The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "The Dallas-Fort Worth area joined the long list of U.S. cities with falling home prices in a new nationwide survey. The D-FW third-quarter decline was worse than the nationwide 2 percent drop in pre-owned home sales prices, the real estate trade group said."

"Dr. Jim Gaines, an economist with Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, said he's not surprised that the Dallas market is trailing the rest of the state. 'We've acknowledged for some time that the D-FW market has been the weakest of the major Texas metro markets with considerable overhang in the new homes and lately in the existing home inventory of houses for sale,' Dr. Gaines said."

"Dallas housing analyst Ted Wilson said he wasn't overly concerned about the Realtors' new report. 'I don't think we are way out of whack,' Mr. Wilson said. 'The expectation is that a lot of this excess inventory will get cleaned up in the spring.'"

The American Statesman from Texas. "Sales of existing homes in Central Texas declined in October for the fifth straight month. Sales of single-family homes were down 15.4 percent compared with October 2006 and were off 6 percent for the year to date, according to the latest figures from the Austin Board of Realtors."

"September has experienced the steepest monthly decline this year; sales plunged almost 24 percent from a year earlier. And with pending sales down 19 percent in October, November could also see a decline."

"Though sales are off from a record-breaking 2006, experts say Central Texas' housing market is still in relatively good shape. But it hasn't escaped the ripple effects of the national subprime problems."

"'I think the (housing) market is reflecting the overall view of the national housing market, with a wait-and-see approach,' said David Taughinbaugh, a senior VP at Prosperity Bank's downtown branch. 'Buyers are on hold right now. They're waiting to see how the market fares when the buying season resumes after the first of the year.'"

"Cheryl Middleman, owner of Austin Confidential Real Estate Services Inc., sees how the market has shifted. 'A year ago, I had nothing but buyers, and now I have mostly sellers,' she said, and most of them are builders trying to sell their new homes."

"Among her listings is a 1,667-square-foot home in Austin's Northwest Hills that she, her husband and a contractor remodeled. 'It's a phenomenal location, and we get a lot of activity,' she said of the house."

"But it's not selling."

"The house was listed Oct. 1 for $342,000. Since then, Middleman has dropped the price twice, first to $339,000 and then 'drastically' a week ago to $319,000."

"With few listings in that neighborhood, homes usually sell fast. 'There are qualified buyers out there. I just don't think they're making a move in this market,' Middleman said."

The Express News from Texas. "The number of new housing starts dropped 27 percent since last September as builders try to correct the oversupply of new homes on the San Antonio market."

"And although it's a painful time in the home building industry, with most builders laying off workers this year, the industry is taking the needed steps to right the market, said Jack Inselmann, vice president of Metrostudy's U.S. Central Division."

"'We still have our work cut out for us with finished inventory,' Inselmann said."

"There are currently 2,980 new, vacant homes for sale — good news for house hunters searching for a good deal or discount, though not so great for builders. Builders all year have been trying to shake off an overabundance of homes built in 2006. Many of those homes were started for out-of-state investors who backed out of contracts upon the discovery that San Antonio's new-home market rarely turns a quick profit for buy-and-flip investors."

"For the first several months of 2007, builders of entry-level homes were hit the hardest by both the oversupply of homes and problems in the mortgage lending market."

"But for the first time in the third quarter, the slowdown has started hitting the upper-end market — those homes priced more than $300,000, Inselmann said."

"The slowing market simply took longer to reach that segment because those homes take longer to build. 'Those numbers are hitting their peak. It was going to get there eventually,' Inselmann said. 'Every segment gets touched.'"

"Along with new homes, the number of vacant, developed lots has climbed to 27,040, the highest level in 10 years. And 10,000 lots were under development at the end of the third quarter, according to Metrostudy."

"While it takes as little as three to four months to build a home, developing a lot takes about 18 months, developer Norman Dugas said. 'There's a lot longer lead time and construction time,' he said. 'When the spigot turns off, we can't stop the lot delivery as quickly. The builders can stop building faster then we can stop developing.'"

The Houston Chronicle from Texas. "Single-family home sales in the Houston area fell 7.9 percent in October from the same period last year, the Houston Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. That's about half the 16.4 percent decline between September 2006 and 2007."

"Rob Cook, chairman of the association, noted that the woes in the lending market have helped put potential buyers on the sidelines. 'The people who would have bought are renting, and some have dropped their price and said, 'I can't buy this, so I'll buy this,' Cook said."

"Midrange homes, where most of the sales last month occurred, saw the steepest declines. That's possibly because of foreclosure activity, said Karen Derr of Karen Derr & Associates Realty."

"'It was easier to get a loan in that price range,' Derr said."

"Lenders in recent years have been more lax and offered exotic mortgages that often ended up in default, sending the subprime mortgage market into turmoil. 'Those foreclosures are still hitting the market,' Derr said."

"Some of the October statistics show the slowdown will likely continue. The number of pending sales at the end of last month were down 6.6 percent, compared with the same month last year, according to the realty association."

The Houston Business Journal from Texas. "The Houston real estate market is on pace for its second-best year on record with recent declines in home sales slowing in October."

"'The Houston real estate market is likely to experience continued weakness as the residual effects of the mortgage industry credit crunch filter through the system through the end of the year,' said HAR chairman Rob Cook. 'If you look at the overall year picture, we're only modestly behind the absolute record year of 2006 and are ahead of 2005, which was a banner year.'"

The Sun News from New Mexico. "Yes, the real estate market has cooled off in the past year. Yes, all the news about the subprime mortgage mess has sent some shocks through the national economy. And yes, fewer building permits have been issued in Las Cruces as of late."

"But members of the Las Cruces real estate and business community want buyers and sellers to know that all is not lost. In fact, now is a good time to buy a house, they said."

"'We're in good shape,' said real estate professional Gary Sandler in Las Cruces. 'Things are slow, yes, that's part of the cycle.'"

"Sandler said that, just since August of 2006, the number of homes on the market has jumped significantly. 'We don't have enough buyers,' he said."

"Michele Marshall, executive director of the Las Cruces Home Builders Association said that the number of building permits has fallen. 'In September of 2006, there were 144 single family permits in the city,' she said. 'Right now, there are 43.'"

"Steve Vierck, president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, said that whenever the housing market slumps, a wide variety of people are affected."

"'If things slow down, we think immediately of construction workers, contractors, real estate agents and others that are directly impacted,' he said. 'But it affects a much broader range than those individuals. Think about yourself, if you bought a home and what you buy after you buy a home, if you reduce demand for those goods and services. Think about people who sell furniture and wall paintings and landscaping and title companies and insurance companies.'"

"Marshall said the news from her national organization has been encouraging. 'They keep telling us that the downturn in the housing market is not having a huge impact yet on the economy,' she said. 'Now is a real good time to buy a home.'"

"Sandler said that some people do not realize that loans are available. Some of the more exotic-style loans have been stopped, he said, but home buyers can still get mortgages."

"'Media reports are influencing buyers and sellers,' he said. 'Buyers and sellers think that mortgage money is scarce. It's not. Mortgage money for flaky people is scarce. But mortgage money for everybody else is great.'"