The Fresno Bee reports from California. "Housing sales in the Fresno area this year are at their lowest level since 1999. The steep drop-off in activity combined with a glut of houses for sale has left would-be home sellers shaking their heads in disbelief."

"'Some sellers have been stuck on March 2006 prices and are still there,' said Ken Neufeld of London Properties. 'Those do need to fall.'"

"Investors and so-called equity refugees from the Bay Area and elsewhere who helped drive up values in the Valley have left the scene, which has contributed to the slowing market. And prices have not fallen to the point where first-time home buyers can enter with enough force to make a difference. 'Most of us couldn't afford the house we are living in,' Neufeld said."

The LA Times. "A Times review of approximately 100 residential and commercial developments downtown shows that about 20% are behind schedule. 'It has gotten to the point where with … huge construction costs combined with huge land costs and a flat sell-out rate, it just doesn't pencil out anymore,' said Mark Tarczynski, a senior VP at CB Richard Ellis."

"Some experts are skeptical about several huge projects announced with much fanfare, including a 50-story condo development near the Civic Center and twin residential towers near the Harbor Freeway."

"The delays and cost fluctuations mean that Related will not pre-sell condominiums in the first phase until at least mid-2008. 'I'd rather that it be then than today,' said Bill Witte, president of Related California. 'Clearly there's a slowdown, not just in downtown…. People are on the sidelines waiting to see where the market is going to go.'"

"Witte said Related officials have told city and county leaders that the hotel in Phase One 'is completely unfeasible' without a 20-year rebate of the city's hotel tax. 'I want to ask, 'Do the people of South-Central, East L.A. and the Valley have to subsidize yuppie housing downtown?' said Joel Kotkin, a Southland author."

The Voice of San Diego. "More than 2,800 new housing units have flooded downtown since July 2004, upping the neighborhood's housing stock by nearly 30 percent. And construction cranes still stand over the downtown landscape as builders hammer out the nearly 2,400 more due by the end of June 2007."

"The addition of Petco Park and higher-end condo complexes to downtown has attracted the yuppie and investor crowds to the area, economist Murtaza Baxamusa said. For some of them, their primary residence is elsewhere in the county, 'that's why you see a lot of dark lights downtown at night,' he said."

The Contra Costa Times. "Contra Costa, Solano and San Joaquin counties have the dubious distinction of making the top 10 list for foreclosure activity in California as homeowners struggle with higher mortgage payments and a slowing housing market."

"Borrowers who took out alternative loans a few years ago are getting hit with higher payments, said Dave Konesky, a Realtor (in) Tracy. 'I think a lot of it has to do with 100 percent financing. I think we are seeing the brunt of that coming back on us. All of those loans are coming back to bite us,' he said."

From CNN Money. "Like many other California renters in early 2005, Nick Basile and his fiancée decided to act. They snapped up a house last summer in the San Joaquin Valley town of Visalia where prices had already spiked 40 percent in the prior 12 months."

"'We figured we better buy before things really got out of control,' says Basile."

"The Visalia homes were being sold in a lottery process. 'It was unreal,' says Basile. 'There were 50 families packed into a model home. We were shaking.' The last name drawn, theirs, gave them the right to buy a home."

"The couple ended up spending $329,000, which they financed with an interest-only ARM with a home loan for the down payment. They knew their salaries would cover the monthly payments and they reasoned that if they ever got in trouble they could always sell, at a profit."

"What they didn't count on was that they soon began to miss their native East Coast. This past summer they decided to move back and they put the Visalia house on the market in August."

"They first priced the house, a three-bed, two-bath 2,150 square foot contemporary, for $409,000. That price drew nothing more than a few chuckles from prospective buyers. One of the main problems was their builder was still churning out these homes and, to move inventory, he was undercutting Basile and Neuffer's (and every other seller's) price."

"'The builder can't give away the houses,' says Basile. 'He's selling them for $324,000 with swimming pools, granite counter tops, spas, landscaping - all things we didn't get.'"

"They kept dropping the price in $10,000 increments as they only attracted showed two showings in three months. They held an open house and nobody attended the first day."

"Even if they rented the place, the numbers wouldn't add up. 'Our payment is about $1,700 and we could only get about $1,500 for it,' says Basile. That doesn't even take into account property management fees, taxes, lawn service and other expenses. They'd be awash in red ink every month."

"They hired a real estate broker and lowered the price to $364,900, which, even if they get, will probably still leave them with a net loss after commission and other closing costs. Plus, they'll be out a total of about $10,000 in prepayment penalties for paying off their mortgage and home equity loan early."

"Now, if their agent doesn't come through, they're considering trying to find a friend to rent it on a short-term basis and then put it back on the market during the spring selling season. The ordeal may have made them a little more real estate savvy but Basile is not exactly kicking himself. 'I still think it was a good idea at the time,' he says."