Real estate

From pockets of growth in a shrinking refi market to the possibility of REITs buying agency risk-sharing securities, here's a look at recent market shifts that major industry players are focused on right now.

During a five-year run of real estate prosperity, some South Florida communities that bore the brunt of the excruciating housing collapse are enjoying the biggest spikes in value, homeowners and brokers say.

Prices fell and the number of single-family homes sold in Connecticut were essentially flat year-over-year, according to the latest report form The Warren Group.

A new tariff on Canadian lumber threatens to further disrupt homebuilding at a time when lenders are increasingly concerned about a purchase mortgage resurgence that has failed to materialize.

Home-price growth in the Portland area is slowing down, but rising prices here still outpace most of the nation's major cities.

Sales of homes in April throughout the Cincinnati region remained strong, but could not maintain a record-setting pace, according to the latest data from the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors.

Housing demand unexpectedly weakened for a second month across most regions as lean inventory took a toll on affordability, putting a damper on the typically busier spring selling season.

South Florida home prices increased 6% in March compared to a year ago, but the biggest gains nationwide are happening in the Pacific Northwest.

On New York's Roosevelt Island, a sliver of land across the East River from Manhattan, real estate broker Ben Garama is trying to set a record — and make a statement.

As Seattle tops the country for home price growth for the seventh straight month, the local real estate market has gotten so competitive that it's now nearly impossible to avoid a bidding war.

Homes in Sacramento have been selling in an average of 34 days — six days faster than they were at this time last year, and 28 days faster than the U.S. overall.

A larger-than-forecast increase in home prices in 20 U.S. cities in March underscores both steady demand and lean inventory, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Democrats and Republicans, who have agreed on little this year, have found common ground on plans to give private insurers greater access to the $5 billion flood insurance program and to offer more buyouts for homeowners in areas likely to be repeatedly submerged.

Real estate site Zillow is launching a $1 million competition among data scientists to improve its "Zestimate" home valuations, but said the crowdsourcing initiative is unrelated to recent lawsuits filed in Chicago against the company.

Rising prices are holding back some potential sellers from listing their properties because they fear they won't find an affordable replacement, according to First American Financial Corp.

The median price reported to the Realtors Association of New Mexico for the month of April was $192,000, which is nearly 4% higher than the March 2017 median and more than 6% higher than the April 2016 median.

Home values increased by 7.3% in April, the strongest rate of year-over-year appreciation in more than 10 years, according to Zillow.

A drop in home sales in Porter County in April led to a year-over-year decline in Northwest Indiana, with total existing home sales of 898 in the seven-county area.

Sales of homes in the Chicago area dropped in April as potential homebuyers looked at houses but then turned away after finding disappointing choices, the Illinois Realtors reported.

A larger-than-projected decline in April sales of previously owned homes from a 10-year high indicates the residential real estate market remains constrained by a lack of inventory.