Fed: Housing Strong, but Cooling

The housing market remained strong in June and early July, but several Federal Reserve district banks reported that a few hot markets are cooling."Residential real estate activity remained robust overall but showed a few signs of cooling in some districts," the Federal Reserve's Beige Book says. Home price appreciation has moved from "hot" to "normal" in Massachusetts, and housing inventories in New England have become "somewhat less tight," according to the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. "In the Richmond, Atlanta and San Francisco districts housing activity remained strong but eased in a few markets that had been especially hot markets -- Washington, D.C., several Florida markets and parts of southern California," the Beige Book says. The New York district bank reported that the condominium market in Manhattan is "less frenzied" than in the spring and that "housing inflation" slowed in New Jersey.