The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "More than 30 of the 45 residential areas The Dallas Morning News tracks have had declines in home sales this year. The biggest declines have been in Coppell and Westlake, which has almost an eight-month supply of houses on the market. Many buyers who relied on subprime loans are now out of the market. 'It has lowered our sales some, and some of the people can't get in,' said Al Herron of Century 21 Galloway-Herron Realtors."

"'But it's going to be good for the housing market in the long run,' Herron said."

"'There is plenty of mortgage money available, but not under the ridiculously easy standards of the past several years,' Dr. James Gaines of Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center said."

"The number of North Texas homes set to be auctioned in foreclosure next month is the highest since 1989, according to Foreclosure Listing Service."

"Next month's foreclosure auctions have 4,303 postings in the five-county area, up 7 percent from the same period last year, when 4,009 were listed."

"Year to date, foreclosure postings are up 10 percent to 38,880 for the region, excluding Rockwall County. In Dallas County, they are up 8 percent to 18,326."

"'It's very, very difficult to explain the postings for this month because there's been no real material change in the economic conditions,' said George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc."

"Economist Jim Gaines attributes the spike to delays in proposed plans to help mortgage-holders. He said lenders had held off on foreclosures because they thought that aid was on its way but had decided they couldn't wait any longer."

"He said the lenders are now saying: 'We can't really afford to carry this anymore. The meter's running ... need to shut the meter off.'"

The Star Telegram. "For the Nov. 6 foreclosure auction, 4,220 homes are on the block for Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Ellis, Johnson, Grayson, Parker and Kaufman counties. The last record monthly number of 4,056 homes was posted in February, the research firm said."

"That compares with 1,221 listed in November 2000, the firm said. It was in 2001 that postings began to rise, and they have accelerated every year since."

"The new level is unwelcome news, said Roddy. 'About the only one that can see a silver lining in this news is the real estate investor who is in a position to buy homes at this time,' Roddy said."

"Housing starts in North Texas slowed in the third quarter to the lowest annualized rate since early 2001, as home buyers became more cautious and lenders pulled back mortgage offerings. New home closings fell 19 percent during the quarter. Sales of existing homes have also declined."

The Express News. "Bexar County foreclosure postings have hit the highest monthly total in more than 17 years, reaching a level not seen since the oil bust and real estate slump of the late 1980s and early 1990s."

"November's foreclosure auction will see 936 homes sold off to the highest bidder. And this is no one-month aberration."

"Thanks to easy lending standards that gave no-money-down loans to people with questionable credit histories, higher foreclosures likely will be an unwelcome houseguest in Texas for a few years."

"With so many homes headed for auction on the courthouse steps next month, Bexar County is on track to have more than 9,100 foreclosures this year — more than at any time since 1990. 'The next wave has hit," said Gaines, research economist."

"Bexar County foreclosure postings slowed in the 1990s, but started rising dramatically by 2001. 'This is the most we've had since the savings and loan crisis,' said Gregg Stanley, owner of a San Antonio-based foreclosure tracking service."

"More than 26 percent of the Bexar County properties going into foreclosure in November have adjustable-rate mortgages, according to a foreclosure data analysis by his company. And the loans going into foreclosure are fairly recent — just 4.5 years old on average."

"'These November foreclosures started about six months ago,' Stanley said. 'If you recall, that's when a lot of the bad news was coming out about the national real estate market. Some people here just walked away from their mortgage.'"

"Gaines agrees, and believes the higher foreclosure numbers are here to stay, at least for a few years until the real estate industry works its way through the series of risky mortgage loans made in 2004 and 2005."

"Texas foreclosures actually dropped in the first part of the year, but Gaines thinks that just was the luck of timing. He suspects banks and lenders may have held off from foreclosing for a short time, either in hopes a government bailout might come or in an effort to try to work out a deal with a homeowner."

"When neither of those things happened, the foreclosure filings increased."

"Meanwhile, San Antonio already has a rising inventory of pre-owned homes for sale and new-home builders are working to sell off a slight oversupply of homes. 'I don't think the builders are going to see relief for two to three years,' Gaines said. 'The inventory has to clear the market.'"

"One thing that should be different this time around with foreclosures, Gaines said, is that plenty of investors are willing to purchase distressed properties. With the little-to-no-money-down loans so popular in recent years, there's been little financial incentive to try to stay in a home once someone falls behind on mortgage payments, Gaines said."

"Mark Dotzour, chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, told a group of San Antonio business leaders Thursday that between unsolved problems in the lending market, politicians in Washington, D.C., devising rescue plans and volatility in the stock market, the economic outlook for 2008 remains uncertain."

