What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Borrowers underwater? "Local real estate professionals say the Katy market continues to remain active while many parts of the country are battling with dropping home values and buyers who cannot qualify for home loans. In Area 25, there is an 11 month inventory. One of the issues facing those trying to sell in Area 25 is new construction, broker Taylor Stout said."

"Homeowners who purchased new construction homes with interest only or no-money-down loans and are now trying to sell, are having a difficult time breaking even let alone walking away with a profit. 'We're seeing homes that are not priced to sell, but priced to alleviate the loss. Some sellers are bringing $10,000 to the table just to get out,' he said."

Lower prices? "Median home prices fell 7.1 percent in Louisville last month from a year earlier to $130,000, according to the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors, whose members sold 19.5 percent fewer homes."

"Agent Scott Panella said he's advising sellers to wait until early 2009 if they want meaningful price gains compared to a few years ago. 'If it's overpriced, in bad condition, it's going to sit on the market,' Panella said. 'Even if it's in bad condition and priced accordingly, it will sit.'"

"'Foreclosures are driving all the prices down and glutting the market,' said Frank Poschinger, who recently started a company that buys homes at risk of foreclosure and rents them to the former owners until they're able to purchase again. 'It's affecting every area of the city.'"

Urban pioneering? "One of Canada's largest real estate developers believes it has struck gold in the nation's most wretched neighbourhood, with plans to build a new condominium project for the moneyed -- and the daring."

"Next door to the planned Greenwich condo complex: A ramshackle hotel and rowdy country and western bar. And immediately to the east, a building that provides accommodation to adults suffering from mental illness, addictions, and other health problems."

"Across the street sits the shambolic, downright scary Funky Winkerbeans pub, and an outdoor strip where stolen goods are frequently sold. Addicts inject drugs in alleyways nearby. And just down the street are more seedy hotels and bars."

"It's not a pretty place. But a sustained real estate boom combined with a shortage of available land has made the neighbourhood irresistible to developers. And, it seems, to buyers, who just a few years ago would not have set foot in the area, let alone live there."

"A handful of other condo projects are already underway. Well-off residents will live separately, high above ground level, where they will enjoy commanding mountain and ocean views."

"'This [new] housing won't be for any of us. It's a very unjust situation,' declared Sister Kelliher. 'Three quarters of the units [in the new complex] should be social housing.'"

"'Right on!' yelled another protester, waving a joint."

"Peter Webb, Concord Pacific's senior VP of development, has no doubt that all 154 units inside the Greenwich will sell quickly."