A Shift From Aspirational Pricing Toward Market Reality

A report from WCAX. “Vermont’s red-hot real estate market is undergoing a shift, with some properties staying on the market longer, building up an increased inventory in parts of the state. ‘There’s parts of the market that are very much the same as it has been over the last few years during COVID, where there are a lot of offers and interest. We’re still in a very active market, but we are beginning to see some corrections in the marketplace,’ said Sarah Harrington, a Burlington realtor. ‘We are seeing some price reductions in some cases, and also I think coming on the market, sellers — with the advice of their agents — are being a bit more conservative with the price they are coming on the market.'”

From NBC Miami. “Owners in one South Florida condo community say they are uncertain whether they can stay in their homes after developers have bought up the majority of the property. ‘This is my house. This is my everything,’ Oscar Larrieu told NBC6 Investigates. The one-bedroom condo in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood has been home for Larrieu for 25 years. But Larrieu says he hasn’t been able to relax in recent months—because he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to keep his home. Bayshore Park condo sits a block from the water on South Bayshore Drive. It was built in the 1960s. Miami-Dade County records show developers Mast Capital and BH Group, through an LLC, now own 30 of the building’s 39 units as well as a vacant lot directly behind the condo. According to the condo’s governing documents, the units sold in the event of a termination should be bought at fair market value. Larrieu says he thought his investment was a forever home. ‘I’m being sacrificed for somebody else’s profit,’ he said.”

City Sun Times in Arizona. “Last month, I noted that we were seeing the highest number of homes for sale in the Phoenix market in nearly a decade—yet many buyers remained hesitant. Has anything changed since then? The short answer is: yes. The number of homes for sale dropped by nearly 3.5%. While that might sound encouraging for sellers, the decline isn’t due to a surge in sales. Instead, many listings simply expired or were cancelled as frustrated sellers left the market. Buyers do have more leverage right now, often negotiating a combination of price reductions, seller concessions, and repair credits. I’ve seen some sellers reduce their asking prices over time by as much as 10% and more, signaling a shift from ‘aspirational pricing’ toward market reality.”

From CBS Colorado. “Denver’s Community Planning and Development Department has issued ‘cease and desist’ orders to a property owner in the southwest Denver Overland neighborhood who had been using Airbnb to rent out trailers and RVs parked on his rental properties to homeless residents. Kevin Dickson, 69, owns or co-owns 17 properties in Overland, according to city records, and said he put trailers and RVs on 10 of his properties and had been renting them out to homeless men and women. ‘I was trying to solve a bigger problem of affordable housing,’ Dickson told CBS News Colorado. ‘It was an experiment,’ he said. ‘Sure enough, I was helping the homeless.’ Dickson said he is removing the trailers.”

“Craig Arfsten has been an advocate for the Overland neighborhood and said he heard complaints about homeless residents living in Dickson’s trailers from several residents. He said he knew immediately that zoning laws do not allow property owners to have RVs for rent on their properties. ‘All of a sudden, you have a neighborhood that has no rules or sense of order,’ said Arfsten. He said residents were upset because ‘You don’t know who these people (renting the trailers) are, you don’t know what these individuals bring to the neighborhood.’ Besides, said Arfsten, Overland already has La Paz, one of the city’s micro-communities, housing some 60 people who are homeless.”

KTNV in Nevada. “A teenager was shot and killed at a house party in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood Tuesday night, leaving residents concerned about ongoing issues at the property. The shooting happened at a home near Ann and Durango in the northwest valley. ‘This is the most dangerous situation that I have been in my entire life,’ said Dallas, a neighbor who didn’t want to appear on camera. According to Dallas, this is not the first time concerns have been raised about the home. He said issues with the home began about eight months ago, despite his seven years living in the neighborhood. ‘You see drug deals going on every day, people in cars and parties every night for the last 8 months,’ Dallas said. ‘Metro has been here multiple times because of the shenanigans that’s going on at that home. I’m just sick of it.'”

