A report from KIRO 7 in Washington. “Homebuyers have faced a hot housing market for years, but things may finally be cooling off, and buyers could see more leverage in the market. ‘It’s awesome news for homebuyers who have been waiting for this break,’ said Adriano Tori, CEO of Seattle-based Rexmont Real Estate. ‘That time has come where we’re going to see more of the leverage fall onto the buyers.’”
“According to Redfin, the number of would-be homebuyers leaving Seattle has gone up sixfold since before the pandemic. The area has already seen a big spike in inventory. According to Zillow, Seattle saw a 37.5% increase since February. ‘Those sellers are wanting to expedite their timing, mainly because of the concern of what that may do to them in terms of getting a lower price compared to what their expectations were even a month ago,’ said Tori.”
The Real Deal on California. “Bay Area home buyers are being hit by a ‘double whammy’ of higher prices and rapidly rising interest rates, according to Compass Chief Market Analyst Patrick Carlisle, raising median monthly payments over 50% in just one year. In some East Bay markets, median monthly payments for a three-bedroom home are up 75% in just the last year, according to Compass data. In San Francisco and the Peninsula, where home prices were higher to begin with, monthly payments are up 35% to 45%. Median monthly payments in Marin are up about 60%, according to the analysis.”
“What starts out impacting home buying decisions for those on the lower end may work its way up the market, Carlisle predicted, as media reports about rising costs could impact perceptions across the region, even into the highest income levels. ‘Even a billionaire’s psychology on buying a home shifts if they are reading articles about dramatically changing market dynamics,’ he said.”
From Socket Site in California. “Purchased for $1,098,000 in December of 2015, the lower level two-bedroom, two-bath unit #1B at The Brannan, a ‘fully remodeled and upgraded’ unit and ‘jewel of South Beach,’ was listed for $1,198,500 in April of 2019. Having returned to the market priced at $1,050,000 this past October, the 876-squre-foot unit was re-listed anew for $995,000 this past March and just sold for $985,000, a sale at which was officially ‘within 1 percent of asking’ according to all industry stats but down 17.8 percent on an apples-to-apples basis from the third quarter of 2019 and 10.3 percent below its value at the end of 2015.”
From The City. “Some homeowners facing foreclosure stand to get relief under a bill passed by the state legislature and now heading to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for either a signature or veto — and she’s not saying which. Following the ruling, lenders moved to reopen hundreds of cases statewide that had previously been resolved in favor of homeowners — and are continuing to do so, foreclosure defense attorneys told New York Focus. Jacob Inwald, director of foreclosure prevention at Legal Services NYC, told New York Focus that ‘almost all’ of the cases reopened after the Engel decision date back to the 2008 financial crisis.”
“‘There were an enormous number of cases known as the ‘shadow docket’ where the plaintiffs started the cases but they never filed the paperwork that they were required to,’ Inwald said, meaning that the cases eventually expired — until the decision in Engel revived them.”
From DS News. “According to the new data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, it’s predicted that roughly 2.15 million mortgages are either in forbearance or past due, with an estimated 630,000 of those mortgages still in forbearance as of April 7. Of the estimated 852,000 mortgages that are seriously delinquent and not in forbearance, roughly 45% are on loss mitigation plans; and while they are in loss mitigation, nearly three-quarters are not paying.”
“As of April 7, nearly 851,621 mortgages not in forbearance are seriously delinquent, with 45% of these in some stage of loss mitigation, many having come out of forbearance. However, note that 72% of these are still not paying at this time. For the 465,903 seriously delinquent loans not in loss mitigation, 62% never entered forbearance. When examined, 60% were originated before 2009. Many of these loans likely had been worked out before, thus loss mitigation may not have been an option.”
“In the case of the private loans, 85% of seriously delinquent loans not in loss mitigation were originated before 2009. Because of the CARES Act foreclosure moratorium and subsequent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) temporary protections, foreclosure activity stopped abruptly in March 2020 for all but vacant or abandoned properties through December 2021. These protections ran out on January 1, 2022.”
The Canadian Press. “Prospective homebuyers saw clear signs of a cooling Toronto market in April as the region’s real estate board reported sales dropped by about 41 per cent since last year and 27 per cent in one month. The year-over-year decline in sales was greatest in the area surrounding Toronto known as the 905 and was particularly apparent in the detached housing category, the board said.”
“Sales of detached homes in the 905 totalled 2,732, a more than 47 per cent plunge from the year before, while the market’s 1,033 townhouse sales amounted to a 44 per cent drop. There were 491 sales of semi-detached homes in the 905 last month, a 40 per cent fall from the year before, and the 685 condo sales decreased by roughly 32 per cent.”
“April detached home sales in the city of Toronto, which is linked to the 416 area code, reached 868, a 34 per cent drop from a year before, and semi-detached home sales fell 26 per cent to 311. Townhouse sales for the month amounted to 335, a 42 per cent fall from the same month a year earlier, while 1,488 condos sold in April, down 35 per cent from the same month in 2021. April’s average home price for Greater Toronto reached more than $1.2 million, down from about $1.3 million the month before.”
From Home and Property in the UK. “Nationwide Building Society reported that the cost of buying a house has risen 14.3 per cent in a year, as house price inflation hit its highest level since 2004. Let’s just pause on that for a moment. The year 2004. That was in the middle of a debt-fuelled house price boom that preceded the financial crisis and a subsequent market collapse between 2007 and 2010.”
“And now for something that might just surprise you. For a long time, Britain’s obsession with rising house prices has felt inexorable, with politicians introducing inflationary measures because they think it is what people want. If there were ever anything akin to The British Dream it has, surely, been the notion that you can buy a home and make more money by sitting in it than you can at work.”
News Talk New Zealand. “Auckland’s average house sale price has dropped from $1.23 million to $1.21m and the median from $1.81m to $1.41m, Barfoot & Thompson says. ‘The decline in Auckland residential property prices that has been predicted following the rise in the rate of inflation and mortgage interest rates has finally shown up in sales figures,’ managing director Peter Thompson said. ‘Buyers are now showing a greater reluctance to meet vendor expectations.’”
From News.com.au. “As interest rates were increased for the first time in more than 11 years this week, the move could trigger a sharp fall in house prices and see a much more cautious approach from Aussie homebuyers, experts have warned. Mark Bainey, chief executive of Sydney-based property developer Capio Property Group, said inquiries from buyers had ‘collapsed’ and were down by a massive 50 per cent.”
“‘Prices are remaining steady, but inquiries are always the best indicator of where prices are going. If inquiries are going down, then prices are going in the same direction. We’re prepared for it, but I think the outlook for the market is quite dire,’ he told the Australian Financial Review.”
The South China Morning Post. “Hong Kong property sales rebounded to a three-month high in April as owners became more willing to offer big discounts, or even sell at a loss to get deals done, a trend that could drag home prices down further. Many homeowners have been willing to drop their prices by as much as 12 per cent, according to analysts. ‘While there is still robust demand keeping home prices stable during the fifth wave of Covid-19, we can see that there are some house owners who are more inclined to offer discounts to close the deals, including those that have just got approval for their immigration applications, and owners of micoflats or studio flats,’ said Hannah Jeong, head of valuation and advisory services, Colliers Hong Kong.”