A report from Globe St. "Economic sentiment is shifting. This year, more and more real estate professionals are predicting a recession in the next 12 months, either in late 2019 or early 2020. Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, however, says that there is no recession in sight. While home sales have slowed and there are affordability challenges in some markets, the housing market isn’t unstable—it is under supplied."

"Housing slowed a bit, but where is the imbalance? The credit markets are clean and there is no excess supply,' adds Thornberg. 'If anything, markets are still tight, and interest rates have dropped again.'"

"'The Federal Reserve has restrained bank lending so much that you are starting to see the proliferation of non-bank lending,' says Thornberg. 'The lending market outside of the traditional financial sector is expanding, and that scares me because those are not regulated sectors. Bad things happen in parts of the financial market that aren’t well regulated. We saw that in 1998 through 2000 and we saw that clearly in 2004 to 2007. I don’t think it is threatening the current expansion, but I am starting to see inklings of excess.'"

The Calaveras Enterprise in California. "The 2019-2027 Calaveras County General Plan housing element update is up for public review, according to a Planning Department press release. 'We’ve got plenty of vacant land – the problem is that no one is building in the county,' Planning Director Peter Maurer told the Enterprise. 'The cost of construction (generally) exceeds rent or sales value of what can be made for affordable housing projects.'"

"The update also indicated that nearly 50 percent of Calaveras households are paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgages. Nearly 40 percent (10,180 units) of the county’s housing stock is vacant – a substantially higher rate than the state’s 8 percent."

From Palmetto Business Daily in South Carolina. "The number of vacant homes in the zip code 29928 zip code area was 5,227 in the third quarter of 2018, a 299-unit increase over what it was a year ago, according to real estate numbers reported by ATTOM Data Solutions."

"The zip code, located in Hilton Head, had the fifth highest home vacancy rate among the thousands of U.S. zip codes with 1,000 or more single-family homes and condos in the analysis. The rate stood at 26.38 percent in the third quarter, up from 25.88 percent in the third quarter of 2017."

From Westport Now in Connecticut. "Bigger may not always be better, especially in a Westport home buyer’s eye. There are now 316 homes that are actively on the market, which has increased by 9 percent over last year at this time. These properties have been listed for an average of 116 days, with a cumulative market time of 222 days. The average list price is down approximately $60,000 from a year ago to $2,050,826 and the median price is at $1,552,500, which is also down $102,000 from this same time last year."

"A five-bedroom contemporary home at 13a Dogwood Green went under pending status after a cumulative market time of 1,584 days. The 4,955-square foot home was originally listed at $2,685,000 and went under deposit at a final asking price of $1,600,000."

"The one sale that was reported during the last week was at 7 Riverfield Drive, which is a 2,816-square foot colonial with four bedrooms in the Coleytown area, and it has been on and off the market since April 2014. The price began at $1,429,000, and had 12 price adjustments prior to its last list price of $1,049,000. It ultimately closed at 92.95 percent of that price, or $975,000."

The Tampa Bay Times in Florida. "By most accounts, Tampa Bay's foreclosure ended in 2015. New foreclosure filings had plunged, and lawyers who once represented struggling homeowners began looking for other sources of business. Yet reminders of those crisis years between 2009 and 2015 can be found in listings for 'bank-owned' houses. Nearly 300 are currently for sale in the four-county bay area, most for under $300,000."

"Agent Peter Chicouris, who specializes in bank-owned properties, says he has seen a recent uptick in lenders taking back homes because the prices at foreclosure sales are getting too high for investors. 'For a while, there were many private investors and companies that purchased through the foreclosure site,' he said, referring to the Pinellas County clerk of court's online foreclosure sales. 'Now there aren't a lot — they feel the market is due for a correction soon and they are getting cautious and don't want to get overly invested.'"

The New Jersey Spotlight. "According to state officials, there are 20,000 active foreclosure cases currently making their way through the courts. New Jersey, which has struggled with a high foreclosure rate since the Great Recession, continues to lead the nation in foreclosures."

"'Most New Jerseyans can point to a property in their neighborhood that hasn’t seen an owner or tenant for years on end,' said Assemblyman John Armato."