“Property records led to the title owner of the home, who provided a statement explaining they legally surrendered the property through Chapter 13 bankruptcy over a year ago. Here’s the statement they shared with Channel 13: ‘We legally surrendered that property through our Chapter 13 bankruptcy over a year ago. We no longer live there, we receive no rent, and we have no control over the home—but unfortunately, our names are still on the title because PennyMac, the mortgage company, rescinded the foreclosure, and our attorney has refused to file the motion needed to remove us from ownership. We are not landlords. We are not renting the property. We are not part of this situation by choice—we are victims of a system that failed to act when we needed help the most.’ We also reached out to PennyMac to learn if they knew about the concerns. We are waiting on a response.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Buyers in the Toronto-area real estate market are testing their strength – with varying levels of success. ‘We’ve been calling it the summer of lowballing,’ says real estate agent Alex Beauregard of Sutton Group-Associates Realty. Mr. Beauregard recently fielded an offer far below the asking price after he listed a semi-detached house in Seaton Village for $1.899-million. One buyer submitted a bid of $1.75-million for the four-bedroom house at 683 Manning Ave. ‘Pretend like it never happened,’ the homeowner told Mr. Beauregard while refusing to sign back a counter-offer. Mr. Beauregard explained to the buyer’s agent that the seller would suspend the listing before agreeing to sell for that amount. The buyer submitted a new offer at the asking price and the deal was done.”

“As for houses that are less than perfect, buyers have lots to choose from. Properties that need work are languishing in the area around Bloor Street West and Bathurst Streets, where he does much of his business. Mr. Beauregard is advising sellers who are thinking about listing in the current environment to hold off until September – especially if the house is not move-in ready. He has listings lined up for the fall market and his conversations with home stagers and other suppliers suggest that other agents do too. He coaches buyers to remain respectful when submitting below-asking offers by asking the seller’s preference for a closing date and size of deposit, for example. ‘It’s never a good tactic to insult the seller.’ Mr. Beauregard prepares the field by talking with the listing agent first to get a sense of the homeowner’s level of patience. ‘It’s important to not go in there like a bull in a china shop,’ he says. ‘But maybe they’ve had enough of being on the market for 30, 60 or 90 days.'”

From Natural Hoy. “Gleeful Spanish locals are rejoicing after seeing a drop in the number of Costa Del Sol holidaymakers following years of angry anti-tourism demonstrations.The holiday hotspot has recorded its first decline in visitors since the Covid-19 pandemic – with typically bustling destinations seemingly becoming far less-crowded. Images from Benidorm taken in the last few days show empty chairs outside bars and restaurants – rare for this time of year when they are usually rammed with tourists. Majorca has also seen a sharp decline in tourist numbers, with officials claiming that a relentless campaign of anti-tourist protests is ‘scaring away visitors’ as locals say some resorts are now ‘completely dead’.”

“While the downturn has sparked concern among some local businesses, others see it as a welcome break after years of over tourism and have taken to social media to share their relief. One person wrote: ‘The news is painted as bad but the reality is that it’s good. Tourism is fine but the tourist mass coming to Malaga was more than the city could handle. I’d rather take care of 10 tourists well than 100 bad.’ Another added: ‘Very good news, let’s see if we stop depending on tourism and the business fabric returns to Spain. Tourism should be regulated somehow and see if the real estate bubble explodes because of that and people here can buy a house again like it used to be.’”

The World Property Journal. “Hong Kong’s residential property market remains caught in a tug-of-war, with bullish momentum stymied by a host of bearish fundamentals, according to the latest market outlook from JLL. While a drop in HIBOR, rebounding equities, and targeted stamp duty relief have offered glimmers of support, the broader housing landscape remains clouded by persistent structural and macroeconomic challenges. These include intensifying geopolitical risks, a surge in negative equity to 22-year highs, and aggressive developer discounts–often exceeding 30%–in a bid to clear mounting inventory.”

“Meanwhile, pressure is building in the primary market. As of March, developers were sitting on a pipeline of approximately 93,000 unsold units. Inventory overhang is so pronounced that, at current absorption rates, it would take nearly 57 months to clear–well above the six-year average of 51.3 months. Without a drastic improvement in sales velocity, developers are expected to keep slashing prices, drawing out a correction cycle that may not bottom until 2026. ‘Developers will need to continue offering incentives to maintain sales momentum,’ said Joseph Tsang, Chairman of JLL in Hong Kong.”

Singapore Business Review. “Singapore property developers are unlikely to bid aggressively for upcoming land sales, weighed down by elevated construction costs, tighter margins, and a surplus of unsold homes. ‘They will be more cautious and measured,” Catherine He, head of research at Colliers International (Singapore) Pte Ltd., told Singapore Business Review.’With rising construction costs, their margins will be squeezed. There’s also quite a lot of unsold inventory—more than two years’ worth of demand—so they won’t be that aggressive in bidding.'”

“Cooling measures have also curbed risk appetite among developers. She cited the revised seller’s stamp duty, which now requires a minimum holding period of four years—up from three—as another reason developers will be more cautious. More than 20,400 private residential units, including executive condominiums, remained unsold in the second quarter, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.”