The Journal News reports from New York. "The housing market in Putnam County continued to weaken in the second quarter as sales fell and the median price of a single-family house dropped by 9.1 percent, to $398,500, the Westchester-Putnam MLS said. It was the second quarter in a row that saw a year-over-year decline in the median house price in Putnam."

"Joel and Michele Antonini's four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house in Carmel was priced at $649,900 in May. Since then, they've reduced the price by $10,000. Just five people showed up at an open house last weekend."

"The family bought the newly constructed house in September 2005. Then Joel Antonini moved the family to Houston this year when he accepted a job offer there. He figured it would take some time to sell the house in Carmel since other new houses were being built nearby; now he's thinking he may have to rent it, or take a small loss on a sale."

"'I'm not willing to take a major loss on the house.' he said."

"At the Fox Run condominium complex, associate broker Joyce Brennan has been trying to sell a one-bedroom unit for five months. Listed at the start at about $170,000, Brennan said, the price has been reduced four times. Now it's at $139,000."

"'There's nothing at all wrong with it,' Brennan said. 'It's indicative of what's going on.'"

"In the second quarter, year over year, the median price fell slightly, the Westchester-Putnam MLS said. The median price of a Westchester house was $700,000, down 2.1 percent."

"The region's transition 'from the feverish markets of 2004 and 2005 to the adjusted realities of 2006 and 2007 has been not too rough - more of a dip than a dive,' the MLS report said."

"'Sales volumes have reset to levels that are fairly strong when viewed in the long term,' the report continued. 'There has been a slight downward price correction in the range of 2-3 percent in the main property categories but there are no signals of larger price reductions to come.'"

The Staten Island Advance from New York. "Staten Island trailed the rest of the city in prices for one- to three-family homes in the year's second quarter, according to a report."

"Michael Slattery, senior VP at REBNY, said Staten Island could be losing potential home buyers to New Jersey suburbs, where the market also has stalled."

"Slattery said that downzonings on Staten Island and the elimination of tax abatements for new housing here will lead to a drop in new-home construction and supply and rising prices."

"There is currently a 19-month inventory of new homes, a recent high, according to estimates by the Bulls Head-based Building Industry Association."

"Permits for new buildings in the borough also dropped by 25 percent during the first six months of the year, from 464 in 2006 to 345 so far this year, according to the Buildings Department. Last year, new building permits fell by 44 percent, the biggest drop in 14 years and the sharpest decline citywide."

"More than 1,000 people called the city comptroller's three-month-old Foreclosure Prevention Helpline, with 15 percent, from distressed Staten Island homeowners."

"Comptroller William Thompson was expected to announce today the borough breakdown of callers, people often struggling to pay high-interest, subprime loans."

"So far, operators have fielded at total of 1,150 calls, with 45 percent (518 queries) from Queens; 32 percent (366 calls) from Brooklyn; 7 percent (80 calls) from the Bronx, and 1 percent from Manhattan (11 calls)."

"The helpline also has fielded inquiries from New Jersey, Connecticut and as far away as Florida, said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for Thompson. 'It's troubling, because we never expected so many calls,' he said."

"The rate of subprime lending in the borough tripled between 2002 and 2005, according to a report from the New York University's Furman Center, and the borough has struggled with rising foreclosures."

"According to a Manhattan-based nonprofit, there were 986 foreclosure actions filed on Staten Island last year. The nonprofit estimates that number could climb to 1,600 by the end of this year because of adjustable rate mortgages."

The Glouchester Daily Times from Massachusetts. "(Haverhill) is known as an old mill town built on the once powerful shoe industry, hence the nickname 'Queen Slipper City.' But with the shoe industry long gone, and developers spending tens of millions of dollars on housing projects, perhaps 'Condo City' would be more appropriate now."

"Two more condominium complexes near downtown are opening within the next eight weeks. The condo boom before now has been concentrated downtown, but the River Street and Vila Street projects mark the spread of these developments beyond the city's center."

"Both new condo projects are opening to customers in the coming weeks as the housing market is in the middle of a slump, and condo sales are slow downtown. William Pillsbury, the city's planning director in charge of economic development, said the market is slow but condos are still selling in Haverhill."

"'There is still demand out there,' Pillsbury said. 'It's slow, but it's not dead.'"

"Around the city's center...more than 800 condominiums and apartments have been recently built or are in the planning stages. The developers said they are optimistic despite the housing slump."

"Heather Machia-Gore, manager of The Vila, said she hopes for a rebound in the market, which has a lot of apprehensive buyers. 'I'm hoping it's going to make a comeback,' she said of the condo market. 'I think buyers are just scared, wondering if it will dip down more. They are trying to wait out the market.'"

"The housing market is sluggish, but Haverhill should recover, according to urban economist Aaron Gruen, a Chicago-based market strategist who wrote the city's new downtown master plan. Gruen anticipates that by 2020, the annual demand for new homes in the Merrimack Valley will hit 5,300 units."

