Housing markets

As affordability worsened for prospective buyers, owners saw their first quarterly rise in proceeds in almost a year.

Contract closings declined 3.3% to a 4.16 million annualized pace, roughly in line with economists' forecasts, National Association of Realtors data showed Thursday.

Residential starts fell 8% last month to a 1.43 million annualized rate, according to government data released Wednesday.

About 14 out of every 1,000 US homes changed hands during this period, down from 19 in the same period during 2019, according to the real estate brokerage's report examining housing turnover since the pandemic.

Despite the improvement in sentiment, the homebuilder index remains below end-of-2021 levels, when mortgage rates were lower

The nearly 8% growth on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis is well above the historical average, according to the government-sponsored enterprise.

Even though the price of softwood lumber has climbed up by more than 7% in the last three months, it sits 21% below its level from a year ago.

The chattel financing firm's cash infusion is in addition to a $15.5 million venture round in 2022 and a Series A earlier this year.

Mayor Michelle Wu is offering hefty tax breaks to companies to turn offices into housing, the latest example of a city seeking to address the challenges of remote work hitting downtowns and a lack of affordable residences.

Democratic senators including Banking Chair Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren want to restrict tax breaks for large corporate investors that buy local homes and often drive up costs.