Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)
Housing bubble deflates
Across the U.S., home prices are falling, with many metropolitan areas expected to see large reductions, according to a report on CNNMoney.com. The city that may see the biggest drop is Las Vegas, where prices are predicted to decrease by 8.2% this year, the Web site says. What's in the cards for your local market? Check out CNNMoney.com's forecast for 379 cities across the U.S. While the outlook is grim for many of the housing boom's best performers -- places like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. -- the future looks bright for several cities that missed out on the action, the Web site says. Among the markets the article reports are on the way up: Houston, Memphis, and Rochester, N.Y.
More luxury-home sales in Seattle
One of the buzz-words in residential real estate today is affordability, specifically, the lack of it (at least in some areas) in the housing market. Yet, in Snohomish County, Wash., high-end buyers apparently don't have difficulty affording luxury houses. In the Puget Sound region, which includes the county, the number of home sales above $1 million jumped from 23 in 2004 to 83 in 2005, according to an article published by The Herald. Many of the residences sold were either new or had impressive views, the paper says. Skyrocketing prices in nearby Seattle and a lack of buildable land also worked to drive buyers to the area, the article says.
High-end not lagging in Charlottesville
Buyers are starting to call the shots in Charlottesville, Va., but not when it comes to the luxury segment of the market, says The Daily Progress. Although sales are generally starting to slow in the area and buyers are getting "picky" as inventory builds, the paper says, houses priced at $1 million and up continue to sell well. In the million-plus price range, there have been no signs of an increase in the number of homes up for sale, the article says. This is in sharp contrast to the general housing situation there, where the number of properties on the market in early April was double the amount of residences available a year earlier, the paper says.
To rent or to buy? That is the question
In San Francisco, Honolulu and New York, the cost of renting a home for some people is now less expensive than owning one, challenging conventional wisdom that paying rent is akin to throwing money away, says the Washington Post. The housing markets in Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. are moving toward the point where renting a home may soon be more affordable than owning one, the paper says. The calculations are based on how much it would cost to buy or rent a home that is valued at the area's median selling price. The cost of owning a home was computed using the assumptions that a homeowner had a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, put 20% down, paid 1% of the home's total value in annual property taxes and claims a mortgage-interest tax deduction equal to a quarter of the tax amount. However, the article says, the decision whether to rent or buy is not a purely financial one, and can vary depending on personal and lifestyle preferences.
List home in Chicago, sell months later
In Chicago, sellers anxious to find a buyer for their properties might have to wait months -- even up to a year -- to successfully get their homes off the market, says an article published by the Chicago Tribune. Thanks to a rising inventory of homes for sale (Chicagoland's single-family inventory is up 30% from last year), sellers have to be prepared to sit back and wait for an offer, or reduce asking prices, the article says. In this more "normal" market atmosphere, the paper says, some buyers are asking for price cuts and getting them. A real-estate agent quoted in the article says to expect price appreciation to drop from last year's 8% to 3% this year.

By Lauren Baier Kim