"Kathryn O'Brien has been selling homes locally for 21 years and has seen ups and downs. She said the market is ripe for people who are looking for good deals, and people who could not afford a home or condo during the boom can get one now."

"'It's actually a wonderful time to invest because Haverhill is a very up-and-coming city,' O'Brien said. 'I'm looking at this as a boom for the buying market.'"

"Other downtown condo sales have been slow. The new Franchi building, which has 53 condos, has sold nine units and two have been rented, Gruen's master plan report said. Another condominium project on Washington Street has sold only five of 11 units in 21/2 years, with prices ranging from $189,000 to $259,000, the report said."

"Developers also will try to fill several hundred apartments downtown."

The Frederick News Post from Maryland. "According to the Maryland Association of Realtors, 248 homes were sold last month in Frederick County, down from 381 in June 2006. Those figures include both new and existing home sales. The average price for a home sold in the county in June was $345,473, a drop from $380,512 last year."

"Stephen Mackintosh, of Mackintosh Inc. Realtors, said the current market is much like the early 1980s: 'A flurry of activity then a slow period.'"

"For five years prior to 2006 the housing market soared, both in prices and sales, then stalled with higher mortgage rates and an emerging problem of delinquencies. Though only comprising about 1 percent of the mortgage market, delinquencies, due primarily to risky subprime lending, are causing concern in the industry."

"Foreclosures are impacting the real estate industry. Steve Maszaros, treasurer for the Maryland Association of Realtors, said people waiting for foreclosures to find a bargain are holding up sales in the regular market."

"Both Maszaros and Mackintosh blame the media for painting a gloom and doom picture, causing people to fence-sit instead of looking to buy a home. 'There's no secret that Frederick County has taken a hit,' on home sales, Maszaros said."

"He owns two real estate offices in Anne Arundel County and said he is considering buying homes for investment. 'It is the best time to buy a home in 30 years,' Maszaros said, 'especially for the buyers.'"

"Frederick County has a glut of more than 2,000 homes on the market, about twice the normal level."

"In June, Montgomery County saw a drop of 19.2 percent in sales, compared to a year earlier, with a median price of a home last month at $584,878. Washington County, where the median price was $262,271, saw a drop of 32.5 percent in sales. Maryland's home sales were down 22.1 percent in June."

The Gazette from Maryland. "Garry and Evelyn Scott put their four-bedroom home in the Perrywood community up for sale in February, hoping they would have it off their hands by the time their new house in Upper Marlboro was built."

"They knew the market was cooling, so they listed the property at $615,000, $10,000 below its assessed value. But the spacious home wasn’t getting any takers. So they lowered the price to $610,000. Then $605,000. Then $599,000. Then $575,000. And they threw in $15,000 in closing costs. Still no offers."

"'I’m smoking again. ... I’m nervous,' Garry Scott said. The couple, who bought the home seven years ago, can’t carry two mortgages, and their new home is almost finished."

"The Scotts’ home is just one of more than 6,000 on the flooded market in Prince George’s County. The boom that lasted close to five years has made a full reversal, as homes that used to be snatched up in a matter of days are sitting on the market for months."

"'In any market, there’s a time when what goes up must go down,' said Realtor Eric Coaxum, who works in Laurel."

"Agents and experts say the prolonged and frantic boom, which began cooling toward the end of 2005, is one of the reasons for the drastic slowdown. There are fewer buyers, because so many bought property a few years ago. Plus, they say concerns about foreclosures, which are particularly high in Prince George’s, have scared prospective buyers."

"'I’ve been doing this for 23 years, and I’ve had to do things I haven’t had to do for 10 years' to sell a home, said the Scotts’ agent, Ansa Tyus, a Realtor in Washington, D.C. She’s had to circulate postcards for open houses and pursue other tactics she describes as 'guerrilla marketing.'"

"June statistics released by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, showed 6,294 active listings in Prince George’s. The last time the housing stock topped 5,000 was in early 1999. That’s compared with fewer than 1,000 homes for sale in the early part of 2005."

"Darrell Carrington, a senior loan officer in Bowie, said foreclosure fears have rippled through the market. Of the 4,522 foreclosures recorded statewide last year, 1,558 were in Prince George’s."

"Agents say the sellers of higher-priced homes are having the most difficult time, especially because they are competing with new luxury homes being built in developments throughout the county. And some of those developers offer competitive incentives. Ryan Homes, for example, is offering 50 percent-off options in several of its residential developments until the end of the month."

"'A couple years ago, you could put a price on it — anybody would pay for it. It’s not like that anymore,' said Donald Frederick, president of the Prince George’s Association of Realtors."

"On Barnacle Geese Court in Perrywood, the Scotts said they thought they would have an offer by now. They said they’ve put more than $100,000 of equity into the property, including a deck, ceiling fans and hardwood flooring."

"'It’s a little discouraging,' Garry Scott said. The home is still listing at $575,000, and they’re offering a $3,500 bonus for the buyer’s agent. 'It’s priced right now,' Evelyn Scott said confidently."