The have-and-have-not housing market

Wealthy buyers are buying houses a million over asking with cash while everyone else watches starts fall and rates stay stubborn. Localities are experimenting with solutions to close the yawning gap.

(Photo by The Good Brigade via Getty Images)

Housing starts declined 12.4 percent in July compared with the month before for single- and multi-family construction, falling 13.5 percent from the same time last year, according to Commerce Department data released this week. Residential permits, though, rose 5 percent — an indicator that new housing could b…