A report from the Peninsula Clarion in Alaska. “The market in Seward has adapted to the competition, said Nicole Lawrence, the owner of Seward Properties. Another way buyers are trying to be competitive, Lawrence said, is by waiving the appraisal gap. That way of skirting the appraisal process, however, sometimes means homes are selling for more than they’re worth. ‘The houses aren’t selling for what they’re worth, but they’re becoming worth what they’re selling for,’ Lawrence said.”
Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. “There’s one more group with an interest in keeping housing supply low: existing homeowners. It’s not just an issue in Hawaii, says Miriam Axel-Lute, editor-in-chief of Shelterforce, an online magazine that takes deep dives into housing issues. ‘The value of one’s home is frequently touted as not only an asset, but the asset, the retirement fund, the nest egg, the best way to build assets and achieve economic stability,’ she wrote. ‘And it’s not only the value of the home, but the expected appreciation of that home.’”
From KTNV in Nevada. “A robust housing market that’s showing signs of an adjustment. John Zenor loves his Centennial Hills home that he and his wife have lived in for the past 22 years, but to enjoy a more active retirement, they decided to sell it. It took some time to find that person. The 4 bedroom, 3 and a half bath home was listed at about $730,000. Zenor says there were multiple bids and a potential buyer was found. Due to lending issues, that buyer fell through and the search for a new one took a couple of weeks longer.”
“It’s a trend that’s been seen valley-wide. ‘Of those 12 showings, although great interest was expressed, only one person made an offer and that one person had cash,’ Zenor said. The available inventory of homes for sale went up about 22 percent from March. Zenor’s realtor David Lee says rising interest rates are playing a big part. ‘I do believe once it gets to the seven, eight, nine percent, that’s when we’ll see a majority of a slowdown come,’ he said.”
From 425 Business on Washington. “Industry representatives are seeing some signs the 26-county NWMLS region is taking a breath. There were 11,681 new listings of single-family homes and condos during April, the highest number since July. ‘The Puget Sound housing market has shifted down several levels of hotness in most areas and is more in alignment with the strong market we saw pre-pandemic,’ said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.”
“‘Did you hear that? It’s the sound of happy buyers in all areas other than King County celebrating last month’s jump in active listings as it means they now have more homes to choose from,’ said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate. ‘We are starting to see signs of impact from the significant rise in mortgage rates earlier this year, such as an increase in active listings and months of inventory creeping higher, but the full impact will likely not be felt for a few months.’”
From Your Erie in Pennsylvania. “‘You have a lot of people looking, they’re not so worried about the interest rate because they know that if it would go down, they could refinance. It does hurt their buying power a bit when it goes up to five and a half,’ said Marsha Marsh, Owner of Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services. ‘The selling side will say ‘Oh, my neighbor got 20-30,000 over, so why can’t I?’ Well, because your interest rate is going to hurt those people that are looking that may be pushed up to a higher price point. Now, they have to go back down because they see what their monthly payment will be.’”
The Business Times in Colorado. “Real estate sales continue to slow on a year-over-year basis in Mesa County as higher prices and mortgage interest rates affect affordability. Robert Bray, chief executive officer of Bray & Co. Real Estate based in Grand Junction said higher interest rates have exerted a growing influence on the market. As sales have slowed, inventories have increased, Bray said. At the end of April, there were 266 active residential listings. That’s up 100 and 60.2 percent from the same time last year. More homes typically come on the market in the spring and summer. With persistent demand, Bray said the market remains healthy. ‘I don’t see anything that’s necessarily alarming.’”
“Meanwhile, property foreclosure activity continues to increase. Annette Young, administrative coordinator at Heritage Title Co. in Grand Junction said 104 foreclosure filings and seven sales were reported in Mesa County during the first four months of 2022. For the same span in 2021, there were six filings and 11 sales.”
The Houston Chronicle in Texas. “As homes rapidly become less affordable in Houston and nationally, pushing more and more would-be buyers to the sidelines, a phrase has begun bubbling up when talking about the market: ‘housing bubble.’ Some people cringe at the expression. ‘That’s a term that scares people,’ said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com. McBride said he’s already seen some homes reducing listing prices — although he warns against taking that out of context. Those homes were priced as though values would continue surging, so even with price reductions, they still are selling for higher prices than a year ago.”
“McBride said that slowing home price appreciation until wages can catch up is ‘the minimally painful way’ to remedy a housing market so out of balance between buyers and sellers. ‘The way we did it last time,’ McBride said, ‘when home prices just went so high they defied the bounds of all rationality and then they crashed hard — that obviously caused a lot of stress.’”
The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Toronto and Montreal brokers say plenty of properties are seeing fewer offers than just a couple of months ago when buyer anxiety was still driving frantic bidding wars, but that the slowing bids haven’t yet led to big price drops. Marc LeFrançois, a broker with Royal LePage Tendance in Montreal, has recently seen homes sell after receiving a single offer or a few, rather than the 20 that brokers were accustomed to dealing with months ago.”
“The fewer number of bids some properties are receiving have some of Mr. LeFrançois’ clients questioning why they should bid significantly over the asking price if sales are down. ‘The buyers are a bit hedgy. They’re worried when they buy a home and it wasn’t done under multiple offers,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a client this morning I was talking to him and he said, ‘Did I pay too much? Nobody else was bidding and it’s strange because the last two years it was 20 buyers for a home.’”
“Mr. LeFrançois has detected a shift in mentality, when a home gets listed and it’s still on the market three weeks later. Now, buyers increasingly try to rationally negotiate for these properties, instead of moving at the torrid pace they once would have, he said. Despite the shift in buyers’ thinking and the moderation of sales, Mr. LeFrançois said many sellers still have high expectations.”
“‘They see [the market] as a linear line going up,’ he said. ‘They say, ‘I’ve waited a little more so the market keeps going up’ and that’s going to be a little tough.’”
The Toronto Sun in Canada. “For months, the real estate market has had the momentum of a runaway train. ‘There’s definitely a shift happening in the market – a correction from the highs of the last couple of months,’ says Sung Lee, a Ratesdotca expert and licensed mortgage agent. ‘Offers are going in below list price. Anecdotally, we are hearing of a slowdown in showings and a rise in terminated listings. Sellers don’t quite have the advantage they’ve had previously.’”
From Smart Company. “Sydney construction firm Next has reportedly entered voluntary administration, as its owner seeks a deal with creditors to avoid total collapse. The Australian reports Next, focused on aged care and student accommodation buildings, is the latest constructor to falter. The firm has recruited administrators Hall Chadwick to handle its operations, as it works to resolve some $15 million in unpaid debts.B y entering voluntary administration, Next has joined the ranks of major builders like Condev and Probuild, and a growing number of home constructors in WA, all of which have collapsed in the early months of 2022.”
News Talk New Zealand. “Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr was grilled by MPs today, telling them to ‘take a step back and just breathe’ when it comes to inflation. He told MPs house prices should drop 5 to 20 percent from current levels to be sustainable. Orr was asked about recent homebuyers who may then face negative equity or stress from higher interest rates, and said the bank had warned them.”