Buyers would be smart to shop around: The large dispersion in rate offerings among lenders could amount to several hundreds of dollars, Freddie Mac says.

Jeanesca Martinez, a real estate professional with Keller Williams, advised her New York clients to put in an offer over asking price, waive the inspection and include a personal note to close on this home in Tuckahoe.

Furniture and home goods retailers are increasingly teaming with artists and designers to create exclusive collections, including Anthropologie, which recently released a collection of more than 200 pieces in partnership with UK-based House of Hackney. IKEA and Swedish House Mafia collaborated on a collection of music studio furnishings, Lovesac and Alice + Olivia joined forces on a collection of new seating and Wayfair debuted decor from AllModern with Jason Wu.

A survey by Zillow predicts that the U.S. housing market will shift toward buyers amid broad declines in prices over the next year. Redfin is tracking home-purchase cancellations across the Sun Belt.

Avenue Real Estate CEO David Avgi says current market conditions are causing a "stalemate" as sellers refuse price concessions and buyers see mortgage rates moving out of reach. The slowdown has prompted layoffs at Citigroup, Compass, Anywhere Real Estate and Divvy Homes.

Price volatility in materials is wreaking more havoc with the construction industry this year than earlier predicted, with prices now expected to rise 18%, according to a new Construction Outlook report by JLL. In this environment, "we can no longer operate in a 'design, bid, build' structure as many development professionals have habituated. But rather, the construction process has become more fluid and requires rigorous management and communication throughout the life of the project," says Lisa Tamayo, vice president of development at BLT Enterprises.

The company, which enables home sellers to update their property with no upfront costs, was crowned at NAR's annual technology conference.

Ori is building what the company calls "expandable" apartments using robotic wall technology with thousands of dwellings planned and hundreds already completed and being lived in by renters. "I live in a conventional, one-bedroom, 650 square feet apartment, but by adding a Cloud Bed, a Pocket Closet and a Pocket Office, we have made it feel more like a 900 square feet, multi-room apartment," according to CEO Hasier Larrea.

Washington uses his passion for tennis and kids to create life-changing opportunities for at-risk youth. Meet all 10 Good Neighbor finalists and vote for your favorite cause.

The pandemic has increased interest in projects to convert office buildings into housing, but the costs, zoning issues and other factors involved can create obstacles. Nevertheless, major cities continue to study the issue, and Chicago recently proposed an initiative that would provide tax credits and incentives to turn high-vacancy buildings into homes.

Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's latest National Activity Index showed that economic activity fell to a value of zero in August from a revised 0.29 in July, reflecting a drop in production measures and an increase in employment indicators. The economy has slowed due to the Fed's aggressive interest rate increases but generally, a zero value is associated with the economy expanding at historical trends.