This Isn’t A Red-Hot Seller’s Market Or A Buyer’s Free-For-All, It’s A Transitional Season

A report from the Latin Times. “A growing number of immigrants in Florida are selling their homes due to mounting legal uncertainty, according to a Miami Herald report. Real estate broker Gisela Rojas, who operates in Orlando and Miami, told the Herald that she’s seeing an uptick in clients, mainly from Latin America, looking to sell quickly and leave the U.S.: ‘There are people leaving, calling me to put their house up for sale. ‘I’m going back, I can’t live here.’ Many are returning to Colombia, Mexico, or Venezuela, and some are exploring options in Europe. According to Rojas, many of these homeowners originally purchased property using FHA loans, which allow low down payments, and locked in lower mortgage rates. The rise in listings comes at a time when Florida’s market is shifting. Properties are sitting on the market longer and builders are offering significant incentives to buyers. Rojas cited a recent deal where a buyer received $38,000 in closing cost support on a $600,000 new home.”

“New federal and state immigration policies, including restrictions on FHA loans for non-permanent residents and increased deportation efforts, are further discouraging investment. ‘They’re stepping back and waiting to see how this plays out,’ said Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties.”

From NBC News. “Dayna and Matt Fancher lost their home in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, to Hurricane Ian in 2022. One month into this year’s hurricane season, the couple is still paying their home insurance policy — now twice as costly — while fighting the firm in court over their claim. The Fanchers said their home insurance provider paid them only a third of what it would cost to rebuild their home, and that adjusters repeatedly disputed their storm damage claims. In the end, the Fanchers say, they took out construction loans to be able to move back into their home. ‘We have the same coverage that we had, we’re paying double, and we didn’t get the assistance that we needed,’ Matt Fancher said.”

“In Fort Myers Beach, a small town on narrow Estero Island off Fort Myers, annual premiums jumped from about $9,000 to almost $14,000 from 2019 to 2024, according to data obtained by First Street Foundation. According to Zillow data, home values in Fort Myers Beach are down about $200,000 from their pre-Ian prices, and about 86% of sales over the last year came in under list price, a general sign that sellers are having a difficult time offloading their properties. At its peak before Hurricane Ian, the average home value on Sanibel Island, a popular spot in Lee County for beach vacationers, was almost $1.3 million. Today, that value is $868,000, with 93% of all homes being sold under list price, according to Zillow.”

From Summit Daily. “Real estate markets across Colorado are experiencing a continuation of the growing inventory seen last month. While housing prices have remained stagnant for some, other markets on the Western Slope are seeing significant price drops. Inventory of active listings jumped to 33,287 across Colorado, up 22.6% from June 2024. The real estate market in Summit County faces a few challenges. Single-family homes are spending 75% more time on the market compared to last year. The average sales price for a single-family home dropped 16% compared to June 2024, meaning more sellers are ‘throwing in concessions to keep deals on track.’ ‘This isn’t a red-hot seller’s market or a buyer’s free-for-all, it’s a transitional season. The ground is soft, the path is shifting, and anyone stepping into the market should tread with awareness,’ Dana Cottrell, a Realtor with Summit Resort Group said in the July report.”

“For Eagle County, June is historically the seasonal kickoff season for home sales. Compared to June of last year, the inventory of active listings is up by 43% — the highest level in recent years. The county’s 8.6 months’ supply of homes is also the highest seen in recent years. Aspen saw a 25% increase in new single-family home listings between June 2024 and June 2025, according to data from the Aspen Glenwood Springs Board and Realtors MLS. More single-family homes have sold this year, whereas condos have seen a drop in sales, according to Mark Lewis, a real estate broker at Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty. The original list price for the current inventory, before any list price reductions, is over $25 million on average. ‘This is interesting because average sale price for all Aspen single-family homes was just under $20 million in 2024 and has been closer to $16 million thus far in 2025 – there’s a disconnect between the number of listings above $20 million and the actual number of buyers at that price point,’ Lewis said.”

“‘I would say we’re moving into that buyer’s market right now,’ Grand County Board of Realtors Chairwoman Monica Anderson said. ‘I think there’s a lot of opportunities for any buyer that’s on the fence.’ For Grand County, the homes in limbo have driven median prices down by 13.4% compared to June 2024, which, according to Anderson, would normally be a driver for buyers. ‘Buyer activity has been pretty slow,’ Anderson said. ‘Usually the summer, especially after the fourth of July, is when we’re full throttle with showings and activity. (But) it’s been unseasonably slow this summer.'”

From LAist in California. “Recent immigration raids have stripped many Los Angeles families of their primary breadwinner. Other immigrant workers who have not been detained are also losing income as workplaces shut down to avoid becoming the next target for masked, armed federal agents. The economic fallout has made paying rent even more challenging for undocumented L.A. tenants. Local governments such as the city of L.A., Long Beach and L.A. County are asking philanthropists to fund cash assistance programs. Esmeralda, a Boyle Heights resident, told LAist the raids have caused her to lose work cleaning homes. She said even before the raids began, more than half of her income went straight to rent. Now, she said, her income has plummeted. ‘My children are afraid of me leaving the house,’ Esmeralda said, speaking in Spanish.”

