A report from Sonoma News in California. "Build 3.5 million new dwelling units by 2025 and California’s housing shortage will be solved, Gov. Gavin Newsom prescribed during his campaign last year and several times since. But the simple formulae peddled by many state politicians may not hold water."

"That’s the startling upshot of statistics reported the other day by the MetroStudy. First-quarter data from the usually accurate company showed 3,750 newly-built homes went unsold in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the first quarter of this year. That left unsold housing inventory up 22 percent from last year and 37 percent above the five-year average."

"Then there’s the steady increase in the number of existing homes listed for sale, up this spring by about 23 percent from last year as owners try to cash in on boomtime real estate prices."

"Then there’s the Newsom/Wiener theory that denser housing can lessen traffic because virtually all new residents will ride mass transit. This has never happened in California, but the idea nevertheless persists. It will soon get a major test in both Northern and Southern California, where big new apartment and condo developments are nearing the sales and rental stage very near Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in Oakland and Metro Rail stops in Los Angeles."

The Herald Mail in Maryland. "Washington County and the state of Maryland moved in opposite directions for home sales in May. In the county, home sales rose 12%, from 158 in May 2018 to 177 in May of 2019, according to last week’s report from Maryland Realtors. But the average price dropped 11.3%, to $206,233. And the median price fell 11.7%, to $189,950."

The Citrus County Chronicle in Florida. "ATTOM Data Solutions reported last week that foreclosure starts in the Sunshine State increased by 23 percent last month compared to May 2018. It was the 12th month in a row Florida had seen double-digit annual increases in foreclosure starts."

"In May, 1 in every 1,238 homes had a foreclosure filing in Florida, the third highest in the nation. Only New Jersey and Maryland had higher rates. Among metro areas with more than 200,000 residents, Jacksonville had the second highest foreclosure rate, with 1 in every 764 homes at some stage in the foreclosure process."

From Atlanta Agent Magazine in Georgia. "May brought more than a temperature boost to Atlanta. Atlanta Realtors announced the metro area’s housing inventory saw significant gains. New listings climbed to over 6,000, an increase of 17.2 percent year-over-year and a jump of 11.3 percent month-over-month. This resulted in an inventory growth to 3.1 months’ supply—the highest level since 2016."

"For five years, the metro Atlanta housing market has favored sellers through an increased buyer demand and lack of supply. This year, the playing field is starting to level with a spike in housing inventory totaling 14,827 units in May, an increase of 12.7 percent from May, 2018."

From Go Skagit in Washington. "After a slow start to the year, activity is picking up in Skagit County’s real estate market, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The number of homes listed jumped from 357 in April to 443 in May, according to the report."

"'All of a sudden we’re seeing a little uptick in inventory, and there’s more active buyers and sellers,' said Lana Thompson, principal managing broker at Coldwell Banker Bain in Anacortes. Thompson said while the market is less 'frenzied' than last year, lower mortgage rates are attracting buyers."

From Mansion Global on New York. "Manhattan's luxury housing market logged another moderately strong week, though overpriced homes continue to languish on the market for months if not years, according to a roundup of pending sales from Olshan Realty."

"A total of 22 homes priced at $4 million or more went into contract in the week ending Sunday. While it was the eighth straight week of 20 or more luxury deals, the average home took over 16 months and a 15% discount to attract a buyer."

"'Last week’s figures are a snapshot of a luxury market that continues to be overpriced—and that attracts a smaller pool of buyers,' wrote Donna Olshan, president of Olshan Realty and author of the report."

"The biggest deal was a deeply discounted unit at Trump International, a tower at the southwestern edge of Central Park. The unit went into contract asking nearly $19 million, two-thirds of the original $30 million asking price."