A report from The Island Now in New York. "We celebrated this day on July 4th 1776, as the day of the publication of the Declaration of Independence of our 13 colonies from Britain, which eventually led to the formation of the United States. In a July 3, 1776 letter to his wife, John Adams declared that the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be a 'great anniversary Festival' and 'solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time on. We have much to be thankful for; however, times have changed and am hoping that our future will be as exciting and invigorating as our first day of independence.'"

"Now on the subject of real estate and what has been going on lately in and around Long Island. Most important has been the price reductions in the overbuilt luxury market in New York City as well as in the burbs, where high end new and old homes are located. S.A.L.T. (state and local taxes) only allows a maximum of $10,000 deduction on your tax returns for 2018. This why there was a rush in December to prepay 2018 real estate taxes, especially those whose taxes were on the higher end way above the $10,000 maximum in 2018, to take the deduction in 2017. I had read that $80,000,000 of taxes were pre-paid in Southampton!"

"Mortgage interest deductions were reduced on new mortgages after Dec. 15, 2017, from $1 million to a maximum of $750,000 (ask your accountant about all the changes that might affect you). This has had a major effect on the higher end luxury market. I would suggest that if you have a home with real estate taxes considerably above the $10,000 allowable deduction, that you do not wait and put your home on the market asap."

"However, if you are looking to move into New York City and want to try to get a good deal and have the cash to pay with the equity from your sale; wait until this winter (when demand is at its lowest) and you could score an amazing deal in the luxury market (for those individuals and developers, who may have to sell), as prices probably will be reduced from the excessive inventory and the decreased deductions in real estate taxes and interest on mortgages."

From Deal Makerz on the UK. "Wealthy buyers in London are increasingly shunning luxury homes for cut-price dilapidated properties in the hopes of making a tidy profit. Buying agency Black Brick, which identified the trend, said buyers are looking to find the best possible deal on their London home, enabling them to achieve better value for money and the potential of long-term capital growth. 'There are some excellent deals to be had at the moment, particularly from vendors who are highly motivated to sell,' said Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick. 'That’s why as buying agents, we always find out who the seller is, and what their reason for selling is. This enables us to negotiate far better discounts for our clients.'"

"She added that the agency is also seeing some large discounts being applied to new build properties which are due to complete in the next two or three months and the seller wants to flip it before completion. 'Some sellers are willing to take a significant loss in order to not complete on the property and face having to pay stamp duty.'"

From The Guardian. "More than 150 estate agency firms went insolvent last year and as many as 7,000 are at risk as high street operators face the triple whammy of online competition, a sagging property market and cuts to letting fees. A study by accountants Moore Stephens found that 153 estate agency firms went insolvent in the year to May 2018, a small increase on the 148 the year before. But it found that more than 7,000 estate agents 'currently show signs of financial distress.'"

"Last week, shares in Britain’s biggest estate agent, Countrywide Properties, plunged 25% after it issued its fourth profit warning in eight months and called on shareholders to raise fresh funds to cut its debt. Countrywide, the company behind Hamptons, Bairstow Eves, Taylors and Gascoigne-Pees, has been hit hard by a downturn in the housing market in London and the south-east."

"Chris Marsden, restructuring partner at Moore Stephens, said: 'Some areas in the UK are appear to have an excess capacity of estate agents, which could mean there is not enough business to spread around as property transactions stagnate.'"