King 5.com reports from Washington. "Selling a home in the Seattle area has become trickier. What used to sell in one week can now take months. Home sellers are going to more and more extremes, offering enticing incentives to hook a buyer. Those boom days when homes in Seattle could be sold in a matter of hours are for the most part over."

"When Tavis Gaudet put up his 'for sale' sign on his home in West Seattle, he wasn't alone. Two houses, one across the street and another up the block, also had signs up as well. Just a couple of blocks away, three houses in a row are on the market."

"'You're always looking for some kind of edge that's going to take you beyond what your competition is going to be,' said Reba Haas, realtor."

"According to real estate statistics, Seattle had 50 percent more homes on the market during the month of September than last fall. At the same time, pending sales dropped by more than 25 percent."

"For sellers, one of the most important things they can do is to be realistic about the worth of their home. Real estate agents say some of these lower prices are simply because sellers were asking for too much in the first place."

The Oregonian. "Three years ago, home builders in the Portland market worried about having enough supply to meet sizzling demand. Now, the region faces a glut of available homes, a six-month supply for sale, translating to the biggest inventory in three years and an emerging buyer's market."

"To stay in the game, builders are slashing prices and offering incentives such as trips and gift cards to clear out stock, leasing homes rather than selling them, and cutting back on building without confirmed buyers."

"'There's a lot of standing inventory and real price-point issues that are going to slow the pace of construction,' said housing economist Jerry Johnson, who advises home builders and local governments."

"In Happy Valley, about 70 upscale homes built by Buena Vista Custom Homes are looking for takers. Average time on the market: three to four months, despite striking views of Mount Hood and Clackamas County, granite countertops and stone entryways. Some have sat empty for six."

"'It's a great time to buy,' said Don Johnson, broker and the listing agent for the homes. 'Just on Buena Vista alone, they'll knock $20,000 off the price -- that's instant equity,' he said."

"'It's a good market, just not that 30-year-high market,' said Mike Higgins, a spokesman for fast-growing Buena Vista."

"In August, pending home sales in the Portland area dropped 18 percent compared with the same month during a hot 2006 season, according to the Regional MLS. Officials estimated it would take 6.2 months to sell 15,782 active residential listings at that pace."

"Companies such as luxury builder Renaissance Homes are ready to deal, within reason, to tempt skittish potential buyers into any of the 35 to 50 finished homes it has on the market in communities from Forest Grove to Clark County, Wash., to Bend, said VP Kim Whitman. He said the company's sales this year will be on par with last year but not as strong as projected, in part because of an unusually high rate of 'sale fails' in 2007."

"'It's just not as crazy as it once was,' he said."

"Katie Fellows' 3,100-square-foot, five-bedroom home in Portland continues to sit on the market as it has for the past seven months, at an asking price of $499,000. 'We had an open house in September, and three people came, but there were no real nibbles,' she said. 'Our listing expired and we relisted it, but nothing really happened then either.'"

"Up the street, five or six brand new empty homes also languish in the subdivision. 'I'd hate to be a builder right now,' she said."

"The downturn threatens to delay construction in Pleasant Valley right when Gresham's bid to urbanize it should be gaining steam. 'Unfortunately, we aren't the real estate gods, the market is what it is,' said Cody Bjugan, owner of one of the city's three private development partners. 'It's too bad, because we've all made a huge commitment.'"

"Now, with the market in flux, no one is sure how much demand to expect, especially since a pocket of houses built next to the valley are selling so slowly a couple have become rentals."

"'It's almost like having a lottery ticket and not being able to cash it,' said dentist Stan Bohnstedt, who anticipates selling his five acres to be developed when market conditions improve. For the moment, 'it's like being in limbo,' he said."

The Argus Observer from Oregon. "Two local real estate agents said the housing market in the area is either a buyer’s market or just a good opportunity for potential house hunters."

"Karen Hollis, a real estate agent in Payette, (and) Kim Bruce, a real estate agent in Fruitland, both agree there are a large number of houses available locally."

"Hollis said for the most part, the prices for lots and houses are holding, although they have shown a slight decline. 'I don’t think the bottom’s dropping out, but right now it’s really turning from a selling market to a buying market,' she said."

