A report from Yahoo Money. “Eighteen percent of homeowners in the U. S. plan on selling their homes within the next twelve months, according to Realtor.com’s 2022 Home Sellers report. This is more than twice the 8% of homeowners that typically said they planned to sell at the start of the Spring buying season pre-pandemic and almost double the 10% of homeowners who said they planned to sell in 2021.”
“‘I think a lot of homeowners have been obviously looking at the trajectory of prices this past year and have seen the equity in their homes reach record highs,’ says George Ratiu, chief economist for Realtor.com. ‘In a sense, [this year] is a catch-up. It’s over two years of delayed activity about to come on the market this year.’”
The New Jersey Herald. “Out in Sussex County, the party seemed to be winding down. With mortgage rates rising, real estate agent Alexandra Estevez has been recalculating what clients can afford. Those previously looking in the $550,000 range late last year are now hunting around $400,000 due to higher borrowing costs. Estevez works throughout North Jersey in Warren, Sussex, Morris and Essex counties. Her clients looking for homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 range have gotten frustrated this spring. ‘They’re losing that fire they have,’ she said. ‘It’s become more of a challenge.’”
From WFLA in Florida. “For the more expensive homes, Tampa realtor Stephen Gay said he is already seeing sales slow down in recent weeks. ‘Above $1 million it used to be, even two months ago, you could throw a crazy number out there and you could get multiple offers and it might even go higher than that crazy number. Now I think buyers are getting more data conscience and looking at what things are really worth, rather than being so desperate to get into anything,’ said Gay.”
From WFAA in Texas. “Could the housing fever be cooling off here just a little? Broker Joe Atkins just had an open house for a new listing. A big asterisk also came to that open house and other very recent listings Atkins has observed. He’s noticing more buyers who are ‘shopping’. Unlike what he, and so many other realtors have been seeing for a while, bidding wars aren’t starting immediately, ‘What we’re seeing is a little slight slowdown as far as people making decisions. So, where we were getting offers right out of the gate–I’m talking the first five hours on the market–a lot of these now aren’t coming in until day 2 or day 3.’”
The Southern California Newsgroup. “House prices started 2022 with a dip in one-third of U.S. markets — including Los Angeles County — as rising interest rates, pricey options and shaky economics seemed to chill the pandemic era’s buying binge. Despite what you may be hearing about widespread pricing strength, the typical buyer paid less in 64 metros — or 35% of all markets tracked — between the first three months of 2022 and last year’s fourth quarter. The weakest metro performance was in Rockford, Ill., down 11.3% in three months, followed by Akron, Ohio, down 9.7%, Topeka, Kansas, down 9.5%, Springfield, Ill., down 9.1% and Binghamton, N.Y., down 7.7%.”
“And last summer, 36 metros had price declines — or 20% of the nation. California’s drops in the third quarter included three of eight metros: San Jose (2.9%), San Francisco (2.5%), and Orange County (0.9%). This same math also details the insanity of spring a year ago. In 2021’s second quarter, there was no quarterly price dips anywhere in the nation.”
From KDVR on Colorado. “According to the latest Market Trends Report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the high This comes after the latest Market Trends Report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, which shows that high mortgage rates seen in April are keeping Coloradans from moving around and loosening the housing supply as a result. ‘We normally see an 8.59% increase in month-over-month inventory,’ an overview from Andrew Abrams, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee read. ‘This month, we saw an outstanding 44.26% increase. While that does equate to less than 1,000 more properties currently on the market it is a forecast of things to come.’”
The Ahwatukee Foothills News in Arizona. “A leading Valley residential real estate analyst is calling out media reports of a continuing surge in rent, saying the most recent data from the Phoenix metro housing market shows rents are starting to fall slightly, available rental units are increasing and nervous landlords are starting to offer deals to attract tenants. Over the last few weeks, the Cromford Report has been identifying data that prompted it to state on April 22: ‘Almost everybody is saying rents are going up. Not in Phoenix, they’re not. With rents going down and mortgage rates and home purchase prices going up, the argument for buying over renting is starting to look significantly weaker.’”
“It’s more than just inventory of single-family homes, townhouses and apartments that is prompting that statement. The Cromford Report noted that inventory of for-sale homes also is rising while the number of closings is trending downward. ‘At the moment the number of homes for sale remains very far below normal, but we have seen before how it can increase sharply if more sellers emerge just as demand is declining.’”
