This Is Absolutely A Market Where Price Matters And Time Kills

A report from Eye on Housing. “Sales of newly built single-family homes declined 13.7% in May, falling back to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000 according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The slowing of the housing market has occurred despite the growing use of of builder sales incentives, including 37% of home builders reporting cutting prices in the June NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. As a result of slowing home sales conditions, inventory continues to rise, marking an elevated 9.8 months’ supply in May. As estimated by NAHB, total months’ supply, defined as a combination of current new and resale single-family inventory, now stands at 5.2. This is the highest sales-adjusted inventory level since 2015. Completed, ready-to-occupy new home inventory stood at 115,000 in May, up 29% compared to a year ago on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.”

My News 13 in Florida. “The Orlando housing market is seeing more homes available and steady sales, according to the most recent report from the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. Currently, inventory is at its highest since January 2011 and has increased 35% from May last year. ‘We are seeing an influx of inventory compared to last year,’ real estate agent Abby Greenberg said. ‘We only had about 10,000 houses on the market. We’re now we’re approaching 14,000 houses. Data shows that in May of this year, the median home price was around $390,000, something Greenberg believes will drop. ‘I see that the average median price point is most likely to go down over the next year and it’s going to continue to trend down,’ she said. ‘It was in the 400s and now it’s down into the 300s.'”

“‘There’s a lot more negotiation going on now,’ broker associate Jesse Rottinghaus said. ‘That’s just a product of supply and demand. So, you know, we have a lot more supply and that demand is very low because we have we don’t have a ton of buyers, so we have a lot more supply. So the buyers that are coming into the market are all fighting for the best properties, the ones that are perfectly priced, and all have checked all the boxes.'”

From My San Antonio. “In the market for a new home? What better place than right here in Central Texas. Two Texas cities ranked among the best in the nation for the largest price slashes within their respective housing markets, according to a report from Realtor.com. Both the South and the West led the way in the biggest cost cuts, with Phoenix ranking supreme with 31.3% of its Arizona home listings featuring a price cut. Coming in second was Tampa with a 29.9% slash in home listing costs, with Denver trailing slightly behind at a 29.4% share of listings featuring reduced prices. In fourth place, Texas made its mark with the capital city, Austin, boasting 29.2% of its home listings including a price cut, edging ahead of Jacksonville’s 28.8%. Alongside its new listings hike, Austin’s overall for-sale properties jumped 26.5% year over year and its median home prices dipped more than 6%, the largest annual price drop reported in the country. Elsewhere in the Top 10 was Dallas, ranking No. 8 with a 27% share of listings including a reduced price tag.”

Queen City News. “Joy Cotto was nowhere to be found inside the large second-floor conference room of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission office. Her name was on a list of settlement deals of real estate agents under investigation by the state. The commission received its first complaint against Cotto back in May 2023 from a fellow real estate broker in Gaston County. ‘Joy is selling lots and new construction homes with her husband acting as the GC (general contractor), but he is not a general contractor,’ Frankie Gonzalez, Jr. wrote in a complaint dated May 8, 2023. ‘The new construction homes do not progress, her communication is terrible, and Mario Cotto, her husband, is non-communicative,’ Gonzalez alleged.”

“Turns out, as the old saying goes, Gonzalez was a canary in the coal mine. We heard from two dozen homeowners in Lincoln and Mecklenburg Counties with the same exact story. In Lincoln County, we found two housing developments where Joy Cotto sold lots with unfinished, rotting houses her husband had been paid deposits on, but never finished. The NCREC received more complaints in 2024. Lisa Labelle was one of those complainants. Labelle bought a lot on Furnace Road Extension near Lincolnton from Joy and Mario Cotto. She signed a contract for Mario to build a custom home on the lot. Labelle wired Mario $158,000 to purchase the lot and an existing foundation sitting on the lot. The deal would allow Cotto to surrender her license without admitting to a single allegation.”

“‘Do you think that was justice for what you went through?’ Queen City News Chief Investigator Jody Barr asked Labelle during a June 2025 interview, ‘From the perspective that no one else can become a victim, I think it is a victory. However, two years’ suspension for the amount of evidence that was provided, I think it really warranted a complete – her license being revoked and her not being able to ever sell real estate in North Carolina again,’ Labelle said.”

From Arlington Now. “Ask Corcoran McEnearney: What does the shifting market mean for sellers and buyers? Answer: A steady stream of spring market data is signaling a shift toward balance in the DC metro housing market, with homes staying on the market longer and buyers increasingly approaching a home purchase with negotiation in mind. Homes are also taking longer to sell: average days on market rose across the region, ranging from 23 days in Northern Virginia and Loudoun County to 55 days in the District. Together, these indicators reflect a market adjusting toward balance, where motivated sellers must work to stand out, and buyers may find emerging opportunities. With more choices and fewer bidding wars, buyers can negotiate better, and smart sellers on a tight timeframe may be willing to negotiate on everything from buyer concessions to price reductions. Compared to last May, the number of homes on the market has risen significantly in every jurisdiction, and this is absolutely a market where ‘price matters and time kills.'”

