It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “The Greater Boston Association of Realtors released a report indicating that the number of active listings was up across the board in the region last month. ‘Buyers were hard to find over the final quarter of the year as stubbornly high inflation and a steady rise in mortgage rates between September and November spooked many and priced some out of the market entirely,’ said Alison Socha, GBAR president and an agent in Melrose. ‘In addition, many sellers were reluctant to accept the fact that market conditions had changed during that period and were slow to adjust prices.’”
“‘The reality is buyers can’t afford as much home as they could 12 months ago, so many are either unable or unwilling to get involved in bidding wars,’ Socha said. ‘Sellers also have begun to adjust their asking prices to align more closely with current listings rather than trying to top what their neighbor’s property sold for, and that’s allowed prices to level out.’”
“Many prospective homebuyers sent a strong message at the start of 2023: they are done trying to buy homes in South Florida, as annual sales nosedived in January in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. A decline in regional January home sales activity reaffirms what experts like real estate analyst Jack McCabe predicted — that we would see a gradual correction in the South Florida housing market that’s been overheated for the past couple of years. Certain condo sellers are finally caving in and accepting offers 15% below the asking price, said David Siddons, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman. ‘All of the sellers are going to have to wake up,’ Siddons said. ‘Some sellers are not just moving.’”
“The Champaign County Association of REALTORS reported that home sales in the Champaign County area fell for the fourth consecutive month in January, with both inventory and prices showing a decline. The average home sale price for the Champaign County area was $187,415 in January 2023, down almost 10% from $207,628 in January of 2022.”
“According to Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Phoenix is down almost 5% from a year ago. The median sale price for homes in Phoenix peaked in June of last year at $470,000. Since then, the price has dropped precipitously, increasing by only a small amount in one of the eight months. The latest Redfin data shows the median sales price at $403,000, a 14% drop from the peak.”
“Offering various housing types at Hines’ master-planned communities also helps hedge against market shifts, Hines’ Dustin Davidson said. Two years ago, homebuilders weren’t as interested in build to rent because the for-purchase market was so strong. Today, he said, the pendulum has swung in a major way. ‘Whenever the economy turns and the homebuyer market isn’t there, people are still having families, people are still moving to Texas,’ Davidson said.”
“Recent data shows that over the last two years, California’s population overall lost 500,000 people. Susan Alkayssi has fond memories growing up in Sacramento. She moved out of state in 2020 and doesn’t miss it now that she’s gone. While it’s love that brought her to Houston where her husband lives, it’s the finances that make her say she doesn’t want to leave. ‘Just housing would be just so expensive there,’ she sad about Sacramento. ‘Whereas over here, we would be able to buy a second home and make an investment rather than spending like $700,000 on a home in California to get something maybe half the size.’ She said safety is a factor too. ‘In Sacramento, I’ve lived in areas where I don’t, I couldn’t imagine letting my children play outside,’ she said.”
“However, for Blanca Nunez, it’s politics that drove her and her family to leave Mountain House, California, where they’ve been for the last three years. ‘It’s one of the most beautiful states we’ve been stationed at, the weather is phenomenal, so much to do,’ Nunez said of California, ‘but then it’s also been really scary. My kids are unvaccinated for the most part.’”
“Many small investors buying residential properties have looked to short-term rentals as a means of generating the type of income they need to pay the cost of owning these properties. This has been particularly acute in resort areas like Aspen Snowmass. A recent study by DestiMetrics of the Aspen-Snowmass area showed a 550% increase in rent-by-owner short-term rentals advertised through Airbnb and Vrbo from 2015 to 2022. AirDND reported recently that 2022 bookings for short-term rentals were up 15.8% over 2021; however, property owners are seeing a huge drop in demand. While the absolute number of bookings is up from 2021 to 2022, the number of short-term rental listings across the U.S. is up even more — by 23.3%. Data from AirDND shows that 54% of Airbnb listings have been added since 2020. In short, the number of short-term listings is rapidly outstripping the demand. The statistics are pointing to a potentially major correction in the short-term rental industry.”
“Dozens of people spoke on the proposed changes to rules around short-term rentals of 28 days or less at a crowded public hearing before Halifax regional council. Joline Dorey of Dartmouth was one of many owners who told council they would not be converting their spaces into long-term rentals and felt like the regulations will be ‘drastically impacting my family, for the benefit of no one.’ Dorey, a single mom of two, said the new rules would likely mean she would sell her rental cottage to help make ends meet on their home where she also has a rental suite. ‘[Short-term rental] owners are not big corporations. We are Nova Scotians who are hard working and using our assets to supplement our income to survive these difficult times,’ Dorey said.”
