It's desk clearing time for this blogger. "Linda Moore has noticed a sense of apathy settling into the Manatee County real estate market, and she is determined to shake things up one neighborhood at a time. 'Things have quieted down everywhere,' said Moore, an agent on Anna Maria Island."

"Moore, who has one listing on Palmetto Point, called the Realtors who are selling 30 more houses in the neighborhood and urged them to have open houses this weekend. Their solution: a mega open house. Twenty of the 31 houses for sale in Palmetto Point will be open to the public from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday."

"'We'll have refreshments, and we're putting out balloons and signs,' Moore said."

"The monthly business confidence index released today by Associated Industries of Massachusetts showed confidence among employers statewide slipping three points in June. One of the factors causing uncertainty is the condition of the housing market in Massachusetts, said Andre Mayer, senior VP for communications and research at Associated Industries."

"'Housing prices are certainly down. There have been repeated signs that people will say 'oh, the worst is over,' but then it's not,' he said."

"Home foreclosures are on the rise in Coweta County, and the highest reported cases in the metro region are on the south side of Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission."

"'I think the most important, salient feature of the issue is that it is a national issue, and when we examined foreclosure rates in the state of Georgia, rates were highest on the south side,' said Mike Alexander, chief of the ARC research division. 'Across the board, the number of foreclosures has increased,' he said."

"Panama City is in the midst of an unprecedented real estate boom. More than 30,000 units worth about $5.7 billion have come on the market since last July, according to Prima Panama."

"'Panama looked like a good investment and a place to have a good time,' says Jim Buckley, while admiring the view. 'You don't need a lot of sense to see that it will increase in property value.'"

"As a housing crunch escalates in Yellowknife, questions are being raised about some government-owned houses that are sitting empty on prime real estate."

"'You'd probably put it on the market, and probably that day or that evening...you'd probably have six, seven people putting in offers,' real estate agent James Clarke told CBC News."

"A for sale sign went up on a big two-storey home you pass daily on the way to work. A sold sign was stuck up the next day. The smart bungalow down the street was put up for sale and sold two days later."

"Some call it a real estate boom. Merv Rayner, president of the Moose Jaw Real Estate Board, cautiously refrains from using that term. 'Moose Jaw prices have been depressed for a long time,' he says. 'Finally Moose Jaw is catching up.'"

"I am the writer of the letter (June 15) headlined as, 'Only realtors gaining.' Apparently, this title has led to some misconceptions about the entire point of my letter, which was to merely point out that rising house prices are not necessarily beneficial to Regina residents."

"The entire point of my letter was to just bring about the fact that there is an obviously downside to housing price increases: a higher cost of living. More money spent on homes means less money for other things. Exactly how does that benefit Regina residents or businesses?"

"Bangkok is undergoing a condominium-building boom that brings to mind the go-getting expansion in the 1990s - and memories of the bubble that followed."

"In the past six months, inquiries from prospective buyers have fallen by 40 percent, said Ian Soo, managing director of a high-end real estate agency in Bangkok. 'We're probably one of the most aggressive agencies in central Bangkok and, if we're experiencing quiet times, other agencies are probably experiencing something similar or worse,' the British transplant said. 'It's a buyers' market out there.'"

"Chennai real estate is now on a downward slide. Prices of land, apartments and even commercial rentals, particularly that of IT buildings, have come down by about 15 per cent. Builders and promoters confirm this."

"Land in Sriperumbudur, which was selling at Rs.7 lakh to 8 lakh per ground, has come down to Rs.5 lakh to 5.5 lakh. Layouts promoted at Vadkapattu, which were selling thick and fast, are stagnating. About 25 per cent of the plots in many layouts, priced at Rs. 650 per sq.ft., remains unsold even after months."

"The stagnation is visible. Not that the big builders are finding it easy. One of the upmarket builders near Navalur has about 50 per cent of his apartments unsold. Last year’s euphoria has died down."

"In what traditionally has been a strong home-selling season, the metro Denver real estate market has remained flat. 'We're just kind of bouncing along,' said Larry McGee of the Berkshire Group. 'It's not terrible. It is almost exactly even with a year ago.'"

"While it may be flat, Colorado's housing market is faring better than that of much of the nation, said Jeff Thredgold, an economist with Vectra Bank Colorado."

"'The national media would have people believe that the housing market is getting absolutely trashed,' he said. 'It's really tied to the fact that prices went too far too fast over the last five or six years.'"