The Indystar reports from Indiana. "Across the metro area, the pace of existing home sales declined again in May. Throughout the nine-county Indianapolis area, 2,941 existing houses and condominiums changed hands last month, 10.3 percent fewer than in May 2006. Real estate veterans suggest the sluggish market reflects the hangover left from the excesses a few years ago: Developers overbuilt on new tracts, lessening consumer interest in older homes, said G.B. Landrigan, head of Indianapolis real estate firm Landrigan & Co."

"Buyers flooded the home market, attracted by low interest rates. From 2004 to 2006, nearly 170,000 existing metro-area homes changed hands, about double the sales volume in any three-year period a decade ago."

"Indianapolis' soaring foreclosure rate poured homes on the market. Early in 2006, the metro area ranked first nationwide in foreclosures."

"'I have never, in my 35 years in the industry, seen the market the way it is. I won't say it is being soft, but it is being inconsistent,' said H. James Litten, president of Tucker's residential real estate services division."

"Average sales prices also have declined. In May, the typical home changed hands for $145,200, down 2.5 percent from a year earlier, Litten said. He noted the average this year has been brought down by foreclosed properties selling at an average of about $70,000."

The Indianapolis Business Journal. "Buyers in the market for million-dollar homes can afford to be choosy these days, as the softness in the overall market extends to the high end, real estate agents say."

"'With the market like it is, we won’t buy if it’s not exactly what we want,' said Harris Turner. 'We are not in a rush at all.'"

The Oakland Press from Michigan. "More than 7,000 Oakland County homeowners could lose their homes to foreclosure by the end of the year, the highest level ever, and housing values on average are flat to falling because of it, Oakland County says. The county recorded 4,881 foreclosures last year."

"'These are properties that are hitting the market and dragging down prices,' said Dave Hieber, the county assessor."

"'The decline in market value will probably result in us having the worst year we've had in 30 years in value growth,' said Deputy Oakland County Executive Robert Daddow."

The Journal Sentinel from Wisconsin. "Sellers started to get the hint last month: It may not be worth it to put a house onto a glutted market. New real estate listings rose a mere one-half of 1 percent from a year ago, according to Metro MLS. Meanwhile, sales dragged for houses already listed, falling 11.2% below May 2006."

"'It's the worst in my eight years,' said Jennifer Buzzell, broker based in Waukesha."

"She and other brokers report that a domino effect is building: Each buyer puts down an offer contingent on the sale of his or her own home."

"'A lot of my deals are four and five people deep,' Buzzell said. 'I have sold a property to a lady, whose house I now have on the market, which I've sold to a guy, and none of the deals will close until his house sells.'"

The Star Tribune from Minnesota. "High hopes for a stellar spring housing market were dashed by a mixed sales report for May, according to data released Tuesday by Twin Cities-area Realtor groups."

"The number of closed home sales last month was nearly 15 percent lower than last year at this time, one of the steepest annual declines in several months."

"Last month, prospective buyers took advantage of the combination of slowing sales and high inventory to shop for bargains. Accordingly, May's median sale price for Twin Cities-area homes dropped slightly."

"That report noted that while prices have fallen in recent months, the housing market has outpaced the rate of inflation: Between 1998 and the first nine months of 2006 the consumer price index rose 24 percent while the median sale price of houses in Minnesota increased 85 percent."

The Pioneer Press. "The Twin Cities housing market continues to trudge through a serious correction, with would-be buyers largely shrugging as rising foreclosures add to record for-sale inventories. Tougher lending standards and rising mortgage interest rates threaten to dampen activity further."

"With less than a month to July 4, the sluggish activity spells trouble for the summer dog days ahead. 'It will be a summer of more markdowns,' predicts Steve Shea, owner of Sunset Realty in Maplewood. 'It's going to take this market a couple of years to clean out.'"

"Buyers seem indifferent to the deals; sellers sweat out a market flooded with a record 33,898 active listings. Those listings do not include all of the 9,300 newly built homes (excluding condos) either already built and sitting empty or under construction, said Ryan Jones, who manages the Plymouth office of MetroStudy."

"To be sure, homes have continued to sell in the Twin Cities. Closed sales, pending sales and the median sales price for May in the metro area were up from April. But they were all down year over year. And the area's prime spring selling season was flat-out disappointing."

"Sellers, of course, feel urgent. They organize condo crawls, online foreclosure auctions, progressive open houses that stage appetizers through desserts at different houses."

"Pulte Homes Inc., a major home builder in the metro area, announced Tuesday that from June 22 to June 24, buyers using Pulte Mortgage will get 10 percent off all homes plus $10,000 toward closing costs."

"Karen Wilson, broker in St. Paul, said move-up buyers simply cannot sell their current houses given all the competition. Whatever the exact reason, buyers lack urgency. 'They think they have all the time in the world,' Greene said."