The Capital Times reports from Wisconsin. "Drive past the luxurious Weston Place condos at 625 Segoe Road after sunset and the 12-story tower is three-quarters dark. That's because just 35 of the 121 units have been sold since the project opened 15 months ago."

"'It's pretty quiet over there but I had concerns from the beginning whether it was going to be economically feasible,' said west side Ald. Noel Radomski."

"Certainly, Weston Place isn't the only local condominium project facing a soft market. The number of condos for sale in Dane County is at an all-time high. 'It's certainly a beautiful building, so I'm not sure why they're not doing better,' said John Deininger, executive vice president of the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin."

"So why have sales gone so slowly? (Realtor) Kathy Walch says it's unfortunate timing. Weston Place opened in October 2005, just as the real estate market here was beginning to slide. She said that robbed Weston Place of the initial momentum needed to create a buzz and a flurry of offers."

"'You have to remember we're coming off a year unlike any other,' Walch explained."

"The problem now, experts say, is an oversupply of condominium units. There are some 2,300 condos for sale in Dane County, nearly double the number from a year ago. With the market slow and buyers sitting back, the question all comes down to price, said Barry broker Mirken. 'The high end stuff is still really struggling,' Mirken said."

"Developer Peter Frautschi remains optimistic things will pick up this spring. The project has been refinanced to help provide additional money. 'Signing a big loan didn't seem like such a big deal back then, but I guess it does now,' he said."

The Record Eagle from Michigan. "The housing market is flat or in decline throughout Michigan, so Dorothy Roush wants to know how Garfield Township's assessor determined that her home's value jumped almost $12,000."

"Then there's Ray Reamer of East Bay Township, who saw his assessment jump by $41,300. 'I don't know where they come up with these figures,' he said."

"'Southeast Michigan is struggling much worse with its values,' said Robert Reamer, president of IRR-Residential Veri-Tech Appraisal. 'I haven't seen the numbers but some appraisers said they have segments that have lost 25 to 30 percent of their value.'"

The Detroit Free Press. "In one of the few good signs in the housing market in some time, sales of single-family houses and condominiums in southeast Michigan increased from January to February by 6.7%, a local MLS reported Thursday."

"But the troubles afflicting the state’s residential markets are hardly over yet. Median sale prices continue to decline. Median prices stood at $130,047 in February. That was down from $141,000 in February of 2006 and $150,000 in February of 2005."

"Hudson & Marshall plans to auction 260 foreclosed homes in Detroit worth between $10,000 and $300,000 on March 17-18 in Dearborn."

"Bank-owned homes more than doubled from December to 6,653 new filings in January. More than 11,500 homes were in foreclosure across Michigan in January."

From KFVS 12 in Missouri. "It's the biggest single purchase most of us will ever make. But, the housing market has hit a major skid. Lenders say home loans that don't require you to put down any money may be partly to blame."

"'It's very common for people not only to want a hundred percent loan but want the seller to pay their closing costs and their prepaid so virtually go from their apartment into their house without spending a dime of their own money,' Sandy Schooler, a loan officer in Cape Girardeau says."

"Schooler says some buyers will choose to spend more than they can afford - just because it's available. 'I've heard people say buy more house than you need you'll grow into it. You might, and you might not - but make the payment fit,' she cautions."

"Schooler says otherwise - you could end up with a foreclosure before you even know it."

"One homeowner Heartland News spoke with, knows all too well how painful a foreclosure can be. Her home goes for sale on the steps of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in late March."

"But Schooler says there are ways to avoid losing your home. 'Don't let yourself get two or three months behind. Call a realtor and put the house on the market and sell it. It will save your credit. If you have to - go back to an apartment.'"

Chicago Business from Illinois. "The glut of downtown condominiums is spilling over into the apartment market, where landlords face increased competition from condo owners who rent out their units."

"Over the next two years, downtown developers (will) finish building more than 8,000 condos, a record number. Adding to the pressure, the weak condo market has led some investors who planned to flip their units for a quick profit to rent them out instead."

"'The financial institutions and equity players are very concerned about it because it does add competition to the rental market,' says Ron DeVries, vice-president at Appraisal Research Counselors. 'This is a hot button. Everyone wants to know what's going on with it.'"

"Though the shadow market is fragmented and hard to quantify, it's growing according to one key measure: the number of downtown condos rented through the MLS. That figure rose to 2,247 units last year, up 20% from 1,867 in 2005, according to Appraisal Research."

"Newly built units are driving the growth: The number of condos less than five years old rented through MLS more than doubled to 1,867 last year, from 809 in 2005."

"And apartment developers are building again: They'll add 1,976 apartments to the downtown market next year and another 2,568 in the next few years after that, according to Appraisal Research."

"With condo prices sluggish, many speculators who bought new condos hoping to resell them quickly for a profit are renting out the units while they wait for the market to pick up."

"'As these buildings come on line, you're going to see more (condos) fall into that shadow market,' Mr. DeVries says."

The Chicago Tribune. "From slick, cinematic productions touting waterfront castles to underlit, homemade tours of modest condos, real-estate marketers are eyeing online video as the next way to capture that increasingly elusive creature, the home buyer."

"Dina Davis, an agent in Evanston. made a video of a Rogers Park townhouse listing and stuck it on YouTube. After two months and a paltry 45 viewings, the townhouse is still available."

"'I didn't think we'd get tons of business from it,' Davis said. 'I just hoped to pique someone's interest.'"

"Professional videographer Malachi Leopold found himself being hoisted by a hydraulic lift last year to capture the second-story view that a buyer of an oceanfront lot in Massachusetts would get after building on it."

"After the video went up on several Web sites, it was spotted by someone in California who bought the property, Leopold said."

"'In a time of market flattening and rising inventories [of homes for sale], people need to do whatever they can,' said Christian Sterner, co-founder of WellcomeMat."