The Journal Sentinel reports from Wisconsin. "Fields of dreams are scattered across metro Milwaukee, platted subdivisions awaiting the end of the home-building slump. Only one in four vacant land parcels for sale in the four-county region sold last year, a ratio that went to one in eight in January, MLS figures show."

"Real estate appraisers say some speculators got caught by the abrupt end of the 2001-'05 building boom. 'It's like musical chairs. These people kept developing, leveraged to the hilt, as the market changed. Now the boom is over, and they're stuck without a chair,' said Steven G. Stiloski, president of the Appraisal Institute's Wisconsin chapter."

"Real estate industry veterans say it's not them stuck without a chair. 'We're not that stupid. We knew this was coming,' said Mark Lake, director of development at Redmond Residential of Wisconsin."

"His Waukesha firm is marketing two subdivisions, Emerald Ridge and Hines Meadows, both in Saukville, on MLS 'simply so Realtors and buyers know the subdivision is there. Those lots haven't been developed yet,' he said. 'When the time is right, we'll build.'"

"'This is nothing compared to 1980-'84, when the market was so slow you couldn't give lots away,' said Bill Carity, owner of Carity Land Development in Brookfield. 'But there's no question that certain markets have been overbuilt. I've never seen so much land for sale.'"

"Stiloski said he's never seen so much buildable land before on the MLS system. 'Me neither,' said Michael Brachmann, president of Independent Fee Appraisers in Menomonee Falls. 'I haven't heard of any subdivisions going belly up yet. But if somebody bought at the top (of the boom), it wouldn't surprise me. The carrying costs are going to eat them alive.'"

"Developers and appraisers said they know of land holders in financial distress but wouldn't name them. Wally Neumann said the Summit property on which he advertised a 'drastically reduced' price proved to have only five salable lots instead of the envisioned nine. The price reduction 'has nothing to do with a soft market,' he said."

"Regardless of where the building downturn is hitting, the underlying economics are undeniable, said Glendale appraiser Robert S. Schley Jr. 'Not only has supply increased, but demand has slackened. Economics 101 tells you that if we don't soon return to equilibrium, prices will fall,' Schley said."

"'I'd say most areas here have been flat since the fall of '05,' he said. The market's direction should be known by spring, he said."

The Detroit News from Michigan. "Alan and Alyson Wirgau live in a cute ranch on a quiet suburban street. There's a new roof above their heads, a new deck in back and a For Sale By Owner sign in front. Instead of weighing offers, the family is weighing an option that seemed unthinkable a year ago: If they don't sell their home soon, they may turn down the heat, load their possessions in a U-Haul and drive away."

"With a job in Indianapolis and dim prospects for selling their home, the Wirgaus are considering handing the keys back to the bank and walking away from their home."

"That process, called a deed in lieu of foreclosure, is an agreement to give up all ownership rights in a home or piece of property to the lender."

"It's not a good option for anyone, but it's often better than the alternative. Homeowners' credit ratings are hurt, but not as much as in a foreclosure; the lenders lose money on homes now worth less than the outstanding loan, but lose less than the cost of a foreclosure proceeding."

"'Nobody knows you can even do it,' said Ann Howard, a bankruptcy attorney in Southfield. 'I'm seeing people coming in and saying, 'What do we do about our house?' Their (mortgage) rate changed, they're not getting the overtime they used to, they've taken a job out of state.'"

"In normal times, they're the homeowners who would write 'motivated seller' in their house ads and sell for a few thousand less. But with no buyers and property values declining, homeowners who have to sell fast find themselves in unchartered financial territory."

"Two years ago the Wirgau family's 1,500-square-foot home was valued at $210,000. Today, it's for sale at $180,000, just enough to pay the mortgage and the closing costs. No one has made an offer in the three months it's been on the market. At the full asking price, 'we'd just break even, and I'd bend down and kiss their (the buyers') feet,' Alyson Wirgau said."

"Lenders who frowned on such deals as well as short sales now are routinely agreeing to both. For lenders, the choice often is between losing a little money now or a lot of money later. 'The banks don't know what they're going to get back,' Howard said. 'If people are willing to hand the house over, then it's less likely the bank will get possession of a house that is completely trashed.'"

"With home prices continuing to fall, the sooner a lender can sell the distressed house, the less money the lender loses, said Michael Kus, spokesman for the Michigan Association of Community Banks. 'It's the busiest department in the banks now, short sales and deeds in lieu,' Howard said. 'They have people devoted to it.'"

"'People choose between trying to salvage some of their credit rating versus living in the house for free,' said Southfield bankruptcy lawyer Stuart Gold. 'Some banks are even paying people to give their houses back, even on a short sale. They'll pay them $500 to help on moving expenses to get them out of the house.'"

"The Wirgaus don't know what they're going to do. They're considering lowering the price of their home and dipping into their savings to pay the bank the difference. Even then, there's no guarantee that their house will sell. In July, the family's adjustable rate mortgage will jump from 5.25 percent to 8.25 percent, costing another $250 a month. A property tax bill of $2,800 will be due."

"'If we're not out of here by then, something's gotta give,' Wirgau said. 'I've covered all the angles. I hope it doesn't come to that but it may be worth starting over.'"