AGP Executive Report

U.S. Housing: New-home sales slipped 0.6% in September and were down 5.3% year over year, while the median price fell 3.9%. Mortgage rates have climbed to 7.32%, weighing on demand. Market Split: San Francisco condos bucked the softness: September median prices rose 23% year over year, and 66% of units sold above asking price. Australia: Home prices have fallen 5.5% this year, and inflation above the Reserve Bank’s target has raised the risk of another rate hike—and a deeper downturn. China: Property investment plunged 20.6% in the first nine months of 2026 as the sector’s debt crisis deepened. New Zealand: Labour has proposed banning no-cause evictions and extending notice periods for landlords ending tenancies.

Urban Renewal: Lorca is moving to auction four long-vacant plots after owners refused to rebuild; a wider programme covers 47 sites and has proposals for 200 homes. U.S. Market: Sellers outnumbered buyers by 62.6% in September, the widest gap in at least 13 years, giving buyers more room to negotiate. New-home sales slipped 0.6% month over month and were down 12.5% year over year. Rental Pressure: New York City asking rents hit a record $3,785 in the third quarter, up 4.5% from a year earlier. China Housing: Property investment fell 20.6% in the first nine months of 2026, deepening pressure on the sector. Foreclosures: Repossessions jumped 42% year over year, but just 0.67% of loans are in active foreclosure—still far below 2008 levels.

Waterfront Sale: Sydney’s 141-year-old Doyles restaurant is on the market for the first time, offering 29 metres of beach frontage and potential for approved residential or tourist redevelopment. Affordability Squeeze: High-end and luxury apartments account for 78% of new Hanoi supply, while units below VND25 million per square metre are virtually absent; experts say developers could ease pressure by accepting lower profits. Market Divergence: Perth’s spring home sales fell 42% year over year and auction clearance dropped to 35%, while Rock County, Wisconsin, prices rose more than 7%. Las Vegas home values also declined, underscoring uneven conditions and persistent affordability strain. Global Signals: Dubai property sales are surging, though buyers may be getting smaller homes; Seoul apartment sales have plunged, while Singapore private-home prices rose 1.4% in the third quarter. Commercial Property: Welsh investment surged 43% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching £220 million.

Market Access: Four major U.S. real estate firms are forming Open Real Estate, a shared listing-data initiative aimed at improving transparency and buyer access. Affordability: Latino households drove 92.6% of U.S. household growth in 2025, yet high prices and mortgage rates are making homeownership harder; the average rate reached 7.4% in mid-October. Development Pipeline: British Land has paused the next phase of its 3,700-home Canada Water project amid high costs and slow sales of completed homes, adding to signs that London schemes are struggling to pencil out. Global Markets: China’s land-sale revenue fell 27.9% in the first nine months of 2026, while Singapore private-home prices rose 1.4% in the third quarter. Financing: A new Western Australia lending option offers developers funding without pre-sales, as Perth home values rose 10.1% over the year to September.

Agent Access: South Africa’s High Court upheld a ban on residential estates charging agents fees to market or sell homes, backing rules aimed at fairer access to the property market. Singapore Resale: Million-dollar HDB flat sales hit a quarterly record of 597 in Q3, up from 490 in the previous quarter, as high-end transactions gained momentum. Seoul Market: Apartment listings neared 80,000 as buyers paused under tighter lending rules and higher borrowing costs; prices are still rising, but gains have cooled. Seller Conditions: U.S. sellers are cutting prices and offering cash incentives to close deals in a sluggish market. Golden Visa Scrutiny: Greece warned investors that hidden rebates or prohibited short-term rentals could lead to residency permits being revoked.

Derelict Property Tax: A new levy will charge owners 7% of a derelict property’s market value each year from next year, aiming to bring neglected homes back into use. Any unpaid levies must be cleared before a sale can close. Buyer Leverage: US sellers are cutting prices and offering help with buyers’ costs as homes sit unsold; Phoenix and Tucson are also shifting toward buyers, though higher mortgage rates limit affordability. Pending US home sales have hit a record low. Global Market: Qatar’s September property sales rose 36% to QR1.75 billion, while Dutch new-build sales fell 25% amid high interest rates and Dubai luxury home transactions dropped 34% in the third quarter.

