A report from the Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. "Prices paid for vacant land in Philadelphia have plummeted to their lowest levels in three years after peaking in 2017, an indication that the city's development boom led by townhouse, condo and apartment projects is losing steam."

"Buyers of bare development sites paid an average of $31.72 per square foot during the first six months of 2018, down more than 46 percent from last year's average of $59.23, according to public data compiled this month at the Inquirer's and Daily News' request by Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow at Drexel University's Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation."

"The January-to-June prices were the lowest since 2015, when land averaged $26.94 per square foot for the year. The decline comes as apartment landlords face a surge in supply that's already starting to tamp down rents, while homebuyers tighten their purse strings in the face of increasing interest rates and other headwinds, Gillen said."

"'We've seen a significant run-up in land prices during the recent development boom, and many parcels have priced themselves beyond what could feasibly be developed on them,' he said. 'We're seeing a correction.'"

"This year's declines, coming amid other data that show faltering rents and home prices in the city, could mean that Philadelphia's boom days are due for a break, Gillen said."

"'Land prices and sales tend to be a leading indicator of real estate markets,' he said. 'Since the consensus is that our housing market is at or near its peak, it makes sense that land prices would begin softening before house prices.'"

"Gary Jonas, who has built townhouses and apartment buildings in Northern Liberties, Graduate Hospital, Mantua and other parts of the city as a principal with How Properties, said sellers are only beginning to understand that developers like him no longer expect returns that can justify prices they were paying for land as recently as a year ago."

"'People are still trying to get last year's pricing, and they're not getting it,' he said. 'Prices are definitely going down.'"

The Dayton Daily News in Ohio. "The growth in new apartment construction in the Dayton market is helping keep down rent costs for renters. 'By Austin Landing and the Dayton Mall we’re having to give a month free, but we’ve got other areas in town that we really offer no incentives or very little,' said Oberer vice president of management services Lloyd Cobble. 'I don’t think it’s time to panic yet and we haven’t seen any indication that we need to start offering heavy concessions.'"

"'We have lost people who really want that new product,' said Tina Warner, vice president of the Greater Dayton Apartment Association Board. With growing competition among new units, houses and luxury apartments, Warner said she’d be leery of any new units coming on the market that aren’t already planned."

"'I can’t think of one area in the region where I’m like ‘wow they could really use some additional units,' Warner said. 'I think that we’ve already hit the bubble of the rent increases.'"

From GlobeSt.com. "At a time when there’s a widely acknowledged housing shortage, why is apartment building so popular with both lenders and investors, and new condo construction so scarce? Developer Meg Epstein has some answers. She blames it partly on the lenders."

"'Banks hate funding condo projects. They can’t repossess a condo project and just rent it out and wait to sell it. If it goes bust, they lose a lot of money. They are just too conservative, despite the risks not actually being that much greater than multi-family, when you factor in supply/demand,' she tells GlobeSt.com."

"'She thinks investors can earn higher returns investing in condos compared to apartment buildings. Nashville is an example.

“There is an oversupply of apartments in Nashville, as evidenced by the rent incentives; one or two months ‘move in specials.’ There is an undersupply of condos as evidenced by the short number of days on the market and lack of supply when searching for condo product,' she says."