A report from the Orlando Sentinel in Florida. "More Central Floridians are taking out zero-down loans to buy a home. 'We didn’t have to put $30,000 down on a house, but you still get the house you want,' said Christina Martinez, whose family bought a home in Kissimmee a few months ago with a zero-down loan through Veterans Affairs. 'We could have put (something) down, but since we didn’t have to, we just didn’t.'"

"Economists said it’s a relatively safe time to use zero-down programs, as home values continue to rise and the labor market remains strong. But some urged caution, pointing out the programs usually have high interest rates and high monthly mortgage payments. 'As people have recovered, now banks are becoming a little bit looser with their lending standards,' said Jason Martin, a financial adviser with Allgen Financial."

"Stacy Luna, a lender with Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, says buyers who don’t make much of a down payment are more likely to lose their homes to their lenders. 'Unfortunately, what we do find with people with less skin in the game, those are the people who end up in foreclosure,' Luna said. 'Maybe they lose their job, or maybe they had a roommate and now the roommate’s gone, something breaks on the house. All they know is I only had $1,000 in it so why should I stay?'"

"For Dana Signore, a single mother who recently bought a house in Clermont, the only way she could afford to buy a home was if she didn’t put anything down. She qualified for a zero-down loan through the USDA for her $230,000 home.'That was really the only option,' Signore said. 'The money wasn’t there.'"

"If her clients qualify and are comfortable with the monthly mortgage payments, Annie Amalfitano, a loan originator for Motto Mortgage Exclusive, encourages them to utilize the VA and USDA programs. It’s better than renting, she says. 'Why would you pay $1,200, $1,500, $1,600 a month ... when you can get into a home for that much? Why would you?' Amalfitano said. 'You’re just lining somebody else’s pockets and you’re not building any equity yourself. Your rent is going out the window.'"

The Bradenton Herald in Florida. "The hottest part of the housing market in the Bradenton area is for houses priced $300,000 to $350,000, said Beth Barnett, a real estate sales associate for Coldwell Banker based at Lakewood Ranch. Conversely, the upward tier of the market is not selling well. 'They are just sitting there. Many baby boomers are downsizing and don’t want the McMansions any more. It’s not that they can’t afford them. They just want to get out and enjoy life,' Barnett said."

The Los Angeles Times. "NBA free agent Arron Afflalo has finally sold his Las Vegas estate, but for a few million short of what he’d hoped. After listing last year for $5.675 million, the home sold for $3.469 million — or $331,000 less than he paid for it in 2017."

The Denver Post in Colorado. "On a burning-hot July day, Tom and Cassandra Chavez stood outside the 1947 two-bedroom cottage they have nearly finished renovating. Their family bought the home in January for $250,000 as a fix-and-flip -- joining a growing crew of new investors in East Colfax, a neighborhood at Denver's far eastern edge. But things weren't working out just yet."

"Despite extensive renovations, the property wasn't selling at their $325,000 list price. They got bites, until people looked down the block to Colfax -- a screaming-fast stretch of pavement that is Denver's most notorious, whether it's for unsafe traffic or crime. 'The feedback we've gotten from all the lookers is, 'It's just too close to Colfax,' Tom Chavez said."

"Now the family is considering a far different move: Tom and Cassandra might just live there."

The Star Tribune in Minnesota. "Want to live like Twin Cities royalty? There’s a castle for sale, set on a secluded hilltop in Eagan that was once the kingdom of former Northwest Airlines CEO Steve Rothmeier. And it’s now back on the market, a relative bargain at $1.995 million after a magic-wand price drop of $1 million. Rothmeier died in 2014, not long after selling the home to the current owners, a couple who completely updated it for modern family living."

"The grand house, which was on the market for $2.995 million in 2017, is now priced well below replacement value, according to Lakes Sotheby’s agent Julie Regan."

From Jersey Digs in New Jersey. "If the $7 million price tag on a six-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion overlooking Weehawken’s waterfront has kept you from putting in a bid, there’s good news: The price was reduced late last month by $400,000. The 5,113-square-foot house was listed for nearly $12 million in 2016, which could have set a sales record for the county — but the price was slashed over the years. On June 25 it was cut again to $6.6 million."

From KMOX in Missouri. "Going into its third year on the market, the St. Louis home of Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is still looking for a buyer. Realtor.com recently updated the price of the 10,472-square-foot mansion, located just west of Forest Park and says it's been reduced to $2,795,000. When the home was first listed in 2016, the asking price was $3,775,000. The Blues all-time leader in goals first purchased it in 2014 and began a $2 million renovation."

From Community Impact in Texas. "After several years of both the number of closed sales and the costs of those homes rising, data shows the real estate market in San Marcos, Buda and Kyle is cooling off. 'I really believe that it’s just stable—that it’s not a buyer’s or a seller’s market,' said Peggy Jones, president of Four Rivers Association of Realtors, which does business in Caldwell, Comal, Gonzales, Guadalupe and Hays counties."

From Mansion Global on New York. "The Upper East Side apartment belonging to Allen Simon, inventor of the Wee Wee Pad for dogs, saw a $7 million price cut on Monday. The full-floor spread, originally listed in April for $39.95 million, is now asking $33 million. Daniela Kunen from Douglas Elliman has the listing."

"'Tax laws hit New York very hard,' Ms. Kunen said. 'It’s not a secret that it’s a soft market right now.' July 1 saw the integration of a progressive mansion tax in Manhattan, imposing a sales tax of up to 3.9% on homes of $25 million or more."