A report from KPBS News in California. "The number of building permits issued in San Diego County in the first quarter of this year could suggest a slowdown in construction of new homes. The head of San Diego’s Building Industry Association, Borre WInckel said 1,409 building permits were issued in the first three months of 2017 in San Diego. If you multiply that by four, a total of 5,636 new permits would be issued this year, considerably fewer than the 10,000 issued last year. Winckel said developers can not make middle class housing pencil out because of the high cost of government regulation, and voter resistance to new development. He said the high-end of the housing market is saturated and workforce housing is stagnant."

"That’s the new name for middle-class housing, is 'workforce housing,' he said. 'That in essence has stopped, so if we don’t figure it out how to re-energize the supply of workforce housing, this area’s in trouble.'"

The Arizona Republic. "The popular mortgage-deduction tax break isn’t being cut under President Donald Trump’s plan to overhaul the tax system. That seems like a very good thing for homeowners and the housing industry. But the nation’s biggest real-estate groups aren’t celebrating. Proposed tax changes under the new plan, especially doubling the standard deduction, will lead to fewer people buying homes to tap the mortgage deduction, according to the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders."

"When a housing advocate group talks about falling home prices, many of us get a little alarmed. Particularly because as Arizona Association of Realtors CEO Michelle Lind told me, 'Arizona’s real-estate market has recently recovered from falling home prices, and we do not want to see home values tumble again due to a tax plan that eliminates the tax benefits of homeownership.'"

From Curbed New York. "It's a new year, which means it's time to look at the slew of market reports from the last quarter of 2016, offering a few hints of what's ahead for New York's often unpredictable real estate market in 2017. Among those things: a continued slog for ultra luxury apartments, the end of aspirational pricing, and fewer bidding wars."

"The Douglas Elliman report reveals the Manhattan sales market 'showed a continued easing of conditions,' according to numbers wiz Jonathan Miller, meaning we are 'capping off a year without the frenzy seen in the prior several.'"

"One big issue was the sharp decline of bidding wars: the market share of folks fighting over pricey pads fell by more than half, to the lowest level in four years. While 12.9 percent of inventory in the overall market saw bidding wars, the luxury market share of bidding wars was just two percent while new development was zero percent. Because of that, sellers started pulling overpriced properties off the market. As Miller puts it, 'Listings are falling in the luxury market, the weakest segment, so overpriced ‘aspirationally’ priced listings are falling out of the market.'"

The Miami Herald. "You probably have strong beliefs about abortion, police brutality or immigration. Would you change those beliefs if presented with inarguable, factual information that contradicts them? You likely want to say yes, but in reality the answer for most people is no. A comic by Matthew Inman, better known as The Oatmeal, depicts this phenomenon called the backfire effect, a psychological behavior that involves not only rejecting information that challenge our core beliefs, but actually letting that information further entrench us in the beliefs we already hold."

"The comic explains the science behind the effect, citing studies of the brain that showed it reacts to intellectual threats the same way it reacts to physical threats. If a belief is a major part of your worldview, and a new piece of information doesn’t fit in with your worldview, your brain protects you by rejecting the new information. 'Just remember that your worldview isn’t a perfect house that was built to last forever,' Inman wrote. 'It’s a cheap condo, and over time most of it will turn to s---.'"

From WTVF in Tennessee. "A TV news crew went to investigate a man accused of moving into a home he did not own. The man came back at the crew with an axe. A bank has promised to evict a squatter from a Mt. Juliet, Tennessee home following an investigation by Nashville-based WTVF. The investigation found that Jude Pischke moved into the home more than two years ago, despite having no legal claim to the property. The banks that had foreclosed on the previous owners essentially forgot about it, allowing it to sit empty for years."

"Attempts to sell the luxury log cabin were unsuccessful for years because of confusion among banks after the housing crisis. In late 2012 JP Morgan/Chase foreclosed on the home and sold it to Bank of New York Mellon, as trustees for investors in mortgage a backed security. Control over the home has since passed from Countrywide Financial -- to Bank of America -- and finally to NationStar. Meanwhile it has sat empty."

"Mt. Juliet City Commissioner Ray Justice contacted more than one bank about the abandoned home, but they didn't seem to care. 'We could not get in touch with anybody that would claim responsibility for the maintenance or the ownership or anything else,' Justice said."

"NationStar Bank finally sent us a statement saying 'We greatly appreciate that you brought this to our attention.' The statement went on to say 'We are moving quickly to evict the home of its current residents so the home can be prepared for sale.'"

"But when WTVF approached Pischke he made it clear he was not interested in talking about the property. As Pischke walked to his truck he pulled out an axe. 'I'm dealing with the bank, but let me see what would you like me to get you with? This will probably f****** work won't it. Get the f*** out of here!' Pischke said as he charged at the WTVF crew with the axe."

"Pischke swung the axe and said, 'Cut off your foot.' WTVF crew members were not hurt, but police arrested Pischke and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault. He bonded out, and still lives in the house."