A report from The M Report. "The U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction Survey found that while building permits grew in July by 8.4%, housing starts fell 4% in July to 1.91 million. Odeta Kushi, Chief Economist for First American Financial Corporation, added that homebuilders are 'reluctant' to start new projects in fear the economy may fall."

"'When there’s a shift in the market, new construction is always one of the first categories to take a hit,' said San Jose, California, Redfin agent Kristen Nowack. 'In the San Jose area, overall prices are falling and there are plenty of homes for sale right now, which means buyers may be less likely to pay a premium for new construction. And when one builder starts dropping prices in response to the market, competitors follow suit, which could lead to overall lower prices.'"

The Orange County Register in California. "Southern California builders sold 13% more homes in July than a year ago as prices fell 8%. As for cost comparisons, Southern California’s new homes had a median selling price of $554,000, down 8% over 12 months. Compare that with the median for all homes sold: $540,000."

From KTLA in California. "Phil Spector’s infamous murder castle — where he shot actress Lana Clarkson to death in 2003 — just got a bit cheaper. After listing for $5.5 million earlier this year, the French Chateau-style mansion has returned to market at $4.995 million in Alhambra."

"It was divided into apartments in the 1940s and remodeled by a Chinese investor in the ’80s before the troubled Spector shelled out $1.1 million for the place in 1998, calling it 'a beautiful and enchanting castle in a hick town where there is no place to go that you shouldn’t go.'"

From Westword in Colorado. "The $2 million listing for the Castle Rock-area property owned by former Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss has been in the news again recently, but missing from reports is a far more interesting fact about the sale than the mere availability of the joint: Its price is half of what it was more than seven years ago."

"This price drop is emblematic of a dirty little real estate secret: Luxury properties can be very difficult to sell in Colorado and beyond, even when there's a celebrity connection. In November 2012, Weiss's home was featured on a TopRealEstateDeals.com list of the best spreads available from former Major League Baseball players. At the time, the tag was $3.49 million, which already represented a major reduction. Six months earlier, the place had been going for $3.99 million, or just about twice as much as the current sale price."

The Madison Park Times in Washington. "Reading the doom-and-gloom headlines about Seattle’s real estate market is an echo of what happened this exact time last year — it’s like wash, rinse, repeat. You have to look at the data and understand consumer behavior to know that right now we’re far from experiencing a housing crash."

"While it’s true we’re no longer in an insanely hot market, that’s what most buyers and sellers have been used to. So any slowdown feels like the real estate market is imploding. But the data says differently — we’re still in a seller’s market. If you’re buying this late summer and fall, get ready. There will be more homes on the market, so you’ll be able to purchase with more protections than you might have been able to last spring (or maybe next spring, if trends continue). That means all contingencies, negotiable prices, and no bidding wars."

From KOMO News in Washington. "Bidding wars for homes on the market in the Seattle area have plummeted in the past year, reflecting a national trend, according to Redfin. The report found that only 9.4 percent of offers from Seattle-area homebuyers faced a bidding war in August. That's down from 37.8 percent in August 2018."

"'Competition in the Seattle area has certainly slowed down since the second half of 2018. Last year, five out of five offers I submitted faced competition; now, it's one in five,' said local Redfin agent Michelle Santos. Meanwhile, she said, 'Average homes sit on the market for quite some time before they get any offers.'"

"The steep drop in bidding wars is just another sign that the housing market is cooling off in the Seattle area. Other studies have found that home sales prices here are dropping, and homes are remaining on the market longer before they are sold. Nationally, 10.4 percent of homebuyers faced bidding wars in August - the lowest rate in eight years - and down from a high of 59 percent in March 2018."

From Smart Asset. "A good deal can make a significant difference for any purchase you make, but especially when you’re investing your hard-earned money in property like a home. As a result, it’s important not to overlook the fact that the asking price is negotiable – it could save you hundreds or thousands down the line."

"Using Census divisions, we note that 14 of our top 25 cities are located in Southern states. Between July 2018 and June 2019, an average of 18.88% of home listings across those 14 cities had price reductions. Santa Rosa, California ranks as the second-best city to negotiate on a home, with comparable figures to the No. 1 city of Baltimore. Between July 2018 and June 2019, an average of 20.39% of home listings had price reductions."

"Utah’s capital, Salt Lake City, has a particularly strong No. 14 for percentage of home listings with a price cut. Between July 2018 and June 2019, an average of 20.34% or one-fifth of home listings had price cuts. The median price reduction on homes tends to be a bit lower in Portland, Oregon than other cities in our top 10, but price reductions are frequent. Between July 2018 and June 2019, an average of about one-fifth of home listings had price cuts."

"Dallas, Texas is the most populous city in our top 10, but despite the number of people vying for housing there, it’s still able to bargain on home price. According to Zillow, in the 12 months leading up to June 2019, an average of 20.29% of home listings had price cuts."

"In gross terms, homebuyers in Seattle, Washington who successfully negotiate may have the most to gain relative to homebuyers in any other city in our top 10The median listing price for homes in Seattle, Washington is the highest of any city in our top 10. In June 2019, the median listing price for homes in the city was $699,000 according to Zillow. For homebuyers who are able to negotiate for the median price reduction month-over-month of 3.53%, they would save almost $25,000 on the median home listing."

The Shawnee Mission Post in Kansas. "That’s right potential home buyers. It appears that your time is just around the corner, and by 'your time' I mean that we are shifting out of the seller’s market and into a market where you will have more leverage. The power shift has been a long time coming considering that we have been in a strong seller’s market since the first quarter of 2013. For the longest time, buyers have been competing for the same houses, paying over list price, and in many cases, accepting a home as-is versus being in a position to ask for repairs."

"Median home prices in several areas of town are already down when compared to the same month last year. Therefore, home sellers must be focused on the most recent sold properties (last 90 days) when arriving at a fair list price. Depending on the location, if may make even more sense to focus on the active competition and any current homes under contract that have not closed yet. Actives and pendings are the most accurate representation of value in a shifting market. The long and the short of it is that today’s market requires that you price more competitively."

"To me, the most important message for a seller in a shifting market is this- patience. You may have heard from your friends and neighbors that homes have been flying off the shelves and at crazy prices, but you must know that in most areas of town, that was the market of yesterday. And the market of today requires patience and understanding. It also requires very clear data about the current market conditions and competition."