Housing markets

New-home construction rebounded last month to the best pace since August while permits rose to a seven-month high, a sign homebuilding is potentially stabilizing even as higher prices and borrowing costs pose headwinds.

Orlando's red-hot real estate market may be cooling off.

The Buffalo Niagara housing market still is sizzling, although there are some signs it's not quite as hot as it was during the summer.

A proposal allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals could remove a hurdle to quick closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage.

Ordinarily, declining property sales will cool the costs for housing. But existing-home sales have been underperforming their potential for 40 straight months and property values are still on the rise, according to First American Financial Corp.

Sentiment among homebuilders fell in December to the lowest level since 2015, missing all forecasts and signaling that the industry's struggles are intensifying amid elevated prices and higher borrowing costs.

Housing could be in for a slowdown as three indicators of new- and existing-home construction activity fell year-over-year for the first time since 2011, according to BuildFax.

October's rise in the supply of homes for sale could signal the housing market getting closer to equal footing for buyers and sellers, according to Remax.

November home sales slipped in Northeast Ohio and recent price gains appear to be cooling, mirroring national signs that the housing market might be pausing for breath after a run of growth.

The slowdown in the Sonoma County, Calif., residential real estate market sharpened in November, when sales and prices declined while the number of homes available for buyers jumped significantly.

The Federal Housing Administration mortgage loan limit will increase by approximately 7% for next year, mirroring the rise for conforming loans.

Next year is unlikely to offer relief from higher rates or housing supply shortages, according to the consensus forecast from 24 of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's member firms.

Fannie Mae made a slight increase to its origination forecast, expecting housing affordability to improve in 2019 as mortgage rates remain flat and home price appreciation moderates.

Putting down 20% of the sales price has been the industry standard when buying a house, but less than half of consumers do that much, according to Zillow.

For the seventh month in a row, the number of homes sold in the Charlotte region decreased compared to last year.

Despite an abundance of new central Ohio apartment complexes, the region is not building anywhere near enough housing, according to the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio.

Late payments on mortgages are expected to keep dropping and credit is expected to remain strong next year, in part because housing prices remain healthy in most areas, according to TransUnion.

In most of the country, single women are outpacing men when it comes to homeownership, despite females only making 80% of what the average male does, according to a LendingTree report.

Intense competition among homebuyers remains as shown by the continual growth of median down payments, according to Attom Data Solutions.

In Philadelphia, there is no limit to the amount by which assessments — the value used to calculate property tax bills — can increase in one year.