Housing inventory

Home buyers appear to place the highest priority on affordability, with cities in the Midwest and Northeast taking the majority of top spots on Zillow's list.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes was unchanged at 71.6, the lowest in data back to 2001.

Industry leaders share their thoughts on some of the forecasts that fizzled.

The government is moving forward with a catalog of pre-approved home designs to reduce the cost and time it takes to build housing. The idea dates back to the 1940s when thousands of soldiers returned from the Second World War and needed a place to live.

Toll Brothers Inc. stock rose as the homebuilder's executives pointed to "solid" demand in recent weeks as mortgage rates pulled back from two-decade highs. 

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes declined 1.5% to 71.4, the lowest in data back to 2001, the group reported Thursday.

A national gauge of prices rose 0.7% in September from August, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 5.6% to a 679,000 annualized pace last month, government data showed Monday.

Contract closings decreased 4.1% from a month earlier to a 3.79 million annualized pace, still the lowest since 2010, National Association of Realtors data showed Tuesday.

Residential starts increased 1.9% last month to a 1.37 million annualized rate, the highest in three months, government data showed Friday.

With mortgage rates retreating and inflation abating, short sellers who'd been capitalizing on the three-month slump in homebuilder stocks may need to prepare for a rebound toward year-to-date highs.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo gauge decreased six points to 34 this month, according to data out Thursday.

Median housing costs came in higher in every region of the country, but several cities that saw the most growth two years ago continue to see declining values, the National Association of Realtors said.

Bigger metro areas Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta each added at least 16,000 units over the past year, increasing their inventories by as much as 5.6%. Rents consequently fell in each market.

Voters in one of the U.S. most expensive markets are poised to approve a ballot measure tripling the supplemental property tax that funds programs to support affordable housing.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture program should also allow existing manufactured home sales to be financed, they said.

For the first time in about 15 months, more new listings came on the market in August on a year-over-year basis, Redfin said.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings increased 1.1% from a month earlier to 72.6, the group reported Thursday.

The single-family rental giant struck a deal to manage homes for another major landlord at a time when scarce inventory of properties for sale is making it hard to expand.

Contract closings decreased 2% from a month earlier to a 3.96 million annualized pace, National Association of Realtors data showed Thursday.