A report from KTVZ in Oregon. “The Bend home market ‘finished with a stabilizing median sale price’ of $678,000, down $18,000 from November and close to October’s figure. It’s also a drop of nearly $100,000 from the spring, when Bend’s median sale price hit a record $773,000, appraiser Donnie Montagner said. Redmond’s home price market, meanwhile, showed a drop in the median sale price for a third straight month, down $28,000 to $425,000, Montagner said.”
425 Business in Washington. “December’s median sales price of single-family homes and condominiums combined fell 1.9 percent in King County and 0.14 percent in Snohomish County from December 2021, hitting $735,000 and $679,000, respectively. On King County’s Eastside, the median sales price for single-family homes fell 15.1 percent from a year ago, hitting $1.3 million. The biggest percentage drop on the Eastside was in the Kirkland/Bridle Trails area, where the median fell 28.7 percent, to $1.45 million. The highest median sales price was in Bellevue west of I-405, at $3.945 million, which was down 8.2 percent. In Snohomish County, the largest percentage drop in median sales price of single-family homes occurred in the southwest part of the county, down 11.2 percent to $761,000.”
Fox 31 in Colorado. “In the Denver metro, prices slid from a high last April consistently through December, according to the January report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. In December, the median price for a single family detached home was $600,000 – about $80,000 less than in April and matching the median prices in December 2021 and January 2022. Buyers are not falling over each other to snap up available homes, either. Homes are spending about twice as much time in the MLS than they were a year ago. Sellers have less leverage and are having to concede they can’t command the kind of prices seen earlier in the year.”
Fort Myers Beach Talk in Florida. “Real estate is a major engine of economic activity on Fort Myers Beach. Like other businesses on the island, Hurricane Ian crashed down on the industry. In the entire month of October, there was only one closing on Fort Myers Beach. Lahaina Realty owner Paula Kiker said she is expecting a correction that began in the summer to continue in the first quarter if this year, though she does not expect a crash in prices as occurred in 2007. Prices in some cases are about 30% off pre-Ian depending on condition.”
“She believes there could be a ‘saturation’ of the market in the first quarter as more homes go up for sale. Kiker said there are a still a lot of ‘derelict properties’ that property owners have yet to begin working on. ‘I believe once folks receive their insurance funds, we will see more units hitting the market,’ Kiker stated. ‘For those that may have overpaid the last 2 years and need the rental income, may need to sell also, and the questions will be, how low will they go to get out of a mortgage?’”
The Payson Roundup. “The housing fever has broken in Rim Country, but it’s going to take a while before it returns to health. Between rising interest rates and an average home price close to half a million dollars in Payson, first-time homebuyers find themselves priced out of the market. ‘Many homebuyers have found themselves priced out of the market … or they want to wait to see if prices will fall,’ she said. ‘Sellers appear to be unwilling to lower prices currently.’ Orris believes sellers might change their mind as the current market trend continues.”
The Gotham Gazette in New York. “I can’t say I am optimistic about 2023. Increasingly I am hearing from owners of rent-stabilized apartment buildings that they will not be able to make their mortgage payments this month or soon thereafter. A confluence of ‘once in a lifetime’ events is pushing this much needed housing toward the brink of insolvency.”
KTVB Boise in Idaho. “For the past several years, we watched as Idaho made just about every housing market list and we witnessed people from all over the country moving to the gem state. ‘I don’t think that that’s a big indicator that suddenly the pipeline has dried up, or people are not moving into Idaho,’ said Debbi Myers, the 2023 President of Boise Regional Realtors board of directors. ‘We’re still seeing plenty of people purchasing homes in Idaho and moving here and of course, the market has slowed, the interest rates went up and we’re just seeing some normalization, basically, prices are getting to be more realistic, which is a good thing for consumers.’”
From Axios. “Oh, how the tables have turned. Now, it’s homebuyers who must be wooed. Homebuilders are offering concessions to real estate agents who bring in buyers, too. One builder in Houston, Texas is giving agents a $10,000 bonus on top of their typical 3% commission and a chance to win a Mercedes, per a flyer, shared with Axios. The rising popularity of concessions could help explain why home prices haven’t fallen faster, said Angela Cherry, communications director at Redfin. With a concession, buyers pay less money, but list prices and closing prices don’t change. ‘They’re kind of masking the true cost of the transaction,’ she said.”
ABC 30 in California. “Just like Valley temperatures, the real estate market has cooled considerably over the past few months. Steve Flach, president of the Fresno Association of Realtors, says the new year will bring a return to normalcy in the housing market. ‘2020 and 2021, the appreciation in our market was 18-20%, and that’s just not sustainable and not healthy,’ he said. ‘Sellers are coming down on prices a little bit but again, this is good. If we look back two years ago, buyers were ‘Take it or leave it’ and they were having to come in above appraised value, guaranteeing cash above appraised value.’”
