Housing has become a tale of two markets, brokers and economists said, with lower-priced homes selling quickly even as inventory of expensive ones piles up.

The Internal Revenue Service said that more than twice as many taxpayer accounts may have been hit by cybercriminals than the agency previously reported, with hackers gaining access to as many as 700,000 accounts and attempting to break into an additional 575,000.

During the housing bust, investors pounced on foreclosures and short sales-houses that sell for less than the amount owed on the mortgage-to use for cheap homes they could rent out or flip for a quick profit. Now, those easy pickings are gone, but the investors are still swarming over local housing markets, offering all-cash deals and creating headaches for the first-time home buyers who compete with them.

Much more is highlighted in A Look Around the Nation and the World.