Let Me Know When The Price Drops

A report from the Herald Tribune in Florida. “The Sarasota-Manatee real estate market is leveling out, per a new report from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Simply put, prices are dipping as supply is rising. In the broader North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area, the median sale price at large dropped 3.7% to $504,900 compared to $524,450 in June of 2023. Active listings in the area shot up 61% — 5,719 from 3,545 — in the same timeframe. Last month’s median sale price for a single-family home in Sarasota County dropped 5.3% to $495,000, and Manatee County saw a 1.2% drop in the median single-family home sale price to $518,950. Despite the slowdown, Realtor Association President Tony Barrett still hailed the Sarasota Manatee market as ‘vibrant, with plenty of opportunities for those looking to buy or sell.’ The new data, Barrett said, reflects the market’s regular flux, and he advised buyers and sellers to remain flexible. ‘This cooling trend highlights the importance of staying adaptable,’ Barrett said.”

World Property Journal. “‘A lot of people are selling their homes and downsizing because they’re worried about the economy,’ said Meme Loggins, a Redfin Premier agent in Portland, Oregon. ‘People who once wanted bigger spaces during the pandemic are now focused on saving money. Many are offloading investment properties or moving into condos out of financial caution. I’ve written ridiculously low offers for buyers that have been accepted. I just had a client buy a home for nearly $50,000 below asking–even though comps were higher. Sellers are getting nervous, and buyers who are willing to negotiate are finding deals.'”

The Denton Record Chronicle. “The city of Denton is sitting on a record amount of home supply heading into the summer selling season. Across North Texas, it’s essentially the same story. After several years of interest rate suppression and unhinged economic stimulus during the pandemic, the mean reversion has arrived for the real estate market. Resale homes are starting to pile up in North Texas because many existing sellers refuse to admit the reality staring them in the face. While builders have been making deals and piling on generous incentives to get homes sold, many sellers are holding out for those record bubble-level prices we experienced in 2022. Unfortunately, hope is not a tactic. There are plenty of existing homeowners who took the bait of lofty promises and caviar dreams this year, only to find they misjudged the market. With record home supply, price reductions are likely to be a continued theme this summer.”

“The new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William J. Pulte recently appeared on CNBC taking a tough stance on mortgage fraud. ‘If you commit mortgage fraud, we are going to go after you,’ Bill Pulte said. That’s great. I fully support Bill’s effort to crack down on people abusing the system. At the same time, I can’t help but remember what the FHFA has done with conforming loan limits. Any rational person can see the FHFA encouraged reckless and risky loans by ramping up conforming loan limits well beyond median and average home prices. The FHFA and the builder/finance-friendly industry facilitated and encouraged rampant home price inflation.”

Los Angeles Public Press in California. “Zaire Calvin said he lost five houses he owned in the Eaton Fire, including his own home. His sister Evelyn McClendon died in the blaze. On Thursday, Calvin joined a group of Altadena community members and gathered at Fair Oaks Burger to call on state leaders to allocate $200 million to preserve housing for the unincorporated neighborhood’s Black and brown communities. What’s gotten in the way for them and many others in Altadena is the lack of homeowners insurance. Some were underinsured before the Eaton Fire, meaning that their coverage limits won’t fully cover the costs of rebuilding after their homes burned down. ‘It’s only a very few people who actually have proper insurance that will pay for what it’s going to cost to rebuild,’ he said, noting that his home was underinsured.”

“Long-time Altadena resident Sylvie Andrews said she is also trying to figure out how to rebuild even though she’s under-insured. ‘I definitely wanna rebuild, and I just don’t know how at this point … [but] I’m trying to figure out how to make it happen anyway.’ Andrews said she hopes various local nonprofits can assist her and others in a similar situation.”

Bisnow Los Angeles in California. “The developers of a mixed-use project on the site of The Viper Room on the Sunset Strip are in default on a loan for the project and owe lenders more than $69M. The 8850 Sunset project was planned to bring to the site a 90-room hotel, five restaurants, 78 apartments and a new space for the famed nightclub The Viper Room, which would be demolished to make way for the new 11-story development. The loan that is now in default was executed as part of Cottonwood’s platform with BCEG International Investment-US, which was announced in 2020, according to a 2022 press release from Cottonwood. BCEGII is a subsidiary of China-owned Beijing Construction Engineering Group. A sale of the property is slated for June 17, according to WeHo Online.”

Sacramento Appraisal Blog in California. “The condo market has a different vibe than the detached market. Supply has shown a sharper increase, and we’ve also seen higher cancellations. This is a good reminder that different parts of the market might not feel the same. There are going to be some situations today where prices are declining in the condo market, but detached homes nearby could be flat. Short sales have tripled this year, but what that means is there have been 27 so far in the region compared to 9 last year. We could say that’s a whopping 200% growth, but that sounds sensational – especially when we back up for some context to see how many there were a decade ago. No matter what though, we’ve seen growth, so let’s not ignore a trend. I expect to see more short sales ahead as consumers are dealing with growing debt and delinquencies.”

