Those Aren’t Unreasonable Anymore, And They’re Almost Becoming Expected By Sellers

A report from National Mortgage Professional. “Institutional owners of single-family houses for rent are selling more of their portfolios than they are adding to them, a new report finds, with selling activity clustered in three major markets. Together, selling activity in Atlanta, Miami, and Houston represent half of all institutional for-sale inventory, according to the report from Parcl Labs. FirstKey Homes dominates the motivated selling activity. With more than twice the listings of any competitor, FirstKey is cutting prices deeper and more frequently than its peers, the report says. Listings by Wall Street investors totaled 771 in Atlanta, 336 in Miami, and 269 in Houston. But Houston leads the ‘fire sales,’ with four times the local median number of listings. Miami and Atlanta also ‘significantly outpace’ their local markets. And Chicago chimes in as a ‘surprise outlier,’ according to Parcl’s data. FirstKey properties have seen price cuts averaging over 10% off original list prices, with reductions occurring every 20 or so days, the report says. ‘Atlanta has the highest institutional SFR concentration nationally; operators there are logically reducing exposure in this saturated market,’ the report states.”

“In Houston, meanwhile, institutional operators face rising competition from accidental landlords. Parcl Labs recently reported Houston had the largest year-over-year jump in homes converting from for-sale to rental listings. And Miami’s single-family rental market faces broader Florida headwinds — declining prices and growing inventory — creating clear incentives for institutions to trim positions.”

From Axios DC. “Washington’s housing market is cooling thanks to the DOGE cuts, which may have some would-be local buyers wondering — is now the time to snag a house? Housing supply is rising quicker in the D.C. area than it is nationwide, due in part to former feds trying to offload their homes, per Redfin. ‘Emotions are playing a big role in what’s happening right now,’ says real estate agent Alison Scimeca. The condo market is especially soft in D.C., says Scimeca. ‘They’re sitting. Nothing’s happening.’ This means prospective condo buyers have much more leverage than those buying a single-family home or townhouse. ‘People are more desperate to sell.’ The number of Washington listings jumped 22.7% between June 2024 and June 2025 — the third straight month of increases over 20%, found Redfin. ‘Right now feels like the Wild, Wild West,’ Scimeca says, pointing to the DOGE cuts and President Trump’s policies concerning D.C. ‘We’ve never weathered this kind of storm before.'”

ABC Action News in Florida. “ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska sat down with a developer in Tampa and two realtors: Alex Jandick in Pinellas County, and Brian Stephens in Polk County. ‘The average days in the market right now in Lakeland is about 75-80,’ Stephens said. ‘So, homes are sitting longer, and sellers are getting a little frantic, and they want to negotiate by paying some of the buyers’ closing costs and coming down off the price.’ Stephens said incentives for new construction are even higher. ‘It might be easier to negotiate with a builder,’ Paluska asked. ‘Yes. They’re going to buy down your interest rate, give you $15K to $ 17K for the closing costs. You’re going to get a brand new home. They’ll offer a 3.99% FHA buy-down rate. Sometimes it’s for the life of the loan. Sometimes it’s a five, one buy down. They’ll buy it down for five years, and then it’ll adjust to the market rate, but then the buyer can refinance. So, they’re incentivizing people a whole lot.'”

“In Pinellas County, Jandick is seeing similar trends. ‘What would I ask for if I’m a buyer, to get the most bang for my buck?’ Paluska asked. ‘You might want to ask for $5K to $10K in closing credits, which will reduce your overall out-of-pocket cost at the closing table. After your inspection, you may find that the house needs a new roof or a new AC. You can also ask the seller for those things. Those aren’t unreasonable anymore, and they’re almost becoming expected by sellers that the buyers are going to ask for these things to get to the closing table. Now is the time to be picky, have options, have all the things you dreamed of in a house, and I don’t just say that I am in real estate. I say that if I were personally looking for a house, now would be the time to buy 100%,’ Jandick said.”

