A report from Mansion Global. "Home buyers in Los Angeles County, once one of the nation’s most competitive housing markets, are now gaining the upper hand. The city ranked No. 6 in the nation for top buyer’s markets in the U.S., according to new data analysis from realtor.com. Los Angeles, along with previously white-hot housing markets Dallas and Nashville, have all seen a flood of new listings, with the amount of available inventory spiking by around 23% to 25% compared to a year ago."

"In Los Angeles, slowed economic momentum and runaway price growth have turned off would-be house hunters. Likewise, in Dallas and Nashville, home price growth 'has reached unsustainable levels,' according to the report."

"The most dramatic example of that was New York’s upstate capital Albany (along with its neighboring cities Schenectady and Troy), which ranked No. 1 on the list. There’s now over six months worth of housing stock available in the Albany area, an increase of 31% compared to a year ago. Albany was followed by Greater Chicago and San Antonio, Texas, which ranked second and third, respectively."

From Realtor.com. "In Chicago, Los Angeles, and Providence, the housing market slowdown can be traced to economic growth that's fallen behind the rest of the country and pushed potential buyers to seek career options elsewhere. A similar pattern is occurring in Riverside, Tampa, and Jacksonville, where job growth has notably lagged the U.S. average."

From Redfin. "Sale prices for newly built homes fell 1 percent year over year to a median of $363,900 in the first quarter, the first such drop in seven years, according to Redfin. Sales of new homes were down 3.1 percent year over year in the first quarter, the third consecutive quarter of declines. Supply of new homes was up 4.2 percent in the first quarter, the fourth consecutive period of increases."

"Lowering prices is part of an effort to sell some of the new-home inventory that's been piling up in Dallas (supply of new homes in the Dallas metro was up 14.7% in the first quarter). 'The market for new homes is shifting. Builders are readjusting their pricing to be more competitive, both in low-end and high-end homes. Some of my clients have been able to buy new homes at prices we never could have negotiated a year ago,' said Connie Durnal, a Redfin agent in Dallas."

From Kitchen & Bath Design. "Domestic shipments of major home appliances, keyed by declines in nearly all major product categories, fell in March compared to the same month in 2018, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. According to Lawrence Yun, the NAR was not surprised to see the recent retreat in existing-home sales, adding that a sustained, steady gain in home sales can occur only 'when home price appreciation grows at roughly the same pace as wage growth.'"

From Builder Online. "The pent-up demand on the affordable end of the housing scale continues to represent an opportunity for builders as the number of closings exceeds housing inventory levels in the lower ranges starting at $150,000 and topping off at $400,000. On the opposite end of the spectrum, existing inventory for homes valued at $800,000 and above are more than double the amount of closings. Chief economist Mark Boud of Metrostudy cites price reductions and losses on sales as more evidence of a luxury glut."

The Long Beach Business Journal in California. "'We’re seeing a slowdown in the single-family for-sale market not just in Southern California but nationally,' Robert Kleinhenz, economist for Beacon Economics, told the Business Journal. Home sales have been decreasing since early 2018, he noted. 'The ostensible reason for that is what we saw happen with interest rates starting in 2017 and rolling through 2018, when we saw interest rates edge up,' he explained."

"When it comes to the local multi-family market, the headline stories in Long Beach continue to be rising rental rates and the ongoing development of more than 6,000 new units. Kleinhenz, however, believed that rental rates in Long Beach could soften a bit due to the number of new units coming online."

"'The increase in the number of units almost assuredly has to have some sort of softening effect on rents,' he said, adding that most of them are located downtown. 'We’re really offering one flavor right now with the new rental units that we’re bringing online,' Kleinhenz said. 'And we sure know that Long Beach is full of varied kinds of households. So it’s not clear at all that the housing needs for would-be renters, especially new arrivals, are going to match up with what’s being offered right now.'"

The Democrat and Chronicle in New York. "Robert Morgan's embattled real estate empire has taken another hit: ESL Federal Credit Union on Monday began foreclosure proceedings against a property he owns in Henrietta. The move comes only a week after federal prosecutors accused Morgan of fraud and money-laundering, claiming that he and others in his company duped lenders with falsified information."

"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also accused Morgan of fraud, and is seeking to freeze his assets. A court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Buffalo."

"In February 2017, ESL loaned Morgan Rivers Run LLC, the entity created for the Henrietta project, a total of $17.8 million for the property and construction. According to court papers, Morgan has only paid $100,000 and has not made payments since February."

"Morgan has a vast real estate portfolio, with tens of thousands of apartment units across multiple states. He also owes millions to the city of Rochester; last year the amount was around $17 million."