What do you see in your local housing market this weekend? Speculation? "As Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky enter a third straight year of declining home sales and falling prices, a new term has been folded into the local housing market vocabulary: Correction. 'We’re getting back to reality in terms of pricing. Over the last five years, everybody became an expert in real estate,' said Michael Dinn, a partner with downtown-based Property Advisors. 'It became water-cooler talk, and it was a very speculative time in terms of value. What we’ve been experiencing is a correction – a housing hangover if you will.'"

"There are plenty of empty homes in North Texas. Homeowners are concerned about their property values with an uncertain future — especially with so many empty lots in the neighborhood. 'We wanted neighbors, and we've got lots that are vacant that may not get built on for a while — and we don't know when,' said Joyce Hardeman."

Slower building? "The demand for new homes in the Columbia region slowed significantly so far this year. Builders in Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties saw a 33 percent drop to 1,082 single-family homes in the first three months of the year, according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia."

"'We were expecting a downturn. I don’t know if I was expecting that much,' association executive director Earl McLeod said."

"'This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,' said builder David Beck, who has worked in the Columbia area for 17 years. 'We’re just riding this to see what’s going to happen. I don’t think that it’s ever going to get back to the way it was.'"

"Beck said he started sensing a problem a year and a half ago, especially in the overbuilt areas of Northeast Richland. 'The market was pretty much destroying itself,' with people qualifying for loans to buy houses they couldn’t afford, Beck said."

Bubble fallout? "Lawmakers are considering about 20 bills introduced in reaction to California's wave of foreclosures. More than 37,000 notices of default were sent out statewide in February -- up from about 27,000 in November. More than one-fifth of those homes were in hard-hit Riverside and San Bernardino counties."

"The state legislation includes no direct financial help for builders, homeowners or others hurt by the housing slowdown. 'Realistically, we don't have the money,' said Assemblyman Ted Lieu, chairman of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee."

"San Diego's office vacancy rate spiked to its highest level since 1996 in the first quarter thanks to a combination of weak demand and new buildings coming to market. Brokers point to a slowing economy and the fallout from the housing bust as contributing to the vacancy boost. Many mortgage companies, title firms and home builders have closed or downsized over the past year."

"'The residential real estate industry ripple effect is a blood bath,' said David Marino of Irving Hughes, which specializes in representing tenants. 'When we got hit hard in 2001 through 2003 in the tech side, the residential real estate guys took a lot of that space. Today, there's no recovering industry sector to offset' the decline from housing-related companies."

Lower prices? "The median price of a single-family Thurston County home fell last month compared with the same period a year ago, but South Sound real estate agents said they were not worried about it."

"South Sound real estate broker Doug Burger said he didn't know the last time single-family home prices fell in the county, but he said he was encouraged that the price drop was small. 'For us in Thurston County to experience only a slight decline speaks highly of the strength of our area,' Burger said."