The Woodstock Independent reports from Illinois. "One year ago, the Parade of Homes trumpeted the opening of The Sanctuary in Bull Valley. 'We love it,' said Kristen Reyes of living in The Sanctuary. There is only one downside, according to Kristen. 'It's really lonely because no one lives here.'"

"One year later, only one house besides the Reyes' home is occupied. Since the parade, construction is under way on seven additional homes. If sales were brisk or the economy was more robust, builders might put up a spec home and look for a buyer. 'You won't find too many of them building spec homes,' developer Jack Porter said."

"'The market has slowed down across the country, especially for higher-priced homes,' said Harding Real Estate agent Rick Bellairs. The problem is clearly illustrated in the neighboring Bull Valley Golf Club. 'Normally, there are four or five homes on the market,' said Bellairs. A recent drive through the subdivision revealed two homes with 'Under Contract' stickers and 19 'For Sale' signs. The homes for sale range in price from $474,900 to $949,000."

"To move the $949,900 property, agent Don Thurman is offering an incentive of a free Hummer H-3 or a five-year Bull Valley Golf Club golf membership."

"In addition to a large inventory of homes on the market, The Sanctuary is a novelty in Woodstock: homes priced at $800,000 and up on 3 acres or less. A search of the MLS of Northern Illinois revealed that between 2001 and 2005, only six homes in the 60098 zip code sold for over $1 million, and all included more than 10 acres."

"Currently, there are 14 properties for sale outside of The Sanctuary with price tags of $1 million. Three come with 2 to 5 acres; three more are set on 5 to 10 acres; and the remaining eight have more than 10 acres."

"'It's hard to believe it hasn't taken off more quickly,' said builder Chic Martin of The Sanctuary. His Chic Martin Signature Homes still have The Richelieu on the market for $1.5 million. Martin saw one deal fall through with a prospect from Palatine who cited the high cost of commuting as the reason for not moving to The Sanctuary."

"'This type of land is much in demand,' said developer Porter. 'We always have cycles [in real estate],' he said. 'We think we have a great product.' He laughed before adding, 'We're not in a fire sale.'"

The Grand Rapids Press from Michigan. "With 'For Sale' signs seemingly on every street, it may be surprising to hear bidding wars have broken out in the West Michigan real estate market. The bidding wars come most often with homes taken back by a bank, a result of the mounting number of foreclosures in the area."

"Realtors say they see more of them, and the listing price is often below market value. 'When I first started, foreclosures were one out of 10,' said agent Ethan Dozeman, who has been in the business for five years. 'Now they're probably one out of four.'"

"Susan Kazma-Hilton, a (broker) in Grandville, said some homes are over priced for the market. 'The homes are priced to get rid of debt, not priced to sell the house,' she said. 'I'll bet you in 40 percent of the homes, the sellers owe more on the homes than they're worth.'"

"Kazma-Hilton said it is a result of a combination of the unemployment rate depressing market values and mortgage deals that were too good to be true in the first place."

"Agent Tami Vroma recently secured a buy-sell agreement with a first-time owner on more than two acres in the Rockford area. She did not reveal the price but said it was lower than the listing price of $235,000, which already reflected a $10,000 reduction."

"'I cannot even believe what we agreed to on a price,' she said. 'There are no buyers out there, and the sellers had to sell.'"

The Columbus Dispatch from Ohio. "The peculiar but tempting offers sometimes came a year or more after homeowners planted for-sale signs in their front yards. Interested buyers suddenly appeared, proposing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the asking price for houses in some of central Ohio’s elite neighborhoods."

"The catch: the sellers must agree to immediately refund the difference between the asking price and the sale price. At least 14 such deals worth more than $11 million have closed since spring, and the offers continue."

"'We turned down five of them,' said Bryan Wing, executive VP of CV Perry Builders. 'Believe me, in this day and age, we could have used it.' Others couldn’t resist."

"A lawyer for the central Ohio chapter of the Building Industry Association warned group members in October to steer clear of such deals. Even sellers could be held liable if deals turn out to be fraudulent, he said, reminding builders of the danger of lawsuits or criminal racketeering charges."

"'This has been a really recent phenomenon,' said David Martin, chief executive of Stewart Title, which refused some of the deals. 'It’s like a whole new industry has formed overnight.'"

"It’s not unusual to borrow more than the price of a house to make improvements. But most of these houses are new, or nearly new, and the buyers in each case borrowed upward of $250,000 extra with little or no down payment, according to mortgages and deeds filed in Delaware and Franklin counties. Meanwhile, weeks or months later, the houses sat vacant."

"'Clearly, in times like this, when there’s a major shift in the market, people try to take advantage of situations,' said Martin, the title agent. 'Keep in mind, sellers will do anything. They’re desperate.'"