The Whitefish Pilot reports from Montana. "A growing backlog of homes for sale in the Flathead Valley coupled with increases in foreclosures and bankruptcy filings have drawn the attention of professionals concerned about local real estate trends. Northwest Montana Realtor Association president Ted Dykstra Jr. said he was surprised in March when the number of local homes in foreclosure increased from the typical 12-20 to as high as 80."

"'A lot of people have gotten themselves overextended,' said Dykstra. 'We've always been about six months to a year behind the rest of the nation. Now that a recession or downturn in the market is here, we might be down for a little while, but it will probably turn around again by the end of the year.'"

"He said the correction in the local real estate market began last March, traditionally the busiest month of the year for sales, and it's continuing. 'I think it was due to the market being flooded with houses,' said Dykstra."

"Whitefish appraiser Ellie Clark said she has noticed a large increase in real estate inventory. 'Historically, there's been a 12-month-or-less real estate inventory,' Clark said. 'Now we're facing 18 months or more, exceeding the past several years. I don't know that in Whitefish there is necessarily a slowing, but I don't think the sales volume is what it was.'"

"'There's a lot of development going on, but whether or not they sell is another story,' said Leo King (owner of) North Country Builders, in Whitefish. 'My feeling is there won't be as many buyers as there are lots being created, not by a long shot. It's a fact, there are a lot of for-sale signs on homes, and they're staying up a lot longer. Anybody can see it.'"

"Dan Henderson, a Realtor with Realty Executives of Northwest Montana, said he's noticed 'a definite downward price bias in the market.'"

The Jackson Hole News from Wyoming. "David Viehman, owner and broker for Jackson Hole Real Estate & Appraisal, released a quarterly market analysis Thursday. Viehman reports the median home-sale price, as of July 1, grew to almost $1.18 million. At this time last year, it was $920,000, an increase of almost 28 percent."

"'Why is there a crisis?' Viehman said. 'The median price was just barely $1 million in April. It’s almost at $1.2 million in three months. It won’t be long until it’s $1.3 or $1.4 million.'

"For comparison, at this time in 2003, the median home-sale price was $542,500, meaning the figure more than doubled in four years."

The Daily Bee from Idaho. "While sales for the nearly 3,000 properties on the market in Bonner and Boundary counties are down, it is at a far lower rate than the rest of the country, said Gina Hurley, executive director for Selkirk Association of Realtors."

"'When we look at our decline compared to the nation in terms of a decrease, it's a far smaller decrease,' Hurley said."

"Sales in Bonner and Boundary counties are down, particularly if compared to 2004. 'If we had the same (demand) three years ago, much of it would be gone,' said Dale Pyne, president of Selkirk Association of Realtors. 'The market and developers reacted to the demand and now there's some beautiful inventory out there.'"

"A few years ago, there were 700 properties on the market, Pyne said. 'Now we have over 1,400 homes for sale and we have over 1,600 unimproved properties,' he said. 'We went from 700 to 3,000. That was an answer to low inventory. We have an extensive supply.'"

"He said on Wednesday that in the last 24 hours, there were 24 pending sales and 53 properties listed for sale."

"As for the future, Pyne remains optimistic. 'This is a soft landing versus a market crash or a bubble burst. It's just an economic adjustment,' he said."

The Oregonian. "A Denver-based developer will build a 270-apartment project among South Waterfront's towering condos, another signal that Portland's robust rental market and sluggish condo sales are starting to reshape the city's housing mix."

"Staring at slumping condo sales, Homer Williams said they agreed to sell the site for apartments."

"Williams' company has finished two towers at the Meriwether and has three more under construction. But sales have slowed. Williams says they sold 30 to 50 condos a month when they started. 'That wasn't sustainable,' he says. 'A lot of it was investors, speculators.'"

"Now, Williams says they sell three to four a month. Williams says he isn't worried about the slowdown. He expects the market inventory to level out in the next six months or so. But right now, Williams says of condos: 'You wouldn't want any more.'"

