Market competition has eased up recently, but seven in 10 buyers still face bidding wars, according to a new report from Redfin.

Single-family housing starts were up 4.2% from April and 49.8% from May 2020, at 1,098,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

While pending sales are up 29% year over year, they are starting to slow and have fallen 9.7% from their peak.

Increasing costs and the declining availability of key building materials dampened builder sentiment, as higher costs have pushed some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers. 

Expert panelists from Zillow’s Home Price Expectations Survey say if changes aren’t made, new construction growth will stall, home prices will continue to increase, and less of today’s 30-somethings will have the ability to own a home.

The Worthing Cos. transferred its property-management division to RAM Partners, which will provide lease-up services on all Worthing-sponsored developments.

The new chief executive, Emily Traxler, is a certified customer success expert for tech startups and will take the company’s reins from founders Bernadine W. Drake and Glenn Drake.

The COVID pandemic has caused a shakeup in where, and how, many people work. That has helped propel a thriving housing market.

Housing inventory, meanwhile, remained significantly below year-ago levels in May.

Longer-commute areas continued to claim the largest market share in single-family homebuilding, but the construction growth rate was strongest in places with shorter commuting times, the National Association of Home Builders said, citing its quarterly Home Building Geography Index.

The new corporate sponsorship makes certain training, resources and networking opportunities available to RE/MAX agents.

Of the 99 million residential properties in the U.S., approximately 1.4 million (or 1.4%) are vacant this quarter, with “zombie” home rates increasing both quarterly (21%) and annually (5.6%).  

The number of Asian-headed households grew 83% in the past two decades, but economic inequality and inequity between different Asian ethnic regions is still an issue.

Special questions added to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly builder survey found 90% or more of respondents had experienced shortages of plywood, oriented strand board, framing lumber and appliances, with most other materials also hard to come by. 

Year over year, however, pending home sales were up 57.1%, the NAR said, citing its monthly Pending Home Sales Index.

First-time homebuyers found their long-term plans changed due to COVID.