It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “‘In this particular market, the metro Detroit market we’re actually seeing home prices dropping. I’m seeing home prices drop by $10,000 a month,’ said broker Maynard Neal.”
“‘Now that we’re entering a bit of a recovery phase it’s nice in that it’s giving buyers a chance to breathe and to take time throughout the process,’ said Jen Stanbrough, a West Des Moines residential real estate broker and past president of the Realtors association. ‘(Quick-decision buying) led to a lot of stress-buying … and we were seeing a lot of buyer’s remorse or transactions falling out.’”
“‘It is a little heartbreaking where we thought we would be out of there by now, but now we’re not,’ said Georgie Babisak, who is attempting to sell her home. Soon after they listed their 4 bedroom Richardson Texas home the Fed began raising interest rates, which in turn is pricing some buyers out of the homes they would like. ‘It’s been challenging to be in a down market now, where you think you have a plan and the plans change,’ she said.”
“Missourians are buying fewer homes amid a spike in house prices, thanks largely to increasing interest rates from the Federal Reserve. ‘[We’re] slowly starting to transition from a sellers market that we’ve seen for about two years and now into a little bit of a buyers market,’ said Megan Walters of eXp Realty. Walters says the industry is experiencing growing pains as the market adjusts from the post-COVID housing shortage that made things advantageous for sellers. ‘But [sellers aren’t] desperate enough to actually always make those price adjustments and price the home for the given market climate so then they just kind of sit in stagnation.’”
“New regulations on the industry take affect May 1st, 2023 after years of battles and negotiations over the City of San Diego’s first effort at regulating short-term vacation rentals. Paul Becker, president of the San Diego-based Bluewater Vacation Rentals, thinks many people may simply have not heard about the new system. While many of Becker’s clients outside of Mission Beach will be relieved that they will not have to enter a lottery, he says concern remains about how the city enforces the new regulations. ‘They’ve built their retirement, they built their life around the short-term rentals and they’re very worried about losing that ability.’”
“Eric Wu, co-founder of Opendoor, is stepping down as CEO of the iBuyer, which is grappling with massive losses and a plummeting stock price and faces a slowing housing market. The San Francisco-based company reported a net loss of $928 million in the third quarter — more than 17 times what it lost in the second quarter. Much of that loss was attributed to a $573 million writedown in home values, the firm said in a letter to shareholders, describing the adjustment as a ‘conservative forward view.’ Its revenues for the quarter were $3.4 billion, down from $4.2 billion in the second quarter, and its stock has fallen nearly 90 percent this year. In November, it laid off about 550 employees, or nearly 20 percent of its workforce.”
“The share of mortgages with ultralong amortization periods has rapidly increased to about 30 per cent of home loans at some of Canada’s biggest banks, another sign borrowers are struggling with higher interest rates. The growing proportion of mortgages with long amortizations gives an indication of the number of borrowers who could face significant hikes to monthly payments when they renew their loans. National Bank of Canada chief executive Laurent Ferreira said he believes borrowers will face substantial increases in mortgage payments in the latter half of 2023 and 2024, when a chunk of fixed-rate mortgage holders are due to renew. He estimated that an average mortgage payment of $1,500 a month today will jump to $2,500 by 2024.”
“‘The payment shock that this will bring to consumers over the second half of ‘23 and ‘24 on mortgage payments is quite substantial. Everyone knows it,’ he said. ‘The central bank also knows it.’”
“According to Danos Group, the average house price in Cyprus is expected to fall for the first time in two years in 2023. Asked if now is a good time for someone with cash to buy a house, Eleni Averkiou, a Danos representative said the period is favourable for those in the market for a home and do not need a mortgage. ‘Now is a good time to buy because prices are dropping. It would be a good idea to wait until next year when prices are expected to hit their lowest ebb.’”
“Soaring interest rates and plunging house prices could slash up to $216,000 off the value of an Australian home by the end of next year, particularly for new homeowners, analysis has revealed. Sally Tindall, head of research at RateCity, said Australia’s property market looks set to be on a rollercoaster ride over the next couple of years with prices expected to fall further in 2023 as the RBA grapples with soaring inflation. ‘Anyone who bought at the peak should unsubscribe from property market notifications and focus on paying down their debt,’ she said.”
“‘Borrowers who can’t refinance their loan because of their equity position should still negotiate with their lender for a better rate. This will help them make their monthly repayments, and potentially extra so they can break out of mortgage prison faster,’ said Tindall. ‘If a person’s equity falls into negative territory, lenders are unlikely to take them on at all as a new customer which means they’re stuck with their current lender.’”
“The future isn’t looking good for renovation reality show The Block Australia, after its New Zealand counterpart pulled the plug on their 11th season. The announcement sparked debate amongst Kiwi fans, with many happy to farewell the show. This year, the winners of The Block NZ made a scarce profit of $4k, the next couple making a measly $100 and the remaining teams walked away empty-handed. ‘I’m glad for the sake of the contestants after how heartbreaking this year was to watch,’ one person commented. ‘The Block has maybe had its day…the Aussie season was a disaster too,’ another pointed out.”
“Buyer’s advocate Frank Valentic spoke with Daily Mail, saying these figures put the producers and teams ‘$7 million behind the eight-ball from day dot,’ adding, ‘The Block has paid a premium there, double what we would expect the properties to be worth. It could be financially the worst series yet.’”
“Mike Silagadze survived what he calls a sectorwide ‘atom bomb’ – the blow-up of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. – scathed and chagrined, but not critically harmed. Gadze tried to pull out its assets. But it was too late, Mr. Silagadze said. Now, that money, in the form of fiat currency, is tied up in FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. Although Mr. Silagadze hopes Gadze might get back 20 to 50 cents on the dollar, it likely will not happen for years, he said. He estimates his fund will sustain a 10- to 15-per-cent hit. ‘I went through all the stages of grief,’ Mr. Silagadze said in an interview. ‘Mostly, I feel awful for our investors. I feel I let people down because I was supposed to be protecting their money – and my own.’”