A report from MarketWatch. "Existing-home sales ran at a 5.34 million seasonally-adjusted annual rate in July, down 0.7% versus June, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That was the lowest pace since February 2016. July’s selling pace was 1.5% lower than a year ago, and at the current sales rate, it would take 4.3 months to exhaust available supply, the same as in June, and well below long-time historical averages."

"For years, the Realtors have been warning that many would-be buyers, particularly at the lower end of the market, are being priced out. Now they’re also acknowledging that many others are just deciding to sit it out until market conditions change. First-timers made up 32% of all buyers in July, a tick higher than in June but still well below long-time averages, and making no real progress."

"'There are no tears left to cry with yet another disappointing housing report,' said BMO Capital Market's Jennifer Lee, invoking teen idol Ariana Grande."

The Orange County Register in California. "Another sign of a noteworthy slowdown in the Southern California housing market: Existing homes are taking three more weeks to sell vs. a year ago, by one industry metric. ReportsOnHousing market time stats say it’s taking 21 more days to get a home from listing to escrow than a year ago — 84 days vs. 63 a year ago. It’s the longest selling time in early August, by this math, since 2014."

"The slowdown is somewhat surprising considering house hunters have 4,165 more listings to consider vs. a year ago — an increase of 13 percent. The supply boost comes as homeowners have put 8,604 more homes put on the market so far this year vs. 2017 — a 258 percent jump. But the added choices aren’t enticing buying, as the four-county region covered by the Southern California News Group has seen a 15 percent decrease in sales contracts signed vs. a year ago."

From The Tribune in California. "Boosted by soaring home prices, California homeowners are now sitting on the richest vein of home equity in the nation, hundreds of thousands of dollars per home in most cases, according to data from an analysis by Attom Data Solutions. The message is twofold: California real estate has pulled well beyond the carnage of the 2007 to 2011 housing collapse. And it has done it in a big way compared to the rest of the United States, to the point of being slightly worrisome, some real estate watchers say."

"'That’s is great news for homeowners who are becoming equity rich, but it is a sign of that excess we tend to see in the California market,' said Daren Blomquist, a vice president with Attom Data Solutions."

"Dean Wehrli, a Sacramento real estate analyst with John Burns Real Estate Consulting, said he expects more Californians to tap that equity in the coming years, and he sees some of that happening already in Northern California."

"Koji Fujimoto, a Sacramento software company manager, and his wife bought their first home in 2011 in the Vineyard subdivision just when prices had hit bottom. The couple paid $186,000 for a newly constructed home that is now worth $350,000, an 88 percent value increase in seven years. They took advantage of a down payment assistance program and builder credits, and put down a minimal amount."

"But California appears to have hit a 'where to now?' moment that has homeowners like Fujimoto concerned. After seven years of huge value increases, the state’s real estate market has slowed in recent months. Median sale prices plateaued statewide in June. In Sacramento, those medians dropped slightly in July."

"Fujimoto is among those taking advantage of his home’s equity to move up to a more expensive home in Elk Grove near his and his wife’s families. But it’s giving him the jitters. He no longer will have the comfort of feeling equity rich. He wonders if his new home will increase in value like his first one did, or whether its value might drop. 'Is this the right time to sell, and right time to buy?' he asks. 'They are like opposing forces. I felt trepidation, pulled in two directions. This isn’t our first rodeo, but it feels like it is.'"

The Brooklyn Bridge News in New York. "The developers of the vexed Pacific Park Brooklyn development (formerly Atlantic Yards) have quietly acknowledged–in a non-publicized document–that the full 22-acre project, with 11 more towers planned beyond the four already open, likely won’t be finished until 2035."

"That’s ten years later than the previous estimate of 2025, which remains the deadline for the 2,250 required units of affordable housing, of which 1,468 remain to be built. (The plan also calls for 3,720 market-rate units to be built; only 460 have been constructed so far.) Over the past three years, though, Pacific Park has faced headwinds: a change in state tax policy, a glut in market-rate units nearby, and rising construction costs."

"Greenland USA’s long-term involvement is not set in stone; while it has bought nearly all of Forest City’s remaining share–the cost remains undisclosed–the company has pulled back from two proposed projects in California, and is seeking to sell part of its other major project, Metropolis, in Los Angeles."

The Ruidoso News in New Mexico. "While the housing market in Lincoln County slowed in July, sales in New Mexico as a whole continue to post record numbers this summer. A breakdown from the association showed 29 sales occurred in Ruidoso, a 13 percent decrease; nine in the Alto Lakes-Outlaw-Kokopelli area, a 44 percent decrease; five in Alto to Bonito River for a 20 percent decrease; and nine in the rest of the county for an 11 percent decrease."

"Average prices in Ruidoso hit $227,879, a 20 percent decrease; $316,556 in Alto Lakes-Outlaw-Kokopelli for a 125 percent decrease; and $165,056 in the rest of the county for a 17 percent decrease However, the median price for Ruidoso was $176,500, a 15 percent increase, with the other areas seeing decreases."