A housing report from the Virginia Pilot. " A pronounced slump in home-building permits in Hampton Roads will dampen demand for construction workers during this quarter and next year, economic forecasters at Old Dominion University said Wednesday. The full effect of the downturn in home-building won’t be felt until next year, which would coincide with the closure of the Ford truck plant, said Vinod Agarwal, chairman of ODU’s economics department."

"'New home construction,' according to the economists’ report, 'has slowed as builders react to the excess inventory, roughly three times that of 2004, of both new and re-sale housing in the region.'"

From the Hook in Virginia. "Is it still smart to buy a house in Charlottesville? Will people who paid those princely sums for a house over the last several years ever see their money again? It doesn't take an economist, however, to see that things have changed in the housing market on both the local and national level."

"Eighteen months ago, the MLS offered 1,100 properties, says Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors CEO Dave Phillips. And as of press time this week, there are approximately 3,000 listings in Charlottesville and Albemarle. The number of transactions completed or pending in Charlottesville or Albemarle during the third quarter of 2006 is down about 18 percent from 2005 figures."

"While the last few years saw a flipping frenzy, those days are over for now, Realtor Jim Duncan says."

"'In the last several years, people had gotten away from the 'buying smart' mentality and were just buying,' he says. 'I don't want it to sound like it's a scary thing. It's a really good time to buy, it's just a very different market.'"

"To those who suspect that agents are just feeding the public a line to keep their own heads above water, George Overstreet, associate dean at UVA's McIntire School of Commerce and an expert in real estate investment, says that's not the case. 'People think we're in some sort of bubble, so they're on the sidelines,' says Overstreet, 'but interest rates are still down, and the demand has shifted back to the left. So prices have dropped.'"

"If all this news is actually good for the real estate market, there's one group who may be doing some teeth gnashing: the agents themselves. In the last five years, the number of realtors in the Charlottesville area has risen 50 percent increase, according to Phillips."

"'If you do the math, it's less than two transactions per realtor,' says Phillips. Duncan says a realtor needs to have 15 closings, to make a decent living. 'There's a bursting of the agent bubble,' says Duncan, who is glad to see the competition stiffen. Having real estate agents 'who do the job as a hobby,' says Duncan, 'detracts from the professionalism.'"

The Baltimore Sun. "Local homebuilders are slashing overhead, holding off on some projects and redoubling marketing efforts as they adjust to the slump in the once hot housing market."

"Buyers are hesitating to buy, and more are backing out of contracts 'The psychology has changed,' said Michael Carliner, senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders. 'Until people think it's a good investment and prices are not going to go down, people are reluctant to buy.'"

"Many speculators got into the housing market to capitalize on the rapid appreciation. Now speculators are fleeing the market and potential homeowners are fearful of values dropping, he said."

"In Baltimore and the five surrounding counties, standing inventory increased more than 61 percent in September compared with a year earlier, according to Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. When homes to be completed within one to six months are included, the number of unsold homes soared 130 percent, Hanley Wood said."

"In Clarksburg, in Montgomery County, where many new home projects compete, Beazer dropped prices about $40,000 per house on single-family homes that were selling in the high $600,000 to low $700,000 range, said Dave Carney, Beazer's division president for Maryland."

"To generate interest in its homes, Toll Bros. has held weekend- long events in which it features special offers, such as making specific options available for $1. One event caught the attention of Deb and Joe Sundberg, a Howard County couple who were not looking for a new house since they had just finished major remodeling on their 19-year-old, four-bedroom home in Columbia."

"But after seeing the spacious lots in Ellicott City, and attending a barbecue at the property off Route 108, the couple signed a contract on a $1.2 million luxury home with four bedrooms, two-story great room and a big foyer."

"'They were offering pre-model pricing for Phase I of the neighborhood, so this was a chance to get in on the ground floor, and the possibility of using this house to be our nest egg for retirement,' said Deb Sundberg.'"

"'We're looking at it as an investment as well as a nice place to move.'"

"The Sunbergs became more convinced of their timing after taking a complimentary limousine ride to a Toll Bros. model home in Potomac for an evening of hors d'oeuvres that featured a talk by an economist who said it was a good time to buy."