I Have An Asset But If It’s Unsellable And Unaffordable It’s Not An Asset

A report from WUSF in Florida. “Real estate across the Sunshine State for condos and homes is experiencing a slowdown in sales and a drop in prices. Tampa Bay Times reporter Rebecca Liebson said that back when the COVID-19 pandemic happened in 2020, there was a boost in sales. Liebson said this is because there were historically low interest rates that people were getting that were sometimes even 2% or 3%. ‘When you’re offered a loan for so little, you really can’t turn that down,’ Liebson said. ‘It influenced a lot of people to kind of jump into the housing market.’ But since rates have now returned to around 7% to 8%, people have been more hesitant to buy a house, Liebson said. This is especially because prices have gone up since the peak pandemic era. ‘So financially, it’s just not making as much sense for a lot of people,’ Liebson said.”

“In Northeast Florida, there have been decreases, but it’s on the smaller side. Jacksonville Business Journal Managing Editor Stuart Korfhage said that Realtors have said that any decrease has been more of a correction. ‘Nothing’s falling off the cliff here,’ Korfhage said. ‘It’s not like people don’t still want to move here. It’s just that things are not at the peak anymore. What agents are telling me is that buyers are still thinking that it’s become a buyer’s market, and sellers are still thinking that it’s a sellers’ market.'”

From WTOP. “Buying a home for the first time in this unpredictable D.C. area market can be challenging. The layoffs, spawned by cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, along with high interest rates, have decreased the number of buyers on the market, resulting in properties staying on the market longer than usual. But these conditions can be beneficial for buyers, according to Yony Kifle, CEO of Your DMV Team Realty. ‘It is now more possible than it has been in the past six to seven years to get closing costs covered, do home inspections and even ask for a reduction in price,’ Kifle told WTOP. Amanuel Gebre purchased his first home in September 2024 in Alexandria, Virginia, before those things came into play. His cousin had worked with Kifle to find her first home, and recommended Gebre do the same.”

“During the home-buying process, Gebre, whose family immigrated from Ethiopia, told Kifle that he was looking for a place that was in a walkable neighborhood, a shopping plaza, access from a Metro station and close to his family. He was able to find a two-bedroom apartment in Alexandria that fit his preferences. Gebre bought his home during a buyer’s market when the supply of homes exceeded the demand. He was reassured that he could rent out his place if he lost his job. One other benefit: his brother is living with him, which gives additional reassurance as they could cover each other in case of issues. ‘I still don’t believe it, like I didn’t even feel like telling anybody besides my family … it was really scary, honestly,’ he said. ‘But I think after six months from, looking back at it, I think started making it feel like home, hanging up pictures and stuff, I’d still say, like, on the back of my mind, I am worried about, like, you know what next four years are going to be like.'”

From KGTV. “Buying a home is a hallmark of the American dream for many immigrants. Adding the fear of deportation is creating what some real estate agents are calling ‘the perfect storm’ of a difficult market. ‘In the last month, our lead intake has been dropping big time,’ Realty for America realtor David Fletes said. ‘We used to get between 10 to 20 buyer requests to get pre-approved in a month. Right now, we’re lucky we get 10.’ Fletes, who has been a realtor in San Diego for nearly two decades, estimated 80% to 85% of his clientele is Hispanic/Latino. Of those people, he estimated about 20% to 30% apply for a loan using an ITIN number, the identifier undocumented immigrants use to file taxes. The trend of buyers withdrawing is also being seen in other parts of California and across the nation.”

“‘People who are considering it are starting to reconsider [starting the process],’ said Gary Acosta, CEO and co-founder of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. ‘I’ve heard stories where people have actually been a day or two away from closing, walked away from the transaction, and didn’t even ask for the deposit back.’ Acosta also mentioned an important note to remember about Latino households with undocumented immigrants, living in what’s known as a mixed-status household.”