“Property managers like Tiffany Westwood talked about how the new rules would lead to only wealthy people running short-term listings. Westwood said she runs her own small management company handling 11 units, and the new rules would likely shut down nine. ‘Completely destroying my business and ruining my livability,’ she said.”
“The housing price index in Vietnam is 20 times higher than the average income per capita (the figure is just 5 times in neighboring countries), which explains why the majority of people cannot buy houses. The apartment projects in Truong Tho ward in Thu Duc City sold at VND16 million per sq m in 2015, which means that a 50 sq m apartment cost VND800 million. The price soared to VND25-28 million per sq m in 2019, to VND30-35 million in 2020, VND40 million in 2021 and VND45 million now.”
“Some apartment projects in Tam Binh, Linh Dong and Hiep Binh Chanh wards in Thu Duc City have been opened for sale with deposit prices of over VND42 million per sq m. The prices of high-end apartments are much higher. Masterise Homes has introduced Masterise Lumiere Riverside project with the offered prices of VND115 million per sqm. In district 10, Sunshine has begun selling Sunshine Continental at VND120 million per sq m.”
“Vietnam once rescued the real estate market in 2013. A VND30 trillion package was launched to help improve liquidity and ease inventory levels for enterprises and investors. The credit package then successfully helped the market recover, however, the effect was temporary. Meanwhile, it is more difficult to build social housing and development of affordable products has ‘fallen into oblivion’. Even if a large amount of money pours into the market, this would be just a ‘drop in the ocean’. If so, the idea of developing social housing would exist on paper. In a market economy, engineer Tran Van Tuong said, taking a loss and making a profit are quite popular, and enterprises need to accept losses instead of shouting for help.”
“A shortage of homes for sale in Sydney has helped limit falling prices as sellers hold off listing properties until the real estate market improves. Domain’s chief of economics Dr Nicola Powell said sellers across Sydney were avoiding listing their homes during the downturn, which was helping to limit price declines. Powell said buyers may see further price falls in areas where there are more homes to choose from. ‘The areas that are seeing the rapid build up of supply, they’re going to see a greater weigh down on prices,’ she said.”
“BresicWhitney chief executive Thomas McGlynn said there had been little pressure for homeowners to sell as rates climbed, but that was starting to change, and could lead to an increase in listings that would test the market. ‘There does seem to be more listings coming to market. People are starting to feel a bit more pressured than what they had last year,’ he said.”
“The number of Chinese households that decided against buying a home soared in the fourth quarter of 2022, a private survey showed, as COVID infections and lockdowns sapped sentiment, while property foreclosures soared as the economy slowed. Foreclosed properties reached 606,000 units last year, up 35.7% from 2021, with the number of such properties finding buyers at auctions slumping 14.9% on year, according to a separate survey. Cities with high numbers of foreclosures were mostly in central and western China, as well as the prosperous Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, according to the property research firm.”
“Kim Zolciak Biermann’s home is in foreclosure. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 44, and her husband, former NFL player Kroy Biermann, 37, defaulted on a $1.65 million loan they took out on their Alpharetta, Ga. mansion, according to a notice shared last week by Fulton County. Truist Bank plans to auction off the property on March 7 in front of the Fulton County Courthouse. The couple had taken out a $1.65 million loan on the home in 2012 shortly after purchasing it, according to the notice. Brock Harris of the VOYAGE Real Estate team at Compass says this is also incredibly common.”
“‘It is very common to see owners taking out a loan on a mortgage the following year. Homeowners rarely keep their purchase loan for long. They almost always do a cash-out refinance when they can, or, now that rates are higher, take a second loan out on the property,’ he explains. Since the notice of foreclosure was filed, Kim has maintained it’s a ‘misunderstanding,’ a source tells PEOPLE. ‘She is telling everyone this is a misunderstanding and is being sorted out,’ the source said, adding, ‘She’s not moving.’”
“Shortly after the couple bought the seven-bedroom home in 2012, Zolciak-Biermann gave fans a tour of the property, below, on their Bravo reality series Don’t Be Tardy. She previously left RHOA after starring in the first five seasons. ‘I absolutely love our new home,’ Zolciak-Biermann raved before showing off their lavish dining room and adding: ‘Kroy and I are the king and queen of this f—ing house, so this is perfect for us.’”