The Tonganoxie Mirror reports from Kansas. "Whether the signs say 'For Sale' or 'For Rent,' owners report it's taking longer to move houses these days. For instance, Realtor Dan Lynch said in 2005, he sold 21 single-family homes in the Tonganoxie subdivision Jackson Heights. 'This year I think we sold half that,' Lynch said."

"Lynch noted, since summer, Tonganoxie area home sales have been a little slower than in the past four years. 'Probably, we're going back to more normal times,' Lynch said. 'The sales of the past are cooling off a little bit.'"

"'It's a little slower than it's been and I think that's pretty much maybe nationwide if not just in Kansas,' said Steve Jones, a Lawrence Realtor. 'But we're still pretty positive and there's still property moving.'"

"However, he said sometimes that takes some enticement. 'Many sellers both of new and existing homes have either lowered their prices or are offering various incentives such as paying closing costs and prepaid items, part of the first year's insurance premium, appraisals, various items that would come up on their loan application,' he said."

"Jones said he was showing homes in Tonganoxie that had been on the market since early summer. The homes, he said ranged from $159,900 to $169,000. 'It's a terrific time for homebuyers, it really is,' Jones said."

"Situations like this hurt builders who must pay interest on the money they borrowed to build the homes. Sam Wiles, who's been building Tonganoxie houses for more than 30 years, sees the other side of the housing market, the side that builders fear, speculative homes that take longer than expected to sell."

"'There's too many houses on the market,' said Wiles, who finished his last spec home about a year ago. It's still for sale."

"A builder's wait for a buyer can be costly. There's utility payments, as well as taxes, insurance and interest. 'Three months on a house will run you about $3,500 in interest so it doesn't take long to eat your profit up,' Wiles said."

"For instance, Wiles said he lost about $40,000 on one of his spec homes."

"Tonganoxie builder Richard Faherty was concerned a house he'd built through Joy Contracting wouldn't sale, or rent. After months of not selling, Faherty put the house up for rent. And eventually a renter came around. 'The Lord sent me mine,' Faherty said of the person who rented a new house. 'All I know is pray hard.'"

"Jeanne and Frank Smith have five rental houses in Tonganoxie. Of those, one has been vacant for a month. 'The rental market has definitely changed,' Jeanne Smith said. 'I'd say eight years ago we would be getting a million calls and we'd have the pick of a lot of good renters.'"

"When interest rates for home loans plummeted several years ago, things started to change. People who had rented suddenly qualified for home loans, so they were able to buy rather than rent. 'It was like lifting the drain out of a sink of water,' said Smith, who has been in the rental business with her husband for about 18 years."

"Compounding that, a building boom exploded in Tonganoxie, particularly with new duplexes and townhomes. 'And then it was just totally flooded,' Smith said of the rental market."

"As landlords they know how much they can charge for rent. 'You can't go over the ceiling,' Smith said. 'If you do you can't get renters. They can go and buy a house for that price. I feel like we're stuck, not raising the rent. And taxes and insurance continue to rise.'"

"'The costs, carpet, everything has gone up in price, everything,' Smith said. 'But you can't really raise the rent.'"

"Marilee and David Drennan own five Tonganoxie rental houses. Like the Smiths, they own older Tonganoxie homes. They don't have much problem finding renters. 'Everything that we have is under $600 a month,' Marilee Drennan said. 'I think that's a big part of it.'"

"The Drennans have one house that's vacant and she expected it would be a month or two before they're able to rent it. 'I would probably buy more rentals,' Drennan said. 'It's just sometimes you hit a few bumps. They're a very good investment...if you can buy real estate under the appraised value.'"

"Susan Nester sees another side of the market, home mortgage foreclosures. Nester oversees sheriff's sales for the Leavenworth County sheriff's department. The number of sales, countywide, increased to 153 in 2006, compared to 109 in 2005."

"'Most of these are all mortgage foreclosures, people that are not able to pay their mortgages,' Nester said."

"Jerry McPherson, a loan officer at Community National Bank, said he understands why there's an increase in mortgage foreclosures. 'The economy is not quite as strong, and I think sometimes people fall for the low rates,' McPherson said."

"Depending on the type of loan, low interest rates can climb, leaving homeowners with higher payments than they'd planned on. 'We've been pretty lucky for we haven't had to take back a lot of houses,' McPherson said. 'We're keeping our fingers crossed on that one.'"