The Kansas City Star reports from Missouri. "Here’s how bad the housing market is getting across metropolitan Kansas City: Doug and Cathy Cade are offering a new car or a trip to Hawaii for anyone who buys their five-bedroom Shawnee house for the asking price. And they haven’t had a taker. 'It’s kind of a down market,' Cathy Cade said."

"Last year, the average resale price of existing homes declined in almost half, 44 percent, of almost 100 ZIP codes tracked by The Star in the six-county area. 'The market has been going up and up and up, and what goes up must come down,' said agent Sue Walton."

"For much of the rest of the area, however, plenty of sellers have gone through what the Cades are finding: The easy days of real estate speculating appear over."

"The Cades are investors and bought the 3,600-square-foot home out of foreclosure. They intended to flip it quickly after some cosmetic repairs. They tried an advertising blitz capped by a local auction. But the bids were too low. That’s when they added the special incentives for a full-price."

"The Plaza area was littered with sales in which sellers lost money or came way down in price. One two-story house off 53rd Street and Brookside Boulevard went on the market at $330,000 before eventually selling at $182,500. Another house just a block off Loose Park sold in 2004 for $472,500, then resold last year for $465,000."

"'There was too much on the market, and the people who had to sell just kept reducing,' said agent Pat Tholen."

"Several Realtors said they noticed investors bailing out of real estate because they were no longer able to turn quick profits. 'That flipping thing is kind of over,' said broker Judy Comstock. 'It’s no longer the in thing to do.'"

"That may be the case, but investors still have properties they are trying to unload."

"Consider Teresa Doherty. She and her husband are stuck with a three-bedroom ranch near the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. It has been on the market more than four months."

"She put the house on the MLS. She put ads on the medical center’s Web site and on Craigslist. She even put the house up for auction on eBay. But that auction has generated only a lowball offer so far. 'I know it’s a slow market like this all over the city,' Doherty said."

The Springfield Business Journal from Missouri. "The FBI is investigating alleged mortgage fraud schemes in the Springfield area, some of which may be driving a spike in foreclosures on homes sold to unsuspecting buyers at inflated prices."

"The real estate community is buzzing with speculation about disproportionately high list prices in some subdivisions and an upsurge in foreclosures – two signs often associated with mortgage fraud."

"Carol Jones Realtor LeeAnn Quinn said a handful of conspicuously priced properties caught her attention several months ago. 'They stuck out like a sore thumb,' Quinn said. 'I did show a house that possibly I thought might be in that (alleged scheme). It was sold at a price, and it was bought a few months later at a higher price … quite a bit higher.'"

"Quinn said less scrupulous real estate agents or builders may have turned to illicit tactics when the housing market began showing signs of a slowdown last year. Foreclosures in Missouri increased 96.5 percent in 2006, according Foreclosures.com."

From Chicago Business. "Illinois’ housing market ended 2006 on a low note and housing experts are forecasting modest gains, if any, for this year. 'We had a year of contraction,' said Pat Callan, treasurer for the Realtors’ association. 'But I think we’ve seen the worst.'"

"Paul Kasriel, economist for Northern Trust Bank, is less optimistic, given the excess supply of new and existing homes. 'Sales are still going to be sluggish,' he said. 'It’s going to be another year of recession in housing.'"

"'Builders are abandoning land now and that indicates they are not expecting to start a lot of new homes,' he said. 'Construction is going to continue to weaken.'"

The Chicago Sun Times. "Robert Kelter was watching a football game when he noticed water dripping from the ceiling into the living room. Kelter, who had paid $405,000 for his 2-bedroom condo in 2001, had no idea the water drip would turn into a potential $100,000 expense because of alleged major structural problems in the building. But it did. And he's not alone."

"A legal expert says the jaw-dropping extra assessments result from a perfect storm of condo conversion circumstances: A lack of oversight by the city, buyers with stars in their eyes and little information and developers who claim they have no assets to correct defects after they sell the condos."

"Loft condos in old factories and warehouses are in vogue. But the buildings are complicated to convert into residential uses, and pose unique maintenance problems, said Mark Pearlstein, the attorney who has filed lawsuits against the developers at both sites. 'The owners have to realize that they've bought into an old building,' Pearlstein said."

"Pearlstein said buyers have the mistaken impression that city inspectors will guard against shoddy construction. 'There is no effective government oversight of construction or renovation in the city,' Pearlstein said."

The Business Ledger from Illinois. "Most experts in the industry agree the housing boom has come to an end but differ as to whether the landing will be hard or soft. Take a deep breath and relax, says Lori Palmer, a realtor in Bartlett. There was, indeed, a housing bubble, but the explosion was more of a pop than a burst. 'There was a correction that was definitely needed,' said Palmer."

"'Buyers now think they can go out and get houses for bargain prices because the media has said it’s a buyer’s market. Sellers are not necessarily desperate to sell. They prefer to sit and wait for six months or even a year, rather than take a loss on the sale of their home,' said Palmer. 'It’s become a stalemate,' she said. 'Who’s gonna blink first?'"

"Palmer stressed that a seller shouldn’t have to take a loss on the sale of his home just because a buyer wants a deal."

"Developers like The Macom Corporation in Naperville agree there has been somewhat of a burst in the housing bubble. It hasn’t affected Macom in a real big way, but the company has slowed down in developing the high-end subdivisions. There isn’t a big demand right now for lots."

"S.J. Peters, executive director of the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association of Northern Illinois, echoes Van Poucke’s sentiments. 'There’s definitely a housing bubble and it has burst, but the residential seems to be bouncing back,' said Peters. 'It seems to go in cycles.'"

"In the meantime, professionals in industries related to development and real estate are not panicking. They know it’s just the natural cycle of economics. The bubble may have just popped or even burst, but they’re still standing."