"'The cycle’s always up and down,' she said. 'But we’ve overbuilt a little bit.'"

"In the future, Hollis said she expects the types of housing being built in Payette County to better reflect the income base of the area. 'I think it’s a good thing,' Hollis said. 'You hate to see them overbuild something that the community can’t support.'"

"Bruce said, currently in the area, houses are selling 'if the price is right,' but added 'buyers do have the benefit right now.'"

The Statesman Journal from Oregon. "State lawmakers vowed Tuesday to pursue a subprime-mortgage lending reform bill in February's special legislative session. But the scope of the bill still is unclear, as consumer advocates and mortgage industry representatives remain at odds about the role the state should play."

"Milwaukie resident Bob Barney, who was forced to sell his home and forfeit his retirement savings because of an ill-advised mortgage, said when he boards a bus, he rests assured the uniformed driver is responsible and will get him there safely. Home borrowers should have assurances their home lenders are trustworthy, and not like people selling used cars through the classified ads, Barney said."

"'I believe that the people who are selling these products have a responsibility,' he said."

"Consumer advocate Angela Martin, of the group Our Oregon, said 15,000 Oregon homeowners have adjustable-rate subprime mortgages at risk of foreclosure in the next 12 months, because their monthly payments will jump $400 or more."

"Christopher Ambrose, president of the Oregon Mortgage Lenders Association, warned that other states' efforts to restrict predatory lending were 'unmitigated disasters,' reducing home ownership. 'This is a national crisis that requires national solutions,' Ambrose said."

"'The lending community is perfectly happy with lax lending laws,' Martin said after the hearing, skeptical that a consensus can be forged."

"Sen. Ben Westlund said the state needs to avoid hampering the industry and causing the economy to 'crater.' But, he added, 'there has to be more fiduciary responsibility and individual accountability for the mortgage lending industry.'"

"Westlund said, 'If someone thinks this isn't a problem, then they're wrong. The worst is yet to come.'"

The Idaho Press. "Idaho ranked 17th in the nation with 646 foreclosure filings, or one for every 922 households. That’s almost a 19 percent increase from August 2007. RealtyTrac’s Web site currently lists 275 foreclosure properties for Caldwell and 496 for Nampa."

"As far as what’s driving an increase in foreclosures from last year, Travis Franklin, VP of marketing at Home Federal Bank, said, 'I think it falls back on some of the unique lending products that were being used.'"

"Franklin said that during the housing boom, some banks and lenders 'wanted to make a buck' and were making riskier loans to finance people who were greater credit risks. However, Franklin said Home Federal Bank has only had four foreclosures this year. 'As a local bank, we’ve been pretty conservative,' he said."

The Idaho Statesman. "Andrea Campbell couldn't sleep at all Thursday night, anticipating the new Corey Barton house in Meridian she planned to buy, thanks to a big sale Barton's company, CBH Homes, is holding this weekend. Campbell arrived at the Meridian sales office at 8 a.m. Friday."

"Her purchase was one of six sales there in the first hour. Campbell and her husband had been looking for a home in less-expensive Nampa. 'We couldn't afford a home in Meridian,' Campbell said. 'This sale came and saved the day.'"

"The sale is aimed at pushing potential homebuyers off the fence by reducing prices on 200 Treasure Valley homes. The biggest discount in Meridian: $70,000 off a $377,895 home on White Birch Drive, lowering it to $307,895."

"But while Barton's ads prominently advertised 'up to $70,000 off,' that was the only home in Meridian with so big a discount. A price sheet listing 78 Meridian homes in eight subdivisions featured discounts mostly between $20,000 and $30,000."

"The four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot house Campbell looked at — and signed a purchase agreement for — was discounted $30,000 to $179,900."

"Barton's sale could inject energy, at least briefly, into a Treasure Valley housing market crowded with nearly 8,000 unsold homes in August."

"A couple of buyers in line when the doors opened at 9 a.m. were hoping for the same house. The one who arrived three minutes earlier snagged it. The other buyer went searching for another deal." "'The phones have been ringing off the hook,' said Michelle Jacobi, the office manager."