A report from Florida Today. “Looking only at single-family homes, the $359,450 median selling price in Brevard County was up 1.5% in May from $354,000 the month prior. Since May 2023, the sales price of single-family homes was down 2.6% from a median of $369,000. Condominiums and townhomes decreased by 11.3% in sales price during May to a median of $263,500 from $297,000 in April. Compared to May 2023, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes was down 9.1% from $290,000.”
A press release. “In Tampa, FL, the median monthly homeowners association (HOA) fee jumped 17.2% year over year during the three months ending July 31, according to a new report from Redfin. That’s the steepest increase among the 43 U.S. metropolitan areas Redfin analyzed, and compares with a median increase of 5.7% across those metros. Next came two other Florida metros: Orlando (16.7%) and Fort Lauderdale (16.2%). HOA fees also rose in West Palm Beach (12.8%), Jacksonville (7.6%) and Miami (5.7%).”
“‘Many buildings—even those without amenities—now have HOA dues north of $1,000 a month,’ said Rafael Corrales, a Redfin Premier agent in Miami. ‘And with special assessments getting tacked on, a lot of condo owners who are retired and/or on a fixed income are being forced to sell and relocate because they can’t keep up with the payments.’”
“In Jacksonville, condo sale prices fell 6.6% year over year in July—the biggest decline among the metros Redfin analyzed. It was followed by Tampa, which saw a 4.9% drop. There were also declines in Fort Lauderdale (-4.2%), Miami (-2.2%) and Orlando (-0.5%). ‘Condos are really taking a hit. Prices are hurting,’ said Eric Auciello, a Redfin sales manager in Tampa. ‘Condo fees are skyrocketing due to increased insurance costs. These additional fees have adversely affected the value of many units.’”
Fox Business on California. “Actress Mae West’s former Los Angeles home has hit the market for $6 million. Hidden in the Rustic Canyon neighborhood of Santa Monica, the Mediterranean estate’s layout features a beautifully updated gourmet kitchen and dining area, sophisticated living and formal dining rooms. The home was previously put up for sale by real estate investor John Sauter in late 2022 at $8.3 million and then removed from the market.”
NBC Dallas in Texas. “City leaders have decided on a possible solution to the fiery dispute over an abandoned apartment complex in Princeton. The Princeton Luxury Apartments have been under development for seven years now, but the unfinished buildings have been left to rot since 2023, causing an outcry in the community. The 12-building project was abandoned in 2023 after failing a city inspection, and residents have told NBC 5 it’s become a concerning target for vandalism and an eyesore. ‘The unfinished luxury apartments on Highway 380 have become a symbol of failure and unmet promises,’ said Madeline Awalt. A contractor who worked on the project told city leaders after construction was shut down, the site’s owners still owed builders $6.8 million for the work they completed. ‘We did reach a settlement between all of us but through the financing stuff, no one has been able to get paid,’ said Bryce Delean.”
The Idaho Statesman. “Time is running out for one of Boise’s largest construction projects. Developers are beginning to jettison and shift previously announced plans for a new downtown Boise YMCA, over 400 new apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space in response to a looming deadline and high costs. ‘Despite their best efforts, our partners are not prepared to move forward with these projects under (the development agreements),’ said Alexandra Monjar, the development’s project manager for the city’s urban renewal agency, during an Aug. 12 meeting. ‘Both projects are not feasible under the current (development agreements).’ The developer’s financial partner for the 15-story building also recently pulled out, Dean Papé, partner at DeChase said.”
The Denver Gazette. “Amid a homeless crisis plaguing Colorado’s most populated city, a county just south of Denver claims to have found an effective solution to curbing homelessness in its communities. In a campaign to mitigate homelessness, Douglas County officials emphasized one simple message: ‘Handouts don’t help.’ They urged residents, for example, against giving money to homeless people on roadways or sidewalks. From 2022 to 2024, Douglas County witnessed a steep drop in homeless people living on the streets, from 43 to six, according to a recent point-in-time count report conducted by several local third party nonprofits.”
“‘The magic of what’s happening here is that the numbers were so small to start with, so that we could really nip it in the bud,’ Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon, the founder and chairman of the Douglas County Homeless Initiative, told The Denver Gazette. The point, Laydon said, was ‘to get on top of that before it became such a bad problem,’ adding that two years ago, ‘it started by reclaiming our public spaces.’ One of the battles Douglas County fought was to reduce panhandlers to zero. ‘When you allow people and encourage people to give out money at intersections, it just increases the problem,’ Laydon said.”
New York Daily News. “We are very glad, as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday, that provisional CDC data shows that NYC opioid overdose deaths fell 3.1% for the year ending in March 2024 and declined 9% in the rest of the state, as she listed some of the steps being taken to slow this scourge. However, missing from the list is the most effective way to save lives: Giving addicts a safe place to take their drugs just in case they OD. You can’t really police away or disincentivize people from overdosing. To some extent, they can’t help it; many don’t even want to continue abusing substances but cannot stop, burdened by a mix of psychological and chemical dependence. Simply punishing them or trying to push them away from using drugs in certain sites just means they’ll end up doing so elsewhere, perhaps where they’re further from prying eyes and more likely to die.”