“‘It’s not like undocumented people only live with other undocumented people,’ Acosta said. ‘They generally live with citizens, and they might be married to a citizen. And they may have kids here in this country.’ The point of a mixed-status household by Acosta turns the attention to the financial strain deportations put on households. A 2016 study by Cornell University during the first Trump administration highlighted the strain. The study suggests that if the wage earner in the household is deported, the risk of foreclosure skyrockets, adding that ‘a sizeable share of legal Latino homeowners live with undocumented wage earners who contribute to household income.'”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “2052 Dewdney Rd., Kelowna, B.C. Asking price: $2,985,000 (Sept. 3, 2024). Previous asking prices: $3,695,000 (July 18, 2023); $3,295,000 (May 24, 2024); $2,999,000 (June 21). Selling price: $2,940,000 (March 7). Days on market: 598. This lakefront home in the McKinley area faces 160 feet of waterfront with two private beaches and a new dock. The sellers had owned the property for several decades, so it hadn’t been on the market for some time, said the buyer’s agent Richard Deacon. His client was a Canadian with a young family who had been based in California for his career but wanted to own a secondary property in Kelowna. Mr. Deacon believes the property was priced too high when it was initially listed in the summer of 2023, leading to several price adjustments. ‘The market had already turned downward by then, and they had just missed it,’ he said. ‘They had a lot of showings, and the property showed well. I understand they did have another offer that didn’t come together.'”

BBC News in the UK. “Touted as a stepping stone to getting on the property ladder, shared ownership was designed to be one answer to a tough housing market. But behind the hope lies a growing wave of discontent, as complaints to the housing watchdog – over repairs, costs and selling – have soared. ‘We had none of the rights of homeowners, and all the obligations of renters,’ said Diana, who together with her husband Chris, bought a shared ownership property in east London in February 2020. But the couple decided to sell in 2021 after finding it ‘traumatic.’ Two years later and £10,000 worse off, after the property was re-evaluated at less than what they paid, they eventually sold. ‘It’s a big con and we felt trapped,’ said Diana. Not being able to sell was a trauma.’ They have gone back to private renting because, according to Chris, it is ‘much simpler and easier.’ Now out of it, Diana says she would not recommend the scheme because ‘they sell it to you as a dream but then it became a nightmare.'”

“Fatima bought a shared ownership property in 2019 after being evicted from two rental properties when her two children were younger. As a single parent, she said there was ‘no way’ she would have been able to get a mortgage so shared ownership was ‘the only option.’ Now ‘in a bind’ due to an 80% increase in service charges within the last year, Fatima, along with others in the block, complained and said they would not pay the increase until it had been investigated. Fatima added: ‘I have an asset but if it’s unsellable and unaffordable it’s not an asset. It’s always on my mind. It causes a lot of anxiety.'”

One Roof in New Zealand. “Auckland Council is gearing up for a barrage of inquiries and objections following the release of the city’s new CVs last week. CVs dropped an average of 9% across the city since the last valuation, although some homeowners saw their valuation drop by as much as 20%. The CVs represented the likely selling price of a property at the date of valuation (May 2024), which meant by the time they were released to homeowners, they were 13 months out of date. Cotality NZ’s head of research Nick Goodall told OneRoof that he felt the Auckland CVs were a pretty accurate representation of the value of the city’s homes at the time they were taken. Goodall said that based on the latest sales data, Auckland’s CVs might have been hit even harder than the average 9% drop if they had been carried out this month.”

“‘The other key thing here is that they’re very old now. Have property values changed much since May last year? I think the Auckland figure has seen a further 2.7% decline since last year. People are going, ‘Man, it’s a big drop’, but in many cases, people might find that their property would sell for less than CV right now,’ Goodall said. Ray White Mount Eden owner Jared Cooksley knew of one sale that had fallen over since the new CVs came out because the buyer thought they’d offered too much on the property. ‘They just felt like maybe they’d put too much on an offer compared to what the new CV came out with.'”

The Times of India. “Fed up with National Buildings Construction Corporation the homebuyers of Amrapali projects staged a protest outside the court receiver’s office in Sector 62 on Friday. The protesters alleged their flats were cancelled and later awarded to other players at a very low cost to make money. The body protesting for the Amrapali homebuyers, Noida Extension Flat Owner Welfare Association (Nefowa) vice president Dipankar Kumar said, ‘We are feeling cheated. We smell serious corruption in it. Buyers invested hard-earned money to get their dream houses. After SC’s intervention, we heaved a sigh of relief, but our hopes vanished. There is some foul play.'”