From Newsday in New York. "As housing boomed, real estate agents, furniture sellers, mortgage bankers, construction workers and a host of others reaped the rewards. Now cracks are emerging in those key sectors of the region's economy. Data and anecdotes alike are signaling the potential for job losses, closed offices and fewer new real estate licenses."

"'Real estate is about a third of the economy,' when accounting for related industries, said Martin Cantor, chief economist for Sustainable Long Island. 'It's going to ripple all the way through.'"

"Huntington real estate broker Katy Anastasio has already cut one administrative staffer. Of the 14 licensed agents on her staff now, she plans to cut six before year's end. 'I decided to clean up the house,' said Anastasio, who had 17 agents at the market's height. 'I don't need people who are not producing.'"

"Brokers like Richard Dallow in Levittown, whose business is down 10 percent from a year ago, are readying themselves to trim agents who aren't producing. Dallow estimates that 20 percent of his 120 licenses 'should not be licensed with us any longer,' because they are either inactive or unproductive."

"'Some of the things that we just let go because the market was going off the wall, we pay more attention to now,' said Dorothy Herman, who heads Prudential Douglas Elliman, which has offices throughout the region. 'You're judged by your weakest link.'"

"It's not just real estate companies that are impacted. Construction and mortgage companies are already making job cuts, too, experts said. And retailers may not be far behind. 'There's been a lot of contraction and a lot of layoffs,' said Hauppauge mortgage banker Jonathan Pinard, who heads the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association. 'Most people are finding it very difficult.'"

"Garden City home builder Alec Ornstein is trying to ride out the slowdown by offering incentives to lure buyers. His subcontractors, however, are already making cuts. 'The effects of the softening of the market are going to be tremendous, and potentially recessionary in that field,' Ornstein said."

The Boston Herald. "It’s hard times for Hub business tycoons and sports stars trying to unload multimillion-dollar mansions and condos. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has dropped the price of his Brookline mansion - again - this time to $15.7 million. He put it on the market for a whopping $22 million nearly three years ago, and previously dropped it to about $18 million."

"Some brokers warn of a newly emerging tycoon shortage as some of the Boston area’s top companies move out or are acquired by out-of-state competitors. 'It has narrowed the pool of tycoons, which is decreasing the demand for these palatial mansions in such areas as Brookline,' said top Boston residential real estate executive John Ford."

"Convicted Tyco looter Dennis Kozlowski appears to have missed the memo about the market downturn. Kozlowski tried unsuccessfuly to spark a bidding war for his Nantucket mansion in hopes of scoring a $23 million deal."

"Instead, Kozlowski, now serving time in federal prison, recently missed a court deadline to pay $167 million in fines and restitution. Lawyers blamed his inability to sell several homes."

From New Jersey. "Buyers have been scarce lately as the once-booming shore real estate market has cooled, so sellers are resorting to some interesting tactics. Offering a Ford Mustang with a new condo or a furniture allowance are a few tactics being employed, but another seemingly new one is actually a very old one: It's the good old-fashioned shore home auction."

"One is set for this Sunday, where 13 Wildwood Crest properties will be auctioned. Doug Clemens, the chairman and CEO of Traiman Auction, said auction interest rises when properties aren't moving."

"'They just have an overbuilt situation that has to be corrected in the next couple years. Sellers are looking for alternatives. A tremendous amount of real estate has come on the market and a number of auctions are coming,' Clemens said."

"Builders are complaining about a lack of buyers right now. It could be from too much new construction, but some also argue shore real estate is overpriced."

"(Agent) Douglas Jewell said the market had slowed considerably. The slow-down, Jewell noted, is cutting into profit margins, but he doesn't see buyers getting huge savings, because the cost of construction materials such as copper, plywood and petroleum-based building materials are up."

"'People think a $550,000 condo will be $350,000 if they wait long enough. Not on your life. Construction costs are too high,' Jewell said. Those with construction loans continue to build to satisfy their commitments, but those building with cash are 'sitting and waiting,' Jewell said."

"Cape May County Tax Administrator George Brown III said property transfers are down 10 to 15 percent in the county over the past year. Brown is not yet sure whether a reduction in sales volume will result in a decline in property values. Foreclosures have gone from an average of about one per month to about eight, Brown said."

The Star Ledger in New Jersey. "When (realtor) Ken Baris logged onto his computer yesterday morning, he found him self on the receiving end of an e- mail blast from Beazer Homes, a developer building 96 new condominium units in Passaic County. The message to brokers and agents was crystal clear: Sell a condo and you can pocket a meaty 4 percent commission, instead of the standard 3."

"It's a theme that is playing out across the country. Home builders, who have more wiggle room than private homeowners when it comes to reducing their prices, are offering prospective buyers a lot of sweeteners to stimulate the lethargic housing market."

"Richard Yamarone, the chief economist at Argus Research, is one of a handful of contrarians on Wall Street who be lieve the main culprit behind the housing market's malaise is the media."

"'No doubt about it, there is some softening in the housing market. You can't break records forever,' he said. 'But I really believe this has been fed by the left-wing press looking for a good story right before the elections.'"