“Overdose prevention centers, like the two OnPoint centers that have been chugging along for years in Upper Manhattan. They’ve seen hundreds of overdoses reversed and zero deaths, along with clients directed to in-house treatment and recovery services, all under one roof. This painstaking labor requires and deserves support and funding, and they should receive it without delay. Beyond these centers, we need more people to be trained in and have access to opioid antagonists like naloxone, which Hochul properly highlighted. We commend the City Council for having last year passed a bill to stock naloxone in schools, though there’s still a general dearth of availability in some of the neighborhoods it’s most needed.”
The Daily Hive in Canada. “A piece of Edmonton Oilers history is back on the market, and the price has dropped to a cool $2.4 million. This secluded home, located at 8638 Saskatchewan Drive NW, boasts spectacular views of Hawrelak Park and the river valley and was formerly owned by the first-ever owner of the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Pocklington. The home was first listed on the market in early 2023 for $3.2 million, but the price later fell to $2.9 million. In the last 15 months, the price has fallen by more than $800,000.”
The Henley Standard in the UK. “Waterside properties have dropped in price for the first time in five years, it has been claimed. Although according to the Jackson-Stops annual waterside review, this trend is not expected to last. Nick Leeming, who chairs Jackson-Stops, said: ‘The cyclical nature of the market means that it is likely that a past drop in waterside prices won’t last for long. Their scarcity and kudos are such that by their very location, they will always remain desirable. But what the rebalancing of prices in 2023 does represent is a rare opportunity for buyers to act now and purchase at a good price. We are now far beyond the wild highs in price premiums seen after the coronavirus lockdown, in a time where stability and supply are key drivers in the market moving forwards, levelling out the playing field for all.’”
Daily News Egypt. “Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has dismissed concerns about a Real estate bubble in Egypt, stating that the country is not at risk of experiencing such a phenomenon. Addressing the possibility of a real estate bubble and its potential impact on the national economy, Madbouly emphasised that Egypt has not seen a decline in property values. Madbouly added.’Unlike some other countries, we have not seen a sharp drop in prices. Due to the high population growth, the demand for real estate remains high and sustainable.’”
“Madbouly’s comments come following warnings about the possibility of a real estate bubble in the Egyptian market, raised by economic expert Hany Tawfik. Tawfik stated on his official Facebook page, ‘I repeat my warning: when prices diverge from value, this is a bubble destined to burst. When the majority buy real estate not for housing but for quick resale at a profit during the next, higher-priced phases, this is a snowball that will end like a bubble.’”
The Herald Sun in Australia. “Melbourne homebuyers who just want a roof over their head can get apartments today for the same price they would have a decade ago, or even almost $220,000 less. But, experts warn a bargain might come at the cost of long-term growth potential. New PropTrack analysis has revealed Caulfield East, Werribee South and Essendon North were suburbs with the largest falls in their median unit prices, dropping almost 40 per cent. Meanwhile, apartment values have basically frozen for the past 10 years in Docklands and South Yarra. Gary Peer & Associates’ Daniel Peer said first-home buyers should maximise their budgets to enhance long-term property growth. ‘The more you spend, the more your home is going to grow – if you can afford it,’ Mr Peer said.”
Radio New Zealand. “It is a problem that is starting to stink – literally. Hundreds of brand-new homes in the Cardinal West development near the Auckland suburb of Massey have not been hooked up to a permanent sewerage system. Instead, the waste from 341 households was being pumped to temporary tanks before being trucked away. The Cardinal West development was just farmland, said Henderson-Massey local board chairperson Chris Carter. ‘Somehow or other, there was an undertaking by the developer that he would get [wastewater systems] in place. The council said, ‘OK if you don’t get it in place we’ll have a very temporary, holding solution, where we’d put it in big tanks and take it away in trucks.’ Well, that short-term solution is now … at least a year and a half away, and it’s just not good enough.’”
“There had been a number of issues with the temporary system, Carter said. ‘There’s been smell with pumping out the tanks, a little bit of leakage and great big trucks coming down to take the stuff away… There’s 341 houses, in which 301 have got people living in them. And they’ve got these trucks coming very regularly… so there’s noise and there’s some bad smells.. so it’s not a good situation.’”
“Carter – who was Minister of Housing under Helen Clark’s Labour government, when the leaky buildings crisis emerged – said those problems had been caused by developers taking a ‘short cut.’ ‘They thought if builders were free to build houses without restrictions it would all be great, and you’d get houses built. Well, we got leaky homes. You’ve got to have the rules in place, and you’ve got to follow them.’ Houses in the new development were not cheap either, he said. ‘People’s life savings have gone into them – their dream of a home. And they’ll all have whopping big mortgages and this is a really sad situation.’”