The Denver Gazette in Colorado. “After steady increases in the number of homes for sale in a year when sales haven’t kept pace, the Denver area’s housing market offered up a drop in price last month, according to a new Metro Real Estate Market Trends Report on the July market issued Tuesday by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Agent Andrew Abrams with Guide Real Estate, who reports on the lower ranges of the market, noted that inventory and sales had each climbed over the month in the below-$500,000 range. ‘However, with 5.04 months of inventory, the attached market has officially tilted toward buyers,’ Abrams said. He added that condos, in particular, were facing sales challenges, and speculated that insurance regulations could be adding to buyers’ hesitancy on those products.”

“‘There’s a growing perception that listings simply ‘won’t sell,’ Abrams said about the lower range. The average days on the market in that range had increased from 33 to 40. ‘This reflects a change in buyer behavior,’ Abrams added. ‘Today’s buyers want homes that are move-in ready, ample time to do due diligence, and the ability to move at their own pace.’ West+Main Homes agent Michelle Schwinghammer, who reports on the mid-upper range of $750,000 to $1 million, notes that completed sales had dropped almost 19% for that price range and were down over 10% from summer 2024. ‘As a result of growing inventory and longer time on the market, prices are beginning to adjust,’ Schwinghammer added. A fall in prices, she said, could signal that the Denver market was becoming ‘unstuck.'”

NBC Palm Springs in California. “Rich Darius has lived at Ramona Villas in Palm Springs for more than two decades, but his homeownership journey has turned into a financial and emotional nightmare. His condo has flooded three times due to a water main in his backyard — a main maintained by the homeowners association (HOA). The most recent flooding caused extensive damage. Darius was out of town when it happened. When he returned, he found a large excavation hole in his yard and water damage throughout his home. Even more frustrating: the HOA never contacted him — not when the pipe burst, and not when they dug into his yard. ‘It had been sitting for over a week,’ he said. ‘By the time I got back, there was water damage, mold, and a huge mess.’ According to the HOA’s own water intrusion policy, damage caused by HOA-owned infrastructure is their responsibility. But despite repeated emails, Darius says the HOA’s management company has gone silent.”

“With no response from them, Darius turned to his insurance — and his own wallet — to pay for cleanup and repairs, now totaling around $70,000. ‘It’s not just water. It’s mold, walls, flooring — everything,’ he said. While the HOA remains unresponsive, Darius continues repairing his home, unsure if he’ll ever be reimbursed for damage he says isn’t his fault.”

The Financial Post. “Canada’s condo market has taken a beating recently, but nowhere more so than in the suburbs. Prices in communities surrounding Toronto such as Halton Hills, Ont., have plummeted by more than 50 per cent from their peak, says a report by Moody’s Analytics. Brampton, Mississauga and Oakville have also suffered ‘significantly’ steeper losses than the City of Toronto itself. White Rock, B.C. and West Vancouver have seen peak-to-trough declines of 30 to 40 per cent compared with the national condo price drop of about 8 per cent. ‘Given the booming supply, proximity is commanding a premium, and periphery markets are giving back their pandemic gains,’ said Brendan LaCerda, director of economic research at Moody’s. By the first quarter of 2025, condo sales in the Toronto area had dropped 75 per cent from their peak in mid-2022, said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in a separate report. Months of inventory for pre-construction condominiums here hit a record high, 14 times higher than in 2022. Pre-construction sales were driven by low interest rates, but as these are reset at a higher rate, distressed borrowers could be forced to sell, putting more pressure on prices. ‘With a wave of new supply poised to hit the market and interest rates remaining elevated, the downward trend in condo prices is likely to endure,’ said LaCerda.”

