It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “New York City is coping with a nationwide exodus of residents from big, expensive cities. In addition, foreign buyers have retreated from the market. ‘The thing is, you don’t have the Chinese buyers anymore,’ said FOX Business’ Cheryl Casone from inside a Meatpacking District penthouse that saw it’s price slashed by $3 million. ‘You don’t have the Saudi buyers, don’t have a lot of the Russian money flowing into New York because there was a law change — and that has changed the story.’”
“The days of making easy money in Hamptons real estate are — spoiler alert — over for now. Sales are down and inventory is up a staggering 76.9 percent year-over-year. So, what does any of this mean? If you want to buy on the East End, now is a fabulous time. Prices are down and sellers are dispirited, so deals can be made. If you want to sell, make sure your pricing is realistic.”
“It seems that the market for real estate in D.C., while still competitive and neighborhoods are still gaining in value or staying strong in their value, is trending toward a buyers market. Based off what I have heard from other agents, houses in many instances are sitting longer on the market, getting fewer offers than we were seeing few years ago, and buyers are starting to ask for more from the seller with regards to credits, repairs, price reductions, etc.”
“Nearly a year after the most recent North Platte-Lincoln County housing study, local lists of homes for sale are growing longer in the wake of several tight years. ‘It’s finally changing,’ said Nancy Faulhaber, part founding owner of Coldwell Banker in North Platte. ‘You had people who lived in a $150,000 house and wanted a $200,000 house, and they didn’t have anything to buy. And now they do.’”
“Luxury home prices have slipped in some California markets. The median price for a high-end home in Santa Clara was $2.8 million in August, a year-over-year drop of 2.8%. This was the largest fall in price there since realtor.com started tracking luxury markets in 2010. Million-dollar sales in Santa Clara were also down 23.2%. And in Marin County, the median luxury price fell 6.5% to $3.1 million, compared to the previous year, the report found.”
“Wealthy homebuyers are finding global cities less welcoming — even hostile — to their cash. Even as the flow of investment has slowed, many developers are delivering projects started when the supply of rich buyers seemed to go on forever. Now there’s a glut of luxury properties. Prices got too high and economic conditions changed, said Thomas Veraguth, the Zurich-based head of global real estate strategy for UBS Wealth Management.”
“‘It’s fatigue,’ Veraguth said. ‘Even the richest will say, ‘I’m not going to pay that price anymore.’”
“Calgary’s sluggish housing market continues to see prices fall for new single-family detached homes. Calgary Real Estate Board chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says too many homes have been built, and the resale side of the market is oversupplied as well. ‘Buyers are really hard to find these days for homes in pretty much any price range,’ said Jim Sparrow, a long-time realtor with Royal LePage. ‘If you’re selling your house, you have to take a deep, deep breath and you have to lower your price to probably well below what you thought your house was worth. And even then, you’re in for a challenging time.’”
“Since the referendum in June 2016, house prices in prime central London have dropped between 14 and 19 per cent. Several homes on the market with asking prices of more than £5 million have had their prices slashed by more than 30 per cent. A six-bedroom house in Chelsea, currently marketed for £5.95 million, was listed in 2013 at £9 million, according to Zoopla. In Hampstead, a six-bedroom home currently marketed for £5.25 million was listed on Zoopla in November 2016 for £6.95 million.”
“Property prices have fallen in Dublin for the third month in a row. Both house and apartment prices fell. The sharpest declines have been experienced in the leafier and more expensive areas. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown saw house prices decline 6.8pc in the 12 months to September. The price of the typical house has fallen by €6,000 in the last month alone.”
“‘Not only were last month‘s data weak, but further weakness lurks ahead. Real estate is primed for a further moderation as financing to the sector is being squeezed by a regulatory crackdown,’ Martin Lynge Rasmussen, a China economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. The weakness in October, which is traditionally a high season for new home sales and dubbed ‘Golden September and Silver October,’ was in line with sluggish transactions in smaller cities.”
“The number of applications for building permits has fallen sharply, reflecting a downturn in the local building industry. Esperance-Goldfields Master Builders chair Brett Partington said Esperance had experienced a downturn. ‘It’s the old supply and demand. There’s actually an oversupply of residential housing,’ Mr Partington said. ‘Previously, there were a lot of people who had a residential home and a rental investment. As people have left the town to find employment elsewhere, there was an oversupply of housing.’”