A report from CNBC. "The government shutdown hasn't completely stopped the flow of stunningly bad housing data. Sales of newly built homes fell 18 percent in December compared with December of 2017, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Sales were also down a steep 19 percent annually in November. New home sales fell hardest in California. Sales dropped 40 percent annually in northern California and 49 percent in southern California."

"The California numbers are in line with the latest quarterly earnings figures from Toll Brothers, the nation's largest luxury homebuilder. It reported a 39 percent drop in new orders from California. 'In November, we saw the market soften further, which we attribute to the cumulative impact of rising interest rates and the effect on buyer sentiment of well-publicized reports of a housing slowdown,' said Toll's CEO Douglas Yearley."

"Just under one quarter of builders surveyed by JBRC said they reduced prices, and that may have helped sales in frothy markets such as Seattle and Portland, OR. Cancellations, however, rose compared to a year ago, with entry-level buyers pulling the plug most."

"Their cancellation rate was 18 percent, compared with move-up buyers who cancelled 14 percent of deals and luxury buyers who pulled out of 11 percent of deals. The rate for luxury buyers was higher than a year ago, which may be due to heavy turbulence in the stock market at the end of the year."

The Houston Chronicle in Texas. "The region’s housing market has proved itself remarkably resilient in recent years. But real estate analysts and agents say the record run may come to an end in 2019."

"'When I talk to other Realtors, I think the second half of the year was really slow,' said real estate agent Shad Bogany. 'Builders were telling us it was slow. Certain neighborhoods, we’re not getting any traffic at all, especially where you had resales and new homes in the same neighborhood.'"

The Chicago Tribune in Illinois. "The International College of Surgeons on Thursday made a $4 million price cut to its asking price for the college’s 10-bedroom, 12,000-square-foot French chateau-inspired mansion on the Gold Coast. The group now is seeking $9 million for the four-story mansion."

"The new asking price is a far cry from the $17 million the group had sought when it listed the mansion in September 2015. The asking price was cut to $15.75 million in April 2016 and then to $13 million in July 2016 before the college took it off the market almost a year ago."

From Mansion Global on New York. "Hedge fund king Steven Cohen bet a little too high when he first listed his Manhattan penthouse at One Beacon Court and is now offering the aerie for a $70 million discount."

"The contemporary, 16-room duplex in Midtown East was once the most expensive home for sale in New York City when Mr. Cohen first listed it in 2013 for $115 million. He’s tried to sell it on and off ever since, lobbing millions off the price each time until this latest price cut. It hit the market again on Wednesday asking $45 million, according to StreetEasy."

"Manhattan housing has nearly been through a full market cycle since he first put the home up for sale. He was unsuccessful at selling it during the frenzied peak in Midtown luxury deals from 2014-16, since which sales and prices have cooled significantly."

The Press Democrat in California. "The historic Aetna Springs Resort, a Napa County resort that helped push Dallas’ troubled police pension system toward insolvency, has been sold for a fraction of the nearly $111 million the city sank into the property. The 3,100-acre Pope Valley resort was recently sold by the public pension fund for $22 million, the Dallas Morning News reported."

"The pension system has spent nearly $111 million on the property, Executive Director Kelly Gottschalk said. Dallas City Councilman Lee Kleinman, who previously served on the pension board, called the resort the 'low-light of the inappropriate purchases' made by the fund."