“L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said last Friday that the city is also working to set up a cash aid program in response to the raids. She said philanthropic organizations would fund the program, which could provide ‘a couple hundred dollars’ to eligible families through prepaid debit cards. Bass said she has met with families who lost income after a worker was detained. She recalled meeting one mother who ‘now is concerned that she might face being evicted and being homeless’ because a family member was locked up by federal immigration authorities. When asked if the city has plans to contribute taxpayer funds toward the relief effort, Bass said: ‘I wish we had general fund money for that.’ Last month, Bass signed a budget that included hundreds of layoffs and other service cuts to close a nearly $1 billion dollar revenue shortfall.”

From Blog TO in Canada. “With the Toronto area real estate market in pretty acute turmoil, this may be the best chance for entry-level buyers to land a rare (though relative) bargain on a piece of the region’s famously overpriced property. Local real estate agency Wahi has offered some insight, examining how prices around the city have changed since the most recent market high in 2022. Huttonville, Brampton: average price of $825,000 in 2025 vs. $1,760,000 in 2022 — difference of -53 per cent. Rougemount, Pickering: average price of $1,040,000 in 2025 vs. $2,076,530 in 2022 — difference of -50 per cent. Vales of Humber, Brampton: average price of $1,830,000 in 2025 vs. $3,650,000 in 2022 — difference of -50 per cent. Windfields, Toronto: average price of $3,270,000 in 2025 vs. $6,375,000 in 2022 — difference of -49 per cent. Wanless Park, Toronto: average price of $2,182,500 in 2025 vs. $4,150,000 in 2022 — difference of -47 per cent. Mineola, Mississauga: average price of $1,420,000 in 2025 vs. $2,637,500 — difference of -46 per cent. Northwood, Brampton: average price of $751,000 in 2025 vs. $1,350,000 — difference of – 44 per cent. Tyandaga, Burlington: average price of $1,020,000 in 2025 vs. $1,731,000 in 2022 — difference of -41 per cent. Church-Yonge Corridor, Toronto: average price of $1,657,500 in 2025 vs. $2,750,000 in 2022 — difference of -40 per cent. Westgate, Brampton: average price of $895,000 in 2025 vs. $1,480,000 in 2022 — difference of -40 per cent.”

Foundation for Economic Education. “‘Sacrifice a gringo,’ ‘Mexico for the Mexicans,’ ‘Gentrification = Colonization,’ ‘Gringo Go Home’—these were some of the slogans used in a recent demonstration against gentrification in Mexico City. What began as a peaceful protest escalated when demonstrators smashed windows and doors of stores and cafés in Roma and Condesa, trendy neighborhoods among foreigners. One video captured protesters harassing a group of non-locals, with one of them chanting, ‘Mátenlo! Mátenlo!’ (‘Kill him! Kill him!’). The protest has been compared to recent ones in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. At least ten activist organizations were involved, including the Frente Anti Gentrificación CDMX, a left-wing, Marxist Communist group advocating resistance against ‘the territorial and cultural whitewashing of Mexico.'”

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, average rent in Mexico City has increased by an estimated 45%, while prices in the most attractive neighborhoods (the main targets of last week’s protest) have since surged by around 80%. ‘I believe what happened in Roma-Condesa doesn’t really have much to do with gentrification in the urban sense…’ said Dr. Víctor Isolino Doval, a professor at Universidad Panamericana. ‘We can concede that the protest began as a demonstration against gentrification as an urban phenomenon, but other groups joined opposing what they perceived as a North American invasion, against the digital nomads driving up local prices, and then it turned into a protest against capitalism, and then into one in favor of Palestine… it got out of control.’ Mexico City’s anti-gentrification protest was just superficially about housing. The protest expressed a deeper and more complex malaise, one that has been explored, at times controversially so, by writers such as Samuel Ramos in El perfil del hombre (1934) and Octavio Paz in El Laberinto de la Soledad (1950). Dr. Doval summarized it best: ‘a Mexican ethos moved by a spirit of revenge.'”

The Waikato Times in New Zealand. “A plan to lift morale in the building trade has become a symbol of the its malaise, with a home built by subbies sitting unsold for six months. The Subbie Spec house in Cambridge was built by a team of 40 tradies and suppliers as a positive project during tough times. But a sluggish residential market means so far offers for the $1.4 million high-spec home haven’t met the mark. It’s a symptom of wider challenges for the construction sector – Waikato’s third-largest employer”

“The Cambridge house is beautiful, says Daniel Davies, owner of Davies Homes and the man who led the project. ‘It came together pretty quick, and the team’s still in a positive mind. But we’ve had a couple of offers in and the team thought it was too cheap.’ The 223m² home was finished late last year and has three bedrooms, an office, two living spaces and high-end finishes. Davies has seen downturns before – he compares this one to the post-GFC era when houses sat on the market for months. ‘It is a pretty tough time out there for tradesmen,’ he says. ‘But I reckon the FOMO is around the corner.'”

“According to Stats NZ, new dwelling consents in Waikato dropped 9.2% in the year to May 2025, from 3168 to 2876. It’s a steeper drop than the 4.3% fall in Auckland and part of a national decline in residential activity. For now, though, “we are in a tough environment,’ says Julien Leys, CEO of the Building Industry Federation. ‘We’ve seen liquidations, project delays, and real uncertainty. That’s shrinking pipelines of work and reducing investment.’ Builders who once had six to 12 months of confirmed work now operate job-to-job. Back at the Subbie Spec house, Davies is still hopeful, saying the team build was a success and a sale would confirm that. If he did it again he’d pick a simpler build. ‘Maybe we went a little bit too high-spec for this market.'”