You’re Going To Burn Your House

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Recent reports have suggested there is a shake-up in the Tampa Bay area real estate market with an increase in inventory, but with fewer buyers. However, the real issue, experts say, is the condo market. One of the condos Jane McCroary with RE/MAX Metro currently has listed is a two-bedroom at the Yacht and Tennis club of St. Pete Beach. It is on the market for $399,000. ‘The original price was $469,000, which at the time was a decent market price, but the market continues to fall as more inventory comes in,’ she said. ‘We’re missing all the Canadians because of the U.S. trade situation currently with Canada. The difference between the U.S. and Canadian dollars has gotten substantial. I have lost sales over that as well.’ For those considering buying or selling a condo right now, McCroary has some advice. ‘If you’re a buyer, I think we’re at or nearing bottom. So, it’s a super time to buy. There are deals to be had,’ she said.”

“The chart below shows the number of price cuts per month in the DC area. On one hand, it’s alarming to see the sharp increase in price cuts this year compared to previous years – it’s an accurate reflection of how the market has shifted this year. It’s also possible that we’ve seen sellers in the DMV cutting prices faster than usual this year because of the onslaught of news about federal workforce and spending cuts. So far, sellers in Northern VA and the DC Metro have been optimistic going to market, with the average asking price of new listings up 1-4% year-over-year each of the last three months, per the chart below. On the flip side, the chart below shows us that many sellers are being punished for being overly optimistic, with the average list price of homes sitting on the market in April down 7% and 12% in the DC Metro and Northern VA, respectively.”

“Home sales within Round Rock ISD have fallen by more than 50% in recent years, local housing market consultant Hudson Huff said, from 5,937 in 2014 to just 2,940 in 2024. He cited rising inflation and interest rates as the main reasons people are remaining in their homes longer. ‘When you take into consideration the price points, amount of activity and the interest rates that we had back in that 2021 time frame, that really did start to change in March of 2022 when those interest rates started increasing at a very fast pace,’ Huff said.”

“More homebuyers are backing out of contracts in Las Vegas, according to a recent study. Jillian Batchelor, Southern Nevada realtor and owner of the Batchelor Hanna Group, walked 8 News Now through one of her latest listings in the northwest valley Thursday. It is one of thousands on the market in Las Vegas. ‘All of this is just an adjustment to probably maybe equalize the playing field,’ Batchelor said of the market. ‘Maybe a little bit more. We’re seeing about 14,15 percent of the homes going under contract cancel in today’s market.’ As the market swings to benefit buyers instead of sellers, those purchasing have more power. ‘Buyer goes under contract,’ she said. ‘And all of a sudden a week later they see, ‘oh there’s five more homes available in that neighborhood, this one might be nicer, this one might have more upgrades.'”

“The highly anticipated 2025 spring housing market has not been nearly as robust as many have expected it to be. Local inventory is up nearly 40%, and sellers are more willing than ever to negotiate. For sellers, all this uncertainty in the market has forced them to reset their expectations. Price reductions and contingent offers are more of the norm now as the market recalibrates. ‘One of the biggest challenges is sellers with unrealistic expectations,’ said Clint Moore, a real estate agent with Intero. ‘Now more than ever, listing agents need to have frank conversations with their sellers. If the listing agreement was signed in January or February, pricing strategies and sales expectations have changed dramatically.’ Sellers are used to hearing about multiple offers driving the final sales price up well above the listing price. That is not the case for most of the market. ‘With more homes on the market, buyers have been more critical of a home’s condition, location and conveniences,’ 2025 Santa Clara County Association of Realtors President-Elect Michael Gordon said.”

“Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council and a local realtor, spoke to Press Play right after the fires broke out. Now, she says a lot of people can’t afford to build back due to underinsurance, or they simply don’t want to deal with a project of that scale. As a result, 200 or more empty lots are for sale in the community. Kohl’s insurance company sent checks immediately and has been communicating consistently, but the policy won’t cover the full cost of the reconstruction. She has to come up with extra funds herself. Realtor Jim Tripodes says the Altadena market has over 300 empty parcels, half of which have already sold. There are 110 active lots, double the number from five or six weeks ago. The lowest price sale happened last week — $330,000 for a very small parcel. In Kohl’s Palisades neighborhood, the Alphabet Streets, she says many lots are 5,200 or 6,500 square feet. Before the fires, a 6,500 square foot lot would’ve sold for $3.2 million, but now it would go for about $1.7 million. It’s a mixed buyer’s market, Kohl says. ‘You also have people … taking the opportunity now to maybe sell their tiny little lot, and buy one larger for a greatly reduced price.'”

