A report from the Oklahoman. “The number of sellers putting homes on the market was greater than the increase in buyers, and April ended with an inventory of 3,342 homes listed for sale with Realtors, nearly 50% more than a year ago. Josh Gonzalez had invested in houses to renovate and sell quickly for a profit before, with business partners, but the house on Lakeaire Drive, in a neighborhood tucked near the southwest shore of Lake Hefner, was the first time for him and his wife to go it by themselves. They figured on a fast flip. They also figured to sell it for $400,000. But it sat. And sat. And sat. For six months. Until May, when the average time a house stayed on the market until it sold was about 40 days. After three months, they lowered their asking price to $385,000. That got some attention, ‘lots of shoppers, but no offers,’ Josh Gonzalez said. So then they knocked it down to $380,000, then $375,000, then to $360,000.”
“Then, finally, after going back and forth with a would-be buyer, he became an actual buyer, for $360,000, with the sellers paying $10,000 toward closing costs. The flip didn’t flop, but it fetched a price that was a far cry from what they were hoping — a reminder, Josh said, that life isn’t ‘all sunshine and rainbows.’”
Treasure Coast Palm in Florida. “At 6:30 a.m., Mary Dotsey starts work prepping and serving lunch to Sebastian Middle School students. At 1:30 p.m., she heads home to get ready for her next job, 30 minutes away in Vero Beach. At 4 p.m., she starts waiting tables at Ocean Grill three nights a week. She finally gets back home about 10 or later. Now the 58-year-old Vero Lakes Estates resident said she’s considering a third job driving for Uber or Lyft on her only two weeknights off. ‘I’m tired,’ she said countless times. ‘I’m just buried. I make money, but I’m doggie-paddling. Groceries, homeowners insurance and car insurance is just so out of control. A litany of unexpected expenses included a new used car, a home equity loan to replace her failed septic system, and financial assistance for her two daughters. ‘It doesn’t end,’ Dotsey said. ‘I literally just can’t even take a few days off.’”
“For Dotsey, a personal life of traveling, going to the beach, getting her nails done and buying steaks for dinner are distant memories. For now, she’ll be working the summer school lunch shift and living on cereal, chicken, Ramen noodles and a pizza special of two slices for $10. ‘I don’t even get a drink anymore,’ she said.”
From Newsweek. “A six-bedroom, eight-bathroom property near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club has slashed its listed price by nearly $3 million to $12.96 million. In March, the house, at 129 Woodbridge Road in Palm Beach, Florida, is 200 feet from Mar-a-Lago and was listed for sale at $15.76 million, a whopping 608 percent higher than when it was sold in 2013, according to Zillow. The market in Palm Beach is experiencing some flux. In the first quarter, the average price for single-family homes fell 25 percent to $15.6 million compared to the same time last year, according to real estate firm Corcoran. But the market has seen homes average above $11 million for the third year in a row. Part of the reason prices dropped was fewer high-end deals in the area compared to last year.”
“‘Palm Beach’s real estate market showcased its resilience and diversity in the First Quarter 2024. Despite a decline in the average price of single-family homes compared to the previous year,’ Pamela Liebman, Corcoran’s CEO, said recently.”
From NBC DFW. “This week, Fort Worth city council members considered an informal report on squatting laws in Texas. A city spokesperson said it came, in part, after concerns from neighbors. State Senator Paul Bettencourt, who held last month’s squatting hearing, said one of the most horrific cases he’s heard of is that of a Mesquite woman, Terri Boyette. Boyette said she had hired a handyman for repairs on the home but told him she’d be helping her mom in Florida for two weeks and would come back after. She said instead, he broke into her home and wouldn’t leave. Boyette said police told her it was a civil matter and to start formal eviction proceedings. ‘He used that time to sell my appliances, furniture, large items. Left the water running when he ripped out the fridge, washer, and dryer, so I have water and mold damage in my house now,’ Boyer said of her squatter.”
“She said she also found needles throughout the house when she was finally able to get in again nearly a year later. ‘He allowed other people to come into the house and use it as a drug den,’ she said to senators. Boyette said she’s out $150,000 and many sentimental items, like her grandmother’s wedding ring. ‘I’m doing my part; I’m working, I’m buying a house. I’m trying to live the American dream, and somebody can walk in and destroy everything I have,” she said.”
The Ventura County Star. “The company that was supposed to turn a motel in Thousand Oaks into 77 apartments for homeless people was in bankruptcy for five weeks, until Wednesday when a federal judge threw out the case for what she called ‘an unfair manipulation of the bankruptcy code.’ Shangri-La Industries, a Los Angeles-based real estate company, obtained $26.7 million in state funds in 2022 to buy and renovate the former Quality Inn & Suites at 12 Conejo Blvd. It was one of seven grants totaling $117 million the company received under California’s Project Homekey, a program that has awarded more than $3.5 billion since 2021 to local governments, nonprofits and private companies to develop housing and services for formerly homeless people.”
“Five of Shangri-La’s seven projects were never completed, including the one in Thousand Oaks. The company and the real estate partnerships it formed to buy and renovate the hotels are now deeply in debt and have been sued by numerous lenders and contractors over unpaid bills. The real estate company has filed a lawsuit of its own against its former chief financial officer, blaming him for the company’s financial troubles and accusing him of using state grants and company funds to furnish an extravagant lifestyle in Beverly Hills. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge M. Elaine Hammond issued rulings dismissing the Salinas and Redlands bankruptcies last month. On Wednesday, she followed up by dismissing the Thousand Oaks and San Diego bankruptcies.”
