What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Speculation? "For the first time ever, condominium prices in key areas across the GTA rose faster than those for single family homes in 2007, a Mississauga-based real estate firm says."

"'Condominiums are clearly a viable alternative to single-detached housing,' says Michael Polzler, president of RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. 'With so many purchasers forced to compromise on their choice of housing, the ever-growing return on investment in the condominium market is proving to be quite the consolation prize.'"

"The condo surge isn't expected to lag anytime soon, according to Polzler. 'When it comes to bricks and mortar, homeownership can be cost-prohibitive,' he says. 'The surge in condominium sales and prices is a glimpse at the future. Not only is the condo lifestyle more widely accepted, it is also highly coveted by many.'"

"Just two of 13 residential projects proposed for the Central Business District in the 29 months since Hurricane Katrina have been scrapped. The condo real estate market, however, has slowed considerably, experts say."

"'The dynamics are different than they were three years ago,' said Shaun Talbot, VP of Talbot Realty Group. 'We didn’t get the population growth that we were thinking that we would get. You can’t propose something in a marginal location and expect (the same number) of buyers.'"

"'There was such a rush for condos after the storm because so many people were living (in condos) while they rebuilt,' said Garden District broker Joan Winchell. 'That rush is not there right now and people see that the rush is not there right now and they are stepping back.'"

"'Developments will still be able to succeed,' Talbott said. 'But in order to succeed, it’s time to cater to people who live here."

"There's an almost eerie quiet on the streets of the unfinished subdivisions in Shelby County's northeastern suburbs, where new home construction permits for 2007 fell by more than 50 percent in some areas."

"The drop in permit applications in part reflect a flailing real estate market, some city officials in Bartlett, Lakeland and Arlington said, as well as indicate the large number of houses already built."

"'You can drive through any of these subdivisions, not only in Arlington. I drove through them in Lakeland and Bartlett and there's just not any activity,' said Ed Haley, Arlington town superintendent."

Lending changes? "Many of the country's largest mortgage lenders are imposing loan restrictions in entire counties or ZIP codes that they rank as risky or 'declining.'"

"In late January, a ZIP code for McLean, Va., which is a high- income, high-cost community and home of mortgage investment giant Freddie Mac, was rated a high-risk D. Ironically, restrictions imposed by Fannie Mae late last year have prompted lenders to compile area-by-area risk ratings and impose downpayment penalties."

"Ted Grose, president of Los Angeles-based 1st Mortgage Advisors Inc., said labeling entire counties as 'declining' is 'ridiculous. It totally fails to distinguish between areas where prices are rising or relatively stable, and other neighborhoods or communities where they are not.'"

Pessimistic oneupmanship? "Beazer Homes said Friday it would no longer build homes in Columbia, Charlotte and three other markets. The company also said it would no longer originate mortgages."

"Metts Construction of Irmo filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia in early January. 'We’re in a recession, and the construction market in South Carolina led the way into the recession,' said said Barbara Barton, a Columbia lawyer who represents Metts.

"The chairman of Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton home builder warned Thursday that the sharp downtown in housing sales nationwide is expected to continue in 2008."

"Donald R. Horton told company shareholders at their annual meeting that 2008 is going to be more difficult than 2007. 'The home-building industry is not in a recession,' he said. 'It's in a depression.'"

Or new marketing? "In 2006, according to the MLS, there were 38 new homes sold on Long Beach Island and in 2007 64 properties closed. There are currently 78 active new-construction properties included in the county's listings, said Tom Wissel, MLS administrator with the Ocean County Board of Realtors."

"In 2006, 26 new homes were sold in Stafford Township but just 18 in 2007, according to Wissel. There are currently 62 new homes in Stafford Township for sale in the MLS listings."

"'In 2003 we were selling between a low of 220 to a high of 450 properties a month,' Wissel said. 'In 2007 we had 3,500 properties available per month and were selling under 300 a month.'"

"'Last year ... was a very tough year when Kara Homes went bankrupt and then K. Hovnanian homes had trouble. The statistics for Ocean County on a whole have been fairly weak or anemic compared to earlier years,' Wissel said."

"Wissel said that many builders are so eager to move the homes that they are offering additional amenities. 'I saw one open house that was advertising that for two hours only they would take something like $10,000 off the price. It's a funny kind of incentive and it reminded me of something that you would see at Kmart on a Black Friday,' Wissel said."