Source: Washington Post —
After a stunning rise in home prices enriched sellers and keyed up buyers into frantic bidding wars, there are signs that the U.S. housing market is starting to cool amid a surge of new inventory and higher interest rates.
“For sale” signs are multiplying in previously red-hot markets like San Jose, Chicago and Phoenix. The volume of U.S. monthly home sales have registered double-digit declines in the past year, according to estimates from Zillow and the National Association of Realtors. In May alone, the number of houses sold is down 19 percent from the year-ago period, according to Zillow, and preliminary data suggests the falloff was more pronounced in June.
