of 25-30%, though this remains lower than tech-heavy cities like Austin, San Francisco and Seattle, where remote work has become particularly prevalent.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Ontario’s homebuilders have slashed purchases of new land for future residential developments in another sign that new home construction is slowing fast, according to new data. There is one category that’s growing: distressed land sales, which relate to land from a bankruptcy, insolvency or power of sale process. In all of 2022 and 2023 the GTA saw 23 distressed sales worth $237-million; in 2024 there were 29 distressed sales for $597-million. ‘During the [2008] financial crisis was the last time we saw distressed sales like this,’ said Ray Wong, Vice President of Data Solutions for Altus Group, who says it’s also possible the numbers are understated, especially if you consider the number of deals that have sold at seemingly large discounts.”

“‘The banks were patient and they’ve run out of patience,’ said Mike Czestochowski, Vice Chairman of the Land Services Group for commercial real estate brokerage CBRE Ltd., who said his group normally brokers one or two distressed sales in a year, but last year worked on a dozen. ‘This year we’re sitting with 16 to 18 distressed land listings.’ He has notice a trend where the transaction are getting larger in value. ‘A couple years ago when this started, it was smaller property smaller owners who got caught up. Now it’s mid-sized developers.'”

The Hub in Canada. “The Toronto condo market is on the brink of a historic collapse. More than 20,000 unsold condo units sit unoccupied in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA). The unsold condo inventory includes 10,934 units in pre-construction phases, 11,073 units currently being built, and 1,911 unsold completed units. ‘It’s a really phenomenal price mistake,’ contended Ron Butler of Butler Mortgage in The Hub’s 2025 federal election coverage livestream. “We’re talking about 40 percent higher price, and yet they were sold. There was a basic belief that condo prices could go up forever, rents could go up forever…Now, all the chickens have come home to roost.'”

From Hespress. “Tangier’s real estate market is showing signs of stagnation this year, as rising property prices and under-the-table payments put homeownership out of reach for many middle-class Moroccans. Prices in the northern city now rival those in Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech, prompting growing frustration among prospective buyers. A 30% increase in the price per square meter—combined with stagnant household incomes—has made saving for a home nearly impossible for many families. ‘The price hikes are real, but not entirely due to developers,’ said Issa Ben Yaacoub, head of the Real Estate Developers Association in Tangier. ‘We’re seeing a mismatch between rising costs and stable wages, and this is shrinking household savings.'”

“The gap between wages and housing costs remains wide. Rachid El Amiri, a factory worker earning MAD 6,000 a month, said homeownership is simply not feasible. ‘I rent a small apartment for MAD 2,000, and the rest of my salary barely covers food and clothes,’ said El Amiri, who supports a wife and child. ‘I’ve stopped even thinking about buying a home. These prices make no sense.'”