U.S. Housing Freeze: Pending sales hit a new low, while existing-home sales remain about a third below pre-2020 levels. Many owners are reluctant to trade mortgage rates below 5% for today’s higher costs; builders are offering rate buydowns and other concessions as inventory grows. Consumer Protection: Michigan’s attorney general sued MV Realty, alleging its cash offers to homeowners concealed 40-year exclusive sales agreements and liens. The state says more than 1,000 Michigan homeowners may be affected. Australia: Property veteran John McGrath says the market has swung toward buyers since early 2026, with Sydney prices down 8.6% from February’s peak. Meanwhile, 169 Queensland markets once within first-home buyer price caps have moved beyond them. Global Markets: China’s land-sale slump is deepening, while Dutch new-build home sales fell 25% amid high interest rates. India: Punjab’s real estate regulator ordered a Zirakpur developer to hand over a delayed flat after obtaining a completion certificate and pay 11% annual interest for the delay.

U.S. Market: Home sales are stalling as mortgage rates top 7%, with pending sales at a record low. Virginia sales fell 4.2% year over year in September, while inventory climbed 20%, giving buyers more choice. Buyer Leverage: Sellers are increasingly sweetening deals: concessions appeared in 44.7% of U.S. sales in August, the highest share for that month since 2020. Global Trends: UK sellers are cutting asking prices by nearly 10% as buyers gain ground; Dutch new-build sales fell 25%, and Mumbai property registrations dropped 25% during Navratri. Housing Access: New York City plans to require landlords to offer buildings to nonprofits before selling. Separately, a Black couple is suing a real estate firm and others over an alleged racist text during a rental viewing.

U.S. Market: Pending home sales fell to a record low in Redfin’s data, down 14.4% year over year, while elevated mortgage rates are prompting Las Vegas sellers to offer rate buydowns. China: A deepening land-sale slump is adding pressure to local government finances amid the property downturn. Cross-Border Investment: Korean buyers are increasingly targeting Japanese property as the yen weakens, but rising prices and financing costs are complicating returns. Australia: Mosman’s prestige market showed strain as a $9.85 million home passed in without a bid; Darwin remains an exception, with prices rising amid tight supply. Asia-Pacific: Singapore private-home prices rose 1.4% in the third quarter, while HDB resale prices edged down 0.1%; Mumbai property registrations also fell year over year during Navratri. Housing Costs: Affordability worsened across 98% of U.S. counties in the third quarter, keeping pressure on buyers even as sellers expand incentives.

Foreign Investment: Victoria plans to ease its surcharge on eligible foreign-backed housing projects, offering exemptions during construction and for up to two years after completion to encourage development and local jobs. Affordability: U.S. ownership costs remained above historical norms in 98% of counties in the third quarter, while rising mortgage rates are cooling sales in markets such as Wisconsin. Agent Market: Arizona home sales fell 40% from 2021 to 2025, while new agent licenses dropped only 27%, intensifying competition for business. Auction Rules: Victoria’s new reserve-price disclosure laws are already prompting some sellers to shift to private sales or open-ended campaigns that avoid publishing a reserve. Property Rights: A Cyprus lawmaker alleges that homeowners in Larnaca were intimidated to sell to foreign developers; the claims raise questions about buyer transparency and are not yet described as police-reported cases.

Housing Affordability: U.S. buyers face a record-low level of pending sales as higher mortgage rates squeeze demand; an estimated 4.3 million households are missing as young adults remain priced out. In Phoenix, lower condo prices haven’t eased costs, with HOA fees up about 40% since 2020. Global Prices: Seoul apartment prices rose 15.5% in a year, while home purchases by minors in South Korea nearly doubled, prompting questions about possible untaxed gifts. Greece’s latest market report found home prices up 7.7% through September, but a median Athens flat now costs about 12 years of a two-adult household’s income. Housing Policy: Sandwell’s council waiting list has quadrupled since 2020 to more than 24,000, with some families facing waits of up to 10 years. Rockford says a tax-abatement program helped spur about 300 new homes. Property Sales: New York City approved a narrower version of a bill giving nonprofits an early chance to buy some distressed and affordable apartment buildings, covering about 2,100 properties. In Wellington, plans to sell public housing blocks face opposition from residents and former tenants.

