The Daily Herald reports from Illinois. "The highest number of existing homes in two years are sitting on the market in the suburbs, and they’re facing the lowest percentage of sales in recent times, according to figures released by local Realtors. Existing, single family homes for sale in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Palatine in May, for example, are at their highest level in recent years."

"Together, the three communities had 2,126 homes for sale, nearly twice as many as compared to 1,120 in May 2005. May is the traditional start of the selling season. In May, the percentage of homes sold in those three towns was 7.5 percent, compared to about 13 percent in May 2006 and 22 percent in May 2005."

"This spiraling scenario is hauntingly similar in Libertyville, Vernon Hills and Mundelein in Lake County; Naperville, Bloomingdale and Addison in DuPage County; and Elgin, Cary and St. Charles in the Fox Valley."

"In many cases, the more homes that were on the market, the fewer were sold, according to numbers obtained through the Broker Metrics database and Stark & Co. 'This is the most challenging market I’ve ever seen,' said Connie Hofherr, Starck VP in Mount Prospect. She’s been selling here for about 30 years."

"Several negatives have caused a depression in the suburban housing market, which reflects similar problems nationwide. Creeping inflation, a slow economy, layoffs from major local employers, subprime lenders going belly-up, and a high number of foreclosures and bankruptcies all have taken their toll."

"Doug Crowe, director of a real estate education firm and a broadcaster on real estate investment, said both buyers and sellers are like deer in the proverbial headlights. 'Sellers don’t want to cut their prices and buyers are afraid that if they buy something now, it will be the same or less in six months,' Crowe said."

"'It’s a lot like a Mexican stand-off,' Crowe said. 'People are waiting for something to happen. But when the buyers and the sellers aren’t even flinching, nothing happens.'"

The Kane County Chronicle. "Home sales in Kane County fell 20 percent in May compared to the same month last year, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Monday."

"'The market is soft, there’s no question about it,' said Donald Parisi, president of the Realtor Association of the Fox Valley. 'Sellers who think it’s the same as last year are sorely mistaken.'"

From Chicago Business in Illinois. "Home sales in the Chicago area plummeted 20.7% last month compared with May 2006, according to the Illinois Assn. of Realtors."

"A total of 9,750 single-family homes and condominiums were sold in the nine-county Chicago area last month. The biggest drop in sales last month occurred in outlying DeKalb, Grundy and McHenry counties. Sales in Cook County fell 20.1%."

The Chicago Tribune. "The Illinois Association of Realtors said...statewide sales were 18.6 percent below those of May 2006. 'I don't think there's a positive here,' said economist Patrick Newport. 'Whatever numbers came in for May are irrelevant because of what has happened in the past six weeks.'"

"Newport said the recent rise in mortgage-interest rates and the tightening credit standards because of turmoil in subprime lending are causing his firm to reassess its housing forecast."

"'A few weeks ago we were saying [a housing recovery was possible] in the first quarter of 2008,' he said. 'We're going to rethink that, given the recent changes. We may push it back. The news isn't good.'"

"Chicagoan Mark Stinson signed a contract to sell his Roscoe Village home after just three weeks on the market. 'It was real fast, a lot faster than I expected,' said Stinson, who credited the speedy sale to reasonable price expectations."

"'Like any seller, you have images of your home being worth a lot. But we've seen a lot of people around the neighborhood who price their homes high and they just sit there,' Stinson said."

The Post Dispatch from Missouri. "The national market for existing homes remains mired in a slump, and the St. Louis market hasn't bucked the trend. Indeed, compared with sales a year ago, the local region fared worse than the nation."

"In the St. Louis area, 3,751 homes were sold, a 12.7 percent decline over May 2006. At the current sales pace, it would take nine months to sell the homes listed for sale in the St. Louis region."

"Colleen Ramonez of Glen Carbon hopes she won't have to wait that long. Despite new carpet, light fixtures and a remodeled bathroom, her two-story brick home has been on the market since mid-January, when her husband was transferred to Maryland."

"They priced their house below median price for similar homes in her neighborhood, and a few months ago reduced it by $5,000. Still, no offers. Her real estate agent blames the housing market, said Ramonez."

"The housing market must clear several hurdles, experts say, including the fallout in the subprime loan market, say real estate experts."

"'Lenders have tightened their lending standards because of the problems with the subprime market, and that is part of the problem,' said Stephanie Tonnies, CEO of the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois. 'And many sellers are still thinking of the gains they saw in the market in previous years and are not willing to adjust their asking prices.'"

"May was a particularly bad month regionally. Comparing May 2006 with May 2007, sales declined 33 percent in the Metro East area and 8 percent on the Missouri side of the St. Louis area."

"Al Suguitan, CEO of the Greater Gateway Association of Realtors in Glen Carbon, finds the Metro East number higher than he believes it to be, but he agrees that the market is off from the last couple of years."

"'I feel uncomfortable with those numbers. I believe that for the first five months of the year, we are off about 8 percent,' Suguitan said. 'It surprises me that it is so high.'"