It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “The September Realtor.com report stated: ‘August [2021] housing data shows early signs of sellers beginning to compete for buyers … As inventory and new listings continued to improve in August, the rate of sellers making price adjustments has begun to approach more normal levels.’ In the above quote, price ‘adjustments’ refers to reductions. It seems that many sellers across the U.S. are now starting to lower their prices, partly in response to more homes coming onto the market.”
“For many months now, home sellers in the U.S. have pretty much had their way in terms of pricing and negotiations. They could pick a price out of the clear blue sky and have buyers lining up to pay it. That now appears to be changing in some housing markets across the country. And inventory growth has a lot to do with it.”
“Johnston County has been home to one of the hottest housing markets in the state these past 18 months, but there are signs the local market might be cooling off, according to Zillow, which shows buyers might finally be getting a break in what has been a historic seller’s market. ‘One thing we are seeing are signs that inventory is starting to pick up,’ said Nicole Bachaud, an economic data analyst. She said that ‘indicates new inventory is coming onto the market, there’s going to be a little less competition and things are going to shift a little bit more in favor of buyers.’”
“Homebuilders are playing catch up, and there’s been a lot of activity recently in Johnston County. Raleigh-based Greenfield Communities is planning 850 new homes near Wilson’s Mills, and a local development group is looking to sell nearly 500 acres that could one day be home to nearly 2,000 homes in Smithfield.”
“Real estate agent Keri Craig says things have cooled down over the last few months in Twin Falls. ‘Everything is staying pretty steady, buyers are buying, more houses are coming on the market, so that’s helping with the pricing as well,’ said Craig.”
“Spokane County‘s red-hot housing market is showing signs of a fall cooldown as the median price in August dropped to $389,728 from a record-breaking $395,000 in July. The county had 374 homes available on the market in July. Spokane County had 479 homes available on the market in August. New home listings in Spokane County rose to 916 last month.”
“Making the winning offer on a home in the current hyper-competitive real estate market in DFW requires the guidance of a leading expert, like the ones at Allie Beth Allman & Associates. In today’s wild housing market, does it really matter how you price your home? Pricing is always key. Lately, I’ve seen a lot of overpriced homes on the market and they are sitting.”
“With tax revenues plunging and businesses struggling to stay afloat, Palo Alto’s elected leaders agree that they will need plenty of help to reverse the trend and restore prosperity. There is little consensus, however, on what exactly should be done. Council members will also consider a staff recommendation to hire an economic coordinator, a position that will cost between $245,000 and $290,000, according to the department. ‘It’s not that I don’t think we should have someone on staff,’ said council member Alison Cormack. ‘It’s that we don’t have the ongoing money today.’”
“When Kushner Companies paid $36.5 million for six law school dorms, it seemed like a savvy deal. The Brooklyn Law School portfolio had been listed for more than $41 million and two purchasers offered that price, but after the transactions fell through, Kushner swooped in and picked it up at a discount in 2014. The multifamily developer planned to turn three of the properties into luxury single-family homes and keep the remaining three as multifamily rentals.”
“Although Kushner sold the three townhomes for $27 million altogether, or $7.25 million more than it paid, that does not account for renovation costs that surely ran into the millions, not to mention transfer taxes and other closing costs, plus property taxes and interest as the homes went unsold for a combined 13 years. After six years, four deep price cuts and one lawsuit, the developer has brought in just over $33 million across four transactions.”
“249 Hodgson Dr., Newmarket, Ont. This raised bungalow had some more upgrades than a neighbouring property that sold for $1.25-million this spring, so it was priced under $900,000 to draw out buyers this summer. However, offers were inadequate, so it was relisted for $949,000. The sellers reviewed two more proposals and took the one at $917,000. ‘A few doors down, one house sold for $1.25-million basically on the last day in April, so that was the best sale on the street for quite a while,’ said agent Lucais Shepherd. ‘We were shooting for somewhere in that range, but the market went down a little bit this summer from the spring, and there was more inventory so that made more competition.’”
“John King from Andrew Scott Robertson in London: ‘As to be expected, a quieter period all round. Vendors still contemplating their options, with a number who’s confidence on values exceeds their knowledge of the market at present.’”
“Toowong real estate agent Gabrielle Trickey, who has witnessed properties selling recently for up to $300,000 over the asking price in Brisbane’s leafy western suburbs, said some buyers became aggressive and angry when told their offer was too low. ‘We are having people who are buying other houses just to make sure they have got a house before they come to an auction and then buy the house at auction and then have to crash the first contract. So just really erratic, irrational behaviour — very desperate, it is like they think there will never be another chance that they can purchase this house.’”
“Buyers’ Agent Brett Warren said buyers were compromising and doing things they would ordinarily not. ‘People are now making offers sight unseen and in many cases without actually inspecting the property. They are sometimes compromising and buying what we would call secondary properties in flood zones, on busy roads and railway lines. But then when they need to sell in a lesser market, they lose out.’”
“After receiving the keys to their houses, the smile on the buyers’ faces soon fade when they find themselves caught in the arduous process of getting the multiple defects in their homes rectified satisfactorily. Complaint One: ‘I received the keys to our home and to our dismay, the property had many defects, ranging from minor problems to major misalignments of the walls and beams. The developer is rectifying the minor defects but is not willing to align the walls or beams that have been placed improperly. How can I have the process for rectification expedited as we have paid in full and are still unable to occupy the house?’”
“Complaint Two: ‘The floor tiles in my apartment’s living room are not properly fixed. When one walks over them, they give a certain hollow sound. There are at least 30 floor tiles with this problem. Also, the edges where the walls and the tiles meet are not properly done. I have submitted a complaint form, but the developer has not done anything to rectify them. Now, it has been almost 12 months, and every time we call to ask about the repair work, they tell us they could not find the right colour tiles. We are told that the only alternative is for us to change all the tiles with the developer only bearing the cost of workmanship!’”
“Shares in the embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande have slumped again after two credit downgrades in as many days amid concerns that it will default on parts of its massive $300bn debt pile. Evergrande, which is one of the world’s most indebted companies, has seen its shares tumble 75% this year. The online market trading platform IG said Evergrande posed ‘a risk of contagion’ after Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse and Citibank were no longer accepting the bonds of another highly indebted Chinese property developer, Fantasia, as collateral.”
“The firm has struggled to service its debts and a crackdown on the property sector by Beijing has made it even harder to raise cash, fuelling concerns it will go bankrupt. The value of new home sales has fallen 20% in China since the peak in the first three months of this year, and the value of land sales are also sharply down. Along with Beijing’s tougher regulation, these factors have made it much harder for Evergrande to dispose of unsold properties even with huge discounts.”