A report from Go Banking Rates. “Inventory hit an all-time low from about May 2020 through May 2021, said Jonathan Spears, a real estate agent based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. However, he said inventory began to slowly increase in June. ‘Right now, we’re sitting at around two months of inventory, so certainly not anywhere close to where we were prior to the pandemic, but definitely starting to see the markets normalize a bit,’ he said.”
“Until recent months, Jason Gelios, a realtor in Southeast Michigan, saw the same buying frenzy in his area. ‘With the absence of 2020, the housing market accelerated, creating record home sales, with most homes selling for well above asking price, with home inspection and appraisal waivers,’ he said. ‘We would see this record-level activity continue until the end of summer 2021.’”
“In Southeast Michigan, Gelios said many homebuyers halted their searches, due to the pure exhaustion of losing out to plentiful amounts of competition. Specifically, he said first-time buyers were often far outbid by their more seasoned counterparts. ‘Here we are approaching December 2021 with mortgage rates inching upwards and an increase in homes hitting the market,’ he said. ‘I believe this is the start of the housing market transitioning towards a buyers’ market.’”
“Those searching for a home will be glad to hear price cuts are on the rise. The share of listings with a price cut surged 46.51% from January through October, according to the GOBankingRates study. Additionally, the average price cut increased 19.42% during this time period.”
The New York Post. “There’s life for XI after all. Partnered with billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, New York developer Steven Witkoff’s Witkoff’s Group snared the bankrupt, $2 billion, twin-towered condo project in a public debt auction. Work stopped before the pandemic in late 2019, and park-goers have puzzled over the uncompleted eyesore ever since. Lenders and contractors who are owned hundreds of millions of dollars, on the other hand, have more than fumed.”
From The Sun. “Deon Derrico boasted about ‘buying up blocks’ and promoted his real estate business following his home foreclosure. Deon and his wife Karen, 41, lost their North Las Vegas, Nevada home that they live in with their 14 children to foreclosure. The patriarch filed a petition for foreclosure mediation assistance after the home he purchased in 2015 went into default a month prior, according to court papers in March 2020. The filing was to provide a ‘remedy of last resort for the homeowner to avoid foreclosure and loss of his/her home’ through a mediation process with negotiations between the lender and owner.”
“A mediator was assigned to the parties, though court documents show they were unable to agree to a loan modification and the negotiations were terminated. The petition for foreclosure mediation assistance was dismissed and the foreclosure was to be issued in the normal course of business. Deon filed a complaint against US Bank National Association in February 2021. The foreclosure sale was to be conducted around March 12, 2021, but he claimed the date was ‘improper.’ Deon then filed a temporary restraining order to prohibit the foreclosure of the sale, but the court denied the motion in February.”
The Evening Standard in the UK. “Furious locals have called for the Sky Pool in south-west London to be shut over concerns that it is too cold to swim in – despite costing £450 a day to heat. The transparent 82-ft facility at the development in Nine Elms allows residents to swim from one tower block to another 10 storeys above the ground. Billed as the world’s first floating pool, Sky Pool is made of acrylic and offers bathers a clear view of the gardens 35m (115ft) below.”
“Some residents in the apartment complex, where flats cost up to £4.5million, say the luxury pool is not worth the expense. One couple told The Sun: ‘It is too cold to be used at the moment so it seems mad that we’re still having to pay to heat it. If it’s £450 a day and, at most, five people are using it, that’s £90 per swim. That hardly seems like value for money.’”
“Another resident added: ‘We’re livid. The outside temperature has obviously dropped, but the Sky Pool is still open to residents and currently uncovered. We’re basically heating the sky.’”
From Stuff New Zealand. “As prices moved ever higher and affordability diminished further, concerns over the number of people being locked out of the housing market grew. This prompted a series of official interventions from early in the year. In October, the Reserve Bank lifted the official cash rate for the first time in seven years. In November, LVRs were reinstated for all owner-occupiers, which meant only 10 per cent of bank lending could go to borrowers with a deposit of less than 20 per cent. And in December, changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act came into effect.”
“Economist Tony Alexander said the lending environment had got much tighter and a credit crunch was now under way. ‘This has been gathering pace over the last six to eight weeks, and it is starting to suppress the market.’”
“It was not a huge price rise, or a jaw-dropping sale, or the long overdue increase in supply, that experts picked as the stand-out moment of the year though. They all picked the Government’s March announcement of the removal of interest deductibility as that moment. New rules meant that investors would no longer be able to use their home loan interest costs to cut their tax bills.”
From Bloomberg. “The parent of Yango Group Co. has become the latest victim of China’s crackdown on the nation’s indebted property sector, defaulting on a dollar bond after missing an interest payment. Fujian Yango Group Co. hasn’t paid the coupon on its 11.875% $296 million note maturing in 2023 following a 30-day grace period, it said in a filing dated Dec. 25 to the Singapore stock exchange. Failure to pay the interest after the grace period constitutes an event of default, according to the bond’s issuance document seen by Bloomberg News.”
The Daily Mail. “The Chinese Super League has imploded just as spectacularly as it burst onto the scene… a financial crisis has accelerated its demise but from splurging money on Europe’s hand-me-downs to playing in half-empty stadiums it was always doomed. When one Chinese Super League coach sat down last week and was asked about his side’s foreign players, he delivered an honest, and telling response. ‘They are now out of my control,’ Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic head coach Chang Woe-ryong told reporters. In truth, no one has possessed any control in the country’s top flight for some time.”
“Over the past 12 months, Chinese football has unravelled at an alarming rate. Top teams have folded and stories have emerged of players going unpaid, with some even sent home with their own laundry. It is a farcry from the brave project that saw money pumped into the game in the Far East, based on the dream of President Xi Jingping see his nation become a genuine competitor for World Cup glory.”
“Guangzhou FC, historically the best team in China with eight CSL titles to their name, had to take a squad consisting of youth players to the Asian Champions League this year. They finished bottom of their group, losing all six matches and scoring just once. Evergrande, the club’s owners, are now in default. Reports suggest players have been taking home their own kit to clean in a bid to avoid any further bills whatsoever. R&F Properties, owners of Guangzhou City, have given notice on debts they may not be able to settle next month. The problems keep mounting.”