A report from Fox San Antonio in Texas. "Clayton Pickens has been buying and selling homes in San Antonio for years. He said dream homes in San Antonio used to be a lot cheaper. Not so much anymore. 'Now those dream houses that people think are on the higher end, they're up towards the five hundreds,' said Pickens."

"You might think there are plenty of homes to choose from here in San Antonio. After all, there's new construction all over the city. But Pickens said, that's not necessarily the case. 'When it gets down to your pool of what you like, you won't find as many choices as you might think,' said Pickens. He said builders are keeping the supply of homes in San Antonio relatively low. That means as the demand for homes continues to rise, so will the prices."

From Loop North News in Illinois. "Stroll down any side street in the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods and you will see lots of McMansions, those gaudy multi-million-dollar homes that take over two or three 25-foot city lots. But how much house do you really need? Chicago’s rising wealthy class wants it all. They consider 5,000 square feet a small house. Why not 10,000 square feet if you can afford it?"

"With thousands of city-owned vacant lots sitting unused on the South Side and West Side, perhaps our next mayor should focus on incentives to lure builders and young first-time buyers to affordable smaller homes in these areas."

From Ocala.com in Florida. "It’s a buyer’s market when it comes to choices, said Robert Goldman, an agent with Michael Saunders & Co. in Venice. 'There are more homes for sale,' he said. 'Inventory has increased. It is taking longer to sell a home. The ratio between sold and original list price is falling. Buyers are taking their time. There is no sense of urgency.'"

From The Spectrum in Utah. "Several new reports on housing affordability in the St. George Metro Area were released this month and it’s not good news for homebuyers. It now takes 5.3 years of income to pay off the median home price. The survey considers any number under 3 affordable."

"Neil Walter, CEO of ERA Brokers in St. George said that inventory levels are rising, and home prices are expected to continue to rise in 2019, although at a slower rate. 'This is good news for buyers, who have more inventory to choose from and encounter fewer competing offers,' he said. Sellers can expect to still sell quickly, but will need to be more patient than in 2018, he said."

The Press Democrat in California. "Property managers say apartment rents in Sonoma County have stopped the dramatic monthly increases that followed the October 2017 wildfires and subsequent housing market upheaval. There are even areas where rents have begun to decline."

"Scott Gerber, managing director of Meridian Commercial Property Management in San Rafael, surveys more than 18,000 rental units in Marin and Sonoma twice a year. He said monthly apartment rents are now stable and, in some cases, declining because there’s been pushback from renters. Over the winter, the rental market got 'really soft' and rents at the high end started flattening out and declining, he said."

"'Two years ago, no one was decreasing rents,' Gerber said. 'We had a little dip in the winter.'"

"Construction of new units also has helped to stabilize the apartment rental market. Gerber’s recent data show that 871 new apartments have been built in Sonoma County, with another 1,734 units either approved or proposed. 'You’re going to be seeing significantly more availability than you did 12 months ago,' he said. 'I’m not characterizing it as a renter’s market, but it’s more of a renter’s market than it has been in five years.'"