The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Home prices in Massachusetts fell for the 15th straight month in July, and the turmoil in the mortgage market in recent weeks is likely to drive prices down further this year. Earlier in the slump, sales slowed because stubborn sellers refused to lower their prices to adjust to new market realities. Sellers have reduced their prices, but buyers are now facing increased scrutiny when they try to obtain financing."

"'People who are ready, willing, and able to buy a house can't do it because they can't find a mortgage,' said Timothy Warren Jr., Warren Group's chief executive. 'That's got to be bad.'"

"Ra'ufa and Bryn Clark recently bid $465,000 on a property in Beverly; it was listed for about $100,000 less than it was in 2005. During that time, the seller took the house off the market for a while, said Ra'ufa Clark."

"'The people decided they needed to sell the house,' she said. 'We decided to go for it. The price drop made it possible.'"

"Ronn Huth, owner of Buyers Choice Realty in Wenham, predicted house prices and sales will decline in coming months. 'More buyers are looking, but they're still reluctant to take that step,' he said."

The New York Post. "The nation's housing foreclosure crisis has walloped Manhattan with a vengeance this summer, as the number of filings leaped 184 percent in one month alone, according to new statistics."

"Staten Island also suffered from the frightening flood of foreclosures between June and July, recording a 102 percent jump, reports RealtyTrac. 'It may have taken a little bit longer, but the subprime [mortgage foreclosure] wave has finally hit New York,' one industry source said."

"'When prices are going up, it makes a lot of sense to want to partake and benefit in that prosperous housing market,' said Solomon Greene of NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. 'It used to be that lenders would put the brakes on overambition. Lenders have been willing, with the advent of the subprime industry, to be much looser in their standards. There's a crisis in the subprime industry.'"

The New York Daily News. "Although New York's real estate market has fared better than several others around the nation, Sen. Chuck Schumer said statistics show foreclosures in the city and state are on the rise."

"'Anyone who thinks New York City is going to escape the subprime crisis is just plain wrong,' said Schumer. 'The foreclosure storm that's been brewing elsewhere in the country has now made its way to New York.'"

The New York Sun. "Rents are down in nearly every neighborhood across the city after peaking earlier this summer, with prices retreating for all classes of apartments except studios in buildings with doormen and two bedrooms in non-doorman buildings, according to a report by the Real Estate Group."

"Since July, rents for one-bedroom apartments in buildings with doormen dropped by $250 in the East Village and by $450 for two-bedroom apartments in buildings with doormen in SoHo, the report said."

"'This is not a cause for concern,' the chief operating officer of the Real Estate Group, Daniel Baum, said. It is more a sign of 'property owners becoming a bit more rational about what the market will bear for their properties,' he said. Mr. Baum said the rental market has been 'overheated' and that the drop in rents is a sign that potential tenants are simply unable to pay the prices being offered."

"Foreclosures in the city are on the rise, according to RealtyTrac Inc., which found that foreclosures in the city jumped to 2,561 from 1,648 from July 2006 to July 2007, an increase of about 55%."

"'I think you'd be naive to think that New York is immune from the credit crunch going on right now,' the president of a New York real estate appraisal firm, Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel, said. 'I don't see it as a doom and gloom situation, but I am concerned.'"

The News Times from Connecticut. "According to RealtyTrac, there were 2,118 foreclosure filings in Connecticut in July, more than double the 1,038 in July 2006. In July 2005, there were 563 foreclosure filings."

"In July 2007, New Haven County had the highest number of filings, at 706, followed by Hartford County at 450 and Fairfield County at 403."

"'We are seeing more foreclosures overall,' said Norm Krayem, president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors. He blames predatory lending as well as high prices."

"A slowing in price appreciation is also hurting new homeowners, Krayem said, because 'you would owe more than your house could bring today.' Except in Fairfield County, Krayem said last year's buyer who only put 5 percent down likely wouldn't have any equity in his home if he needed to sell today."

"For Connecticut, Krayem is more optimistic, because the state's economic underpinnings are good. 'Home prices needed to come down and they have,' Krayem said."