The Lancashire Telegraph in the UK. “‘Raw sewage’ and ‘pungent smells’ on a street are making residents’ lives a nightmare on a Blackburn housing estate. Homeowners said they had raised complaints over the issue two years ago, and a year on since it was reported in the Lancashire Telegraph, the matter appears to have gotten worse. McDermott Homes, which built the Highgate development off Ramsgreave Drive, said it had been contacted over the issue and had been on site and would continue to work until the matter was resolved. A resident on the estate, who did not wish to be named, said people were frustrated with the problem in what has been described as one of the most sought-after housing estates in the region. He said: ‘Honestly, for the prices of these houses, the aftercare is abysmal. We feel like second-rate citizens. Essentially on the tail end of Moore Avenue, it’s been one thing after another.’ He added: ‘I feel like we have been made a joke of. We were the first residents to move into the estate. It’s been issue after issue, and each time I’ve had to chase them down multiple times to get the work done.'”

The Khaleej Times on India. “When JE, a Dubai-based mother of two, paid Rs 6 million (around Dh251,000) in 2018 for a flat in Ozone Urbana, she imagined annual visits to Bengaluru, a peaceful retirement, and a secure home for her children. Instead, seven years later, she’s staring at an empty plot, rising debt, and a fading dream. ‘There’s no house. Nothing has moved at the site in years,’ she said. ‘But I still have to pay the bank over Rs 13 million (Dh544,000) for something that doesn’t even exist,’ she told Khaleej Times. JE is one of several Indian expats in the UAE who say they were misled by Bengaluru-based Ozone Group into buying homes in a massive integrated township that was never delivered.”

“Among them is Errol John Noronha, a former Dubai resident and president of the Ozone Urbana Buyer Welfare Association, which represents affected buyers, including many from the UAE. ‘The stories in our group are heartbreaking. People have lost their savings, taken loans they can’t repay, and are now stuck with nothing to show for it,’ Noronha said. ‘The builder failed us, yes. But where were the banks, the regulators? Everyone just looked the other way.’ On August 1, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crime watchdog, conducted raids at 10 locations linked to Ozone Urbana Infra Developers Pvt Ltd and its key executives, including promoter Satyamoorthi Vasudevan, in Bengaluru and Mumbai.”

“The action, taken under India’s anti-money laundering law, follows dozens of complaints alleging cheating, criminal conspiracy, and fund diversion. Authorities say they seized documents showing that money collected from homebuyers for the Ozone Urbana project was diverted to unrelated group entities and individuals. The developer is also accused of selling at least 65 flats to multiple buyers. Sharjah-based private pilot Sunil Sequeira, who booked a three-bedroom apartment in 2018 for Rs 10 million (approximately Dh420,000), said he was sold a dream under a subvention scheme, a financing model where the buyer takes out a home loan, but the developer agrees to pay the EMIs (equated monthly installments) and PMIs (pre-EMI interest payments) until possession. According to Sequeira, the developer initially kept up the payments but later stopped without warning. ‘That’s when the bank came after me. I ended up with an arrest warrant for defaulting on a loan for a house that doesn’t exist.'”

“Moiz Abdulhussain, an early investor from Mumbai, booked an apartment in 2016 under a buyback scheme that promised him double the booking amount at handover. ‘I paid Rs 750,000 (Dh31,500) upfront and took a Rs 5.7 million (Dh239,000) loan. The bank has already released Rs 3.6 million (Dh151,000) to the builder. The site is still flat ground.’ For years, he says, the developer cited Covid-19 delays and regulatory approvals. ‘They made it sound routine. Then in 2018, I joined a WhatsApp group of buyers and realised the truth. I was blindsided. But what about the banks? Why release funds when there was barely any structural work on site?’ Moiz has since secured a RERA order asking the developer to pay him Rs 8 million (Dh335,000). ‘It’s on paper. No one’s enforcing it.'”

“The crisis at Ozone isn’t limited to Bengaluru. In Chennai, the Metrozone project launched in 2008 remains unfinished. In Mumbai and Goa too, complaints are mounting. The pattern is familiar: grand promises, large sums collected, construction delayed, and buyers left scrambling. Back in Dubai, JE still hopes something might change. ‘I invested everything I had,’ she said. ‘I followed the rules. I believed in the system. And yet here I am, still waiting, still paying. Will my children grow up repaying a loan for a house we never got?'”