Short-Term Rentals Are Wreaking Havoc

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Short-Term Rentals Are Wreaking Havoc on Homeowners as Murky Regulations Lead to Rise in ‘Underground’ Listings link

• In Newry, ME, the median list price nearly doubled in five years, from $460,000 in 2019 to $878,300 in 2024, driven partly by investors buying homes for Airbnb use. Million-dollar listings are now common in a town of just 400 residents.

• Enforcement gaps are creating an “underground network” of STRs, with some hosts skirting rules by listing under fake names or addresses. Even in Portland, where caps and registration numbers are required, illegal listings persist.

• Tourism in Maine remains strong, 15.2 million visitors spent over $9 billion in 2023, making STRs too valuable to ban outright. Towns are experimenting with caps, annual fees, and limits on rental nights to balance community concerns with economic benefits.

Mortgage delinquencies edge higher-early signs worth watching link

• U.S. mortgage delinquency rate ticked up to 2.9% in June 2025, slightly higher than 2.8% in Q1, though still below December’s 3.2% peak. Serious delinquencies remain stable at 0.9%, far below the 4.3% seen in 2020.

• The District of Columbia saw the largest annual rise in delinquencies (+0.6 points), while Florida, California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Utah each rose by 0.1 points. Farmington, New Mexico, recorded the biggest metro increase at +1 point.

• Serious delinquencies are clustering in places like Asheville, NC (+0.6 points) and Florida metros including Tampa, Lakeland, and Punta Gorda (+0.5 points), suggesting regional risks even as the national foreclosure rate holds steady at 0.2–0.3%.

Trade fights stall industrial demand as supply floods market link

• In H1 2025, 194.6M SF of new industrial space was delivered, but net absorption hit only 13.5M SF, far below the projected 52.2M SF. Oversupply is weighing on fundamentals.

• The construction pipeline has shrunk to 466M SF, less than half of the 1B SF peak in late 2022, bringing activity back to 2019 levels. Developers are clearly pulling back.

• NAIOP’s forecast shows absorption could be just 7.5M SF in Q4 2025 but rebound to 60M+ SF by late 2026, if recession risks (21% probability) don’t derail recovery.

Midcap CRE Deals Surge, Investors Shift Away from Big-Ticket Plays link

• Total CRE transactions jumped 10% in July, the strongest month of 2025 so far, even as inflation and weak jobs remain a drag. Midcap deals ($50M–$100M) led the surge, hitting 72 trades compared to 58 in June.

• Multifamily dominated, with 38 midcap apartment deals in July, more than double June’s count, driven by strong rental demand and owners forced to sell as loans mature without refinancing options.

• Industrial, office, and land sales all slipped: industrial fell from 17 to 9 trades, office dropped from 8 to 5, and land matched the decline at 5, signaling shifting investor appetite away from riskier segments.

U.S. Investor Home Purchases Fell 6% in the Second Quarter, the Biggest Decline Since 2023 link

• Investors bought ~52,000 homes in Q2 2025, down 6% YoY, the lowest spring since 2020 and the biggest drop since Q4 2023. Still, investors accounted for 17% of all home sales, flat YoY, showing the pullback matches the wider market.

• Condo buys by investors fell 13% YoY to ~9,500, the weakest spring since 2013 (ex-2020). Rising HOA fees/assessments, insurance issues, and some lenders quoting higher condo rates are pushing investors away.

• Profit growth is cooling: typical capital gains were $195,934 (+1.7% YoY), while losses rose to just under 7% from 5%. Florida is rolling over (Orlando -25%, Fort Lauderdale -21%), but the West Coast popped (Seattle +51%, San Francisco +24%, Portland +14%).

Tool of the day - Genia

An AI-powered platform that automates the generation of physics-validated structural plans, enhancing efficiency and accuracy for engineering consultancies and real estate developers.

AI Is Quietly Rewriting Real Estate from Tours to Underwriting link

AI is moving into daily workflows, personalized search, virtual tours, drone inspections, credit/risk scoring, and smart-building ops, freeing teams from coordination to decision-making and boosting margins for early adopters.

ImageX Bets on M-Files AI to Reinvent Document Management link

By layering metadata-driven workflows and new agentic AI tools, ImageX is helping sectors like commercial real estate ditch rigid “rip-and-replace” systems and automate compliance, onboarding, and property operations more smoothly.

AI-Driven Multifamily: From Leasing Velocity to Predictive Maintenance link

Operators are finding real ROI as AI tools speed up leasing, forecast rent growth, and automate maintenance workflows, shifting focus from hype to proven efficiency gains.

AI Playbook Helps CRE Leaders Turn Buzz Into Action link

Colliers’ 4-phase roadmap guides corporate real estate teams from scattered AI pilots to structured execution, optimizing portfolios, lease admin, and space planning with measurable ROI.

Mapped: Metros Where Homes Are Selling the Fastest as U.S. Market Stalls link

• Milwaukee homes sold in just 32 days in August, less than half the national average of 60 days, with supply down to 2.7 months, firmly a seller’s market. Listing prices there are still below the U.S. median at $399,900.

• Buffalo stood out as one of only two metros where homes sold faster than last year, with days on market dropping to 37. Median prices remain low at $285,450, making it one of only five major metros under $300K.

• Chicago homes also averaged 37 days on market, but the city is split: downtown properties can sit unsold for years, while suburban homes spark bidding wars and sell above list within a day.

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Cute beachfront house!

Link to the listing

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Vidit

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