The Norwich Bulletin from Connecticut. "Angela Barlow is nearly at the end of her rope. The East Killingly resident has had her white-shingled, three-story home on the market for more than a month without a single offer. Barlow said if something doesn't happen soon, she'll lose everything."

"'I almost lost the house to foreclosure once,' said Barlow. 'If I don't sell, I'll have lost close to $100,000 worth of equity. There's been at least three families on this street who have lost their houses just this summer.'"

"Connecticut had 13,198 foreclosure filings from January to June, or one for every 108 households in the state, the ninth-highest rate in the country, according to RealtyTrac."

"Statewide, Windham County households recorded the highest number of foreclosure filings. The Killingly Town Clerk's Office has received paperwork for 12 foreclosures since January, one fewer than the total number received in 2006. The situation is more pronounced in Thompson, which had nine foreclosures in the last eight months, three more than for all of 2006."

"Attorney Jonathan Peck, whose office is in New London, said the increased number of foreclosures can be traced to...the inability of homeowners to refinance subprime loans and the depreciation of home values."

"'Those subprime loans are a killer, and I think that's a big reason for what we're seeing up here,' First Selectman A. David Babbitt said. 'But our building inspector says construction on new homes is continuing. We've had 12 permits taken out for new homes in the last six months, so we seem to be as busy as ever.'"

"Peck said many home buyers purchased homes within the last three years by financing up to 100 percent of their home's value, with the hope of refinancing before interest rates jumped. 'People borrowed so much to get in with the expectation of a degree of appreciation,' Peck said. 'No matter how you cut it, it's a sad event.'"

"'In 2005, a person may have bought a home for $200,000 by financing $190,000 of it,' Peck said. 'And if that home is appraised at $180,000 in 2007, which is possible because of the current market retreat, that person still owes $10,000.'"

"Housing statistics for New London and Windham counties showed fewer houses are being sold this year. A 2007 second-quarter housing comparison report lists 272 single-family homes sold this year, compared with 1,161 units sold during the same period last year. The average price for a home was $345,552 this year, while similar residences went for $323,153 in 2006."

"'I think 2007 will turn out to be a normal market year,' said John Bolduc, executive VP of the Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors. 'Keep in mind, the last five years have been a boom, so this had to happen sooner or later. You can't sustain double-digit numbers forever. The market is taking a breather.'"

The Times Leader from Pennsylvania. "The number of building permits issued in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties for new, privately owned housing fell dramatically in June compared to a year earlier, and so did their average value. The decline is even greater if only single-family homes are counted."

"'We can feel a little effect,' said Bill Price, owner of H.W. Price & Sons in Forty Fort. 'There is a glut of empty homes out there.'"

"And when builders come under pressure, they can turn to subcontractors to help absorb the blow. 'It’s definitely a more competitive situation right now,' Price said. 'Most builders look at price first,' so he knows to bid aggressively when seeking that kind of work."

"'We notice a little bit of a pullback,' said Larry Bonner, president of Sand Springs Real Estate Corp. in Butler Township. Like many builders, Bonner said his company is offering incentives to potential buyers, such as up to $10,000 in options at no charge or a free one-year membership at the Sand Springs golf course."

"'We’re not getting a lot of young buyers,' which may relate to difficulty in obtaining financing, he speculated."

From WFMZ TV in Pennsylvania. "As a result of all the foreclosures and the 'mortgage meltdown,' dozens of realtors, lenders and others from the industry put their heads together in Bethlehem Monday."

"Janet McIlhenny has been a realtor in the Lehigh Valley for 7 years and a banker for 15 years before that. She says she's never before seen some of the things happening in her business now. 'As a realtor my costs are going up of doing business every day and client frustration is going up which leaves it more frustrating for me.'"

"A big question is 'who do I work with' when many mortgage giants are going under? The experts say people need to seek out certified and trusted real estate and mortgage professionals who make informed decisions on what someone's pocketbook can afford instead of what someone's willing to lend you."

"Sam: 'I think the days of, 'I'm going to take a borrower somewhere and if they don't get the answer they want I'll take them to the next guy,' those days are gone for a while..and that's good.'"