The shortage of housing in America is more “dire” than previously expected, and the NAR’s new report puts pressure on lawmakers to provide additional public funding and policy incentives to fix this massive underbuilding gap.

The median existing-home price for all housing types rose to $350,300 in May, marking another new record.

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

The annexed acreage will add about 1,400 homes to the master-planned community, as well as new amenities. Sales are expected to start in the fall of 2022.

On a year-over-year basis, new-home mortgage applications were down 5.9% in May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, citing its Builder Application Survey.

Inventory levels rebounded last month, finally showing signs of recovery following a year of historical declines.

The typical increase in home sales as summer approaches failed to materialize nationwide last month, with average sales dropping 0.2% from April to May, but month-over-month sales in Houston bucked the trend, climbing 1.3%, according to the RE/MAX May National Housing Report.

The new development is expected to begin home sales next year and will have about 2,300 homesites.

HAR’s weekly activity snapshot shows that for the second consecutive week, new listings continued to rise, helping alleviate some of the pressure on dwindling inventory.

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.

Although pending sales are up 29% from last year, they are starting to slow down, dropping 9.7% from their peak four weeks ago.

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

The share of homes underwater in the metro Houston area was at 1.6% at the end of the first quarter of 2021, below the national rate of 2.6%, according to CoreLogic.

Experts at Builder Magazine recently came out with their Local Leaders list for 2020, which ranks the country’s 50 largest new-home markets based on closings by the end of the year.

Unassuming on the outside, but a world of wonder inside — a walk through this $325,000 home in downtown St. Louis is an adventure in and of itself.

With high costs slowing construction and potentially lowering homeownership for many, easing zoning rules may be the most effective way to increase the supply of new housing.