“Morgan Delijani, the chief compliance officer for F. Roberts Construction, said she was glad to see the bankruptcy dismissed but isn’t optimistic about her company’s chances of getting paid. ‘It’s heartwarming to see the bankruptcy judge is catching up to these bad-faith filings, but at the same time I think the bigger question is, why is the state sitting back and letting other people pay the price for their mistakes?’ Delijani said.”
The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Foreclosures continue to emerge in an interest rate environment that is too challenging for companies that are inexperienced or unfamiliar with Vancouver’s typically lengthy development process. It’s brought to light the many players in the market who are eager to make an easy profit but weren’t prepared for the down cycles of the market. Some are more interested in properties as investments rather than land to build on, so they merely become holding properties. The increase in interest rate hit small investors hard.”
“Colliers’ vice-president Buck Hart and senior associate Jennifer Darling have been dealing with a lot of foreclosure sales in recent months. They have three foreclosure listings in Richmond, B.C., ‘ready to go,’ and two of them are properties that had started construction. ‘In ‘93, ‘97, 2008 and 2018, they were the peaks of the cycles, and following each one of those, there was a downturn, as there is now,’ says Mr. Hart. ‘And there are more foreclosures in the market now than there have been following any one of those peaks.’”
“Jacky Chan is a Vancouver developer and marketer who just returned from Asia, where he met with large developers, fund managers and government, to help bring money for rental housing into Canada, where the demand for rental is stronger than other countries. Mr. Chan says his company’s lawyer is dealing with 10 foreclosures right now and that’s not even her specialty. He cites the ‘double whammy’ of the higher interest rate combined with China’s foundering housing market as having a direct impact on Vancouver. ‘During a massive crash like this, nobody is able to cover for anyone else – they are all cash strapped. It’s a domino effect,’ he says of the Chinese housing market.”
City News in Canada. “Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario (SOLO) held a rally outside Queen’s Park on Saturday, calling on the province to provide better ways to protect small ownership landlords from tenants who refuse to pay. ‘My tenant stopped paying rent to the tune of $26,000, and then he eventually burned my house down,’ said Kevin Costain, SOLO board member. ‘What we call professional tenants, those folks really exploit the system, and they can really do it well.’”
The Negotiator. “‘Having spoken to a senior Labour figure, my sense is they don’t want to scare wealthy individuals away from the UK,’ said James Quarmby, a partner in the private wealth team at law firm Stephenson Harwood. Until there is more clarity, demand remains relatively subdued in London’s prime postcodes. ‘Property is coming to the market as sellers realise that prices won’t rally any time soon and rates aren’t going to come down quickly,’ said Stuart Bailey, head of super prime London sales at Knight Frank.”
Radio New Zealand. “Building cost inflation has slowed to its lowest level in more than four years due to some cheaper material costs, reduced disruptions and a slowing construction sector. Price growth was slowing for a range of economic and industry reasons, QV CostBuilder spokesperson and quantity surveyor Martin Bisset said. ‘Significant economic headwinds continue to blow, which has drastically reduced activity across the wider construction sector.’ Bisset said the drop in the amount of work available meant builders were having to ‘put their best price forward’ to get work.”
7 News in Australia. “An outbreak of new homes riddled with defects has emerged across Western Sydney and whistleblowers say the problem is far bigger than first feared. Residents have been silenced as their homes slowly sink and crack. Homes on a whole block at Glenmore Park were bulldozed because the ground is giving way. House after house, peppered with faults and flaws, is being bought back by developers. ‘New houses are not meant to have slabs that are cracking and walls that are cracking because the land underneath is not appropriate to build on,’ homeowner Mark Stevenson said.”
“Geotechnical engineers say many suburbs are now affected, but three that 7NEWS spoke to are scared to go public, fearing a backlash. ‘There shouldn’t be anything hidden here. Everything should be up front,’ one engineer said. ‘It’s broader than simply Jordan Springs. It’s a practice.’ Residents say developers are overfilling land quickly so it can be levelled for sale. It is stable at first and passes checks, but then it settles over time and serious problems emerge. ‘Mum and dad might purchase a property without any knowledge that there was a 10-metre deep dam there previously,’ one engineer said.”
From CBS News. “American CEOs used to swoon over China. Its vast pool of consumers has been a magnetic draw for decades. But doing business there has become so fraught and risky – with intellectual property theft and an expanded espionage law used to intimidate the business community – that U.S. companies have pressed the pause button. Lesley Stahl: Has anybody counted up the number of empty units, I mean, across the whole country? Joerg Wuttke, –who’s lived here for 30 years: Well, the whole of Germany, we have 82 million people, could move in here right away, 80– 80 to 90 million apartments are empty. Lesley Stahl: 80 to 90 million apartments– Joerg Wuttke: Yes, at least. Lesley Stahl: –are empty? Joerg Wuttke: Right, unfinished.”
“In 2020 the government, under President Xi, clamped down on the rampant borrowing, causing the major developers to default on their loans and run out of money. Lesley Stahl: Look at that. The facade isn’t even finished – Joerg Wuttke: Yeah, yeah. He says they couldn’t even afford to take down the cranes. In January, Evergrande, once China’s largest developer, was ordered to liquidate its remaining assets.”
“Left in the lurch are millions of Chinese citizens who bought these apartments before they were built. Joerg Wuttke: The developers owe their customers that paid up to the magnitude of $1 trillion. Lesley Stahl: So, if I did a down payment on one of these apartments, will I ever see that money? Joerg Wuttke: No, you will not see the money. Lesley Stahl: It’s gone? It’s vanished– Joerg Wuttke: It’s gone, it’s finished. So, I mean, it’s— it’s really dramatic.”