A report from Bloomberg on Washington. "The housing market in Seattle can't seem to make up its mind. For years, the story behind the real-estate market here was this: Californians looking for cheaper property would migrate north and push up prices indefinitely. But about a year ago, Seattle started seeing signs of outward migration, meaning more people were looking for homes elsewhere than there were people looking to move in. It signaled a tipping point for one of the nation's hottest housing markets."

"I caught up with Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman yesterday to chat about the volatile housing market in Microsoft and Amazon's home town. 'People said if Amazon can't afford it here, how can I?' he said. The median home in the city fetches about $700,000."

"Even Silicon Valley, which has seen home prices climb relentlessly, is seeing some similar cooling trends. Some people there are listing homes they recently purchased because they fear they bought at the height of the market and want to unload before a big drop, according to Redfin."

"But in Seattle, the outward migration pattern reversed in the spring. Rising mortgage interest rates are slowing the pace of appreciation to about 6 percent per year from 15 percent. Homes are lingering on the market, so buyers don't have to rush. Sellers are dropping prices."

"'Seattle right now is an extremely volatile market,' Kelman said. "There are markets where everyone knows what to expect, and in Seattle that's not the case. Every month is something new.'"

The San Francisco Business Times. "September saw yet another high watermark for the number of San Francisco homes on the market, though an increasing number of active listings underwent price cuts. San Francisco had 950 homes actively listed for sale last month, up 6.6 percent from August and hitting a seven-year high, Socketsite reports. That’s 30 percent higher year over year and 41 percent above 2015 levels, which saw 680 homes on the market."

"San Francisco condominium inventory is up 24 percent year over year, and that’s not including the bulk of newly constructed condos for sale, according to Socketsite. Meanwhile, almost a quarter of the city's home listings see at least one price cut, up from 18 percent to 22 percent in September 2018."

"'Inventory levels have likely peaked for the year and should start to decline though the end of December while the percentage of listings with a price cut should continue to increase,' Socketsite reports."