The Journal News reports from New York. "For months Marie Chantale Joseph and her husband, Daniel, have been unsuccessfully trying to refinance their home before their interest rate spikes in April. Already, Daniel, a taxi driver, is working 18 hours a day and on weekends to pay the approximately $4,800 a month they owe, and Marie, a babysitter, works as many hours as she can."

"Banks they have approached say they cannot better the terms of their two adjustable mortgages: one at 11 percent and another at 8 percent that total $520,000."

"Marie Chantale says she and her husband didn't know the financial implications of their mortgage when they bought their home in Elmsford. Their mortgage broker gave them very few details, she said, and they didn't ask many questions. Their only home-buying experience was in their native Haiti."

"'In my country it is different. No one can come and take your home away from you,' said Marie Chantale, who must pay about $8,000 a month beginning in April, or lose her home to foreclosure. 'Here, if they know you don't know what you are doing, they take advantage of you.'"

"'Earlier, only conventional mortgages were available. Then you had subprime mortgages. Now you have negative amortization, interest only mortgages, balloon payments, and all the ramifications that come with it. These mortgages were meant for the seasoned investors. First-time homebuyers don't understand the risk. They are setting themselves up for failure.' said Edna Rivera, executive director of a not-for-profit community-based housing service."

"Keith Gumbinger...a New Jersey-based publisher of consumer loan information, said borrowers should have informed themselves about the biggest financial investment they are likely to make in their lives."

"'It's not that the mortgage broker held a gun to someone's head to lend the money,' Gumbinger said. 'Brokers don't have a fiduciary responsibility. It's the borrower's responsibility. You can say no and challenge. You can hire a lawyer.'"

"The mid-2000s was a time of plentiful credit, low interest rates and lenders eager to loan money. As part of the hardsell, lenders advertised mortgages like car salesmen advertise cars, in monthly payments. Borrowers responded enthusiastically because it brought their dream of homeownership within reach."

"Few took into consideration the contingency that housing prices would fall or they wouldn't be able to refinance."

"'When people are closing, they are in such a euphoria,' said Vedeta Hanley, executive director of a Rockland housing service and referral agency. 'A lot of people go on faith, and they believe that when I get to the fork in the road, there will be answers.'"

"Beth Blecker, a financial planner, says she had to dissuade clients from pulling their money out of investment portfolios and putting it all in real estate. It was a difficult job, she said, considering the rapidly rising prices of homes in the Hudson Valley and the low interest rates. Even conservative savings programs like IRAs were allowing people to withdraw money to invest in the housing market, she said."

"'It's not just greed, it's human nature,' Blecker said. 'Sometimes it's just getting caught in the motion. You think you must be stupid if you don't do this.'"

"Tobie Stanger, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, recalls how real-estate expos around the country attracted potential investors wishing to make a quick buck. Nobody was immune to the lure, she said, and not enough effort was put into understanding the risks."

"'Don't just blame the borrowers,' said Stanger. 'People at the top of the food chain, too, didn't know.'"

The Democrat & Chronicle. "Rochester's real estate market is continuing its zigzag pattern. Compared with areas such as Florida, Rochester is in good shape. 'Rochester now proves out to be the hot spot of real estate in the U.S.,' said Bob Miglioratti of ReMax Plus in Brighton."

"The market has slowed from its recent peak in 2005, though certain areas such as Brighton remain strong, said John Arquette, general manager of Nothnagle Realtors. But 'there is an abundance of listings in Greece,' Arquette added."

The New York Post. "Dear John: Don't you think that it would be best for everyone if the price of a house was to go so low as to make it affordable again for normal working people? I mean $700,000 for a crappy house in Jackson Heights, Queens? That's what we are trying to protect? N.O."

"Dear N.O.: Would it be good if real estate prices plummeted? Yes, for people, like my son, who are looking to buy into the housing market. But no, homes prices falling greatly would not be too good for people who already own a home, are over-borrowed against it and now face imminent financial danger."

"Worse, all those millions of folks who did overextend themselves, now threaten the health of the US economy. This has become, as the economists say, a macro-economic issue of the highest level. So, on balance, I'd say that a modest drop in housing prices would be a good thing. A severe drop, not good at all."

The Eagle Tribune on New Hampshire. "The home at 12 Woodlawn Ave. in Atkinson...is just one of more than 430 in Rockingham County that were foreclosed upon this year because of defaulted mortgage payments."

"When a home is taken over by the bank, a transfer of deed notice is typically sent to the town clerk. This year, more than any other, those notices are piling up. Newton's interim Town Clerk Mary Jo McCullough has worked for the town of 4,500 people for several years."

