The Sacramento Business Journal reports from California. "Rather than drop prices to entice buyers in less time, John Leonard slashed prices on 22 new homes he built in West Sacramento to sell them in a day -- he hopes in less than an hour. He's hired a public auction company to sell homes in his River's Side at Washington Square project quickly."

"'There isn't permission for people to buy a house. People's peers, parents and family won't let them feel good about buying. Everyone says, 'Wait a little longer and the prices will come down,' Leonard said. 'The housing market turning put me in a tight spot. I'm proud of the project. I just wish I wasn't where I am in it.'"

"'The market is very difficult right now. People's inclination to buy is diminishing,' said David Mogavero, architect on River's Side. This is the first project Mogavero has done that hasn't sold out during construction."

"'The market was way overheated, and it was driving demand' several years ago, he said. Now, the market is still in a period of adjustment."

The Sacramento Bee. "Sacramento city leaders have pulled back their offer to loan $10 million to fund construction of a downtown condominium high-rise."

"Craig Nassi, the Denver-based developer behind the 39-story Aura tower, lost the city's commitment after he failed to secure all of his private financing by the end of last month."

"Sacramento Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said the city still supports Aura, but that it 'has no further commitments at this time' to the project. 'We understand that it's a very challenged market right now,' Dangberg said."

"Nassi said in an e-mail...he blamed the delay on 'capital markets (that) have been paralyzed by the subprime fallout and the unknown of secondary market pricing.'"

"A rivalry began more than two years ago when Nassi proposed Aura three blocks from a project local developer John Saca wanted to build on Capitol Mall between Third and Fourth streets. That plan called for twin 53-story buildings featuring about 800 condominiums."

"Each developer went all out for prospective buyers with dueling showrooms, sales parties and publicity stunts. In the end, Saca's project busted its budget and collapsed earlier this year."

"Irvine-based Real Estate Disposition Group, which auctioned 107 bank-repossessed houses in Sacramento on June 24, is returning to town Saturday, Sept. 22. It's putting 22 new houses in West Sacramento on the auction block."

"Being auctioned are three-story homes in an urban infill project called the River's Side at Washington Square. Sales prices have been in the high $300,000s to lower $400,000s. Opening bids start at $249,000. The 25-home project opened models late last year, and also got nice reviews, but sales have been slower there, according to data from Hanley Wood."

From Roseville & Rocklin Today. "According to the California Association of Realtors the number of households who can afford to buy and entry level home in the State increased to 24 percent at the end of the second quarter this year. Considering what has been happening in our Sacramento market the increase of only 1 percent from a year ago was surprising."

"I checked the latest inventory of available homes and was not surprised to see there are still more homes coming on the market. As of the week ending August 27th, inventory stood at 18,844, up 185 from a week ago and 2.1 percent in the last month. In the past six months inventory has increased a staggering 40.9 percent."

"This week alone I have had three inquiries from potential clients asking me to help them with a 'short sale.' All three are homeowners who would like to stay in their houses but can’t afford to make the payments on homes that are worth less than what they owe."

"At the same time, I met with a prospective buyer yesterday who has decided to sit on the fence a bit longer because he believes he can buy cheaper next year."

The Press Telegram. "The first phase of CityPlace Lofts at Fourth Street and Elm Avenue is complete and more new downtown residents are already moved in. The lofts, between Long Beach Boulevard and Elm, offer prices starting from $399,990 up to about $700,000 and sizes from 1,092 square feet to 2,085 square feet."

"The developer dropped the asking prices on the lofts by about 10 percent off the original price. 'They took into consideration the market, and the fact that Long Beach is very competitive,' said Debbie Tucker, superintendent of the project."

The Union Tribune. "Declining consumer confidence and a deteriorating job market pushed San Diego County's economic outlook lower for the fourth month in a row, according to a report released yesterday by the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego."

"'The slow housing market remains the main influence, with fewer home sales, more foreclosures, job losses in real estate-related sectors, and lower spending as home equity declines,' said USD economist Alan Gin, who compiles the index."

"The index slid from 137.3 in June to 136.9 in July, its lowest point since January 2004. The county's index fell in July for the 15th time in 16 months, a string of declines broken only by a slight uptick in March."

"There were 37 percent fewer residential units authorized by building permits last month than in July 2006, according to the Construction Industry Research Board."

"'Residential construction has really been in a slump since August 2005,' Gin said."

From Scripps Howard News Service. "Similar to the down market of the late 1980s, home sellers must now compete not only with builders, but with foreclosures, thanks to all those subprime loans you've been hearing about."

""Earle Gibson, a real estate broker in California wine country likens her high-priced turf, which includes Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties, to a high noon stare-down between home sellers and prospective buyers, each of whom can afford to wait for the other to blink."

"Now the power meetings are between listing agents and their anxious sellers on how to flag the attention of agents representing qualified buyers."

"Gibson says foreclosure trustee sale notices run three full pages a day in the local newspaper. 'In Vallejo right now, there is an inventory of well over 1,000 single-family homes and maybe 10 closings per week, while each week we add probably 20 new listings to the market,' she says. 'Everybody's hurting. It's like, who's the lucky agent this week?'"