They Built The Wrong Type Of Stuff, And They Can’t Move It, People Are Walking Away All Over The Place

A report from the Lockhart Post Register. “After years of rapid growth and competitive bidding, Lockhart’s housing market is entering a new phase: stabilization. The latest breakdown by home size reveals significant fluctuations: 2-bedroom homes: Down 31.7% to $190,000. 3-bedroom homes: Stable at $289,900. 4-bedroom homes: Down 2.7% to $320,900. 5+ bedroom homes: Down 33.6% to $458,000. Local real estate expert Skyler Harmon-Williamson of Lone Star Realty says that the shift in the market is clear. ‘It’s a buyer’s market for sure,’ she said. ‘Two new communities just completed, and sellers need to price competitively to avoid losing ground to builder incentives.’ One of the most significant developments on the horizon is a planned 1,200-home community along FM 2720, which is expected to put additional pressure on existing prices and inventory. As Lockhart continues to benefit from its proximity to Austin and San Marcos, real estate professionals suggest that now is the time for thorough research, market savvy, and local expertise.”

CBS News on Florida. “Miami-Dade’s property appraiser is calling on local governments to lower property taxes for homeowners. Tomás Regalado said the county’s slowing real estate market no longer justifies higher tax bills. For longtime homeowners like Nancy Morales, the idea of a tax break is welcome news. A South Florida homeowner for over two decades, Morales currently pays $6,000 annually in property taxes. ‘If at this point the real estate market is not growing, I think the right thing would be to lower taxes for homeowners,’ she added. Regalado echoed those concerns, particularly for condo owners, saying, ‘Especially in the condos, we have hundreds of thousands here, there is a crisis.'”

Lancaster Online in Pennsylvania. “An Ephrata Borough condominium association recently saw its property insurance premium soar by more than $73,000, an increase it is passing along to owners of the complex’s 50 units after having to switch to high-risk insurance due to a pipe issue. The association had to obtain high-risk property insurance, which led to its premium increasing by 278% from $26,356.60 to $99,638.74. The ordeal has left Patricia Lundberg fearful that she would lose her condo, according to her daughter Andrea Bodnari. Bodnari said her 74-year-old mother had to dip into her 401(k) to cover the estimated $4,000 cost of replacing the pipes in her condo. She said Lundberg receives about $1,000 a month from Social Security. ‘It’s been hard and challenging to explain that to her … or reassure her that things are going to be OK with her house and the HOA, and that the plumbing’s OK and no one is taking her house,’ Bodnari said. ‘So, we go through that right now … just about every day.'”

Denver 7 in Colorado. “On Wednesday, the Denver Metro Association of Realtors released its monthly report, which showed Denver had the highest number of homes available on the market last month since 2011. At the end of May, there were more than 13,599 listings compared to just over 9,159 in May 2024. Dan Watson had been eyeing a certain townhome complex in Centennial for years. After looking at several options, Watson was able to choose the home he liked the best and will be closing on it this month. He got the seller to fix everything he noted in the inspection, and even received a slight discount off the asking price. Watson is experiencing what many are now calling a buyer’s market in Denver. ‘There’s more to look at, and you don’t have to bid over asking price anymore,’ he told Denver7.”

Maclean’s on Arizona. “There’s an old joke that says Canadians have been coming to vacation in Phoenix since the invention of air conditioning. In reality, the Canadian tourism boom began in the early 2000s. I was working in Calgary real estate in 2008 when the American housing market crashed and the U.S. dollar took a nosedive, which suddenly made houses in Phoenix reasonably affordable for Canadians. I was a dual Canadian and American citizen, and it seemed like a perfect time for me to reinvent my real estate career to cater to Canadian vacationers. So I relocated to the Greater Phoenix Area. This year, I’m busier than ever, but for the first time it’s not with buyers. Now, the majority of my clients are Canadians selling their properties and abandoning their stateside vacations because of the rising tension between the U.S. and Canada.”

“As things heated up, I’ve heard several stories of people experiencing anti-Canadian sentiments while in the States—something that seemed laughable a few months ago. Friends of mine recently left a Phoenix restaurant after a meal to find that their car had been keyed in the parking lot because of its Alberta licence plates. Other Canadians I know were told to ‘go back north’ by Trump supporters. One of my clients who was down south to sell her property even covered her Canadian licence plates when she parked to deter the type of vandalism she’d heard about from fellow Canadians. For a lot of vacationers, this has felt like a betrayal and a drastic shift from the usually welcoming environment they’ve enjoyed for years. Normally, I handle five or six buyers at a time. This year, I was run off my feet with 16 Canadian sellers at once—a first in my 27 years in real estate.”

