The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "How does the capital region's housing market look so far this year? Not unlike last year, but with a bit more hope that the free-fall in prices and sales may be ending. The new year opened last month with the fewest escrow closings for a January since 1998, according to DataQuick. The firm reported similar slides to 1990s levels in the Bay Area and Southern California."

"'Here we are on the back side of the boom in a period of stagnation that many people predicted,' said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. 'It's anybody's guess when we start to pull out.'"

The Contra Costa Times. "Bay Area home prices slipped last month and home sales fell for the 24th month in a row, a real estate service reported. The Bay Area's 6,168 sales of houses and condos last month were down 26.3 percent from December and marked the lowest total for any January since 1996, when 5,504 homes were sold."

"'We are scraping along the bottom of the market,' said economist Christopher Thornberg. 'Prices are going to languish in the nether zone for some time. I don't see any substantial recovery on the activity side until 2010 or 2011," he said."

"LePage agreed, although he emphasized that DataQuick does not make market predictions. 'The market almost never turns fast,' he said. 'There's hope in some areas of the industry that we're about to stabilize and coming up on hitting bottom, but I'm not convinced of that looking at the data.'"

The Press Democrat. "Sonoma County's sagging housing market showed no signs of stabilizing in January as sales remained at a 10-year low and the median price fell 12 percent to $545,000."

"Resale prices for single-family homes have fallen seven consecutive months when compared with a year earlier, the longest decline since 1993, the previous downturn in the county's housing market."

"'I don't feel the bottom of the market has occurred. I think it's going to be a little while,' said Nick Dunlop, an appraiser who has pegged home prices in the county for 15 years."

"Since the market's peak in summer 2005, Dunlop has consistently appraised homes at lower values based on the most recent sales of comparable homes. His latest appraisals were down about 10 percent from the record high. 'It really was an eye-opener for me,' he said."

"Listings and sales in escrow now are mostly at prices less than those for comparable properties sold two to three months earlier. Many appraisers are lowering prices about 1 percent each month, Dunlop said. More agents are turning down listings if sellers want unrealistic prices. They don't want to spend time marketing a home that likely won't sell without significant price reductions, broker Timothy Hedges said."

"'Kind of the joke on these listings is you want to be the second or third agent because by that time the seller understands what it's going to take to get it sold,' he said."

The Tribune. "San Luis Obispo County home sales and median home price declined last month. 'January was the fourth consecutive month going negative year over year,' said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick spokesman."

"Sean Fitzpatrick, co-owner of CornerStone Real Estate in San Luis Obispo, said the January declines are not surprising. 'It’s a combination of values coming down, more of the lower-end homes being put on the market and the general decline in the market overall,' said Fitzpatrick, noting that sellers are being more realistic about their prices."

The Ventura County Star. "Despite a decline in population growth, economists describe Ventura County's economy as exceptionally vigorous and wealthy. But economists predict a less than rosy year for the agriculture sector and Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial Corp., one of the top employers in Ventura County."

"'Whenever I talk to Realtors, they always talk about the collapse of housing and the fall-off in sales volume,' said Bill Watkins, executive director of the Economic Forecast Project. 'It's really hurt that industry.'"

The Daily Bulletin. "American dream or American nightmare? That's the problem many would-be home buyers are facing in California these days. With the median price of a single-family home in the state somewhere in the vicinity of half a million dollars, getting into that dream house is anything but easy."

"But it doesn't have to be impossible, says Patti Davenport of SMD Mortgage Corp. in Highland. 'For most of the last 10 years, it has been a sellers' market, but now with the market down and with lots of properties in foreclosure, it's possible to find some bargains,' Davenport said."

"Davenport points out that there are plenty of interlocking programs that can get people into homes with so-called 'silent second' mortgages as down payments. 'There are plenty of ways for people to really leverage their money to make it work for them,' she said."

The North County Times. "After 28 years of service, Pat Russell's career at Hanson Realty ended in one meeting Thursday."

"Tom Crowley, a real estate broker and spokesman for the new owner, said the action was a direct result of the downturn in the real estate market. 'By my opinion we're in a (real estate) recession,' he said. 'It was just a practical business decision.'"

"'Nobody knew anything about it,' said former Hanson agent Lynn Genovese. 'They came in and said, 'Bye, bye.'"

The Modesto Bee. "Record numbers of homes are sitting vacant awaiting buyers in the United States. An estimated 2.1 million empty houses were listed for sale during October, November and December. That's about 62 percent more than usual, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics."

"The glut of vacant houses is readily apparent throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley, as bank foreclosures and former rental homes flood the for-sale market."

"For 10 months, Harold and Donna Suender have tried to sell their empty Salida house. When they put the 2,305-square-foot home on the market in April, they priced it at $515,000. But the slumping real estate market has forced them to repeatedly lower their price. This week, they dropped it again to $399,996."

"'I've never seen anything like this,' said Harold Suender, who bought a new home in Riverbank before the market turned. 'That (near 20 percent price reduction) is a lot of money, but we have to get it sold. We can't cover two house payments forever.'"

"Their renter moved out shortly after the home went up for sale. So no money is coming in. 'Probably the smartest thing to do is try to rent it again, at least until the market comes back up,' Suender said. 'But I don't know how the rental market is now.'"

"The answer to that is: Not good. 'The rental market is very soft and very tough right now ... and it's deteriorating,' said Paula Leffler Zagaris, who handles about 1,500 rental homes in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Zagaris estimated that a home in Salida such as Suender's now would rent for about $1,250 a month... because so many homes that have lingered on the sales market have started flooding the rental market."

"Since the oversupply of rental property has pushed down rents, many former rental-home owners are trying to sell instead. 'I get at least five or six calls a week from investors who want to know how much their rental home is worth. Then, when I give them the price, they get really quiet,' said Mary Prieto, an agent who sold 80 homes in Stanislaus County last year."

"Prieto said nine of her current 28 listings are vacant homes. Some are former rentals, but most are houses owned by people who bought elsewhere and since have been unable to sell."

"Another reason behind the surge in empty homes, Prieto said, is the region's rapidly increasing foreclosure rate. 'I would say more than half the vacant homes on the market are owned by banks that have repossessed them,' Prieto said."

"Anne and Jorge Acuna benefited from a price reduction on the new Waterford home they bought last summer. 'We decided to move in first, then put our Modesto house on the market because it was easier for us,' Anne Acuna said. Their vacant Modesto home, currently priced at $379,900, has been for sale since August with little action."

"Acuna remains optimistic, and she pointed out that previous real estate investments have gone well for her family. 'I don't think people should sit in a house they're not happy with,' Acuna said. Covering the cost of two houses 'is not easy, but we're tough people. It's nothing we can't handle.'"

"On the downside, Prieto said, buyers are reluctant to spend as much for empty homes: 'The minute they see a vacant house, no matter what the price is, they offer 10 percent less.'"