Seacoast Online reports from New Hampshire. "Housing prices continue to spiral downward nationwide, making the real estate market tough for buyers and sellers alike. 'The Seacoast clearly isn't getting hit as hard, which isn't to say we aren't still getting hit,' York real estate broker Jim Hager said."

"Carolyn Kindley-Single, a broker in Exeter, said the average price of houses sold by her firm has dipped from $435,000 to $350,000. 'Educating buyers and sellers about the fact that the market is correcting itself is one of the most important things we're doing right now. If a house is at fair market value, and the market value has gone down, then it's where it needs to be and it sells,' she said."

"The owner/broker of RE/MAX Coast to Coast in Portsmouth said data from his company shows a housing price drop of some 15 percent from 2004, when prices peaked. 'Too many people think of a home as an investment instead of a home,' Paul Hamblett said. 'There's a sale going on because we have lots of inventory and lower prices.'"

"University of New Hampshire economics professor Ross Gittell warned that the poor quality of lending during the end of the housing boom could soon affect the region and the rest of the country."

"'To a point, (the drop in home prices is) a natural correction, but it's exacerbated by (loans),' Gittell said. 'The real concern coming up is the credit crisis, and the fact that the quality of lending really went down at the end of the housing boom.'"

From Newsday in New York. "A crisis related to mortgage lending has caused a wave of layoffs in the securities industry and threatened annual bonuses, which are much bigger than salaries for many Wall Street workers."

"Companies that have announced layoffs so far include Lehman Brothers, which cut 2,500 mortgage jobs nationally; Citicorp, which eliminated 1,600 New York City positions last spring; and Bear Stearns, which has shed about 900 jobs in its mortgage unit as well as in other areas."

"State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that, depending on how long the credit crunch lasts, job losses might 'accelerate' next year."

"DiNapoli said Wall Street bonuses probably will be smaller this year because third-quarter profits of the seven biggest financial firms based in New York City dropped nearly 65 percent from the year-earlier period."

"Because of demand by Wall Street workers for everything from jewelry to furs to nannies, home builders and gardeners, every new Wall Street job results not only in two more jobs in New York City, but 1.3 jobs in suburban areas, according to DiNapoli's office. Using that math, four lost jobs on Wall Street eventually would result in more than five lost positions on the Island."

"One sign of trouble would be a slowdown in sales of homes in the Hamptons, a favorite place for Wall Streeters to escape on summer weekends. Paul Brennan, regional manager for the Hamptons for Prudential Douglas Elliman, said sales have indeed slowed in recent months."

"But the phenomenon might be due to home prices that are simply too high, rather than fears about jobs or bonuses, Brennan said."

The Wall Street Journal on New York. "With the worst housing market in recent years, St. Joseph is enjoying a flurry of attention. Some vendors of religious supplies say St. Joseph statues are flying off the shelves as an increasing number of skeptics and non-Catholics look for some saintly intervention to help them sell their houses."

"Cari Luna and her husband put their Brooklyn, N.Y., house on the market this year and offers kept falling through, Ms. Luna turned to an unlikely source for help: St. Joseph."

"After Ms. Luna and her husband held five open houses, even baking cookies for one of them, she ordered a St. Joseph 'real estate kit' online and buried the three-inch white statue in her yard."

"'I wasn't sure if it would be disrespectful for me, a Jewish Buddhist, to co-opt this saint for my real-estate purposes,' says Ms. Luna. She figured, 'Well, could it hurt?'"

From Business First in New York. "Consumer confidence in New York state dropped to its lowest point in five years in October, according to the monthly survey from the Siena Research Institute in Albany."

"In Upstate New York, respondents to the survey registered an index level of 67.7, a 7.7 point drop. And looking ahead, SRI said, there is not a whole lot of optimism."

"'Future confidence took a beating,' said Douglas Lonnstrom, SRI director. 'After Upstate optimism reached a five-year high last January, a combination of high energy prices, the ripple effect of the housing slump and staggering personal debt has led us to equaling the record low.'"

"Buying plans...fell for homes and computers."

From WNYT Albany in New York. "The housing crunch is taking its toll on the middle class in the Capital Region. Sales of single family homes have hit a five year low according to a report by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors. The housing market started off very shaky this fall in the Capital Region. September saw a huge dip in home sales."

"Brigitt LeVigne of Clifton Park has been looking for a new home for the past year. 'It's been challenging,' she says."

"That's partly because she and her husband have to sell the one they currently own first. Lavigne is concerned that her home is worth less now than a year ago."

"The issue for the Capital Region is that homes just aren't selling the way they did last year. The Association of Realtors reports sales of single family homes plummeted 26 percent in September. They're down slightly for the year.'

"'There are some houses that do sell rather quickly, everything comes down to prices,' said Patrick Seeberger of Yankee Realty."

"A luxury home listed by Willie Miranda on Coventry Drive in Clifton Park, has had many showings. The price tag is just over $400,000, but no takers yet."

"'People who are now in the market place need to sell their home first in order to buy a new home so now it's taking longer to sell their existing home and that's scaring some of the sellers and buyers in the marketplace,' said Willie Miranda of the Miranda Real Estate Group."

The Times Union in New York. "The pace of home sales in the Capital Region fell dramatically in September, according to statistics. Most counties saw a staggering drop in the number of homes sold, compared to the same month a year ago. Schenectady County saw the steepest drop, with sales of single-family homes falling 40 percent."

"The numbers from the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc. hammer home the continuing slowdown of the area's housing market: The Colonie-based trade association said Monday the pace of home sales is the slowest here since 2002."

"Most Realtors agree new homes are a particularly soft part of the market. That's because new homes tend to be more expensive, and home builders are less willing to negotiate down the price of a home."

"Despite Monday's rather grim statistics, Realtors say the housing market in the Capital Region is healthy. They stress that the decline is from years of red-hot sales."

"'If you price a house right, it will still sell,' said Anthony Gucciardo, a Realtor in Latham. 'It's all about the pricing.'"

"Still, Gucciardo said the slowing market is taking a toll on some Realtors, especially young agents who entered the industry in recent years. 'A lot of them have left the business,' he said. 'It's unfortunate, but I go into restaurants and I see them waiting tables.'"