U.S. Market: Home prices rose 0.25% in September and were up 3.8% year over year, even as sales cooled. Pending sales hit a record low, and Texas new-home sales fell 7.7% as mortgage rates climbed. Buyers have more negotiating power, but many owners are holding onto low-rate mortgages, limiting new listings. Global Trends: Seoul apartment prices surged 15.5% in a year, while Dubai luxury transactions dropped 34% and new high-rise sales in Toronto’s region hit a record low—showing sharply different conditions across markets. Housing Policy: New York City is moving ahead with a bill giving nonprofits first chance to buy about 2,100 troubled apartment buildings, aiming to preserve affordable housing; real estate groups oppose the measure.

U.S. Housing Slump: Pending home sales fell 11.3% year over year in September to a record low. A new affordability study puts average mortgage rates at 7.28%, up from 2.77% in 2021. Australia: Developer Mirvac sold 429 homes in the September quarter, down nearly a third from a year earlier, citing higher rates and tax changes that dampened buyer sentiment. Asian Markets: Seoul’s tiny apartments jumped 16% as buyers opted for smaller homes. Rental Access: An Australian parliamentary inquiry heard concerns that rental-screening platforms may discriminate; one single mother said she secured a home only after removing her child from her application. Florida Property Taxes: Governor Ron DeSantis is backing a November ballot measure to expand homestead exemptions and create a path to ending non-school property taxes on owner-occupied homes.

U.S. Housing Slump: Pending home sales fell 7.3% in September to a record low as mortgage rates climbed to 7.4%. Builders are cutting prices, while sentiment has sunk to a 14-year low. Toronto Condos: Bulk buyers accounted for 45% of new condo sales in the Greater Toronto Area, but the supply pipeline is drying up, raising questions about what comes next for the market. Rental Rules: New Haven unions and community groups are backing a proposed ban on short-term rentals in homes not occupied by their owners or long-term residents, citing affordability concerns. Property Finance: Higher yields are disrupting real estate borrowing: Freddie Mac postponed a sale of apartment-mortgage-backed bonds after investors balked at the price.

U.S. Housing: Pending home sales plunged 7.3% in September to a record low as mortgage rates rose; the 30-year rate reached 7.4%. Rental Shift: Monthly rent made up 51% of Seoul apartment leases in the first nine months, surpassing lump-sum jeonse contracts for the first time since records began in 2011. Asia Prices: Tokyo-area condo prices hit a record 114.94 million yen on average for April–September. Toronto Condos: Bulk buyers accounted for 45% of new condo sales in the third quarter. Developer Pulse: Russia’s GloraX reported a 35% rise in property sales over nine months. Commercial Property: A newly built Nando’s drive-through in Australia sold for $5.845 million, at a 5.3% yield, with annual rent of $319,035 and 3% yearly increases. Belfast Market: House prices rose 7.5% over the past year, even as Northern Ireland sales activity eased.

U.S. Housing: Pending home sales fell 7.3% in September from August and 11.3% year over year, hitting their lowest level since at least 2001 as mortgage rates climbed toward 7.5%. Builders’ confidence also sank to a 14-year low, with price cuts spreading. Affordable Supply: A new U.S. law removes the requirement that manufactured homes sit on permanent steel frames, potentially making them cheaper to build and easier to use in multifamily projects. But about 30 states may need to update their rules to unlock that growth. Japan: New condo prices across the Tokyo region rose 21.1% year over year to a record 114.94 million yen in April–September; central Tokyo prices jumped 34.7%, even as new units for sale declined. Global Markets: China’s property investment fell 20.6% in the first nine months, while Dubai luxury home sales retreated from record levels amid war-related uncertainty. In Toronto, bulk buyers accounted for 45% of new condo sales in the third quarter.