The Northwestern reports from Wisconsin. "Single-family homes remain on the market significantly longer now, have declined in the volume sold in the area and throughout the New North region, they sell at lower prices. According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, home sales in Winnebago County dropped 6.3 percent in the third quarter, accompanied by a median home price decline of 3.8 percent, to $123,100."

"(Broker) Dennis Schwab attributed the slowdown in sales to a lack of buyers. 'We've kind of depleted that market,' Schwab said. 'For two or three years, the market was unbelievably good. It's not practical to think it could keep going like it was.'"

"Real estate agent Kris Villars echoed Schwab's belief that the local housing market leveled off this year after a boom. She attributed that to the glut of no down payment mortgages signed to take advantage of low interest rates. 'It creates a chain reaction in the market as far as the average sale price,' Villars said."

"Buyers meanwhile, Paul Walker said, can be choosy thanks to the larger number of properties available and the shortage of buyers. 'Don't settle for less than you want,' he said. 'There's a lot of houses out there. Find the style, size and location you want and be willing to deal.'"

"Villars said this is simply a return to normal for the area. 'There's less buyers out there than there have been in the past years, but prior to 2000, this was common for our market,' she said."

From Inman News. "The Central Indiana housing market cooled further in October, as home sales and prices fell from their year-ago levels, according to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors."

"The average sales price of a home in October dipped to $150,621, a decline of 2.5 percent from $154,489 posted in October of last year. Some 18,811 houses remained active on the MLS at month end, up 10.2 percent from the 2005 level. This level of inventory suggests a continuation of the current buyer's market."

From CNN Money. "Karen and Jerod Williams bought a new home early this year, at a time when the housing market in Huntington, Indiana, was purring along, slow but steady. They then listed their old home for sale, but shortly afterward the market stalled and they haven't found a buyer. It's been nine months."

"'We didn't think it would ever take this long,' says Karen. 'If we had, we would not have bought the new house.'"

"The market turned south quickly, according to Karen. 'We had two open houses early on five weeks apart,' she says. 'The first attracted two serious buyers, the second, nobody.'"

"So now, the family, burdened with the work and expense of two homes, are at the limits of their budget, even though they both make good salaries. 'Any emergency may lead to bankruptcy,' says Karen."

"When they went to sell the first one, they hoped to get what they paid for it four years earlier. In nine months, they've already reduced the price twice; they're now asking $69,900. Even if they get that, and that's looking unlikely, they'll still lose a substantial amount on the transaction, especially factoring in selling costs and the $500 a month they have paid out as the house has stood empty."

"Their agent advises them to wait out the market. They may do that. As Karen says, 'We don't have a lot of options.'"

"One idea they're toying with is updating the kitchen. The hope is that it could make the difference in selling it at all. For her, the sooner they sell, the better. 'My husband and I will soon be in the desperation phase,' she says."