Bloomberg reports on New Jersey. "Robert Murray of Middletown, New Jersey, said he didn't pay enough attention when he took out a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage in 2002. This month, his payments ballooned to $1,800 from $1,300. Because he makes about $90,000 a year, and hasn't missed a payment, he said he hoped he might be a good candidate to refinance."

"Since the value of his home has declined from the $265,000 he owes on two mortgages, Murray's equity has vanished. If Murray were to apply for an FHA-insured refinance, he'd be out of luck. Murray borrowed more than his home is now worth, so he would have to write a check of at least $45,000 to close a refinance. He doesn't have the cash."

"'I'm way upside down,' Murray said. 'The payments will kill me now. I don't know what I'm going to do.'"

"About 48 percent of subprime borrowers wouldn't qualify to refinance into a mortgage that conforms to the underwriting rules established by government-sponsored agencies, according to a report by UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank."

"'There are a number of people who have mortgage debt that's more than the value of their house, and a lot of those people are going to walk away,' said David Olson, president of Wholesale Access Mortgage Research & Consulting. 'That will put more homes on the market, which already has too many.'"

"The Federal Reserve's half-point benchmark interest rate cut yesterday will have little impact on borrowers whose mortgages are adjusting, said Ed Leamer, director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast. 'It's not going to alter the housing situation, or clarify defaults and delinquencies,' Leamer said."

"Investors seem to be looking to Washington for solutions to subprime problems that may never come, said Andrew Laperriere, a managing director at International Strategy & Investment Group. 'There is no silver bullet from Washington that will prevent home prices from falling further,' Laperriere said. 'A lot of people are operating on a mistaken impression.'"

"'The myth here is that the resets have been the driver of payment delinquencies, but the fact is if the borrower can't afford the teaser rate payments, then they can't afford to ever pay back the loan,' he said."

"For now, Murray will struggle to make his monthly payments, foregoing vacations, restaurants and perhaps parochial school for his 5-year-old daughter. He yearns for help from the government."

"The Federal Reserve Bank pumped $62 billion into the banking system on Aug. 9 and Aug. 10 in an effort to soothe a credit crisis. Murray said the Fed should do the same for borrowers. 'If they gave us that money, we'd be able to be out of this predicament,' he said."

The Star Ledger from New Jersey. "At least 8,000 of the 143,898 New Jersey borrowers who opted for subprime mortgages went into foreclosure in the first half of this year, state Division of Banking officials said yesterday."

"Testifying before the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee in Trenton, state officials and lenders said another 11,000 of those borrowers are up to three months behind on their mortgage payments."

"Of the 15,426 first-time foreclosures filed in New Jersey in the first six months of this year, 53 percent involve borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages. Nationally, the figure is 37 percent for the same period. In Newark, 12.7 percent of subprime mortgage holders are more than three months delinquent in their payments."

"'If anyone in this room believes that the worst is over in the subprime mortgage fiasco, you are very, very wrong,' said Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, director of New Jersey Citizen Action. 'A tsunami of interest rate hikes on thousands of loans is headed our way.'"

The Asbury Park Press from New Jersey. "A state official told a state Senate committee Monday that New Jersey may finally launch a $30 million rescue program for homeowners facing possible foreclosure, but hours later a state spokesman said the program was not yet ready."

"Jerry Keelen, an official at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, told the committee the program is expected to help 150 to 200 homeowners. However, Keelen said, some 1,600 residents have already contacted the state about signing up for the program, which was initially announced in May."

The Telegram & Gazette from Massachusetts. "Lenders filed 1,370 foreclosure notices against Worcester homeowners over an 18-month period ending in June, giving the city a foreclosure notice rate about three times higher than the state’s median rate, according to an analysis by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership."

"The flurry of foreclosure notices was replicated in towns and cities across the state, arriving largely because homeowners who had refinanced their homes in recent years found themselves with unmanageable loans, said Clark L. Ziegler, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership."

"'Their loan terms were probably terms they never could’ve made,' Mr. Ziegler said. 'The loans were in trouble the day they were made.'"

"The analysis ranked Worcester ninth among the state’s top 10 communities with the highest foreclosure rates. Lawrence ranked first. Central Massachusetts communities on the list included Fitchburg, which was ranked fourth, and Athol, ranked seventh."

