The Missoulian reports from Montana. "Missoula may be somewhat insulated from the mortgage market misery consuming the rest of the nation, but it isn't entirely immune. 'Nationwide, the number of products we have to offer as mortgage lenders has shrunk,' said explained Cathy Swofford, broker and owner of Missoula Mortgage. 'It is a drastic reduction.'"

"'We've seen some contractions in sales prices,' Swofford pointed out. 'Houses are staying on the market a little bit longer, and sometimes that helps the prices come down a little bit - and they need to.'"

"Prices are certainly no longer jumping like they once were, and people are finding they can't flip a home for $20,000 to $30,000 in profit, said agent Bonnie Williford. Sellers can no longer inflate their prices or they risk losing their buyers, even after the price is reduced. There is just too much inventory competing for buyers' attention, she said."

"'We're doing fine, but we're leveling,' Williford said. 'In this market, you really need to price it right.'"

The Idaho Statesman. "CBH Homes, one of Idaho's largest homebuilders, is turning to online auction giant eBay to jumpstart the Treasure Valley's sluggish housing market."

"'The current market demands out-of-the-box ideas,' Ronda Conger, CBH Homes vice president, said in a statement. 'We thought an eBay auction would be a fun and different way to attract potential buyers.'"

"The eBay plan comes at a time when home sales across the valley continue to drop. Last week, Ada County home sales in August were forecast to be the lowest in nine years. Forecasts called for 528 homes to be sold, the fewest since 527 in August 1998."

"In July almost 8,000 homes awaited sale in the Treasure Valley market."

The Statesman Journal from Oregon. "The Salem area and Oregon have escaped most of the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis that's driving up home foreclosures and rattling Wall Street. But some see signs of trouble ahead."

"'It's not a perfect storm, but you have a number of low-grade weather systems coming together,' said David Tatman, the state's chief banking regulator."

"Angela Martin, who works on predatory lending issues for the progressive coalition Our Oregon, warns that Oregon faces a 'tsunami' of foreclosures from adjustable-rate subprime loans over the next 18 months."

"About 40,000 Oregon mortgages will reset to higher interest rates this year and next, Martin said. 'For the average person holding a subprime loan, their average monthly payment is going to go up $406,' he said. A typical subprime loan payment could jump 25 percent, no easy task for borrowers with weak credit."

"Since January, 2,372 loan originators stopped operating in Oregon, or nearly one-fifth of those arranging home loans, said Berri Leslie, mortgage lending program manager for the Division of Finance and Corporate Securities."

"Foreclosures in the Medford area rose this year after home prices weakened, said Mike Leachman, policy analyst for the Oregon Center for Public Policy."

"Salem resident Marci White complained that she wound up with a $1,500 monthly house payment despite reporting a monthly income of $2,166. White told regulators that the lender asked her to write a letter saying she expected monthly child support payments on top of her income, even though she'd only received one payment and her child support was four months in arrears."

"Many mortgage lenders and industry analysts scoff at the notion of a crisis in Oregon because of its healthy real estate markets, low foreclosure rates and lower use of subprime loans. 'We're a different animal than what's taking place in Southern California and in Nevada and in Florida,' said Tim Larson, a commercial loan officer for Salem-based Silver Falls Mortgage."

"Salem's hot real estate market makes it easier to refinance loans, Larson said."

The Bellingham Herald from Washington. "Gragg Miller of Coldwell Banker Miller-Arnason said this summer has followed a similar trend he’s seen earlier this year, with steady sales in a somewhat uneven market. 'Prices couldn’t continue to go up like they had been.'"

"Realtor Peter Roberts described the market as 'mixed, but with a stable core.' 'There are about four times as many homes out there now compared to the market peak of August 2005, so while the sales are just a little slower, the supply is way up,' Roberts said."

"'The main risk to the local market is that reductions in credit availability will have an adverse effect on demand. It remains to be seen how large this effect will be,' said Julie Hansen, an economics professor at Western Washington University."

The Daily News from Washington. "The Longview area's 13.6 percent year-over-year increase in home values ranks sixth in the country, according to Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight data released last week."

"'I'm kind of surprised at the that ranking,' said Matt Broughton, Realtor/owner of Realty World in Longview. 'I've been seeing a flat market, we're seeing a lot of pricing reductions. There's a lot inventory. It's not like it was last summer.'"

"Longview's ranking likely also is bolstered by current owners refinancing their homes for extra cash, since part of the OFHEO measures refinancing."

"'The market spiked last year and lots of people were still getting the equity out of the home this year,' Broughton said."

The News Tribune from Washington. "If you had to guess where the highest and lowest foreclosures in the South Sound occurred in July, where would they be? Top of the list: Spanaway, with 33 auction notices."

"In Spanaway, real estate agent Pamela VanderLinda said the lower prices on homes there drew buyers in the last couple years who can’t afford increased mortgage payments now that adjustable interest rates are on their way up."

"'A lot of payments are going up from $150 to $300 a month and income hasn’t justified any increase,' said VanderLinda, who specializes in foreclosure sales. 'Plus, they go out and buy toys and have extra debt.'"

The Seattle Times from Washington. "Two decades after moving to Hawaii from the Northwest, Dan McEvoy considered buying a downtown condominium for his occasional visits to Seattle. But when he learned he'd have to spend more than a half-million dollars, the Seattle native and small-business owner figured staying with friends and family would do just fine."

"Then McEvoy heard about a new type of condominium going up downtown that would allow him to buy a hotel room, stay there when he wants, and possibly make money when others use it."

"Whether the Seattle market will support the high hotel rates and rising condo prices necessary to fulfill buyers' expectations remains to be seen."

"McEvoy expects to spend about $600,000 when '1' begins sales of condo-hotel rooms in the next few weeks. He also hopes the revenue-sharing agreement with the hotel will cover his monthly mortgage payments."

"McEvoy figures it roughly like this: He'll make a down payment of $240,000, and get a 30-year loan with a 6.88 percent interest rate for the rest, with a monthly mortgage payment of $2,366, not including property tax, insurance and homeowner fees."

"He estimates that to cover the mortgage payment, hotel management would need to fill his room 22 days or more a month at a daily rate above $300, and return at least 40 percent of the revenues to him."

"Unlike many condominium projects, where developers discourage real-estate investors and favor owners who will live in their condominiums, said Paul Brenneke, president of developer Avalon Holdings, 'condo-hotels openly welcome them.'"

"Still, Seattle is 'rate-sensitive' compared with more expensive tourist destinations, said Dante Alexander, CEO of the National Association of Condo Hotel Owners, meaning revenues for each hotel room tend to be less — a potential problem for buyers hoping to cover their mortgage payments."

"'It's not the kind of market where, for whatever reason, people like to pay more than $300 a night,' Alexander said."

"Alexander said he downplays the money-making possibilities of owning a condo-hotel room. Expectations became unrealistic after the real-estate boom of the early 2000s in Florida, where 'you could go to the beach, buy a unit for $300,000, and sell it three years later at a considerable profit, plus make money off renting it out.'"

"'If you follow what's going on nationally, we're not sure price appreciation will occur,' Alexander said."