NBC Bay Area in California. “When it comes to making it in the Bay, 10% not enough. That’s the price drop for the average home in San Francisco. In fact, home prices are down throughout the Bay Area. But sales remain extremely slow. According to a report by Redfin, prices are down. On average, more than 10% in San Francisco and almost 6% in San Jose. While it may be good news for buyers, but it means far fewer sellers. ‘I do think that sellers are a little nervous, like, I don’t want to sell for 6% less than what my neighbor sold for a year ago. That’s painful,’ said Holly Barr of Compass Real Estate.”
CTV News in Canada. “December had the lowest number of home sales according to London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) President, Randy Pawlowski. ‘No one could have predicted that at the beginning of the year when the local housing market peaked, fueled by the lingering pandemic and its socio-economic effects. Once the economy started to get back on track and the Bank of Canada began increasing its benchmark rate, the dynamics of the local housing market changed drastically. One could say that, for LSTAR Members, 2022 came in as a roaring lion and went out like a lamb.’”
“The average price for all homes in the region peaked in February, 2022 at $825,221 and has since fallen 25.7% to the current level of $612,770. For single-family homes, the price peaked back in February, 2002 at $904,800, and has now dropped 27.4% to $656,792.”
The Langley Advance in Canada. “In December, just 716 homes sold in the region from North Delta through to Abbotsford, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. In December, prices continued to dip across most categories of housing in Langley. The benchmark price – the average price of a ‘typical’ single family home – dropped to $1.48 million, down below $1.5 million for the first time since October 2021. It’s a significant drop from the market peak in May, 2022, when the benchmark price was over $1.8 million, and 10.9 per cent below the $1.66 million homes cost in the same month a year before.”
The Paris Star in Canada. “The average sale price of a home in the Brantford area is down 24 per cent from the same time a year ago. A report from the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association indicates there were 92 homes sold in December at an average price of $680,540, down about $170,000 from December 2021. Along with Brantford, other areas with some of the largest declines in property values include Cambridge, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kawartha Lakes and Hamilton/Burlington.”
Better Dwelling in Canada. “The world’s largest real estate bubble is officially ‘crashing.’ Greater Toronto real estate continues to fall lower, reversing gains. The TRREB benchmark, or typical home, price fell to $1,089,400 in December. This represents a drop of 0.8% (-$8,400) from last month, and 8.9% (-$105,647) lower than last year. Prices have now rolled back to September 2021 levels, wiping out over a year worth of gains. Annual price declines obfuscate just how fast home prices are falling across Greater Toronto. Since prices peaked in March 2022, the TRREB benchmark has dropped 21.4% (-$294,600). The benchmark home in the City of Toronto dropped 22.2% (-$303,800) from peak. The technical term for asset prices that fall more than 20% from peak within a span of 12 months is a ‘crash.’ People can now objectively say Toronto real estate has ‘crashed,’ and be correct.”
The Korea Times. “‘I took out non-collateral loans worth around 100 million won ($78,600) back in 2021 and built an investment portfolio with a focus on U.S. stocks ― particularly Tesla,’ a Tesla shareholder here said. ‘Few investors would have expected the stock to take such a steep fall back then. I have no choice but to wait for it to rebound, even paying interest on the loans comes as a big financial burden.’”
“‘The stock fall, in itself, does not matter unless I sell them off at a loss,’ a 30-something office worker said. ‘But the problem is that I have to delay my life plans ― such as marriage and purchasing a home ― due to the untimely stock investment. Most young investors face similar mental stress.’”
“‘Apple has long maintained its dominant leadership as the world’s most valuable company, so I was in love with Apple stocks and purchased 30 million won worth gradually until early 2022 with a long-term viewpoint,’ an office worker in his 40s said. ‘But shares of the seemingly unbeatable company also showed a downward trajectory when the market entered the bearish cycle. Fears of a further price fall are constantly on my mind.’”
“‘I purchased a home in 2021 when the housing market bubble reached its peak, and then started purchasing U.S. stocks to make pocket money,’ a small business owner in Seoul said. ‘But I did not pay special attention to any potential risks from the interest burden. I am having to pay more interest for mortgage and non-collateral loans, and my business does not prosper as it used to as people are reducing spending in what could be the early phase of a recession,’ he said. ‘I will place top priority on analyzing risks by forecasting the possible worst-case scenario before making any real estate and stock investments from now on.’”