A report from DS News. “What might make delinquencies rise a long decline into historically low levels after the Great Recession? Mike Rawls, EVP of Servicing for Mr. Cooper points to slowdowns in home prices across the country. ‘Home price appreciation has slowed across the country and we are starting to see early stage delinquencies rising from historic lows,’ Rawls told DS News.”
“A consumer-led recession is unlikely, Kurt Johnson, Chief Credit Officer for Mr. Cooper noted, as incomes have risen steadily through 2019, while unemployment has stayed historically low. This was offset, he noted, by slow home price appreciation. ‘This should increase delinquency rates, particularly with low-down-payment, first-time homebuyers in FHA products—an historically more labor-intensive product to service,’ Johnson said.”
From Magic Valley in Idaho. “New housing continues to pop up in the Magic Valley. Twin Falls permitted more housing in fiscal year 2019 than it has since before the Great Recession. In some ways, the city is just as busy today as it was in 2006 when developers built many spec homes, properties constructed before they’ve been sold. ‘We’re as busy, if not busier,’ Twin Falls Building Official Jarrod Bordi said, noting that many housing projects are bigger and more complex than they were 14 years ago.”
“The uptick isn’t just for single-family homes. There has been a boom in multifamily housing, too. In FY 2019, the city permitted 42 multifamily buildings. That’s up from 27 last year. Jerome Building Official Dave Richey said there were 46 new single-family homes permitted in 2019, up from 42 in 2018. That’s a new record. Back in 2005 and 2006, Richey said, there were about 30 new homes built in Jerome. Richey doesn’t expect construction to slow down.”
The Post and Courier in South Carolina. “The City of Columbia zoning board gave an approval that will make way for the construction of a long-discussed private student housing tower on Assembly Street. Commercial real estate broker Jim Daniel said he’s worried the demand for student housing will soften in years to come. Numerous private student dormitories have been built across Columbia in recent years, with more under construction. And USC has announced big plans to build more on-campus housing. ‘This market appears to be over-saturated,’ Daniel said.”
From KATU in Oregon. “Portland Housing Bureau hosted an informational meeting Tuesday night for landlords. Some landlords aren’t happy with the changes. ‘Stories of people who are selling because they can’t do all these rules and regulations on the big guys,’ said Deborah Imse from Multifamily NW. ‘Well, the big guys have stopped investing in the city of Portland. There’s been a 38 percent drop off on investment in the city of Portland.’”
From Bklyner in New York. “A behemoth looms over Voorhies Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. But some real estate professionals say the Avalon Brooklyn Bay tower will always stand alone. Michael Geraci, a real estate agent and a Sheepshead Bay native, says that the development craze will fade due to a larger plateau of Brooklyn of property values. Data provided by Douglas Elliman Real Estate shows that the average sale price for a condominium in Brooklyn has gone down 5.7% since last year. The average sales price for new developments in Brooklyn also fell over 10% between each quarter in 2019, according to the agency.”
“Touted as a sign of major change in the area, it actually has vacancies in its condominiums after being open for over a year. ‘I think the boom, as far as condo development down here, is pretty much right now the highest point it will be,’ Geraci said. ‘And if anything, it’s going to slow as we go.’”
The Staten Island Advance in New York. “Work has been delayed at Lighthouse Point — a $250 million luxury apartment building to be equipped with retail, office space and a Westin Hotel in St. George — after the developer’s contractor filed for bankruptcy protection, the Advance has learned. Hollister Construction Services didn’t return several Advance phone calls for comment regarding the bankruptcy protection or the partial stop work order issued by the DOB.”
The Wall Street Journal on California. “Lachlan Murdoch has paid roughly $150 million for Chartwell, a Bel-Air estate, according to people familiar with the deal. When it listed in 2017 for $350 million, the château-style home was the most expensive in the country. Agents say Los Angeles has been the best performing luxury market in the country this year, in terms of ultra-high price tags. Other segments of the market, such as the $10 million to $40 million price category, have suffered from an oversupply of spec homes, which has been a drag on prices.”
The Union Tribune in California. “Homebuilding is down throughout much of Southern California, but San Diego had the second-biggest year-over-year drop behind Santa Barbara County, which is down 32 percent. Real estate analyst Gary London pointed to a slight slowdown from developers downtown as one of the reasons for the reduction this year. For at least the last five years, building numbers throughout the county have been dominated by downtown apartment construction. London said downtown, which has the highest vacancy numbers in the county, could be reaching market saturation.”
“Gary Kent, a La Jolla-based real estate agent, said he keeps running into nervous builders with a 6,846-square-foot lot he is selling in Pacific Beach for $799,000. ‘A lot of the builders I’m talking to say they are not sure about buying a lot now,’ he said, ‘because they don’t know what the market will be like in a year when they try to sell the house.’”
From Socket Site in California. “Purchased for $1.18 million in late 2014, the lavishly remodeled unit #1 in the former Smitty Knitting Factory building at 75 Lansing Street, returned to the market priced at $1.295 million this past June. Reduced to $1.198 million in September and then to $1.145 million last month, at which point the listing was updated to note that the seller would also pre-pay one year worth of HOA dues ($496 per month) along with one year of parking fees ($300 per month) or grant a comparable credit toward closing costs, the re-sale of 75 Lansing Street #1 has now closed escrow with a contact price of $1.1 million.”
The Chicago Tribune in Illinois. “A five-bedroom, 5,299-square-foot vintage ‘Chateau-esque Revival’ -style mansion in Evanston sold Thursday for $1.85 million. The sellers paid $2.25 million for the mansion in 2013. They first listed it in April 2018 for $2.65 million and cut their asking price to $2.49 million in November 2018 and then to $2.2 million in May. They made their final price reduction, to just under $2 million, in October.”
The Boulder Daily Camera in Colorado. “The real estate market in Boulder County completely stagnated in 2019, according to data recently released by the Colorado Association of Realtors, and with a projected slowing of the economy and a presidential election, which often causes consumer confidence to dip, it doesn’t appear the market will be on the rise again anytime soon.”
“‘Boulder County’s homes prices are stuck in the snow and the wheels are spinning,’ Boulder-area Realtor Kelly Moye stated in a Colorado Association of Realtors news release. ‘It’s like someone just held it in time and nothing changed. I think it’s a trend we are going to see continue, too.’”
“‘Wages aren’t keeping up with home prices in Boulder, so people are going to the outlying areas, like Broomfield, and enjoying Boulder on the weekends,’ Moye said. ‘Boulder likes to think their city is insulated from these market fluctuations, and in a lot of senses, they’re right, because of the university and (the city’s) no growth policies, but they’re not as insulated as they think.’”