"The best possibility for Texas: We slip past the national economic woes without notice. 'It's possible we could have a national recession, and Texas could choose not to participate,' Dotzour said."

"Dotzour said most of the problems in the national economy stem from lenders giving 100 percent mortgage loans to people who never would have qualified for a mortgage in the past. That's over now. 'Silly residential mortgage lending is over for this decade,' Dotzour said."

The Facts. "Heightened interest in Brazoria County property is leading to greater sales of tax foreclosure land, county officials say. Although it might sound like a good deal to buy land below market value, that’s not always the case."

"'It’s buyer beware,' Tax Assessor-Collector Ro’Vin Garrett said. 'A lot of people make offers on multiple tracts, sight unseen.'"

"'Some of it is definitely a good value,' said Precinct 1 Commissioner Donald Payne. 'We have people who research this land and buy it, sometimes on speculation. We’re willing to take half the value to get it back on the tax rolls.'"

The Houston Chronicle. "The local housing market got slammed last month, posting its biggest drop in sales in more than a decade. Single-family home sales in the Houston area fell 15 percent in September as the real estate slump spread to higher-priced homes, the Houston Association of Realtors reported."

"The slowdown is now affecting sales of more expensive properties dependent on move-up buyers selling their lower-priced homes. 'There is a delay in terms of folks moving here that have a home to sell,' said Tim Welbes, co-president of The Woodlands Development Co."

"Jim Glaser and his wife have had their 104-year-old, completely restored Victorian/Craftsman home in Woodland Heights on the market for more than two months. But Glaser, who is retired and moving to Colorado, doesn't have to sell the 3,200-square-foot, four-bedroom house by a certain date, and he won't consider dropping the $779,000 asking price because he's confident about the local market."

"'We just had a big open house on Sunday, and it was jam-packed,' Glaser said of the Victorian. 'This is a historic house, and it's got to be the right kind of buyer.'"

"While September is traditionally slow for sales, tougher credit requirements stemming from a rash of subprime loan defaults continue to make it difficult for some buyers to qualify for loans."

"'By the end of the year, I think you'll see more decreases in price,' said Shad Bogany, of the realty firm ERA Bogany Properties."

The Caller Times. "Sure, home sales and building permits aren't where they were last year, but Corpus Christi's economy still is strong and healthy, according to the chief economist for a nationwide title company."

"Ted C. Jones, chief economist for Stewart Title, acknowledged existing home sales in Corpus Christi were down 8.9 percent from last year, he predicts that by end of the year home sales will have the second-best year on record."

"'Although sales are off from an unsustainable peak in 2005, there is a historically high level of home sales taking place this year -- a lot of people are, in fact, buying homes,' said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors senior economist."

"Cheri Sperling, owner of Coastline Properties Inc. on Padre Island, said business had been slower for real estate agents but things are looking brighter."

"Jones said real estate markets are local and no two markets are the same. 'While at one time Florida and California were at the top of the market, they are no longer there,' Jones said. 'Corpus Christi and Texas as a whole are stronger than most markets.'"

From Action 4 News. "Here in the Valley, one city is struggling with home foreclosures. If you stop by 'El Valle Grande' subdivision in Brownsville, for example, and knock on some doors, you will find no answer at many homes."

"Instead, doors are secured with special locks to avoid vandals from entering. That's because many of the empty houses have been repossessed- because the owners couldn't make their monthly payments."

"The 2500 block of Frankfurt St. in Brownsville has four homes on sale, most of which went through foreclosures last year."

"The country as a whole, has seen a record number of foreclosures but 15 percent of those are in the Valley, with most of them in Brownsville. Realtor Linda Villareal, of One Stop Realty, who's currently handling the sale of nearly 50 foreclosed homes tells Action 4 News, a big part of the problem are the builders."

"'The national builders came down and anybody 'with a pulse' was able to buy a house,' she said. 'There's a lot of lenders that are making it easy but are just there to take the money.'"

The El Paso Times. "Esteban Zubia of El Paso was used to helping other people. He never dreamed he would fall victim to the nation's housing crisis and need assistance to keep from losing his home."

"'I had fallen behind on my mortgage because the humongous increases in interest rates were not explained to me,' Zubia said."

"More then 156,000 Texans experienced foreclosure in 2006, a 14-percent increase over the previous year, according to ACORN. In El Paso there were 2,700 foreclosure filings in 2006."

"An adjustable-rate mortgage is what led to Zubia's troubles. He wanted lower payments on the Lower Valley home he has lived in for 25 years, so he said he decided to refinance. In about 21/2 years, his monthly payments ballooned from about $550 to more than $900."

"The college-educated Zubia found himself needing a helping hand.'I never thought I would find myself in a situation like this,' he said."