"'I've got about 20 (foreclosed homes) this year,' she said. 'I don't even think we've had 20 collectively in the past five years that I've worked here.'"

"And as far as McCullough can tell, there is no particular pattern to the foreclosures. 'They're so scattered, they're in all parts,' she said. 'They're in expensive neighborhoods, they're in older homes, they're in places over by the junction, they're everywhere.'"

"'Someone will not be able to sell their house for the $350,000 that it's worth when a bank is selling the same home down the street for $300,000,' said Mark Oswald, a Realtor in Londonderry. 'The bank just wants to get out of what they're owed, which makes it tough for sellers. In the eyes of the buyer, why would I pay ($350,000) when I can get the same house for ($300,000).'"

"Between 2004 and 2007, the number of mortgage holders who were delinquent on their subprime adjustable rate loans more than doubled to about 20 percent, according to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. And by the middle of 2008, the state expects about 900 foreclosures per quarter, tripling the state's rate from 2004."

The Boston Herald from Massachusetts. "Carlson GMAC is closing its Woburn headquarters, shuttering 14 sales offices and laying off 50 workers. Just days earlier, mortgage giant Washington Mutual closed all seven of its Massachusetts offices, laying off 53 Bay State workers."

"'I think the industry overall is overbuilt for this market, and we have to see some reductions in overhead,' said Bruce Taylor of ERA Key Realty Services, which has cut some 20 of 300 positions over the past 18 months through layoffs and attrition."

"The Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association estimates the state has lost 10,000 home-loan jobs this year, while the Massachusetts Association of Realtors’ membership has dropped by nearly 2,000."

"Carlson CEO Judy O’Brien said the closures represent a long-overdue consolidation. But she and others admit the tough real-estate market also played a role in the cutbacks."

"'If sales are down, revenue is down,' said Ruth Pino, a Carlson GMAC branch executive in Gloucester."

"About 75 mortgage firms with significant Massachusetts operations have either quit the state or gone belly-up. 'I would have to say 20 percent of (Massachusetts mortgage workers) have lost their jobs over the course of the last 18 months,' said Kevin Cuff of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association."

The Boston Globe from Massachusetts. "The collapse of the residential real estate market has stalled ambitious efforts to turn the Fort Point district into a lively, hip neighborhood of homes, offices, shops, and night life."

"Instead, with the office leasing market in Boston surging and space scarce, developers are choosing to convert the funky old brick warehouse buildings to office and commercial uses."

"'That community with lots of residents is going to take a lot longer to achieve than had been anticipated by the planners,' said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. Li said the area is getting busier, but 'it tends to be driven by the office workers and people coming to the restaurants.'"

"The sale last week of two warehouse buildings on Summer Street vividly highlights these abrupt market shifts, and symbolizes disappointment within the community that the old Boston Wharf Co. district will not soon teem with life 24/7."

"Archon/Goldman, the former owners, had initially envisioned converting the two properties into luxury condominiums, launching the area's transformation into a community where people live, work, and play."

"As recently as last year Archon/Goldman and others were promoting a vision of Fort Point in which upscale residential units would replace cheap artists studios. Even families would live there. Young professionals could walk to work. The sidewalks would be crowded at noon and night with pedestrians and shoppers, with restaurants and clubs adding to the draw."

"Valerie Burns, a Fort Point resident, said there's some unhappiness about the slow development of residences, but no panic. 'I just think there's a sense of reality about how fast the neighborhood is going to grow,' she said."

"Another property owner, Commonwealth Ventures LLC of Southport, Conn., is pushing ahead with redevelopment of the office space component of Channel Center...while holding back on additional residential it had targeted for the center."

"On nearby Congress Street, Berkeley Investments recently elected to rehab one building into first-class office space with ground floor retail, while holding off redevelopment of 381 Congress, to see whether the office sector reaches saturation or the condo market recovers."

"But Berkeley is testing the residential market with 92 luxury condos at FP3. Prices will range between $350,000 and more than $2 million. It will open in the spring, and will have a large restaurant complex."

"Richard M. Griffin, VP of acquisitions, said the company decided to stick with its original condo plan for the project because the buildings were better suited for residential uses, and that it would have been too much to make all of its 1 million square feet of property commercial space."

"'We're accomplishing what we set out to do in the neighborhood,' said Griffin."

"Berkeley has sold about 20 percent of the units, he said."

"If successful, the combination of Berkeley's condos, additional office workers, and new entertainment and dining venues could persuade other developers to revive the residential component in the Fort Point neighborhood."

"'Once you make the buildings lively at a ground level and add amenities, more than just a Dunkin' Donut,' it will attract both residents and workers, said John Miller of Lincoln Properties."