"A common problem, housing experts said, is that homeowners refinanced multiple times with adjustable rate mortgages, sometimes with little understanding of the agreements they were signing and treating their homes like cash machines."

"One analysis the agency did of nine homes in the Bell Hill neighborhood showed that homeowners took out high-rate loans with no down payments; agreed to adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, with rates going up to nearly 18 percent; and refinanced multiple times for larger and larger amounts."

"The story is the same in other Worcester neighborhoods, according to local housing officials."

"'It’s pandemic,' said Miguel A. Rivera, lending director for Worcester Community Housing Resources Inc. 'It crosses all geographies, all stereotypes.'"

"Trouble could continue for the next two years, according to Mr. Ziegler. ARMs on about 200 more Worcester homes are scheduled to reset before the end of this year, he said. About 1,000 more ARMs reset in Worcester next year, followed by 1,000 more in 2009, he said."

"Mortgage proceedings seem to get stuck in a bureaucracy that well-intentioned outsiders cannot alter, according to Dominick Marcigliano, executive director of the Worcester East Side Community Development Corp. Inc. "

"The CDC recently tried to buy a foreclosed property next to its Shrewsbury Street offices, offering $320,000 to the mortgage holder only to be rebuffed, Mr. Marcigliano said. Months later, after the mortgage holder had completed its foreclosure process, including an auction that produced no bids, the CDC bought the property on the open market for the lower price of $280,000."

"'Once that process starts, it takes on a life of its own,' Mr. Marcigliano said."

The Salem News from Massachusetts. "Diane DiSanto's small, home-redevelopment business took off as soon as she started it nearly four years ago. First, it was condo renovations in Amesbury, followed by three successful house-to-condo conversion projects in Ipswich and Beverly."

"Then she bought two single-family homes in Beverly, sank big money into big improvements, and hit a wall. 'We were buying property, fixing it and flipping it - that was fine,' said DiSanto's husband, Lou. 'But the market tanked around the time we were finished the (Beverly) projects. I think we homeowners are in trouble.'"

"Now, a four-bedroom, white colonial on Dodge Street in Beverly, where they spent $180,000 on renovations, has languished on the market for two years."

"Diane DiSanto has tried everything. She slashed nearly 25 percent off the original $509,000 asking price, and held an open house last weekend where people could buy on the spot, for '$390,000 or better offer,' she advertised."

"Still nothing. Now she is considering a lease-to-buy option."

"The DiSantos of Hamilton are far from alone, according to North Shore real estate figures. 'Considering when we had the big push a few years ago and multiple offers on properties, the time frame for selling is more lengthy,' said Juilanna Tache, owner of Tache Real Estate in Salem."

"Local realtors say it is a long-needed adjustment to inflated house prices, and it has improved the market for buyers."

"'I think the market is adjusting necessarily,' said Steve Archer, co-owner of Keller Williams Realty in Beverly, 'because it all starts with the first-time home buyer. They get the ball rolling. If first-time home buyers can't afford to break into the market, then prices have to come down.'"

"The rental market may be harder to track, but anecdotally, rent prices at the large new apartment development at the old Danvers State Hospital site are, on average, $350 less per month than originally advertised. The Web site is also advertising two months free, whereas previously it had been just one month."

"Brendan Russell and his wife moved to Boston a year ago with the idea that they would buy a house. Now, they are entering their second year of renting a home in Beverly. 'The half-million sticker price was a big shock when we got here,' said Russell. 'We held off on buying and rented. Obviously, we're renting at mortgage prices, but at least we're not committed.' "And they didn't have to come up with a down payment."

"Russell was lured to DiSanto's open house last weekend, but said he's still uncomfortable with an overall variance in prices. 'You'll see a $60,000 to $70,000 difference, and it doesn't make any sense to me - prices vary so much,' he said. 'I think people are hoping the housing market is still there, but as I drive around, I see too many sale signs out.'"

"DiSanto's other property, a few blocks away, finally sold, after 11/2 years on the market, for $385,000, which was 26 percent less than the original $519,000 asking price. 'It sold for way under break-even price,' Lou DiSanto said."

"'Buyers don't understand that it's not about greed anymore,' Diane said of the current market. 'Buyers are trying to get every last penny out of it, but for a lot of sellers, it's really about survival.'"