Bloomberg reports from New York. "Long Island and Queens home sales dropped 25 percent in the fourth quarter and the inventory of properties surged as the housing decline hit residential areas east of Manhattan, Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers said. A total of 38,769 homes were on the market, 41 percent more than a year ago. 'We're seeing real price erosion across every major market,' on Long Island, said Jonathan Miller, director of research for Radar Logic Inc."

"Home sellers in the Northeast are having to lower their expectations as the real estate decline worsens. An index measuring signed contracts for previously owned homes fell 13 percent in the region in November, the most in the country, the Realtors group said in a Jan. 8 report."

"The biggest hurdle to sales on Long Island is homeowners who refuse to lower their prices, said Dottie Herman, CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman. 'I guess about 35 percent are saying 'I need to get this price and if I don't get it, I'm not selling,' Herman said. 'I don't consider those real sellers.'"

Newsday from New York. "House sales and prices are down. Nassau Assessor Harvey Levinson, however, contends in a new assessment roll that the value of residential and business property is up."

"But tell that to Nassau's homeowners whose property tax assessments went up. The MLS of Long Island reports that the median sale price of a Nassau residence dropped 4.8 percent last month over the year before."

"'My clients resent that assessments are not reflecting reality,' said Fred Perry, a Dix Hills lawyer who represents thousands of Long Island homeowners."

"Vincent Jambrone, who was notified this month that his Hicksville home had increased in value to $558,300 from $527,200, said he wished he could find a buyer at that price. 'I offered to sell it to anybody over at the assessor's office,' he said."

"Levinson acknowledged that home values have decreased in some areas, adding that almost half of Nassau's 383,000 homeowners received notice of a drop in assessment. The rest, however, went up."

"Levinson said he expects residential assessments will catch up to market value by next January. 'If the market continues to soften,' he said, 'it is likely that most taxpayers will see substantial reductions.'"

The Staten Island Advance from New York. "We're all going to remember 2007 as a bad year for the housing market on Staten Island. Foreclosures zoomed, sales prices tumbled, and new housing starts darn near disappeared. And current sales of older homes have pretty much been stopped in their tracks."

"'It's dead.' one real estate agent conceded this weekend. 'There's nothing going on, and if you expect to sell a house you'd better be realistic.'"

"Would-be retirees counting on the sale of their Island home to bankroll a lavish leisure-years lifestyle have adjusted their thinking more to little-cabin-in-the-woods as opposed to beachfront in Bermuda. Such is the world of boom-and-bust finance, I guess."

The Morning Call from Pennsylvania. "Lehigh Valley home prices fell last year for the first time since 1998, as the slowing market that has engulfed most of the country finally rolled back some gains from the boom years here."

"At the same time, the number of homes sold last year hit the lowest level since 2001. 'If you need to sell a house, this is probably the worst time in 10 years to do so,' said Bethlehem economist Kamran Afshar."

"And there's little optimism that a turnaround is on the horizon. The number of pending sales contracts fell to its lowest level in December since the period immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

"The scant number of expected home sales is more remarkable in light of new subdivisions that have boosted the number of houses in the Valley since 2001 by thousands."

"'People are not jumping into the market,' said Stephen Thode, director of the Goodman Center for Real Estate Studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. 'The perception is we have a ways to go on this. Prices could actually fall even further.'"

"'Going back to the late 1980s, and early 1990s, we went through the same thing. It just had to come to a stop,' said Jim Keim, a licensed real estate agent who works primarily as an appraiser. 'It took a couple of years to recover. It really did.'"

"The association report shows that some of the Valley's most desirable neighborhoods registered declines in average prices in 2007. Home prices fell year-over-year in the Salisbury, Bangor Area and Nazareth Area school districts. Real estate agents say some people have been forced to sell their homes at a loss."

"'I've seen people drop their price by $100,000 from what they paid four years ago,' said Clay Mitman, owner of Prudential Paul Ford Realtors in Easton. 'That's happening, and it's not just an isolated situation.'"

"Mitman, who sat on the board of the local Realtors' association, said many people overpaid for their homes during the boom years and now owe more money than their homes could fetch if listed for sale."

The Canton Repository from Ohio. "Terry and Darlene Gulley may be the face of the foreclosure problem in Stark County. In financial straits because of a job layoff, the couple turned to a subprime mortgage for their home and ended up losing it after 19 years."

"Stark County has seen foreclosures grow from 380 in 1995 to a record 2,811 last year, well over a 600 percent increase, according to state Supreme Court figures. Despite the explosion, the numbers are growing even faster elsewhere in Ohio. Stark’s numbers grew at a rate that ranked 20th out of 88 counties."

"Only about 15 percent of the foreclosures are tax-related, said Stark County Treasurer Gary Zeigler."

"The Gulleys bought their home in Perry Township in 1987 on a land contract. Their payments were $385 a month. They took out a 30-year fixed interest mortgage at 7.5 percent in 1992, and the payments went to $585."

"But like so many in Stark County, he was laid off in 2002 from his job. They needed money, so they refinanced with Equicredit on a five-year, adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with payments of $725."

"Then in 2004 Ameriquest contacted them and said they could get them a lower rate. 'I told them on the phone I wanted a fixed rate,' Gulley said. 'Then we found out it was a 2-year ARM.'"

"Also, 'The property was appraised way higher that it was worth.' The price in 1987 was $39,900, and the Stark County auditor valued it at $80,000 in 2006. In 2004, Ameriquest’s appraiser valued it at $185,000."

"Ameriquest...formerly one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country, stopped taking loans applications in August. 'We are in the process of winding down the business,' said spokesman Chris Orlando."

"The Gulleys only borrowed $112,000. It was a 2-year ARM for a shorter term, so payments were $826. 'We hoped we’d (eventually) be able to get a fixed rate,' but after two years of on-time payments, Ameriquest said no. When the teaser rate expired, 'It started increasing by the hundreds,' Gulley said."

"The first jump went to $1,015 a month. 'When it got to that point, I said ‘We can’t do this.' He called Ameriquest and 'I asked them what we could do. The woman on the phone said 'You just can’t afford your house. There’s nothing we can do.'"

"'At that point, my wife and I decided to move' in Nov. 2006, he said."

"The house went for $55,000 at a sheriff’s sale, and 'Ameriquest wanted to come after me for the other $50,000 or so,' Gulley said. In September 2007, the Gulleys filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also called a wage earner’s plan, because it requires people with regular income to repay all or part of their debts."

"Ohio joined other states in suing Ameriquest for its lending practices, getting $6.6 million for the state’s share of the settlement. The Gulleys’ portion would have been $255, but they didn’t file for it. 'It’s like a slap in the face to me.'"