Plans to end government-controlled conservatorship of the GSEs, lower mortgage rates, the valuation of “gayborhoods” and more are all featured in our national real estate news round up this week.

According to a recent report from CoreLogic, the share of listings sold at or above list price fell to within historical averages after peaking last year. As of Q1 2019, around 31 percent of sales closed above list, down from a recent peak of 40 percent seen in Q2 2018.

Stories about home flippers hiring Uber and Lyft drivers, more people taking on remodeling projects, the passage of a hero to homeowners and the importance of grocery stores to home sales all figure in this week’s national roundup.

When examining forward-looking data like pending home sales, new-construction activity and listing traffic, the news for the market overall isn’t stellar. But there are a few bright spots for Chicagoland real estate professionals in particular: The Midwest is proving to be more robust than other regions, and moderately priced homes are still in high demand.

The mortgage lending industry and its public referees have responded to short-term rentals with more accommodation than restriction, a positive development for homeowners who hope to earn income through a short-term rental platform. Not only is it possible for homeowners to potentially secure more favorable financing terms on their primary residences if they are renting them out — they also have the same opportunity to do so if they purchase a second home.

Whether you work in property management or your clients are looking for advice on how to capitalize on these opportunities, it’s important to consider the ways managing a short-term rental property differs from managing one for long-term tenants. Here are a few key factors to weigh before making a decision.

Home renovations are getting more expensive due to tariffs, the real FHA problems beyond the to-do over REOs and Oreos, and the DOJ digs into buy-side competition: All items we’re monitoring in this week’s national news roundup.

Every year at their legislative meetings, the National Association of Realtors sends members and government affairs directors to meet with their representatives on the Hill to lobby for change, usually with a list of talking points that are important on a national level. But Chicagoland real estate professionals were on hand to bring local issues to to fore as well. Find out what topped the issue lists.

Nationally, existing-home sales finished the month of April some 0.4 percent below last month’s rate and 4.4 percent lower than April 2018. But those same figures looked brighter when researchers zeroed in on Chicagoland.

NAR announces President Trump will address Midyear attendees this Friday, RE/MAX breaks their agreement with Redfin, Zillow doubles down on iBuying and more in our national news roundup.

Redfin Direct has been in testing phases in the Boston market since March, and its next market is expected to be Virginia. The new program provides a way for unrepresented buyers to have a seat at the negotiating table without an agent occupying the one next to them.

While it may be natural to assume sellers are stressing about duties that tend to fall outside of the bounds of agents and brokers, such as mortgages or moving, the survey also showed that the item at the top of the list of most respondents’ lists of concerns was getting a home ready to sell.

In national real estate news, we have the first indication that home price increases have hit negative territory, economists disagreeing about why that might be and a new hire at NAR.

Using these two sets of data released Tuesday, the market’s outlook for the next few months seems to be good, since pending home sales have been increasing and home price growth has been decreasing.

Mark Calabria discusses his plans for mortgage market, new-home sales pick up steam, millennials place homeownership above marriage and more in this week’s roundup.

To be launched in May in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, the company hopes to expand the iBuyer program to six to eight “major markets by the end of 2019,” and plans to “deploy $100 million through Keller Offers” over the course of the year.