A report from the Chicago Tribune in Illinois. "The massive apartment construction boom in downtown Chicago is starting to show signs of saturation, and rents will likely start to decline by fall, Appraisal Research Counselors reported Tuesday. Rents fell about 14.7 percent during the fourth quarter to $2.89 a square foot for the top-quality, or Class A, apartments and to $2.52 for the Class B apartments that are considered to be the next rung down. So far developers have been reluctant to lower rents for new apartments even though the number of empty units has increased slightly, but 'record supply and occupancy have tamped rents down a little,' said Ron DeVries, vice present of Appraisal Research.

"DeVries said 2018 could represent a peak in Chicago's apartment market, however. The supply of rental units 'will exceed demand and keep rents in check,' he said. By the first quarter of 2018, DeVries expects 'a lot of angst in the market' as there is a sense of 'a bubble.'"

"As the opportunity to fill new rentals declines, developers will consider whether it will be best to build more rentals or condominiums. That analysis already is occurring, although few developers have been able to find ways to make new condo construction profitable enough because of skyrocketing construction costs, taxes, limited available land and lenders often requiring developers to pre-sell many units — frequently 50 percent — before being willing to provide construction loans, according to the report. 'When the easy money stopped, condo construction went away,' said Steve Fifield, chief executive of Fifield Cos."

From Richmond Biz Sense in Virginia. "After nine months and no presales, a high-end condo tower envisioned for the end of Tobacco Row has been scrapped. Developers David Johannas, Jerry Peters and Howard Kellman have pulled the plug on One Shiplock, an 11-story, 15-unit building planned at 2723 E. Cary St. The project, which was valued at $10 million, did not secure one buyer since floor plans hit the market last June. The highest-priced units were listed at $1.55 million."

"Peters, a veteran Richmond developer, said they were surprised by the lack of interest. The project had received a special-use permit from the city and had the support of the Shockoe Bottom and Church Hill neighborhood associations. 'It’s really surprising to us, and very disappointing, obviously,' Peters said. 'There’s just no market that materialized.'"

The Real Deal on Florida. "Home buyers in Miami have the upper hand, and now a new report from Zillow backs that up. Miami ranked as the second best buyer’s market in the country behind Baltimore, according to the report. Sellers are longing for the days of bidding wars in Miami, where 11.5 percent of listings now have a price cut. South Florida homes also spent about 108 days on the market before selling."

"Last year, Zillow released a report that nearly half of Miami’s home shoppers were looking outside the city for a new house, citing affordable concerns. Recent studies show a growing divide between stagnant salaries and rising home prices in South Florida. After Baltimore and Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago and Houston were also top markets for home buyers."

The Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. "Throughout most of last year, it seemed as if Philadelphia’s median home-sale price could move in one direction only: up. After three consecutive quarters of consistent — and record-breaking — growth in 2016, however, Philadelphia’s housing market finally cooled off a bit in the fourth quarter. For the first time in a year, the median sale price for single-family homes -- that is, excluding condo sales -- within the city limits declined in the October-through-December period, dropping 6 percent to $140,000, from $149,000 in third-quarter 2016."

"Combined with a dramatic decline in the number of home sales — only 3,835 homes changed hands from independent owner to independent owner (so-called arm's length transactions) in the fourth quarter, a 28 percent plunge from the previous quarter — the pause in price appreciation reflected by his index could indicate that buyers have begun to say no, said Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation."

"For the city, the double-digit jump in home appreciation in the last year underscores just how complex changes in the real estate market can be. On one hand, the significant growth in value indicates the increasing attractiveness of Philadelphia as a place to work and live, Gillen said. But at the same time, that same rapid growth also introduces concerns of affordability in the poorest big city in America. 'This is falling especially hard on young, first-time home buyers. ... The spread between city house prices and city incomes is currently close to an all-time high,' he said."

From KXAN in Texas. "As the housing market continues to flourish in Central Texas, the number of families willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to custom-build their dream home is rising. Joel and Tracey Lackovich had been saving for years to build their dream home for their growing family of six. What was supposed to become their dream quickly became the couple's personal nightmare of an experience when they signed a contract with Bella Vita Custom Homes, LLC to build their home in the private, gated community of Spanish Oaks in Lakeway. As KXAN started looking into the couple's story, it became apparent that their experience wasn't an isolated incident."

"It wasn’t until the couple was sued by a subcontractor, alongside Bella Vita Custom Homes as defendants, for failing to make payments for services provided on their home, that the Lackovichs' say they realized the extent of the issue. The Lackovichs' say the company was taking their money, but failed to pay their subcontractors."

"'Things that we've paid for—that we paid Bella Vita to pay—they never paid,' the couple said. 'We gave Bella Vita $300,000 and we didn’t have $300,000 worth of work done.'"

"Lisa Brankin’s story is one of an investor. 'When it started we were really excited because it seemed like such a win-win,' Brankin explained of her Spanish Oaks home. 'They were supposed to build us a house at ‘their cost’ and then we signed a profit agreement with them that basically said they would build us a house at a set price and once the house was finished, we would split any profits 50/50.'"

"Brankin says that’s not how it ended. 'Now, we have a house that’s sitting, not quite totally framed, and we’re looking at having to undo a bunch of things to fix it because it’s been sitting in the weather for five or six months.' While Brankin has not filed suit against Bella Vita, she says it’s with good reason. 'It not only keeps costing money with attorneys, [and] our house isn't finished. So now we have to pre-qualify for another loan. We have to get another $330,000 to finish the house.'"