A report from the Herald Journal. “What used to be outrageous is now the norm in Utah’s housing market. Erika Wiggins, an agent who specializes in the Sugar House neighborhood in Salt Lake City, said one of her clients offered a $20,000 non-refundable deposit and up to $70,000 over what the bank said the house was worth, on top of an offer that was already many thousands over the list price. It was rejected. ‘Personally, as a professional who’s been doing this for almost 18 years now, I don’t like it,’ Wiggins said. ‘It’s not something I feel like is a healthy space, but my clients are doing it.’”
From WPTV in Florida. “Robert Griffis purchased a West Palm Beach home east of Dixie Highway last August for $785,000. ‘I bought it for investment,’ Griffis said. ‘Now, the market is getting the way it is, increasing, so I just put it on the market and see if it’ll sale.’ The home is now listed at a whopping $1.5 million. Million-dollar homes are being listed, some of the homes are barely 1,500 square feet.”
“Offering $20,000, $30,000 [over the asking price], that’s a solid offer. Someone coming in and offering $60,000, $70,000, $80,000 … I’ve even seen $90,000 over asking, over the appraised value,’ Carlos Melendez, president at Broward, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Realtors Association. ‘What I thought a million dollars was a long time ago, was like a massive house, now you look at that and a million is nothing. It’s disheartening.’”
The Tennessee Ledger. “Nashville’s white-hot residential real estate market is the gift that keeps on giving to armchair analysts: How high can prices go? Is this a bubble? However, there’s an interesting twist: Houses are selling within days of listing, with multiple bidders making cash offers significantly over appraised value in some cases – and then are sitting empty for weeks, months and even years after the sale. Maybe a little renovation, some yard maintenance or nothing at all. If everyone’s rushing to move here, what gives?”
“Investors also hold a significant cash edge in a market where money speaks with a very loud voice, says Nicolas Dobbratz, an affiliate broker with simpliHOM. ‘These funds are buying real estate in targeted markets, and Nashville is one,’ Dobbratz says. ‘Their sheer financial power allows them to expose themselves to higher risk. They can, and do, buy high and wait for the market to catch up to them. It’s a class of real estate investors who can afford to pay more for a property, and then sit on it far longer than a typical reseller would.’”
The Boston Globe in Massachusetts. “Suffolk County — which is anchored by Boston and its roughly 675,000 residents but also includes Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop — lost 28,850 people who moved elsewhere between July 2020 and July 2021, data show. It’s the largest loss to domestic migration it has experienced since at least 2000, said Susan Strate, a demographer at the UMass Donahue Institute. ‘This is not just Boston. It’s happening, in general, to the very large cities,’ Strate said.”
The San Francisco Chronicle in California. “That mythical time in San Francisco’s past has been celebrated — and used as a cudgel to attack the present — since the Gold Rush. We hear it from fed-up young residents, cranky S.F. natives and people who have never lived here. (Especially from people who have never lived here!) ‘A friend who lives in San Francisco told me that, unlike most things you hear in the news, the decline of San Francisco isn’t exaggerated,’ said venture capitalist Paul Graham. ‘It really is as bad as the stories say.’”
The New York Post on California. “It hasn’t been an easy few weeks for Trevor Noah. The comedian has been dealing with some beef lately from a certain A-list rap artist, and now he can add selling his Bel-Air home, which he bought less than a year ago, at major loss to the list. ‘The Daily Show’ host dropped $27.5 million for the swanky 11,300-square-foot estate in December 2020. It eventually sold on March 22 for $26.39 million — more than $1 million less than he paid.”
The Calgary Herald in Canada. “RBC Economics released its monthly housing update for February, finding new listings increased by 24 per cent from January. Calgary led the nation in the percentage rise in new listings, increasing 65 per cent, month over month. Toronto had the second largest jump in listings, growing by almost 43 per cent, followed by Edmonton at nearly 15 per cent.”
From Stuff New Zealand. “Wellington-based mortgage adviser Michael Anastasiadis claims to be one of the first to talk about FOOP – the fear of overpaying. He says he heard it from some real estate agents in Australia in April last year, long before the market turned here. It took a while for FOOP to start appearing in the sales figures, but with Auckland city (defined as the area covered by Auckland City Council before the super city amalgamation) house prices down 19 per cent and the region down 8 per cent compared to November, and numerous data firms and banks noting price falls, another new acronym has appeared: INPT.”
“INPT stands for ‘I’m not paying that.’ Auckland management accountant Alen Buchevich was one of those who resisted FOMO (the fear of missing out), and now he says that acronym has given way to another: FONGO – the fear of not getting out. FONGO, which Anastasiadis has also seen used in investor groups, is a particular concern for clients who have bought but have not sold their existing property.”
“‘I have about half a dozen clients who have bought but can’t sell their properties,’ he says.”
“Buchevich says the fear of not getting out has made itself felt in a few ways. First home buyers who bought at record prices are facing serious affordability issues with interest rates that may have doubled since they bought, which raises the spectre of negative equity if prices fall too much and unaffordable home loan repayments. ‘Investors on the other hand might get FONGO as they will have missed their chance to cash out at the top of the market, a top which may not be reached again for a number of years,’ Buchevich says. ‘Many of these investors are in their 50s and 60s and would want to cash out and downsize for retirement, however, in the depressed housing market that we are experiencing today, they may have missed their chance to do so.’”
From Mashable. “Over the past few years in India, we have seen some of the big real estate names getting bankrupt and leaving all its investors in trouble. A similar thing happened in the country once again, when the prominent real estate company Supertech went into insolvency after a petition filed by the Union Bank of India was admitted by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for non-payment of existing dues.”
“Currently, there are over 25,000 people who have invested their hard-earned money on this company and in-exchange Supertech had to allot homes to them. These buyers have been kept waiting by the developer for a very long time and it looks like all these people are going to stay in problem for a much longer time.”
“Here are some reactions:’ Homebuyer have been looted RERA is builder parrot, they failed to start work on stalled projects, builder not honoring RERA orders, no relief for homebuyers & no strict action against rogue builder.’ ‘brilliant strategy. Siphon money of home buyers,bribe licensing authorities n ministers, collude with bankers to grant home loans n then declare bankruptcy. Only poss in India.’ ‘Is it Justice? Thousand of homebuyers will be left with nothing and will have to litigate from ground zero contrary to some super happy corporate giants who will be seeking an opportunity to get hold of big assets at hefty haircut.’”
“‘Ma’am is there a way to apply in Genius book for being a victim of Insolvency in India. In 2 years I have been part of 2 cases – Cox & Kings and today Supertech. Where do i go to seek justice. I have paid taxes, emi on time but I am jobless and now homeless.’”