The Houston Chronicle reports from Texas. "Houston-area home sales fell 4 percent last year, but 2007 still marked the second-best year on record after sales peaked in 2006. The largest piece of the market, homes priced between $80,000 and $150,000, were the hardest hit last year, falling 11.6 percent. Those home sales represented nearly 39 percent of the 69,441 properties sold through the MLS in 2007. They include mostly used but some new homes."

"That segment has slowed because fewer people have been able to qualify for loans since subprime lending came to a halt last year. 'If you're making $2,000 a month and have a $300 or $400 car note, you can't qualify to buy anything,' said Shad Bogany of ERA Bogany Properties."

"Edmund Choi and his family hope they won't be affected when they put their four-bedroom Missouri City house on the market later this month. 'I'm a little nervous,' said Choi, who bought his home new than 12 years ago for $140,000. 'I have a feeling I'm not going to get what I want to get.'"

"The number of listings expected to close within the next 30 days was down 13.6 percent at the end of December. The number of available homes is also rising. At the end of December, 49,566 properties were on the market, an increase of 14 percent compared to last year."

The American Statesman. "More Central Texans are feeling the pangs of foreclosure, and more pain could be in store. Foreclosure postings for the Feb. 5 auctions rose 56 percent from the same month last year in four Austin-area counties, Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop, according to Foreclosure Listing Service."

"Williamson County had the highest gain among the 20 counties, up 98 percent. Its 301 postings were a county record and the first time its foreclosure notices have topped 300 in a single month, the report said."

"Hays County's postings were up 57 percent, Travis County's jumped 38 percent and Bastrop County's rose 18 percent. The 832 notices filed in the four counties is the second-highest number on record, the report noted."

"'The number of foreclosures are certainly up; there's no doubt about that. But comparing year-over-year percentage increases won't always tell the whole story,' said David Reed, president of CD Reed Mortgage Bankers in Austin."

"'We've got more foreclosure postings, but we've also sold a whole lot more homes over the past three or four years. If you set records in the number of homes sold, you're obviously going to get the increase in foreclosure postings that go along with it,' he said."

"Reed said that if Central Texas were 'in the middle of a major price reductions — which we're certainly not — across the board for single family residences, I'd be more concerned. But I don't think you can make too much out of it. Personally, I think it's more of an indication of the sheer volume of homes sold.'"

"Central Texas home sales declined 13 percent in November from a year earlier, down for the sixth month in a row, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. Pending sales for December plunged 41 percent, an indicator that the year ended with an even bigger drop."

"'Those buyers who were there a year or two ago aren't there anymore, or at least not on the same basis,' said Jim Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University."

"The appreciation might be skewed by fewer sales of lower-price homes because many entry-level buyers are locked out of the market, said agent Sam Chapman. 'We're seeing the median price being higher because lower-end homes are being cut out,' Chapman said."

"Real estate experts said sales in 2007 were good, just not as good as in record-breaking 2006. 'Austin is not expanding at the rate it was a couple of years ago, but you haven't fallen out,' Gaines said. '07 is still a good year in the housing market, it's just not as good as it was in '06. But 2003 to 2007 were all good years, I just think '06 will turn out to be a peak year.'"

"In general, Chapman said, he has seen the number of buyers decrease since August and the number of sellers increase. Still, he said, some sellers continue to want to overprice their homes, even in the declining market."

The Dallas Morning News. "More than 5,300 homes in the four-county Dallas-Fort Worth area are set to be sold at next month's foreclosure auctions, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday. That's a 31 percent increase in foreclosures from the same month in 2007."

"February's foreclosure total for D-FW was the highest ever for the month. And Dallas, Collin and Denton counties all set records for the largest number of postings in any month."

"Almost 43,000 Dallas-Fort Worth area homes were posted for foreclosure in 2007 – an increase of 10 percent for the year."

"Home foreclosure rates in the area have been some of the largest in the country in recent years due in large part to lax lending standards, analysts say. Many homeowners who took adjustable-rate loans a year or two ago couldn't afford the monthly payments when the interest rates rise."

