The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "Surrounded nationally by a residential real estate market in decline, some Chicago buyers and sellers seem so determined to get the price they want that they would rather not consummate a deal than give in. Dave Zebutis, who has been house-hunting for nearly a year, said he believes prices are going to fall significantly and that he is determined to wait it out."

"'The market drives me batty. They all feel overpriced,' said Zebutis, who lives in Westmont and has been looking in several DuPage County communities. 'It seems that nobody is really making a move, despite all the news.'"

"'We're waiting for prices to come down,' he said. 'It seems that people are trying to get as much as they can, and you can't blame them. But prices seem ridiculously high for what I think are just regular houses.'"

"Deborah Gorman is trying to sell a home near Hobart, Ind., that she bought as an investment and remodeled. After 19 months on the market, five real estate agents and several price changes, she says she's at her limit."

"Originally listed for $145,000, it's now priced at $130,000, she said. Buyers are unreasonably demanding, she said." 'One offered me $126,000, but they wanted me to pay everything...points and all their closing fees and home inspection,' she said."

"'People tell me it's the nicest one they looked at but they all say they don't have the credit,' she said. 'One couple wanted to buy the house. He had two motorcycles sitting in the garage but they had no money in the bank. People spend their money on big-screen TVs and motorcycles and they don't leave themselves enough cash for the down payment.'"

"Barbara Hibnick, an agent in Buffalo Grove, said she is skeptical that local prices, overall, are staying in positive territory."

"'I'm not seeing it, I'm sorry,' said Hibnick. She said the inventory of houses for sale in her area has doubled since the beginning of the year."

"'I used to tell them they have two choices -- either price it [lower] to sell it or get it in absolutely gorgeous condition,' she said. 'I tell them they have to do both now, unless they're going to dump the house. Their first reaction is, 'Are you crazy?.'"

The Herald News from Illinois. "Will County's once red-hot housing boom has gone bust. The number of residential building permits has dropped significantly, leading municipal governments and businesses all over the county to revise revenue estimates."

"'All businesses go through cycles,' said Will County Board member John Gerl, who is chief financial officer for Phoenix Developers in Joliet where home building is off by 50 percent. 'This is a serious down cycle in the residential home building market.'"

"The downturn was caused by a 'perfect storm' of conditions, said Erik Doersching, an executive VP for a real estate consulting firm. Though the downturn is happening region wide, it's more pronounced in Will County because Will County has been one of the fastest growing areas in the nation in recent years, he said."

"Doersching's firm projects total building permits in Will County will reach only 3,122 this year, compared to 5,882 in 2006 and highs of more than 8,000 a few years ago."

"'It's a significant housing downturn,' he said. 'We'll never get back to the same levels we saw nationwide or in Will County from 2003 to 2005.'"

The Star Press from Indiana. "The number of foreclosed homes in Delaware County each year has risen steadily from 223 in 2000 to 700 or more likely for this year, according to the Delaware County sheriff's office."

"Some in the local real estate business say tougher standards for home loans are a good thing. 'It's better that the requirements for loans are tighter now,' said real estate agent Sharon Strahan. 'We saw a lot of people who refinanced for more than their house was worth.'"

"Strahan recalls a would-be homeseller who owed $90,000 on his house and hoped to sell it. 'I couldn't get $30,000 for his house,' she said. 'He ended up filing for bankruptcy. That was an extreme example, but we do see that.'"

"'I used to tell people sometimes it's not the right time to buy a house,' said Steve Jobe, area mortgage sales manager for Old National Bank. 'Maybe in a year, they can pay down their debt and earn more. In today's world, people want to own a home. But I want to sleep at night knowing someone won't suffer from their mortgage, and that's what happened in the subprime world.'"

From News Channel 18 in Indiana. "Over the last few years, foreclosures in Tippecanoe County have more than doubled according to the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department. Lafayette Board of Realtors President Cheryl Butcher says the increasing number of foreclosures is hurting home owners and lenders."

"'Whoever has the title now, they're taking big hits on those homes because they're selling for a lot less, even if they're in good quality people don't want to pay normal market prices because they've been vacant for up to a year,' said Butcher."

"Broker Sherrie Cocanower says when homeowners can't pay and lenders foreclose, it takes realtors more than a year to get a house back on the market."

"'Trying to deal with some of these lenders, you don't always have the right phone number to call you can't get the information you need, you can't get people to call you back, sometimes it's a nightmare,' said Cocanower.

The Detroit Free Press from Michigan. "Brian Jurvis of Hazel Park wasn't surprised when he was laid off late last week from Countrywide Financial Corp.'s subprime lending division. About 16 people worked there. He went back Tuesday and the office looked abandoned."

"'There is no subprime market anymore,' said Jurvis. 'I knew something was coming down.'"

"'I'm not aware of a subprime lender with offices in Michigan,' said Drew Sygit, a certified mortgage and equity planning specialist in Bloomfield Hills. 'A lot of them will not lend in Michigan.'" "For five years, the nation's housing market was booming and mortgage companies grew quickly, at times offering lucrative jobs to people who had little experience."

"Jurvis, an account executive at Countrywide, worked in the mortgage business a little more than two years after several years of building and installing elevators around Michigan. He now plans to go back to school to get his teaching certificate."

The Star Tribune from Minnesota. "No one needs to remind Danelle Hoeppner that the number of mortgage defaults is skyrocketing. Almost two months ago, she and her fiancé, Brad Cheney, made an offer on a Bloomington house that was in default, but they have yet to get a response from a California lender that holds the mortgage."

"'With all the houses on the market, don't you think they'd want your money?' Hoeppner said. 'I guess that's not how it works.'"

"Real estate agents and prospective buyers say that offers on many bank-owned houses go unanswered for weeks and that closings are sometimes abruptly canceled. Sales agents blame the delays on a growing backlog of listings and on ill-prepared mortgage companies that might be hundreds of miles away and grossly understaffed."

"Some experts say that buyers themselves are contributing to the problem by making unrealistic offers in hopes of snagging a bargain."

"'It's unbelievable, and I'm hearing this from every agent I talk to,' said Jay Anderson, of Coldwell Banker Burnet in Minneapolis, who has been waiting six weeks for a response to an offer of his own on a foreclosure home that he plans to hold for investment."

"Earlier this month, a Minnesota study based on sheriff's sales said there were 11,207 foreclosures statewide in 2006, and a record pace has continued through 2007. In July alone there were 975 foreclosures in the 13-county Twin Cities metro area, up from 392 a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac."

"Danielle Babb, a California-based real estate investor, said inquiries about bank-owned listings have increased 400 percent nationwide, but because a typical lender can process only 10 to 12 a day, the levels are becoming unmanageable."

"'And with layoffs [happening within the industry], banks are even more understaffed, so they're not ramping up yet,' said Babb."

"Jim Miley, president of residential real estate for Bremer Bank in Minneapolis, said many lenders are losing big bucks on their listings because they financed them at the peak of the market or extended credit beyond the value of the property. 'We've had some very zealous lending going on,' he said."

"Richard Bauer, the agent representing the anxious sellers of the house that Hoeppner and Cheney are trying to buy, said that, across the country, lenders are struggling to adapt to changing market conditions."

"Bauer said that he has received four offers on the Bloomington house, but that none of the other buyers was willing to wait for the lender to process the offer, leaving the sellers closer to foreclosure."

"'You hear that and it doesn't sound logical,' said Bauer, an agent in Minneapolis. 'But you ask: 'Is this whole mess logical?'"