“More than 5,000 New York City apartments were pushed into bankruptcy last week after the cost to cover their debt service jumped 75% in two years, their owner said in a new court filing. Companies owned by Joel Wiener, the CEO of Pinnacle Group, owe more than $1.1B combined to Flagstar Bank and Israeli bondholders tied to 93 properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, according to a filing in bankruptcy court. Of the roughly 5,200 apartments in the portfolio, 96% are subject to rent stabilization. Wiener tapped Ephraim Diamond, founder of Arbel Capital Advisors, as chief restructuring officer to oversee the bankruptcy process. The bankruptcy was necessary because Flagstar Bank, which holds roughly $564M of mortgage debt tied to the portfolio, filed to foreclose on the properties in March and appoint a receiver to manage them, according to the filing. Interest on the loans ‘sky-rocketed’ starting in 2022, driving the rates from below 4% to more than 10% in some instances, Diamond wrote.”

“Simmering angst in the Toronto-area real estate market is giving rise to lingering days on market, fragile deals and sporadic bully bids. Patrick Rocca, broker with Bosley Real Estate, recently sold two properties, which drew multiple offers but went below the asking price. For one property in North Toronto, Mr. Rocca set an asking price of $1.9-million. ‘I had people calling and asking if I would take $1.5 [million].’ Mr. Rocca points out that the same property would have sold for $2-million one year ago, but some buyers are pressing for unreasonable discounts. He is seeing more lowball offers in May than in April. ‘I think there are people thinking they can take advantage,’ he says. ‘Some buyers are thinking there’s a lot of desperation in the market.'”

“While occasionally sellers are under duress, many are not. Sellers who are under a strain often have a heavy debt load, he adds. He knows one homeowner who took out a second mortgage on the family home and then had their business go sideways. Now they’re selling under pressure. Properties listed under power of sale also seemed to be popping up more often in May. ‘They’re becoming more common,’ he says. In Leaside and Davisville, Mr. Rocca’s advice to aspiring sellers is to hold off listing if they are not motivated to set a realistic asking price. One homeowner who recently called on Mr. Rocca wanted to list the property for $2.5-million. ‘You’re going to burn your house,’ Mr. Rocca advised him. ‘You’re worth $2-million.’ The homeowner is now reconsidering listing, he says, and may wait until prices improve. The spring market has shown that forecasts are under constant revision. ‘I was expecting it to be a hell of a lot better than it is,’ Mr. Rocca says.”

“Dutch police are raising urgent alarms over large-scale mortgage fraud that is funneling thousands of homes into criminal hands, fueling drug operations, human trafficking, and money laundering schemes across the country. According to Amsterdam police chief Pim Jansonius, investigations have uncovered around 8,000 fraudulent home purchases in recent years, linked to an estimated 60 million euros in criminal profits. ‘That may only be the tip of the iceberg,’ he told RTL. The phenomenon has spread well beyond major cities. Cases have surfaced in Badhoevedorp, Hoevelaken, Winschoten, and Zutphen, and in every one of the country’s ten regional police units. In one case from Overijssel, a mortgage adviser from Losser was convicted for fraud involving fake employer statements and received a 180-hour community service sentence along with a 180,000 euros fine. In total, at least 800 homes in the Amsterdam region alone were traced to fraudulent purchases.”

“One of the advantages of being an investor in high-end property in some of Nairobi’s suburbs is the ever-ready clientele from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) space. But after President Donald Trump announced budget cuts to USAID, the American government’s agency for aid-related activities, this market not only witnessed a drop in clients but also in asking prices for units on sale. This has left investors who sank their money in high-end properties in areas such as Kitisuru, Muthaiga, and Gigiri, popular with the diplomatic and NGO community, in limbo as to how to recoup their investments. Daniella Nyakuraya, SIC Housing Unit manager, advises investors to be patient since cash flow will not be the same. ‘USAID has left, but there are still expatriates. You may now need to market your unit more than before, and that is an extra cost that you have to budget for,’ she said in an interview. Apartment prices dropped by 13.3 per cent in the last year in Westlands and by 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. Apartment prices in Riverside dropped by 10.4 per cent, while house prices in Gigiri went down by 7.8 per cent and Kitisuru by 3.8 per cent.”

“Shirley Peng, sister of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, reportedly purchased a HK$119 million (US$15.2 million) flat in the city’s affluent Mid-Levels neighborhood amid an ongoing property slump. The sale price was about 8.5% lower than that of a similarly sized flat on a lower floor, which sold for HK$130 million in December, a transaction record from property agent Centaline shows. It was also 26% less than the HK$160 million Tung paid for another unit in the same building in 2021, local media reported. Peng’s purchase places her among a growing number of affluent buyers capitalizing on steep price drops in Hong Kong’s luxury home market, which is grappling with one of its longest downturns. Cantopop singer Gloria Tang, known professionally as G.E.M. and often nicknamed ‘China’s Taylor Swift,’ acquired two flats in Wan Chai district for HK$85 million in late March, a 35% discount from their peak price three years ago. Home prices in the city remain 29% below their 2021 peak, according to government data, and the number of households in negative equity rose to its highest level since 2003 by the end of March.”