Chicago Business reports from Illinois. "A buyer working with Craig Hogan parlayed an ad that said 'willing to entertain all offers' into a 13% price reduction on a one-bedroom condo downtown. The buyer offered $205,000 for the condo, which was listed at $249,900, says Mr. Hogan, a broker in Lincoln Park. But the lowball play worked. The final sale price: $217,000."

"'It's like having blood in the water; sharks get wind of it real quick,' Mr. Hogan says of such ads."

"Many sellers last year felt the sting of having a house stalled on the market. Homes didn't sell nearly as briskly in 2006 as they had a year earlier, with total statewide sales for the year down 8.9% from 2005, according to the Illinois Assn. of Realtors."

"Sales slowed even more in the Chicago area: The association reported 116,463 total home sales in the city and suburbs in 2006, down 12.5% from 2005."

"Though agents say the market has picked up a bit in the first quarter, it's still slower than a year ago. 'In all honesty, I have 27 listings on the market, from $110,000 to the $2-million range, and I'm having problems with all of them,' says Rita Neri, an agent in Addison."

"The Chicago housing market hit the brakes hard in the second half of 2006, after years of acceleration. Homeowners looking to sell got caught in the middle, says broker Karey Walker. '(They) still want the price that maybe they could have gotten last year,' she says."

"And buyers, sensing their newfound power, 'are a lot less emotional. They're willing to walk away.'"

The Toledo Blade from Ohio. "Lucas County records show buyers are landing deals. A newer McMansion, four bedrooms, five baths, nearly 5,000 square feet, in the upscale Country Walk development in Sylvania Township was appraised at $575,000 for a sheriff's sale a year ago."

"It was acquired by the lender and was resold seven months later for $315,000, or $260,000 below the appraisal, according to the Lucas County auditor's office."

The Detroit Free Press from Michigan. "Homeowners across metro Detroit have found themselves confused and angry as they try to reconcile rising property tax assessments in the softest real estate market in years."

"Southfield resident Paul George. He has tried, and struck out, three times to challenge his property tax assessment. The 65-year-old argued last year that the value of his 1,800-square-foot home should be lower because it's next to an abandoned house and near a noisy roofing company. He said homes in the neighborhood hadn't been selling."

"'It seems counterintuitive for most people' that their taxes would go up as their property values decline or remain stagnant, St. Clair Shores City Assessor Scott Vandemergel said. 'It's almost as though it's insulting to them,' he said."

The Skyway News from Minnesota. "Some of the inexperienced condo speculators in the Downtown market have forfeited their earnest deposits and scattered, real estate experts say." "Tom Melchior, manager of marketing research at Larson, Allen, Welshair & Co., said his firm estimates that some developments saw 15 - 20 percent of their units sold to investors."

"'Now the condo market is getting hit with a double whammy,' Melchior said. 'A lot of unsold units purchased were by investors who decided to walk away.'"

"'There are a lot of people like myself, investor real estate agents, that are trying to beat up a little bit on the builders to get the best deal because there is a lot of inventory down there,' Lindsay Gerrard said. 'The condo market itself is very flat, so what you’re seeing now is more behind-the-scenes where builders and developers and investors are trying to haggle out what type of incentives they would give away to move these products.'"

"Jim Stanton, developer of projects such as the Riverwalk, Bridgewater and Lindsay Lofts, said his projects require a statement that the buyer is an owner-occupant."

"'A true investor I would probably accommodate, but there aren’t many of them,' Stanton said. 'We’ve had them come in and say we’ll buy 20 units and they want a discount, but we don’t discount. … People are in desperation mode, and some of them do that. Our sales are good without it.'"

"'Three - four years ago, 15 - 20 percent of buildings went to investors in general,' said David Abele, a condo investor and real estate agent who is selling the Nicollet. 'That has dropped to about five percent.'"

"Scott Parkin, marketing director of S.R. Hoffman & Associates, said the investor purchases that helped fuel most condo projects have now disappeared. He said it is difficult to 'cash flow' a unit by renting it out, because of the high price per square foot in Downtown condos."

"'People are getting better deals right now; developers are making concessions that are making it easier,' said Matt Havel, a mortgage consultant. 'A lot of developers have a lot of inventory.'"

"Havel said he started working with investor groups interested in bulk sales in the past 10 - 11 months. 'It’s tailed off a bit since mid-2006,' he said. He declined to go into specifics about the speculators, but said many were from California."