The Record reports from New Jersey. "Real estate agents overwhelmingly believe house prices will not rise significantly over the next year, according to a new survey by the National Association of Realtors. Beverly Lanterman, a veteran agent with in Saddle River, said the survey matches her own view of the housing market. She said in some towns, sale prices are off 10 percent or more from the peak a couple of years ago."

"'There are just not enough buyers to pick up all the inventory,' Lanterman said. 'Everywhere you drive, all you see are 'for-sale' signs.'"

"Sellers, she added, are reluctant to lower prices. 'They'll start at $679,000 and when it doesn't sell, they'll go to $650,000, when they should have been at $619,000 to start with,' Lanterman said."

"Buyers apparently believe prices may have further to fall. 'Nobody seems to be in a whole big hurry,' Lanterman said."

The Pocono Record from Pennsylvania. "Home sales in Monroe County continued to slide in the first half of 2007, while sales of foreclosures continued to rise. And making matters worse, it took longer to sell a home."

"Sales in Monroe County were down 29 percent in the first half of 2007 compared to the same period last year, as reported by the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors. This follows a disturbing trend that began in the second half of 2006."

"Foreclosures accounted for a greater portion of homes sold, rising to 17 percent from 11 percent last year. Earlier this the month, the Pocono Record reported that home mortgage foreclosure filings in Monroe County were on pace to shatter previous records. The current sales figures show that the trend extends well beyond filings."

"'It's taking longer to sell because there are more homes on the market,' according to Eileen Chaladoff, VP of the Realtors' association, citing 4,200 homes for sale in Monroe County."

"Chaladoff said the market is changing from a seller's to a buyer's market. 'If sellers are going to hold out on their price, they will have to wait a lot longer' she said."

The News Post from Maryland. "Twenty-seven foreclosures are listed today in The Frederick News-Post. It reveals that problems continue to simmer in the housing market. 'There are still quite a few foreclosures out there,' said Terry Fox, president of the Frederick County Association of Realtors."

"Both Fox and Stephen Mackintosh, of Mackintosh Inc. Realtors, said...many people are waiting for prices to drop. More than 2,000 homes are listed for sale in Frederick County, about twice the number of other real estate markets in the area."

"Steve Meszaros, treasurer of the Maryland Association of Realtors, said some people, often driven by media reports of doom and gloom in the realty market, are holding off. 'They think that since there are more foreclosures, they will simply wait for one and get a house at a lot less price,' he said."

"Considering the current interest rates, inventory of homes and the buyer's market, this is the best time to buy a house in the past 30 years, Meszaros said."

"As of May, there were 849 foreclosures listed in Frederick County from the last 12 months, according to RealtyTrac."

The News Observer from North Carolina. "After a strong spring selling season, Triangle home sales rose only slightly in June, the weakest year-over-year performance since December. In addition, the number of homes on the market piled higher, according to the Triangle MLS."

"Still, experts say the market may have hit bottom, at least in the Triangle. 'This is probably where it starts to turn around,' Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said."

"'There is no question the [Triangle] market cooled off,' Vitner said. 'It would be impossible for it not to. The newcomers are renting for longer periods.'"

"The number of homes sold in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier while the number of listings rose 16 percent to 12,197."

"Bernard Helm of Market Opportunity Research Enterprises in Rocky Mount thinks the Triangle is leading an early stage recovery and that Charlotte and Greensboro are as much as six months behind."

"That said, 'the path upward is going to be slow and torturous' due to the effects of rising foreclosures and tightening credit markets, Helm said."

The Roanoke Times from Virginia. "For years the subdivision in Botetourt County where Janet Beasley lives was perhaps the hottest among hottest home buyers there. But now the development, called Ashley Plantation, sports a smattering of for-sale signs, one in her yard."

"Her 3,000-square-foot house has been on the market for six months, has undergone one price reduction, down to $515,900, and has been featured in a Sunday showing. Meanwhile, Beasley keeps mowing her lawn and picking up stray golf balls. Still, no buyer."

"'I feel like it's going to sell,' she said. 'Got to happen eventually.'"

"But for now, the market for such high-end housing in Beasley's area is as soft as a sand trap on the 18-hole course that winds through her development. Pockets of pricey housing are selling slowly from southern Botetourt County to Smith Mountain Lake. It is an indication of how the nationwide downturn in real estate is hitting home for some who live in the Roanoke Valley."

"As in most economic events, there are winners and losers. Because of price cutting, elegant, half-million dollar homes at Ashley Plantation are for sale at tens of thousands of dollars less than they would have cost a few months ago."

"The downside is, the soft market is limiting the financial gains and hampering the plans of luxury homeowners such as Beasley, whose husband must move out of state for his job."

"Such conditions were unheard of two years ago when builders were selling houses before they could put in the lawn and scrape decals off the windows. When Beasley bought her house, many a prospective buyer was competing with others, and the mantra for some was, 'We saw it first.'"

"More recently, only two people came to her open house."

"Many are betting on the downturn to be temporary. Crews have begun construction of Daleville Town Center, with plans for 300 houses, town houses and condominiums. Builder Robert Graybill (has) a $675,000 home that has been on the market for eight months during construction and for which he lowered the price from $699,000 in response to other builders' doing the same with their new properties."

"Here's one reason buyers are few: To buy a $600,000 home, a buyer would need at least $120,000 cash as the down payment. Then, to cover the roughly $3,500 monthly mortgage payment, the buyer would need a pre-tax, household income of about $95,000, said Eric Compton with the mortgage brokerage Salem Financial. The median household income in the Roanoke Valley is about half that."

"Many buyers are from out of state, and for some of them, the holdup is their inability to sell their home in a depressed market elsewhere. For instance, 215 Stonewall is under contract to an individual who can't close until he sells his $900,000 Florida residence, real estate agent Anne Huffman said."

"Huffman, whose husband developed Ashley Plantation, said the downturn is at least partly psychological, fueled by a gloomy picture of the real estate market painted by the news media at a time when conditions in the Roanoke Valley are pretty good."

"Of the 320 homes at Ashley Plantation, 36 are for sale. Of them, 24 are new and 12 are existing homes to be resold."

"Ray Sprinkle, a Daleville real estate agent, said it would take 20 months to sell all offered upscale property in the $500,000 to $750,000 price range. 'There's just too much supply out there for the demand right now,' Sprinkle said."