Readers suggested a topic around New York housing. "My wife and I live in Queens NY. We want to buy here. In 1997-98 the houses we are interested in were around $300,000. Now they are still around $600,000-$650,000, down from $700,000 in ‘05. A return to the mean should put the prices at around $400,000, which I think is fair value for these houses."

"Am I being realistic that the prices will come down to this? When can I expect that I could buy? I know it’s all conjecture, but I’m hoping the end of ‘07."

"We are looking mainly in Astoria and Forest Hills (not F H Gardens!) for an attached house. I think there is something like 16 months of inventory in Queens, so I really expect and hope for the sfh next year. Wall Street in swimming in bonuses right now. But if there’s a recession and the market tanks, the firms are very quick to lay-off."

A reply, "I’m thinking it depends where in Queens. With the big Wall Street bonuses, LIC, Jackson Heights, and esp. Forest Hills might become even more expensive. But other areas might keep on dropping."

Another said, "Jackson heights is a cesspool imo. If a pre war coop is what you are after kew gardens is similar but a much nicer area with the LIRR close by and some decent restaurants, forest hills is totally overpriced."

"I would wait it out for a sfh in Queens. Just hang in there the prices will be down alot more. I think i will wait in fact my wife even said yesterday maybe we can rent for a long time! It is finally sinking in. BTW, I live in a coop owned by my wife’s family with dirt cheap housing cost so i am in no rush to buy these days and I just save and invest more and max the old 401k. Good luck."

One did the math. "Take the median household income, multiply by 2 — that’ll be your price in 2009. Forget Wall Street bonuses… for those still employed there by then they will only be a fond memory."

From Newsday. "For more than 20 years, Maureen and Vincent Virga both worked full-time in Levittown and never missed a mortgage payment. Then unforeseen and serious medical problems forced Maureen and Vincent to miss work for extended periods during the past three years. The Virgas were unable to make their $2,300 mortgage payments. They ended up in foreclosure and are in danger of losing their Cape-style house."

"More and more Long Islanders are finding themselves in the same financial squeeze as the Virgas - unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. A Newsday analysis of recent foreclosure data shows that the total number of Long Island homeowners who received new legal notices of foreclosure, called lis pendens, rose 75 percent during the past two years."

"And experts warn that the worst is yet to come, and as the economy is not expected to gain much ground. 'I see a lot more Long Islanders in danger of losing their homes,' said Westbury bankruptcy attorney Craig Robinss. 'A lot of people are living at the edge.'"

"In those four months, 2,971 Long Island homeowners received lis pendens from their mortgage companies or banks, compared with 1,700 in the same period of 2004, according to the Long Island Profiles data. Most of them were likely in default for at least three months before receiving the lis penden notice."

"The recent slowdown in the housing market may make the situation worse. Because of the glut of houses on the market and flat or falling prices, it's harder to cash out their biggest asset. 'I think what we're seeing now is really the tip of a spreading iceberg,' said Pearl Kamer, the chief economist of the Long Island Association. 'And it's going to affect more than the lowest-income neighborhoods on Long Island. It's going to be a middle-class phenomenon too.'"

"Queens' lis pendens are up 27 percent from a year ago, however, and that could lead to an increase in actual foreclosures in the months and years to come, according to chief executive Ryan Slack, who estimated that defaults and foreclosures could rise for as long as two to five years."

"Elizabeth Nielsen, who bought her home in 2002, is now in foreclosure and trying to declare bankruptcy to find a way out. The single mother of two said she is constantly weighing which bills to pay and when."

"Nielsen now thinks she would have been better off if she'd never purchased a home. 'I came out here [from renting in Queens] and I've been struggling ever since,' she said. That's the refrain from many troubled homeowners today."

"During the housing boom, many purchasers found homes beyond their means, yet bought them anyway, wanting to get in before prices went higher. 'The market just ran up beyond what people are making on Long Island,' said Todd Yovino, a real estate broker in Huntington, which focuses on foreclosure sales."

"The boom also led to a growing availability of mortgages for anyone. Need a mortgage without a down payment or a low teaser rate? No problem. Don't have perfect credit? Take out a subprime loan that will cost you more in points and interest, but at least you'll get the house. Said Yovino: 'We got away from the basics.'"

"The downturn in the housing market has compounded the problem, especially for homeowners without any equity. 'If you bought the house with none of your funds and the market turns 2 percent down, you now have negative equity,' said Beth Marten, who heads a real estate agency representing home buyers. 'I think a lot of people who have gotten into the market in the last three years or so are facing that.'"

"As a result, Long Island may start to see more short sales, when the bank accepts an offer that's less than what it is owed, Marten said."