The Star Ledger reports from New Jersey. "In New Jersey, the numbers are skyrocketing, according to an Oradell-based company that lists foreclosed properties. 'For years, we were averaging about 70 (lis penden) filings a day,' said VP Cynthia Ehrlich. But since September, that number has ballooned to 140 filings a day, she said."

"In February, New Jersey rang up 4,448 foreclosures in a single month, up nearly 36 percent from the same time last year."

"'We were in Alpine the other day, and the homeowner has a $2.9 million home and he has an $11,000-a-month payment on his house and his payment is going up to $17,000 a month,' said Craig Laube, president of American Foreclosures. 'Oh, and by the way? He is a Realtor, so it happens to everybody and it happens everywhere.'"

"(Realtor) Joyce Aponte who runs (a) foreclosure division, said banks are willing to do deals, including 'short sales.' 'In the last 10 years, I have done maybe five short sales, but this year and last year, I'm doing 8-10 a month,' she said."

The Herald News from New Jersey. "A risky mortgage market that boomed starting in 2000 is now crumbling. The ripple effects are far-reaching, and they are starting to show in New Jersey."

"By 2004, at least a third of mortgages issued in nearly all of Paterson and Passaic were subprime. In much of Haledon and Prospect Park, between 22 and 33 percent of home loans were untraditional. And 16 to 22 percent of loans were subprime in stretches of Clifton, Lodi and Garfield."

"At the end of 2006, about 13 percent of subprime loans in New Jersey were past due, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey. 'Our office receives a minimum of four (foreclosure notices) daily,' said Bill Maer, a Sheriff's Department spokesman."

"Last month, a somber mood prevailed at a mortgage bankers conference in Atlantic City, said Wendy Nastasi, a Pompton Plains broker who attended. 'Everyone was there looking for jobs,' Natasi said. The mortgage industry shed more than 6,000 jobs in the first three months of 2007, nearly double last year's totals, a national study showed."

"With the fraud, banks are making it harder for all prospective homeowners to get loans. 'Lenders have raised the bar,' said realtor Mary Ann Sgobba, the . 'Certain credit scores are not going to acceptable now.'"

MSNBC from New Jersey. "Mark and Kerrie Russo, a Jackson, N.J., couple, are struggling to hang on. Less than a year after buying a home in 2005, a local mortgage broker began sending letters offering to refinance their loan."

"What the broker didn’t explain, Kerrie Russo says, is that this was a 'negative amortization' loan. Russo says that when she called the broker to complain, she was told that because she failed to read the fine print, the responsibility for getting in too deep was hers."

"After coming up with about $14,000 to get out of the downward spiral into yet another loan, Russo says she’s learned an important lesson. 'I have learned a new term called 'predatory lending,' she said. 'And that is what I am a victim of.'"

The Morning Call from Pennsylvania. "The average price of an existing home in the Lehigh Valley fell slightly in March as the rising number of houses for sale gave buyers more choices and power to negotiate prices."

"The number of properties listed for sale rose 31 percent, compared with February, according to statistics released this week by the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors. The large inventory of available homes has concerned economists, who say the law of supply and demand may slow the rate of appreciation and depress prices."

"New listings outpaced home sales by nearly two-to-one last year, according to the Realtors association. Similar trends have continued during the first quarter of this year. In March, the number of homes sold fell for the 10th month in a row, declining 16 percent."

"The total number of homes for sale last month in the Valley was up 45 percent, compared with the same period in 2006."

"Sellers, by most accounts, have been slow to grasp the shift. 'A lot of them think we are still in 2005,' said Jeffrey Burnatowski, who's been a real estate agent since 1983. 'There are only so many buyers out there. And there are so many properties continuing to come on the market.'"

The Baltimore Sun from Maryland. "Home sales across the Baltimore metropolitan area tumbled nearly 10 percent in March from a year earlier. In Baltimore and the five surrounding counties, 2,866 homes sold, compared with 3,170 sales in March 2006."

"The number of homes put on the market for the month continued to far outpace the number of sales contracts signed, a sign that the market is continuing to favor buyers."

"While 6,324 homes were listed for sale in the region in March, just over half that number, 3,594 - went under contract, the statistics showed. Altogether about 16,000 homes were for sale, up from 12,000 a year earlier and 5,600 in March 2005, during the housing boom."

"'What buyers are looking for has changed dramatically. Two years ago [as prices rose rapidly] buyers were willing to make big bets on homes and they want to buy as much as they could finance. But today, the focus for buyers is value,' said Anirban Basu, CEO of Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group Inc."

"Joe and Carolyn Fuscaldo, who are selling their three-bedroom in Towson, have become so convinced that interest is picking up that they have decided against accepting any offers contingent on a buyer selling his own home."

"The Fuscaldos were encouraged by an offer for their asking price of $449,000 made within a week of listing the house in February. The contract, which had a contingency clause, fell through when the buyer's house didn't sell in 30 days."

"Kellie Langley, the real estate agent who listed the Fuscaldos' house, said March has been a mixed bag. 'I had a couple of listings that were put on and sold right away for full asking price, and that was great. A couple of other agents experienced the same thing, and we got excited like, 'It's back.' But I've had a couple [of homes] that are lingering as well.'"

"Some real estate agents said the market showed signs of picking up in March, though many sellers are still pricing their homes as if the market hadn't cooled."

"'Buyers are taking a little longer to make up their minds," said Noah Mumaw, a real estate agent in the Cross Keys area of Baltimore. 'They are more educated and want to see everything out there. There is so much stuff on the market, it takes a while to see everything. There is a lot on the market that is overpriced and slowing the market down.'"