The Star Tribune reports from Minnesota. "Al Ynigues found out the hard way about the dangers that lurk in exotic high-risk home loans. A broker he trusted exaggerated his income nearly three-fold and steered him into a variable rate mortgage with rapidly escalating payments he can no longer afford, nor escape without hefty penalties."

"The music teacher knew the rates could 'go up a little.' But he never thought his first home in Apple Valley would gobble up his entire monthly income."

"'I got burned,' he said. 'It's outright fraud.'"

"He wasn't told, he said, is that it would cost him prepayment penalties of over $4,000. Another thing Ynigues says he wasn't told was that his broker had listed his income as $10,000 a month, more than three times what he makes in his music business."

"On top of that, he would later learn, the broker had cut himself in for a $4,230 fee."

The Shakopee News from Minnesota. "The Twin Cities regional housing market slowdown continues as home sales remain flat during the peak selling season. Most areas in the region have seen some sort of decline in buyer activity, according to new analysis released by the Southern Twin Cities Association of Realtors (STCAR)."

"So far this year through June, Shakopee home sales have declined by 23.7 percent compared to the same period in 2006."

"'The gradual decline in home sales has been continuous since late 2005 and isn't showing signs of letting up,' said Wayne Gilbert, president of STCAR. 'Predicting exactly when that will change is an inexact science, but it's becoming clear that our eventual recovery could be a multi-year adventure.'"

The Journal Sentinel from Wisconsin. "About 6,900 Wisconsin homebuyers, five times more than originally thought, are entitled to $3.2 million restitution from Ameriquest Mortgage Co. for alleged overcharging, the state attorney general said Tuesday."

"A year ago, state officials estimated that 1,170 Wisconsin families were hoodwinked by the California-based lender, which has admitted no guilt."

"'Never in my wildest dreams would I think that they would be so underhanded,' said Greenfield homeowner Elizabeth DuPlanty. For DuPlanty and her husband, Rick, the Ameriquest settlement appears too little, too late. "

"The couple sued Ameriquest in April, and Ameriquest filed a foreclosure action against them in May, court records show. 'We may still lose our home because we owe more than it's worth, and no one will write a loan to us,' Elizabeth DuPlanty said."

"Another Ameriquest borrower, Racine homeowner Darla Evilsizor, said her family is worried these days, too."

"'Our situation involved an over-inflated appraisal,' Evilsizor said. 'We have not been able to refinance and are still struggling. One big question that I have regarding (the penalty to Ameriquest) is, will it include the appraiser who appraised our home without even seeing it?'"

The Capital Times from Wisconsin. "While still below a year ago, the local real estate market showed some signs of stabilizing in June, the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin reported."

"The 894 sales of homes and condominiums reported in June in Dane County were 5.9 percent fewer than the 951 last June, but that was not as bad as the 15.8 percent decline in May sales compared to last May."

"A total of 1,313 homes and condos in Dane County were listed for sale for the first time on the South Central Wisconsin MLS in June, 17.3 percent fewer than a year ago, although well above the range of new listings of 899 to 1,189 from 2003-05."

"But there remains a glut of homes and condos for sale here: The 5,458 total listings at the end of June are 5.9 percent more than a year ago, 79.6 percent more than two years ago, and well over double three years ago and triple four years ago."

The Lansing State Journal from Michigan. "It's been a frustrating few months for Jo Ann Hershey. Hershey listed her 1,900-square-foot East Lansing house in November 2006. She started selling at $291,000 and has dropped the price twice, first to $282,000, now at $274,900. She still has no offers for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in the Okemos school district."

"'In every house I've ever sold, the longest it ever took me to sell a house was three weeks,' Hershey said. 'The last house in Haslett I sold, the first person who looked at it bought it.'"

"(Economic) forces have pushed foreclosures up and lengthened the average time on the local market to 120 days, said associate broker Matt Bowler. It's good news for buyers, who have more selection to choose from at lower prices. 'There's never been a better time to buy a house,' said Matt Bowler, president of the Greater Lansing Association of Realtors. 'The good news is Lansing is the bright spot in Michigan.'"

The Ann Arbor Business Review. "Development of Kingsley Lane was put on hold in mid-July until the housing market rebounds. The 46-condo project celebrated the groundbreaking for its first phase on March 21, and the developers anticipated a summer 2008 completion of 20 lofts."

"However, the spring sales market didn't gain traction, leaving sales commitments flat and buyers wary of their ability to sell existing homes in order to fulfill their purchase. 'There was fantastic momentum ... right up until the Pfizer announcement (in January),' said co-developer Peter Allen."

"Condo sales are down 18 percent this year over 2006, according to the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors. At the same time, the number of listings have climbed nearly 18 percent during the first half of 2007, with 1,772 condos listed for sale year to date. During that timeframe, 318 condos sold and the median sales price dropped $10,000 to $159,945."

"At issue appears to be ongoing economic uncertainty paired with the pending departure of Pfizer from Ann Arbor, which could add over 1,000 homes to the existing excess housing inventory."

"'Demand has slowed down,' Allen said. 'It's hard to track exactly what's happening right now.'"

The Enquirer from Ohio. "Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said his office is close to getting its first criminal indictments in its crackdown on predatory lending practices."

"While Dann is already pursuing about 30 civil cases statewide, he said criminal charges are being pursued against the worst mortgage brokers and property appraisers that he believes helped give the Buckeye State the highest foreclosure rate in the nation."

"'Fraud is a crime and deserves to be punished,' he said Wednesday. 'We're going to bring enforcement against those who cheat.'"

"In June, two Cincinnati-area mortgage firms were also among 10 named in civil lawsuits filed by Dann's office under Ohio's new predatory lending law. Dann has accused Ace Mortgage Funding of Sycamore Township and Premiere Service Mortgage of West Chester of improperly influencing property appraisers to 'puff up' property estimates to create bigger debts for homebuyers."

"Tracey Brooks, said her purchase of a three-bedroom East Price Hill home was marred by her lender. Though she was told her loan came with a fixed rate, it adjusted after two years, pushing her $678-per-month mortgage payments to about $1,100."

"'I'm not in foreclosure, but it's killing me and ruining my credit,' she said. 'I've put too much money into it to let it go.'"

The Suburban Journal from Missouri. "St. Charles County in March posted the state's highest rate of foreclosures. One household out of every 26 in the county faced a foreclosure that month - a number 37 times the state average and almost 30 times the national average."

"The failure to meet mortgage payments is a problem affecting all segments of the market, from those buying their first home to the luxury-home buyer. 'It's primarily people getting into a house that they could have waited a year or so to get into,' said Don Rogers, president of the St. Charles County Association of Realtors."

"In the luxury market, some lenders are settling for a less orthodox resolution to unpaid mortgages. 'We've seen more short sales,' says Cort Schneider of Schneider Real Estate."

"What makes the upswing of foreclosures so excruciating is its damage across a wide swath of home prices. 'The upper-end price range homes are the first ones to take a hit,' Schneider says, though foreclosures hit homeowners 'across the board.'"

"Rogers says that while area real estate agents work to get buyers pre-approved for loans, for some buyers, patience is the best policy."

"'Sometimes I see a pretty flower and I want to buy that pretty flower, and next thing I know I need to pay for the thing,' he says of some buyers' anxiety to get into a home fast. 'Impulse buying is really a monster.'"