A report from the Lawton Constitution in Oklahoma. “For the first time in her 40 years as a realtor, Brenda Bentley is seeing sellers get well above asking price for their home. ‘It’s been hard for sellers all these years,’ Bentley said. ‘This is the first time in my career, and I’ve been doing this for 40 years, that I’ve seen a seller actually make money and get above asking and it worked out and not paying closing costs. They’re still paying some but not like they were like every deal had 6 — $8,000 in closing.’”
“Over the last few months, she and her business partner, Nelson Marrero, have seen a very drastic shift in the Lawton housing market. ‘I don’t see prices going down all that much over time,’ said Marrero, ‘I think what we’ll see is longer D.O.M.s (days on market). In 2020 houses would stay on market for about 79 days or more, now they’re only lasting about 39 days. Before that, it could take up to six months to sell a house. It was really easy to negotiate then. We had a buyer’s market and sellers were really getting the short end of the stick. This seller’s market we have now isn’t just in Lawton either, it’s everywhere.’”
From Politico. “As of the end of June, just $3 billion of the funds had been disbursed. Landlords have lost billions of dollars a month under the ban. ‘We’re doing everything the right way,’ said Matthew Haines, a Dallas property owner. ‘But we’re drowning.’ Haines and his wife own three apartment buildings with fewer than 100 units, where the average rent is between $780 and $950 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. ‘We’ve turned it over to collections, but we’ll never see it,’ he said of his tenants unpaid rent. ‘In January we had to take $50,000 out of our personal savings just to keep one of the properties going so we didn’t have to lay anyone off.’”
“‘Our industry has been picking up the slack from the very beginning, in terms of helping people deal with the pandemic,’ said Cindy Chetti, senior vice president at the National Multifamily Housing Council, which represents professional landlords. ‘That’s what’s not being reported, how much the industry is doing on this, how much they are working with residents,’ Chetti added. ‘That’s the untold story, but nobody wants to talk about it.’”
“Some Democrats are openly dismissing property owners’ concerns.’Yes, the small landlords are at a disadvantage, but guess what, they know how to go to the bank, they know how to get a loan,’ House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said July 30 as she rallied support for extending the eviction ban. ‘They know how to deal with hard times.’”
From KRON in California. “In the East Bay, home sales in many communities have slowed down from month-to-month, while inventory is up, according to the Bay East Association of Realtors. In communities like Pleasant Hill, Clayton and Hayward, year-over-year — more homes are listed on the market. A combined increase of 51%. But fewer are being sold, a drop off of about 6%.”
“David Stark speaks for the Bay East Association of Realtors, a group that monitors housing trends for more than 6,000 real estate professionals throughout the Bay Area.’We’ve got both, historically low interest rates, which make it easier to qualify for a mortgage. At the same time, historically high sales prices. So even though mortgage interest rates may be low, you’re still having to qualify for a large mortgage and make a large payment,’ Stark said. ‘So I think what we’re seeing in some communities is what we’re calling buyer-fatigue, and they’re saying, ‘We’re going to back off for a second and see what happens with the market.’”
From Fox 40 in California. “Houses in the Greater Sacramento area have been selling left and right for months, but new data from the Sacramento Association of Realtors shows things have slowed down. According to the statistics from this past July, there was an 8.6% decrease in sales from June. Median sales prices also dropped almost 2% from $520,000 to $510,000. Realtor Steve Heard told FOX40 that he expected the numbers, especially during this time of year.”
“‘We’ve trained them, or they trained each other to believe that it’s red hot with no end in sight and markets do cycle,’ Heard said. A house in Folsom, for example, has been on the market for three days without any offers. But even with the recent price dips, there’s no need to be concerned, according to Heard. ‘People buy homes all year round so I don’t think it’s any time to panic just yet,’ he said.”
The Globe and Mail in Canada. “Toronto’s real estate rental market is firming up. In the past three weeks, overseas students have begun making plans to return to the city says real estate agent Simson Chu. One new tenant offered to pay fiv months’ rent up front. Another, a full year. ‘They offered one full year up front without seeing the unit because they are still in China,’ Mr. Chu says, and the bloated inventory of recent months is being absorbed.”
