The interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week, offering relief to home buyers who are reeling from escalating costs.

Softer wood tones are coming in wider, longer planks to modernize the floors.

Agents are working more closely with sellers as the market cools and offers come in at a slower pace, writes Leslie Sargent Eskildsen, a board member of the California Association of REALTORS®. Revisiting offers that were previously rejected can help close deals, Eskildsen writes.

Wells Fargo has confirmed a steep decline in mortgage applications compared with a year ago as the Federal Reserve's June interest rate hike takes its toll. "Real estate values moderating in the long term are a good thing," Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf says.

Jackson, Miss.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Wichita, Kan., are among cities where home sales are closing quickly, even as other locations see a slowdown in real estate, according to Redfin data. In Jackson, homes stayed on the market for only seven days in May, down from 77 days a year ago.

BidMyListing has rolled out nationwide, enabling real estate professionals to bid on listing opportunities. "BidMyListing disrupts an incredibly flawed and antiquated system that has resulted in generations of sellers rewarding speed over substance when picking an agent," founder Matt Proman says.

Michelle Hardy-Rodriguez, who has scars from a serious car accident, helps soothe people's physical and emotional recovery.

The nonprofit Next Step Network helps people move toward homeownership with factory-built houses. "If we want to give these families a ladder to the middle class, then we have to remember that home acquisition, and the education and support that will allow them to find financing, are critical steps up that ladder," founder Stacey Epperson says.

U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge says Miami is the "epicenter of the housing crisis in this country," with rents increasing 45.8% in May from a year ago, according to realtor.com®. "The problem is that, along with inflation and everything else, land prices have gotten crazy and construction costs have gotten crazy," says Victor Ballestas of developer Integra Investments, which plans to build more affordable housing in Miami.

California's legislature is expected to extend a state-mandated deadline for cities to set aside land for the construction of new homes. The current deadline is this fall, but the measure, if passed, will provide an extension until fall 2024.

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