A report from the Downey Patriot in California. "Financial Partners Credit Union hosted its second annual Gateway Cities Economic Forum last Thursday at the Rio Hondo Event Center, featuring economist Christopher Thornberg as its keynote speaker. Thornberg noted the slowdown in the rate of job growth within the region, and the related factors contributing it. 'The slowing we’re seeing boils down to a lack of bodies…if you don’t have a person, you can’t hire them, and we hit that wall,' said Thornberg. 'Labor force is basically growing at a fairly slow basis.'"

"Some of this issue boils down to homes, or as Thornberg alluded to, a lack thereof. 'Everybody talks about housing, and you should. But how we talk about it is fairly important,' said Thornberg. 'It’s not a bubble; bubbles are over-building or over-borrowing; nothing like that is occurring. We need more housing, and we’re just not building it.'"

The Orange County Register. "Orange County homebuilders are trying to sell their largest supply of completed new homes in 12 years. According to Metrostudy, local builders had 1,022 newly constructed residential units ready for immediate sale in the second quarter, up 340, or 50 percent, in a year. That’s the highest level since the end of 2006. For those who get antsy about overbuilding, builder inventories averaged 458 in the previous boom years of 2004-2007."

"Metrostudy found 2,780 residential units under construction, off from the recent peak of 3,087 in last year’s third quarter — the fastest development pace since 2006. Note: Construction averaged 3,012 units in 2004-2007. And builders have amped up their inventories of ready-to-build lots. The 6,208 available in the second quarter was down 841 (12 percent) in a year but lots counts averaged 2,385 in 2004-2007."

"Builders aren’t the only home sellers facing rising inventories. ReportsOnHousing says there were 7,001 existing homes and condos listed for sale as of Aug. 23, the largest supply of resale housing on the market since September 2016."

From NBC Bay Area. "The government says pending home sales in the United States are down for the seventh straight month. In the Bay Area, that translates to more time on the market and fewer bidding wars. For Robert Hernandez, a longtime renter in the Bay Area who works in tech, the drop in bidding wars gives him hope he now has a chance to purchase a home."

"'That is amazing news for us,' Hernandez said. 'But it's great to hear that there's not so many bids going in per house anymore.'"

"Realtor Mike Gaines said prices on large properties are falling too, even in longtime hot spots. He called the housing shift a correction in the market."