A report from the Herald Net in Washington. “The local real estate market took a breather from about Father’s Day, June 20, to mid-July, said George Caudill, a long time agent in Lynnwood. ‘It was snoozeville for a while.’ On the supply side, there’s a glimmer of hope — the number of Puget Sound-area listings is up 14% in recent months, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.”
From Lehigh Valley Live on Pennsylvania. “Sky high listing prices and bidding war frenzies are leading many Lehigh Valley buyers to give up all together and halt their housing hunts, area real estate agents say. Rebecca L. Decker Francis, who leads The Rebecca Francis Team affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, said she’s definitely seen a pause this summer with the willingness of buyers to compete. This is even happening with buyers who have a significant amount of finances to play with, she said.”
“‘It seemed that there was more panic amongst buyers who were willing to waive inspections, appraisal contingencies, among other things,’ Francis said of spring. ‘Now, we’ve found buyers dropping out of the market saying that they want to wait until the market cools off.’”
The Daily Progress in Virginia. “While the inventory of active listings is about half the level it was a year ago, more listings are being added to the market, which should provide more options for buyers, the report says. There were some early signs that moderation in the market could be on the horizon, it says, such as a slowdown in pending sales activity in June.”
“Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors President Quinton Beckham said some of the temporary influences that made homebuying a frenzy in the last year are now lightening up. ‘[I’m] knocking on wood that that continues to be the case for the rest of the year, so that when a buyer does find a home, they can go in and it’s a little bit more of a fair fight,’ he said.”
From Mansion Global on California. “The price of television host Ryan Seacrest’s Los Angeles compound just dropped $10.5 million. Set on 3 acres, the property is now asking $74.5 million, according to the listing.”
The Real Deal on New York. “Kenneth Lowe and his have purchased a unit in the One57 tower for $12.7 million, according to newly released property records. In recent years, One57 has experienced slow sales and some of its condos have been re-sold at a loss. Last month, investor Robert Herjavec purchased a condo at the tower at a $13 million discount from its asking price. Lowe received a discount too, although not as large as Herjavec’s. He paid $1.5 million under the $14.2 million asking price.”
From Bisnow South Florida. “As the coronavirus spread last year, there were stories galore about people moving away from major cities to places that are less dense and more affordable. South Florida was made out as a big beneficiary of this trend. In April, CBRE released a report analyzing U.S. Postal Service change-of-address data, and it found that move-outs from high-cost coastal markets accelerated during Covid-19. That included Miami, which in 2020 saw more moves away from the metro area (6.8 per 1,000 people) than in 2019 (6.3 people per 1,000).”
“CBRE Research Director Eric Willett told Bisnow that anecdotal reporting obscured the fact that ‘the Miami Metro area in the space of the pandemic was actually a net loser.’ The Miami metro netted a loss of 42,100 people in 2020, 11% more net move-outs than in 2019, the CBRE analysis found.”
From Toronto Now in Canada. “Toronto real estate broker Odeen Eccleston notes that the market has been cooling down and prices have been levelling off since March, when people were in lockdown and experiencing a sense of FOMO for missing out on larger properties as prices continued to climb. ‘It was just like a recipe for a scorching prices,’ says Eccleston, who says that people are just tired and hoping to enjoy their outdoor time during these months. ‘So we’re seeing a little bit less interest. That’s reflected in the prices for sure.’”
The South China Morning Post. “Hong Kong’s real estate buyers mostly ignored a weekend sale of leftover apartments at four residential projects, as they await newer offerings to come on to the market. Investors bought 30 of the combined 191 flats on offer at Seaside Sonata and Grand Victoria III in Cheung Sha Wan, as well as Aquila. Square Mile and Cetus. Square Mile in Tai Kok Tsui, representing 16 per cent of the total on offer this weekend.”
“‘These homes have been on the market for some time, and are more expensive than their launch prices,’ said Sammy Po, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential department. ‘These units will continue to be available, so [buyers feel] there is no rush to sign up today, and will take longer to come to their decisions.’”
The Taipei Times. “The number of unoccupied houses nationwide totaled 876,000 units last year, or 11.94 percent of all houses, the Ministry of the Interior said in a report. Almost 30 percent of empty houses were owned by companies, suggesting that many corporate property owners engage in house hoarding, the ministry said. Excluding developers and builders, companies still owned 20 percent of empty houses, it said. The study contradicts Ministry of Finance reports saying that house hoarding subsided and there is no need for housing tax increases.”
From Stuff New Zealand. “In a sign of how hot the market had been running CoreLogic said Hamilton’s 6.1 per cent growth was still strong, though ‘a noticeable drop from the double-digit increase in the three months to the end of June.’ Nick Goodall, CoreLogic’s head of research, told Stuff ‘the fact we can call a six per cent increase a slowing down is crazy talk.’ ‘There are signs of a slowdown, but it’s a very slow slowdown,’ he said.”
“‘The exceptional rate of growth witnessed following the economic recovery after the pandemic-induced lockdown was not sustainable,’ said CoreLogic’s head of research Nick Goodall. ‘However with an asset class the size of the residential property market, which now exceeds $1.54 trillion and remains attractive due to still low interest rates, any slowdown was destined to be gradual.’”