What do you see in your local housing market this weekend? Falling prices? "The balance of power in the housing market has shifted from the seller to the buyer, according to a new report. According to Daft.ie's Review of 2007 actual prices of property fell consistently throughout the year, while asking prices remained the same. The average asking price for a property in Ireland is now €353,000, while prices in Dublin stand at €449,266."

"By January 1, 2008, there was an average of 62pc more houses on sale around the country than in January of the previous year. The capital saw an increase of almost 65pc during the year, while south-east Leinster saw an increase of 87pc, and commuter belt counties saw an increase of 76pc."

"'Sellers can no longer expect to achieve 5-10pc more than their asking price, as they might have up to late 2006,' said economist Ronan Lyons. 'Now, at the start of 2008, sellers are typically expecting 5-10pc less than their asking price.'"

Signs of overbuilding? "Building permits for new homes across the Midlands fell last year for the first time since 2001, pushed by a glut of homes in Northeast Richland, according to a report out Friday."

"'We’ve got a little bit more inventory, but I don’t think anybody is in the panic mode,' said George Delk, who has been building homes in Columbia for 24 years"

"Delk said economic advisers have been telling builders to slow down for the past couple of years. 'But none of us wanted to listen,' he said."

Or foreclosures? "Bankruptcy lawyer Robert Stack said Friday he felt a little bit like a funeral director in 2007. Business was really good and that’s great for him, he said, but his prosperity meant sadness for many others."

"Foreclosures in Waukesha County rose about 41 percent in 2007. The 41 percent rise, from 606 foreclosures in 2006 to 854 foreclosures in 2007, was less of an increase than the 51 percent jump recorded in Milwaukee County."

Or legal matters? "The town of West Tisbury has filed a lawsuit against a mainland subprime mortgage company that loaned more than half a million dollars to an affordable homesite owner in town who had no ability to repay — and then foreclosed on the property."

"The town claims that Fremont loaned Mr. Cote more than $580,000 on a lot that was permanently restricted for affordable housing purposes, knowing that he had no ability to repay the loan based on his income and credit history, and that he could not sell the lot to satisfy the obligation due to the restrictive covenants."

"'Fremont (and thereby Saxon) knew, or should have known, that Cote’s loan, absent prompt refinancing, would fail and result in foreclosure,' the complaint states."

"New York prosecutors are investigating whether Wall Street banks withheld information about the risks stemming from subprime loan-linked investments, The New York Times reported on Saturday."

"Charges could be filed as soon as the coming weeks, the Times said. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the newspaper he was also conducting a review and cooperating with New York officials. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating, the Times said."

"Two more defendants tied to the LHS Mortgage Inc. fraud scandal, one of the largest mortgage fraud operations recently uncovered in the Twin Cities, are going to prison."

"Jill Lehn of Prior Lake, was sentenced in federal court Thursday to two years in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering."

"Lehn's sentence was reduced because she cooperated extensively with the broader investigation, which resulted in several other prosecutions, Frank Magill, acting U.S. Attorney noted in a release Friday."

"Lehn was the most public of the defendants, writing a detailed story for Minnesota Realtor magazine last year. It expressed regret and explained how as a closing agent, she participated in preparing sham loan documents in more than 60 real estate transactions during the housing boom between 2004 and 2006, passing out the payments hidden from lenders."