Some housing bubble reports from the Washington, DC region. "The market for McMansions has dried up almost overnight in Hampton Roads. At one point last week, nearly a hundred homes priced from $500,000 to $700,000 vied for buyers around Nimmo Church in Virginia Beach. It could be a long wait; only 11 in that range have sold all summer. That's bad news for the owners yoked to McMansion mortgages, and to the builders addicted to luxury homes."

"No money down and no payments until 2007. Some restrictions apply. It sounds like a car ad, but it’s an offer for new, two- and three-bedroom condos at the Bryson at Woodland Park in Herndon. The deal also includes no closing costs."

"The Bryson is not alone. Don’t miss 'closeout prices' on condos at Legato Corner in Fairfax. 'Save up to $50,000' on condos at Park Place in the Lorton Town Center. Get one year of free condo fees, $10,000 towards options and $5,000 towards closing costs in a 'limited time' offer for condos at Cameron Station in Alexandria."

"Selling a condo is clearly much more difficult than it used to be. 'We know it presents the greatest challenge right now in the real estate market,' said Jill Landsman, for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. 'I know a lot of Realtors are using secret weapons by putting in a lot of perks.'"

"Nearly three times as many condos are on the market today compared to last year, according the MRIS. Last month’s condo sales dropped 18 percent compared to last year. According to Lawrence Yun of the NAR, the condo market is always more susceptible to purchases by investors and speculators. 'Now these short-term investors have left the market,' said Yun."

"The overwhelming problem in the market remains a disconnect between what sellers expect their homes to sell for and what the market will bear. 'Managing sellers’ expectations is one of our biggest challenges,' said (realtor) Amanda Wallingford."

The Gazette in Maryland. "Homebuilders have not had to work hard to sell houses in Frederick County, until now. A previously booming industry is laying off workers, offering cheaper upgrades and advertising heavily."

"Dan Ryan Homes, which has been in business in Frederick County for 16 years, recently laid off about 20 percent of its employees and, for the first time ever, is depending on advertising. 'In the building industry it used to be that we were more or less order-takers. Now we are reaching out, advertising our experience and value,' Cheryl Kostreski said."

"Other major homebuilders are also laying off workers, said Brian Patchen, director of the Frederick County Builders Association. 'Builders had been building at full capacity and the layoffs are obviously a reflection that they are not at full capacity anymore,' he said. 'They can’t afford to carry extra employees.'"

"The decline in homebuilding began in the winter, industry experts said, as interest rates climbed. The number of houses for sale in Frederick County more than quadrupled this year from last summer. In June 2005, 375 homes were on the market; this June, 1,690 homes were available."

"'We knew it was going to happen,' Kostreski said. 'It has been too pretty for too long.' The dip is part of a natural ebb and flow of the housing industry, she said."

The Washington Times. "It must be exhausting, trying to sell a home in a region that has suddenly become a buyer's market to rival the slowest years of the 1990s. It has to be particularly frustrating to sellers who considered selling last year, which turned out to be the last great sales year of a six-year sales boom."

"Last month, only 7,868 existing homes were sold in the Washington metropolitan area, a drop of 31 percent compared to July 2005. At the same time, the number of homes for sale has continued to grow. On July 31, there were 48,737 homes on the market in the area. We've never seen that many homes for sale in our area. Even back in July 1992, which was the slowest sales year in my records, only 36,895 home listings languished on the market."

"Buyers had the most leverage over sellers in Prince William and Loudoun counties. Sales were down 50 percent in Prince William and 42 percent in Loudoun. (July) was the toughest month to sell a home in the District since 1997."

"I believe area home sellers are just going to have to get used to these new market conditions because it's not likely to change for a long time. Speaking very generally, buyer's and seller's markets in our area seem to last about five to eight years. It's a cycle that has repeated since the early 1980s. If it holds true, it is possible we won't see another seller's market until at least 2011."