The Post Dispatch reports from Missouri. "Residential sales have slowed nationwide, and the downtown market is no exception. At the same time, an unprecedented number of downtown residential units are in the development pipeline. Those factors probably played a role in Cordish Co. asking the city to make residential condos optional in Ballpark Village."

"'They may have looked at all the units coming online and are on the market, and they don't think the absorption is going to be there,' said Joe Flaherty, senior adviser for Grubb & Ellis/Gundaker Commercial, in Chesterfield."

"According to a survey, 1,275 new rental units and 6,088 for-sale units were put on the downtown market from 1988-2006. About 88 percent of those units are occupied, according to the study. Even the strongest supporters of downtown growth say that, at least in the short term, demand isn't likely to keep up with the supply of new units."

"'I don't want to be naïve about it,' said Jim Cloar, executive director of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership. 'There's quite a bit coming online in the spring, and there will be a natural drop-off (in occupancy numbers). But in the next few years, it will get better.'"

"Demographics, however, suggest it could get worse before it gets better. In all, 834 rental and 471 for-sale units are under construction downtown. Another 2,669 rentals and 865 for-sale condos are proposed or planned over the next five years."

"If all of the proposed units are built and occupied, the downtown population would increase by about 9,800 people in less than five years. That would be a 50 percent increase over the growth rate from 2000 to 2005, based on the downtown partnership's estimates."

"'I hate to say it like that, but the best thing that can happen to downtown right now is for inventory to go down,' said Dennis Norman, president of St. Louis Association of Realtors. 'The market is very competitive, and I am hearing from developers that are doing very well, some that are just holding their own and some that are having a hard time.'"

"But many developers keep going because projects are being driven by tax incentives, rather than market demand, said Dan Woehle, VP for CB Richard Ellis. 'It would be better if the units come online as the demand builds, but developers are scared that the incentives are going to go away,' Woehle said."

The Detroit News from Michigan. "Wayne County posted the highest rate of home foreclosures among major metro areas in the nation during January, seven times more than the national average, while Oakland and Macomb counties took huge hits, too."

"The Wayne County/Detroit area reported 6,653 new foreclosures in January, more than twice the number reported in December. Meanwhile, Oakland saw a 338 percent increase from January 2006, with 1,324 foreclosures filed; Macomb posted a 108 percent increase, with 1,241 foreclosures."

"'It's not easy to say if we have bottomed out. I haven't seen a forecast that says when the situation will turn around,' said Bill Martin, chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of Realtors."

"Instead, the Realtors association is seeing more anecdotal evidence of mortgage fraud that preys on homeowners trying to lower or refinance their mortgage payments, Martin said."

The Star Tribune from Minnesota. "In the midst of an already busy season in Burnsville's ongoing effort to build a downtown, the new owner of condos that sat nearly empty for more than a year in the Heart of the City wants to finally fill the building, and quickly. Having recently taken title, the new owner is selling the remaining condos at discounts of up to $100,000."

"'It's time to sell these things,' said George Zeller, manager of the Minneapolis firm that bought the mortgage from the bank that made the original loan. The firm is orchestrating a publicity blitz that it hopes will culminate in a one-day sale Saturday."

"Federal investigators are probing a multimillion-dollar mortgage scheme involving inflated real estate prices, according to court documents, and industry leaders believe the case is only part of a larger problem."

"Between December 2004 and August 2006, Jill Lehn, a former mortgage loan closing agent from Prior Lake, prepared loan documents that overstated the purchase price of the properties and concealed the overpayments from lenders, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota."

"The scam, uncovered by the Internal Revenue Service, allowed buyers to pocket the difference between the actual purchase price of the property and the inflated mortgage amounts. Lehn was the buyer in a half-dozen of the transactions."

"Chris Galler, VP of the Minnesota Association of Realtors, said in a recent letter to members that he expects 'a series of arrests' in the next month or two resulting from investigations into the Lehn case by the FBI and the Department of Justice."

"'We don't know how widespread [mortgage fraud] is, because finding one person leads to another and to another,' Galler said."

"Bill Walsh, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, described mortgage fraud investigations as a 'web that just keeps unraveling.' He said the agency issued 25 subpoenas in connection with those investigations over the summer. 'These are new, sophisticated crimes where everyone in the transaction is involved,' Walsh said."

"The boom market in real estate in recent years helped create more opportunities for illegal activity, with much of it passing undetected until loans started going bad. In recent months, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates have skyrocketed."

"In December, Lehn pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. She is awaiting sentencing. Since being confronted by FBI officers in August, Lehn has been cooperating with investigators. 'I'm trying to make the best of a bad scenario,' she said. 'I made a mistake. I bucked up, I'm paying the price. I can't be mad or disappointed at anybody but myself.'"

"Although the spring housing market isn't going to break any records, it is showing some signs of recovering from the deep doldrums of late 2006, according to data released Monday by four Twin Cities-area Realtor associations."

"The most telling indicator of what to expect in the coming months is pending sales for January, which were down 6 percent from January 2006, compared with double-digit declines during much of 2006. That's about 600 fewer transactions than were posted when the market peaked in 2003."

"Buyers have more choices than ever, too. Inventory remains at record highs' Last month, the number of new listings was up 5 percent. That, too, is relief from the double-digit increases during 2006, but it was still the highest number of new listings added during January since the boom began six years ago."

"Steve Hyland, president of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors, said the median price of pending sales is the lowest in two years. 'Sellers appear to be much more motivated than we've seen in previous months,' said Hyland, broker in Edina."