ABC 7 in California. “In a historic decision, the City of Malibu and people along Pacific Coast Highway are considering switching from septic tanks to sewer lines as they rebuild after the Palisades Fire. Some of the most difficult homes to rebuild are the over 300 beachfront properties destroyed along PCH in Malibu. ‘If it can save our homeowners reconstruction costs — because so many people were underinsured or don’t have the funds to be able to rebuild. If we can save them a couple hundred thousand dollars, that’s a big difference,’ said Marianne Riggins, the Mayor of Malibu.”

Inside Halton in Canada. “Barrie-area real estate broker Peggy Hill is seeing things happen on the housing market she hasn’t seen in 22 years of her career. Hill is CEO of the Peggy Hill Team and knows the housing market is cyclical, and what goes up must come down. ‘The client wants (to list) for more than what you’re suggesting, and you tell them it’s going to take time,’ Hill said. ‘Those days are gone. Now, if you go see a client and they don’t want to listen and want to try (a higher price), the next time you see them, you’re going to be listing for less than what you suggested the first time.’ Hill noted some homes that were worth $1 million a year ago are now going for $800,000 to $900,000.”

“And it doesn’t matter how many days that home has sat on the market, she added. ‘Everyone has been on the market for a long time. Buyers have stopped asking for deals because it’s been on the market for a long time — that’s not a big deal anymore.’ The issue is now, many areas have an abundance of sellers and not as many buyers. Toronto sellers are used to a quicker turnover, so seeing the market stagnate is new for them, Hill said. ‘It’s just perspective, because it’s very different markets. Toronto has always been a very liquid market. Now, it’s a bit of an issue because the buyers just aren’t there.’ And some of the buyers closing the deal are first-time homebuyers. ‘If they don’t buy, everybody else is stuck, because it takes a first-time buyer to help a (first)-time seller,’ Hill said.”

“And in Toronto, condos are 500-square-foot homes that don’t work for a growing family. ‘The Toronto condos were built for investors, because they want small units. They’ve euchred a family — where are they going to put two kids, a wife and a husband in that scenario?’ Hill said. ‘They built the wrong type of stuff, and they can’t move it. People are walking away all over the place.’ Hill noted another issue impacting the housing market in some municipalities is the municipalities that rely on the automotive industry. The steel, aluminum and auto manufacturers are facing extra tariffs from the United States, which has led to some layoff announcements. ‘When we are uncertain, we don’t know what’s around the corner,’ she said. ‘We’re held hostage by other countries’ decisions and they affect us a lot. They don’t know if they’re going to have a job.'”

Yahoo Finance. “The Bank of Canada’s lengthy streak of interest rate cuts was expected to help stir the country’s dormant housing market. But so far this year, the announcements and guidance from Canada’s central bank have highlighted uncertainty in the economy — and underlined a deepening housing market paralysis. ‘With looming tariffs and a lot of uncertainty in the market, with potential job losses and rising costs in many aspects of life, I think a lot of people are just really scared to take on a lot of debt,’ said Victor Tran, a Toronto-based mortgage broker and Ratesdotca mortgage and real estate expert.”

“First-time homebuyers ‘don’t want to catch a falling knife,’ given that prices in some markets have dropped considerably, says Tran. In the Toronto condo market, for example, he says ‘there’s a good chance that by the time they take possession of it, let’s say, two months from now, the value can be less than what they bought it for, and that’s scary.'”

Daily News Hungary. “According to Ingatlan.com, the number of inquiries for homes for sale rose 4% in May compared to April and was 7% higher than in May 2023. The uptick wasn’t limited to potential buyers—sellers also returned in greater numbers. Over 35,000 residential properties were listed in May. Interestingly, while demand in Budapest has levelled off, the supply there has continued to expand. Since January, the number of properties listed for sale in the capital has grown by 20%. ‘At current prices, the stagnant demand simply can’t absorb the available supply,’ László Balogh, chief economist at Ingatlan.com. explained.”

Chosun Biz in Korea. “As the real estate market in Busan remains stagnant, additional sales are expected in June, raising concerns about an increase in unsold properties. Mid-sized construction companies in the Busan region are also struggling due to worsening performance. Dongwon Development, the top-ranked company in construction capability evaluation in Busan (ranked 31st), reported cumulative sales of 9.09 billion won in the first quarter, a 47.3% decrease compared to the same period last year (17.27 billion won). Operating profit also fell to 4.5 billion won, down 81.8% from the same period last year (24.7 billion won).”

“A representative from an A real estate agency in Dong-gu, Busan, noted, ‘Even complexes that were recently sold are considering discount sales and are struggling to resolve unsold properties,’ adding, ‘The market atmosphere is so quiet that there are hardly any inquiries.’ Kim Hyo-sun, chief real estate officer at NH Nonghyup Bank, pointed out, ‘Busan has more small-scale urban housing than large apartment complexes, making it relatively difficult for unsold properties to be absorbed over time,’ and noted, ‘Furthermore, population movement and aging are severe, making it difficult to prevent demand relocation. If additional supply is not controlled, the unsold property issue may become more serious.'”