A report from the Orlando Business Journal in Florida. "After years of competitive bidding wars and rising prices, a new data analysis from Zillow shows it might finally be a good time to buy a home in many U.S. markets — especially in Orlando. Zillow researchers looked at three factors to determine which of the largest housing markets are becoming more buyer-friendly: an increase in the share of listings with a price cut; projected increase in rent appreciation over the next year; and affordability relative to the past."

"'The housing market always lets up a little in the fall, when kids are back in school and the home shopping season wraps up for the holidays,' said Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas. 'But this fall and winter are shaping up to be more favorable for those buyers who have struggled to get into the housing market for several years amid red-hot competition.'"

"Here in Orlando, there are 6.8 percent more listings with a price cut compared to last year."

The Mountain View Voice in California. "The Midpeninsula remains one of the most expensive and least-accessible rental housing markets in the nation, but it has slowed down and cooled off a bit in 2018."

"'We did start to see changes in the market last year,' said David Hunt, operations manager for WA Krauss & Co. Inc., a Sunnyvale-based residential property management company handling 450 properties in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. His company's portfolio includes single-family homes, condominiums and town homes. 'We were spoiled before. Houses were renting within days at any price. Today, it's taking a lot longer. Two or three months, in some cases. People are just not moving as much.'"

"Unless a property is already well under market rate, Hunt said his company has stopped increasing rents in its inventory of residential units. 'In a few cases, we are even lowering rents if landlords really need to get a property rented,' he said."

"Kimm Terpening, real estate agent in the Menlo Park office of Coldwell Banker who handles both for-sale and rental properties in cities from Burlingame to Mountain View, agrees that residential rental inventory is plentiful this year."

"When rent levels are determined by his company, Hunt said, owners' expenses aren't really considered. 'It doesn't matter what expenses a property owner may have, a tenant will be charged a rent the local market will bear,' Hunt said. 'Of course, we are trying to maximize income for a property owner, but if their expenses are high, that does not have an impact on the amount of rent charged.'"

"'If you have a single-family home on the market, the demand is still strong,' said Len Robinson, president of Menlo Park-based Robinson & Co. Realtors. 'Rents have increased substantially in some places, but very little in others. Some rentals draw 10 applications, others can't make the phone ring.'"