Dorchester Reporter in Massachusetts. “City housing officials, looking at potentially catastrophic cuts to federal subsidies that help keep low-income residents in their homes, are alerting landlords to a potential Section 8 crisis and asking that they consider freezing or even reducing rents for some 18,000 vulnerable households in Boston. The ripple effect of such draconian cuts now under consideration won’t just affect families that would face evictions. Kenzie Bok, the commissioner of the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) said the majority of the 6,000 landlords who rent to Section 8 tenants in Boston are themselves small property owners whose mortgages and other financing plans are often based on the backstop protections afforded by federal programs like Section 8. ‘They might be an owner occupant in a [three] decker, and they’re renting a floor to a voucher holder. That means that that voucher rent is helping to pay their mortgage,’ she said. ‘But it also means that the tenant is their neighbor. And the idea that you’d put any landlord in a situation where the federal government might cut off a subsidy that’s expected, and then you’re in the situation of you can’t make your ends meet.'”

Global News in Canada. “The national price map from CREA shows that while housing prices in Ontario have declined from a year ago — Ontario dropped from $902,535 to $859,645, while B.C. fell from about $1 million to $946,000. Listing it for the right price is important as Stephen Moore with Century 21 Leading Edge Realty brokerage notes if you’re listed $10,000 above what it’s worth, people won’t show up. ‘If you’ve got a great product and you’re priced consciously, it may be a good time,’ he said. ‘If they’re prepared to be able to go through it and the market’s not flooded, it’s still a good time, there’s still buyers out there.’ Moore paints a potentially starker picture for condo owners. ‘People think, well, I’ll wait until the fall to sell my condo, it’s not going to be any better,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to be better for 2026, it’s not going to get any better for 2027. The condo prices are already inflated, you just need to take the loss if you’re selling and move on.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “A calamitous spring ice storm, federal and provincial elections and a trade war with the United States are some of the forces delaying the start of the traditional spring selling season in Ontario’s cottage country. ‘It’s definitely a buyer’s market,’ says broker Anita Latner of Anita Latner Realty in Muskoka. ‘Prices that sent everyone’s heads spinning – those days are over.’ Inventory surged in the opening weeks of May as cottages were prepped and election campaigns were in the past, adds Jeff Strano, real estate agent with Re/Max Professionals North in the Haliburton area. Potential buyers, meanwhile, stayed away. ‘It was dead,’ Mr. Strano says of the early spring. ‘The buyer demand is farther behind than the listing demand.’ In his conversations with aspiring buyers, he’s also hearing a pervasive sentiment that prices have farther to fall. ‘Let me know when the price drops,’ is a quip he’s hearing often these days.”

“Mr. Strano points out that there’s a window now during which to purchase a property at about 15 to 20 per cent below the 2022 peak. Buyers can have a fair offer accepted with conditions, he adds, and interest rates may have farther to fall. But many consumers believe cottage prices have been inflated for years. ‘I think they’re going to be disappointed if they think there’s going to be a major crash or correction.’ Mr. Strano says some of the COVID-era buyers who paid lofty prices while interest rates were at historic lows may be forced to sell this year if they need to renew a mortgage at today’s rates, but many will also be able to hang on and avoid selling at a loss.”

Domain News in Australia. “Several capital city suburbs within 15 kilometres of the CBD have seen prices fall, offering the perfect opportunity for buyers with a budget of $500,000 or less, according to a new analysis. The Domain House Price Report has revealed a short-list of 12 affordable suburbs in Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin where unit prices are getting cheaper. Real estate agent Shaun Iqbal of Impact Properties Canberra says the Gungahlin market has an extra 40 to 45 per cent of listing stock that is keeping prices low. ‘[Investors] bought properties in late 2020 and 2021, without realising that they can’t afford the mortgage if the interest rate goes up, and then they started offloading the properties in 2023 and 2024, which flooded the market with extra stock,’ he says. Unit prices in Darwin have struggled to recover since their March 2016 peak, and places like Rapid Creek ($369,000) and Larrakeyah ($420,000) have seen price drops up to 12.1 per cent.”

Chosun Biz in Korea. “The selling price of Brain City, a large residential complex being developed in Pyeongtaek, has dropped to the mid-400 million won range based on the national standard unit of 84 square meters. The selling price, which was close to 550 million won in December of last year, has decreased by more than 50 million won in less than six months, falling below 500 million won. Some experts have voiced concerns about unsold units due to excess supply, noting that this area has the highest supply in Gyeonggi Province. Park Ji-min, head of the Wol-Yong Subscription Research Institute, noted, ‘Pyeongtaek Brain City, along with Hayang District and Gaejae District, is notably an area accumulating unsold units. We have supplied too many units in the last two years, and because it’s public land, there are restrictions on resale, leading to almost no investment demand.'”