“Manu Singh, a real estate agent with Right at Home Realty, says the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in Toronto was $2,082 in the second quarter. The agent adds that it has been the case for the past several years that many investors are out-of-pocket in monthly cash flow because their carrying costs for mortgage and expenses are higher than current rents. ‘Mainly what people are seeing is opportunity to participate in appreciation,’ he says. ‘You can stomach the few-hundred-dollars-a-month loss if you can see price appreciation.’”
“Mr. Singh says he is not seeing a lot of good-quality units listed for sale at the moment. When he’s advising buyers, he recommends looking for a unit that is not staged to look its sparkling best. If the decor is tired or the tenant is still living there, the buyer is better able to negotiate a deal. ‘The investor wants out – maybe they’ve had a rough year or two,’ he says. ‘Sometimes you can get it for under list price, so we look for those.’”
From Somerset Live in the UK. “Homes in the BA postcode, which covers east Somerset, west Wiltshire and a portion of north-west Dorset have an average drop in asking prices compared to sale prices of 4.19 percent, or £13,960, over the last 12 months. The biggest price discounts were seen in the Bruton postcode, although there were only nine sales in the time-span monitored. These Bruton homesellers knocked a whopping average of £94,827 from their initial asking price, amounting to a 27.97 per cent discount in what is a coveted and pricey real estate location.”
“Co-founder of Property Solvers Ruban Selvanayagam said: ‘Despite what has been a very active market, homebuyers are still, by and large, able to negotiate down on prices. There is also wider evidence of surveyors down-valuing properties that are misaligned with the realities. This means that properties end up selling for lower than the original estate agent price estimation.’”
The Brakpan Herald in South Africa. “According to Catherine de Villiers, rental consultant at Jawitz Properties, the rental market is experiencing one of its most challenging times and several factors are contributing to this. ‘Covid-19 was the major catalyst as it created vast financial implications and loss in people’s lives and livelihoods resulting in many tenants struggling to pay and becoming increasingly price sensitive. These factors, as well as the many new sectional title developments coming on to the market, have resulted in an oversupply of rental properties. There are also countless furnished properties standing empty due to the lack of holiday rentals and expats coming into the country due to Covid-19 and the travel restrictions imposed,’ said de Villiers.”
“The glut of rental properties has impacted the supply and demand ratio and pushed monthly rental prices down. Despite there still being in demand, rentals have decreased by 25% on average across the board. With prospective tenants having lots to choose from, landlords need to adjust their rental expectations. ‘Take your agent’s advice on a fitting price that will entice lessees. It makes sense to find a good tenant rather than have your property stand empty for months to come,’ said de Villiers. ‘The oversupply of homes available to rent has resulted in potential tenants being able to pick and choose from several properties at prices they can afford, so landlords need to re-evaluate how they go about attracting a good tenant that will stay the course with them.’”
The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. “More than four years after paying a deposit, Sydney woman Kim Morris has no idea when she can move into an apartment she bought off the plan. ‘The worst thing is the deafening silence from the developer. It is just the total uncertainty – we just can’t get a word out of them,’ she said.”
“Ms Morris is among dozens of buyers who have been languishing due to repeated delays to construction of the Bellevue Hill apartment complex known as The Acre in Sydney’s east. Now the discovery of serious defects in the complex overlooking Cooper Park is creating more delays. ‘There are young couples who have bought it as their first home and wanted to have children,’ Ms Morris said. ‘Everyone is frustrated and angry. It’s taken a massive toll.’”
“Resident Edwina Considine considers herself lucky after she got her deposit back on a two-bedroom apartment in The Acre in 2019, due to advice from her lawyer. ‘I’m incredibly lucky. I think I’m the only one who got out – it is a miracle,’ she said. However, the experience has taken a toll and she is adamant she would not buy off the plan again. ‘I had to go and see a psychiatrist due to the impact it was having on me and my family,’ she said.”