ABC 10 in California. “A quiet resort community tucked into the sunbaked hills of Stanislaus County west of Patterson is facing a harsh ultimatum: approve a staggering increase in water rates or risk having the taps run dry. Diablo Grande, once pitched as a golf course paradise with vineyards and panoramic hillside views, is now at a breaking point. The Western Hills Water District said it needs to raise rates from $145 to $569 a month, a nearly 300% jump, to keep the water flowing. Homeowners like Lydia Stewart, a retired nurse who moved to Diablo Grande in 2018, say they feel blindsided. ‘We only have a certain income. That’s why we picked up here, because we could afford just that,’ she said. ‘We didn’t expect this big lump sum to be dumped on us.’ Stewart and her husband live on Social Security. She said they poured their life savings into their dream home.”

“Katie Whitney and her husband moved to Diablo Grande in 2012 to retire. ‘The dream was to move up here, someday retire, and play golf every day,’ she said. Now, she says, they feel like victims. ‘We’ve paid our bill… How did we get here? How in the world did we get here?’ Of the 5,000 homes originally promised, only about 600 were ever built. The golf courses have since closed, and the grass has withered under the California sun. Debbie Antigua, who leads a community action group, says outreach to state agencies has gone nowhere. ‘They just (say) we’re forwarding you on to another agency,’ she said. ‘OK, which one? Because nobody’s coming.'”

Bisnow New York. “Developers and real estate investors in New York City spent millions of dollars and several months hoping for any political scenario except this one. The industry awoke Wednesday morning to learn that state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, won the Democratic mayoral primary in a landslide over its preferred candidate, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Tuesday night’s results have already sent shockwaves through the ranks of the wealthy looking to buy or sell NYC apartments, said Briggs Elwell, CEO of consultant RLTYco. ‘I’ve heard firsthand today some aggressive stories of buyers pulling out, people calling and wanting to list their apartment — on a much more rapid pace than they were in previous weeks,’ Elwell said, adding that the residential market is likely to be more reactionary than the commercial market.”

The Financial Post. “Canadians have elected a new government to address the same enduring issues. Prominent among them is the continuing challenge of housing affordability. The newly minted Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Gregor Robertson, takes the helm of a sizeable multi-department bureaucracy that has been struggling to improve housing affordability outcomes. Already, Robertson has attracted criticism for suggesting that housing prices need not fall for affordability to improve in Canada. We believe the minister is correct in advocating for stability in housing prices. The criticism stems from a misconception that a price collapse is essential for restoring affordability.”

“Nothing could be more disastrous for the economy than a plunge in housing prices. A significant correction would wreak havoc on household finances, savings and both short- and long-term consumption. Unlike other financial markets where a decline in asset values often presents a buying opportunity, aspiring homebuyers hesitate to bid when prices are falling. They are wise enough not to purchase a depreciating asset that will likely be worth less by the time the transaction closes. Canadians want a government that protects the value of their assets and safeguards their pensions and savings, not the other way around.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Sellers in the Toronto-area real estate market are facing a slow and stifling summer as buyers take their time and negotiations drag on. Inventory ballooned in May from the same month last year, and sales remained historically low for a month that typically marks the height of the spring market. ‘This is the most active number of price reductions I’ve seen in my entire career,’ says Christopher Bibby, broker with Re/Max Hallmark Bibby Group Realty, who was selling real estate through the 2008 financial crisis. In some cases, condo owners who purchased in 2019 are looking at selling for less than they paid.”

“Pritesh Parekh, real estate agent with Century 21 Legacy Ltd., says he has never experienced a market so steeply tilted in favour of buyers. Mr. Parekh points out that many of the conditions that buyers were wishing for during the market frenzy – including more listings to choose from and cooler competition – are here, but buyers are still hesitant. He remembers taking buyers to newly listed properties and urging them to let him know right away if they wanted to make an offer. ‘It’s so vivid,’ he says, recalling the fast pace. ‘I would say, ‘I’m going to sit in my car and draft an offer.’ I didn’t want to risk driving home.’ In one case, Mr. Parekh was working with a house hunter who had been looking for many, many months but always remained cautious. ‘Then they actually lost their job. It actually happened in the GTA,’ Mr. Parekh says of the moment the hypothetical became real.”

“In the condo segment, Mr. Bibby has recently been stickhandling offers for eight of his listings. Only two so far have resulted in signed deals. In some cases, the two sides sign offers back and forth until they are close to an agreement, then the potential buyer walks away. The same buyer will return a day later with an offer $20,000 below their previous one. A week later, they reduce their offer to $50,000 below that. ‘None of those eight people had to take what was in front of them,’ he says. ‘The buyers are looking for blood, but the sellers will decide what they’re willing to accept.'”

“He adds that high-pressure manoeuvres can backfire because they turn off sellers. ‘They could do it with a little more dignity,’ he says of buyers pushing for a deal. ‘We don’t want to sour the negotiation.’ Mr. Bibby says some people planning to sell still contact him believing that they can achieve a 2021 price because their building, finishes or view is superior to the competition. ‘I think the numbers that a lot of people have in their minds – those numbers are long gone.'”