"And, despite lots of publicity, government and mortgage industry relief plans have so far not had much impact."

The Denton Record Chronicle. "Residential foreclosures posted for February’s auctions toppled records across North Texas, with Denton County surpassing 500 for the first time, according to foreclosure statistics."

"Denton County residential foreclosure postings first topped the 400 mark in November, reflecting the expected increase in foreclosed homes, officials said."

"'If we’re seeing foreclosures up today, that’s probably reflecting a process that began years ago,' said Dr. Bernard Wein­stein, director of the Center for Economic Development at the University of North Texas."

"'It’s reflecting a lot of poorly collateralized lending in '04, '05 and '06 — particularly to low- and moderate-income households and single-adult households. We’re now seeing the result of that — not because the economy is heading south,' Weinstein said. 'North Texas is one of the strongest metropolitan areas economically in the country.'"

"With 566 homes set for auction next month, Denton County was not alone in the record-breaking foreclosure numbers, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. Denton County records showed a 50 percent increase from last February, which had 377 residential foreclosure postings. The February numbers were 44 percent higher than January."

"One reason cited for the substantial increase in February postings is due to the January auction sale falling on New Year’s Day, according to George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service. By law, lenders in Texas are only allowed to take properties through foreclosure on the first Tuesday of each month."

"'This was kind of a shocker even though we knew there was an impact due to a lack of filings for the Jan. 1 auction,' he said. 'This actually caught us by surprise.'"

"Roddy figured about 15 percent of the increased postings in February were likely tied to the delayed postings. 'The fact that we saw the astronomical increases all over the metroplex is an indicator that it is not just that factor,' he said, adding that the March residential foreclosure listings will tell a clearer picture about what is happening in North Texas."

"Projecting whether the record-breaking February numbers will continue in March is difficult, Roddy said, adding that even the 1980s numbers during the oil bust didn’t touch the current records. 'If we see the same indicators, with a higher than the last 12-month average, then we’ve got something to really talk about,' he said."

"Home foreclosures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have grown by one of the biggest amounts in the country in recent years due in large part to lax lending standards, analysts say. Weinstein cited data indicating that in 2006, the Dallas-Fort Worth market had an estimated $7.5 billion in subprime lending."

"'That’s an indication of how vulnerable we are,' he said. The amount totaled an estimated 23 percent to 24 percent of all of the loan volume that year, he said."

"'It could get real nasty,' he said. 'Let’s just hope we muddle through, as we have in the past.'"

The Star Telegram. "The 43 unsold condos in the restored Neil P. at Burnett Park in downtown Fort Worth have been taken off the residential market and are now being pitched to the commercial market by a Dallas brokerage firm looking for a single buyer for the entire project."

"The review comes as downtown condo sales appear to be slowing. Only 14 of the 57 units in the Neil P. were sold during a 22-month period, according to Tarrant County deed records. Prices at The Neil P. ranged from the $200,000s to the $700,000s, and the units ranged in size from 760 to 2,252 square feet. A penthouse unit was listed at $1 million."

"The latest housing figures compiled by Downtown Fort Worth Inc. shows that...in the last three months of 2007, 18 units were sold, compared with 39 in 2006."

"The proposed sale of the Neil P. project is not the result of poor sales or market conditions, said Rick Waggoner of M.C. Smith Interests. 'I can't say that [sales] didn't meet expectations,' Waggoner said. 'We're proud of what we built over there. We have all the confidence in the world in Fort Worth. It's a matter of balancing our portfolio.'"

"Construction on the Neil P. began in 2005 and the first unit sold in November of that year. Nine units were sold between July and December of 2006, three in March, and the last one sold in September."

"Not long after, residents were told that the building would be sold. It went on the market with Cushman & Wakefield's Apartment Services division several weeks ago."

"There are 18 completed condos and 25 that await finish-out. The 4,158-square-foot, 11th-floor penthouse is available as are a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The lobby and amenities areas are completed."

"'In some ways we're sad to sell,' Waggoner said. 'It was a nice product for Fort Worth, and it reflects on us well.'"