A report from Patch New York City. "Prices dropped on some 212 homes in the Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill area last month, the most for any neighborhood in the city, according to a report from RealtyHop. One home in the neighborhood at 834 Fifth Ave. saw $9 million come off its price, the biggest absolute decrease of any address in the city last month, the report says."

"The Turtle Bay-East Midtown area recorded the second-highest number of price cuts last month with 170, followed by the West Village with 140, the Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island area with 138 and Lincoln Square with 130, RealtyHop says. The dollar value of the Upper East Side's median price drop was $127,500, while the median decrease by percentage was 5.73%, the report shows."

"But some outer-borough neighborhoods saw much sharper cuts. Prices fell a median of 24.9% in Midwood, Brooklyn, the steepest drop in the city as a percentage, the report says."

From Curbed New York. "A sprawling Tribeca penthouse that was once one of New York City’s most expensive homes for sale has gotten a dramatic price cut. The duplex penthouse at 100 Barclay Street, the condo conversion of Ralph Walker’s erstwhile Barclay-Vesey Building, is back on the market for $39.95 million. While that number is nothing to sneeze at, it’s a big shift from the apartment’s original asking price: a whopping $59 million."

From Boston.com in Massachusetts. "The price has been cut by 52 percent for this glass-walled estate on 2.54 acres in North Chatham. 34 Salt Marsh Way is on the market for $3,600,000, listed by Phyllis Power of William Raveis Luxury Properties – Chatham. The 7,940-square-foot home offers four bedrooms and 5.5 baths."

From Mansion Global on California. "Despite a strong spring real estate market, property prices in San Francisco have yet to climb beyond last year’s highs, according to a report from Compass. The market’s failure to reach new highs is a significant change from the year-over-year price appreciation that the city had been logging for the past 'six or seven years,' the brokerage said."

"'For the time being, the most expensive housing market in the country has stopped becoming more expensive,' Patrick Carlisle, Compass’s chief market analyst for the San Francisco Bay Area, said in the report."

The Orange County Register in California. "Appreciation rates in the CoreLogic HPI have been decreasing steadily over the past year. The same trends are occurring nationwide. 'The U.S. housing market continues to cool,' said CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin. 'Some of our priciest markets (are) moving into frigid waters.'"

From My Northwest in Washington. "In terms of why median prices over last year seem to be dropping, that can be attributed to a number of factors, including more inventory, lower interest rates, and a steady economy. King County saw a massive 78.5 percent growth in inventory over 2018, following closely by Snohomish County at 57 percent."

"'As we head into the prime buying and selling season, we’re seeing better news for buyers in King County,' said Coldwell Banker Bain president Mike Grady. 'Buyers now have three-to-four weeks instead of three-to-four days to make a decision.'"

From Politico. "Federal investigators have issued subpoenas to several mortgage lenders that make loans to military veterans, seeking information on delinquencies and payments. The investigation is being led by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General in cooperation with the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, according to four people with knowledge of the subpoenas."

"At least eight lenders, and likely more, have been asked to turn over hundreds of files on VA home loans made between 2013 and 2017, according to two people with knowledge of the request. The requests include questions about quality control and loan audits."

"Some VA lenders have drawn scrutiny from regulators after they sold short-term, adjustable-rate mortgages to military homeowners as interest rates climbed. One VA program in particular — the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, or IRRRL — allows lenders to put existing VA borrowers into new loans without an appraisal or underwriting and was ripe for abuse."

"On Friday, Ginnie Mae said it was weighing whether to exclude some of those VA loans from its pooled securities in an effort to tackle a wave of rapid-fire mortgage refinancings that have left some military service members deeper in debt."