“Stating that the sellers market is slowly deteriorating in 17 major Valley municipalities, the Cromford Report said that between mid-March and mid-April, Cromford Report noted: ‘We have seen a 34% increase in the number of new rental listings added to ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service) compared with the same four weeks in 2021.’ It added there has also been a 20% increase in the number of rental homes available in Phoenix on the Progress Residential web site over the past four weeks.”
“What it means, it said, is ‘renters of single-family detached homes are seeing far more choice than they did last year and we are starting to see homes advertised with ‘the first month’s rent is free.’ Rental supply is particularly strong in Gilbert. ‘This appears to be a significant turnaround in the rental market and it does not seem to have been recognized by the media outlets, who are mostly still referring to rising rents. That is so 2021.’”
The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Toronto’s housing market slowed in April, with sales dropping 27 per cent and home prices declining as buyers took a pause amid the rise in borrowing costs. Today, homes are taking longer to sell. Properties are drawing a handful of showings, if any at all, and some homes are not getting any offers. ‘It literally changed overnight,’ said Natalie Lewin, a realtor with Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd. who has sold homes in Toronto for more than two decades.”
“Prospective buyers are now waiting to see whether home prices will fall further. Rayo Irani, a realtor who has sold homes in the Toronto area for nearly 20 years, said some of his buyers are saying: ‘I don’t have to buy today. I can wait until July. There’s another announcement coming in June. Let’s wait and watch. Maybe I can get another $50,000 off.’”
The Welland Tribune in Canada. “Sales have declined rapidly over the past six or so weeks, said John Pasalis, president of real estate brokerage Realosophy, which is the opposite of what normally happens in the spring for real estate. Fewer buyers and showings combined with owners under pressure to sell have driven down prices along with sales. After seeing ‘the rise of the 905’ during the pandemic, now the market is readjusting, said Simeon Papailias, a broker with Royal LePage who specializes in investment real estate. ‘We’re now going to see the 905 stabilizing, finding its footing,’ he said.”
“The ‘insane’ increases in certain areas of the GTA were not sustainable, he said, so while homeowners and would-be buyers may be looking on with trepidation, by fall the new normal will be apparent.”
From News.com.au in Australia. “A Sydney investor who purchased 12 properties during the pandemic has been hit by a surprise increase in his loan repayments following Tuesday’s rate hike. Bharat Patel settled on his 22nd property purchase just a few weeks before the RBA raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 0.35 per cent. Despite having 17 mortgages and $3.9m in debt, he claims the increase has only added $750 a month to the total loan repayments on his $8m portfolio – far less than the $8,000 in net rental income he and his wife receive each month.”
“He said he is confident that interest rates won’t go higher than 6 per cent in the short term. ‘If rates go higher than 6 per cent, I think Australia will be in trouble,’ he said. ‘No-one could afford more than 6 per cent currently because of the market. I have properties sitting between $300,000 to $500,000 but imagine people living in Sydney with a mortgage of $3-$4m. If the rate went higher than 6 per cent I think a lot of people would be in trouble and that could burst the whole economy. I’m sure that is not a viable option for the government to consider.’”
From Stuff New Zealand. “A homeowner and her elderly mother are incensed after a developer buyer of their Auckland property asked for a $500,000 discount, just two weeks out from settlement. The developer bought the property sight unseen at auction seven months ago, for $4.07 million – at the time a record price for Drury village. He paid an unrefundable deposit of 5%, but was apparently prepared to forfeit that to walk away from the deal. The developer told Stuff he ‘didn’t want to default’ and was trying to settle the property on time.”
“Property lawyer Jan McNamara, of Mac & Co, said a person (or company) failing to settle on a sales and purchase agreement is ultimately responsible for a breach of contract, and there is a penalty interest clause in a standard contract. The property owner can sue for any losses they suffer, but it is safer to insist on a good deposit upfront. ‘For example, if the owner has to sell to someone else and gets $1 million less, they could sue for that difference,’ she said. ‘But a developer could close down the company, and then you’ve got nothing to sue. This is why it is important to get a good deposit.’”
“McNamara said failure to settle almost always happens when there’s a financial crisis of some sort. It may be because property prices are dropping, which can impact a purchaser’s funding. ‘It’s not just developers (who can get into trouble). It can also be standard purchasers who have bought off the plans or have a long agreement. ‘”