KTVZ from Oregon. "More than 80 homes around Central Oegon are being showcased in the 19th annual Tour of Homes, and while the record number reflects a growing inventory and drop in home sales, Realtors and builders remain upbeat about the future."

"Encouraging signs might seem hard for builders these days, with home sales around Central Oregon down 30 to 50 percent from a year ago."

"'There was so many people moving into the area and a lack of homes on the market that the price ranges got, I would say maybe a little bit out of control, or a little bit higher than what the market value could sustain,' said Realtors Jennifer Wilson. 'Whereas now, it is a market where the buyer gets to choose. There's a lot of options out there, and there's all ranges now.'"

The Spokane Journal from Washington. "The number of new lots platted in Spokane County shot up by almost 23 percent last year to reach its highest total since at least 1976."

"Some 3,087 lots were platted in the county in 2006, up from 2,515 lots in 2005 and 2,574 lots in 2004, says the spring Real Estate Report. Just 1,497 lots were platted in 2003."

"At least in the near future, lot availability isn’t a pressing problem for Condron Construction Inc. The prominent Spokane home builder maintains a five-year inventory of buildable lots, says Corey Condron, the company’s vice president."

"'I’m finding enough land to plat, and there is quite a bit of platted land for sale,' he says."

"Condron says lot prices have leveled off after a steep increase in the last few years."

"Land, however, is significantly more expensive than it was five years ago, and that’s probably contributing to a slowdown in new-home sales after sales peaked in 2005, he says. Condron says he recently offered $42,500 per lot for a 49-lot parcel. That’s about $12,000 more per lot than he would have paid for the same lots five years ago, he says."

"Condron Construction builds entry- and mid-level homes priced from $185,000. Five years ago, entry-level homes were selling for around $135,000, he says. 'A pretty large chunk of the increase is in the lot prices,' he says."

"Company President Wendell Olson says he doesn’t see any immediate shortage of available lots. 'We have plenty of lots and people wanting to sell us lots,' Olson says."

"Randy Barcus, chief economist for Spokane-based Avista Corp., says he expects an average of about 3,000 lots for single-family homes will be needed annually to handle growth in Spokane County for 20 years."

"'The availability of lots is important,' Barcus says. 'The last thing you want is a shortage of lots, or prices will go up dramatically.'"

The Olympian from Washington. "Two summers ago home sellers were in the driver’s seat as limited housing inventory and low mortgage rates resulted in strong demand and average selling times that at one point dropped to 38 days."

"Today, the South Sound real estate market has more than 2,300 active listings, according to Northwest MLS and Olympic MLS data."

"The result is that Olympia home stagers such as Karen Nielsen of Eye 4 Design LLC and Susan Bogni of Atmosphere InStyle have experienced an uptick in business during the last six to nine months."

"Now, when the phone rings, the caller is usually someone who has heard the real estate market has slowed and wants to stage their home before it’s listed, or their home is listed and nobody’s making offers, Nielsen said."

"Lacey homeowner C.S. Sodhi put his 3,000-square-foot, custom- built home on the market last year and then pulled it off the market after 90 days. He listed it again last week using Nielsen’s advice."

"The staging, plus a reduction in price from $349,000 to $315,000, has him feeling more hopeful about a possible sale, Sodhi said."

"Chad and Melissa Stussey of Tumwater put their 2,600-square-foot home up for sale in March. After a month on the market, they lowered the price and then did it again just to be a little more competitive, Melissa Stussey said."

"The Stusseys had yet to sell their home as of late last week. While staging it might prove to be fruitful, they also lowered the listing price from $435,000 to $399,000, Melissa Stussey said."

"The lack of interest has the Stusseys puzzled because their 2,600-square-foot home also sits on more than one acre. They’d like a smaller home so that her husband can return to school to get a teaching certificate, Melissa Stussey said."

"'If we end up staying, that’s OK, too,' she said."