The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Across the colorful history of Sacramento, it's likely that few people have received as much advance celebrity as Cathy Del Brocco for the simple act of selling their house and leaving town. And few took so long to leave. She listed her house in the Pocket for $335,000 and planned her move to a quieter place with a cheaper price tag. But there was just one problem with this grand plan: Del Brocco lived in Sacramento, and she couldn't sell her house to save her life."

"She put it on the market about 10 months ago and had to drop the price five times before it sold. Meanwhile, the price of a home she had seen in Holland, Mich., kept falling."

"She declined to name what she finally got for her Sacramento house. But you can probably guess. Subtract 10 months from $335,000 in this market and you'll be close. Here's one hint: It was listed for $284,000 in February."

"The good news for Del Brocco: The price was dropping at the house she eventually bought in Michigan. It sat 291 days on the market and was vacant."

"'It went down to $125,900,' Del Brocco said. 'I offered $100,000. They came back at $118,000. I came back at $114,000, and that's what I got it for. It's the cutest house.'"

The Sacramento Business Journal. "New-home prices fell for the eighth consecutive quarter to the lowest level since 2003. The Sacramento area's median new-home price declined to $359,000 during the first quarter, a 7.5 percent drop compared to $388,000 in fourth-quarter 2007 -- and $107,000 less than the peak two years ago."

"Centex Homes was the top builder in the six-county area by a wide margin through the first two months of the year, according to Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. Division president Doug Pautsch attributed it to a variety of factors, including aggressive pricing, customer service and the location of its projects."

"'I don't think there is a simple answer,' he said. 'There's no silver bullet.'"

"Folsom-based Elliott Homes Inc. appears well-poised for the long haul after paying $10 million this week for 400 acres of GenCorp Inc.'s unused real estate off Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova."

"That comes to $25,000 an acre, a lot less than the $100,000-an acre figures some builders were paying for land during the housing boom. At those land prices, a privately owned builder can compete all day long against big Wall Street builders that dominate this market."

"Sacramento real estate agents have long maintained that more than 40 percent of homes for sale in Sacramento County and West Sacramento are vacant. This week, commercial broker Mary Collins said thieves hit the vacant house next to hers in Rio Linda. They arrived within a week of a for-sale sign saying the home was bank-owned."

"'They took the lighting, the copper and the air conditioner. It just takes 50 percent of your equity overnight,' she said."

"The first of several reports on first-quarter home sales is in, showing the number of new homes sold in the eight-county Sacramento region has fallen to the lowest level since possibly the early 1990s."

"After a free-fall in sales and prices that has lasted nearly three years, any notion of mere stability will appeal to thousands of area homeowners who have seen their values fall. It also will appeal to sellers who have lost bargaining power in a market where buyers rule."

"'We've dropped the price twice, maybe three times,' said George Vargas of Elk Grove this week. 'We've had a few more people since our latest price drop, but it's slowed down in the last month.'"

"DataQuick's Andrew LePage said banks have sold only about 40 percent of the homes they foreclosed on in the region during the second half of 2007. The thousands more slated for sale will put a downward pressure on prices. 'There are just a heck of a lot of foreclosures to burn off before the market can kick into gear in any big way,' he said."

The Monterey County Herald. "There are nearly 1,200 homeowners in Salinas on the brink of foreclosure, according to the State and Consumer Services Agency. Some of them were likely among the hundreds who sought help with their loans Thursday at a workshop at Sherwood Hall in Salinas."

"'Tell them exactly what your situation is,' Supervisor Lou Calcagno told the distressed borrowers. 'You got involved in a situation that wasn't of your making. There's only so much the government can do, but at least it can show you the way.'"

"The first step is to make the phone call, be ready to wait in line forever and be transferred from one customer service representative to another. 'It's the hardest call you'll make, and near the end maybe it's going to piss you off,' Mary Harman, past president of the Orange County Chapter of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers told the group."

"Maria Matamoros already tried to refinance her home loan, but because she's the registered owner of her niece's home, the retired 62-year-old did not qualify. Matamoros and her niece often ask their relatives for help with the payments for the $620,000 home they bought only 13 months ago — a home now valued at $400,000."

"After hearing about the modification process, they want to see if they qualify. 'I really can't pay,' Matamoros said."

The Fresno Bee. "Speakers delivered a mixture of good and bad news at the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce annual economic reporting conference. The keynote speaker, Gary Schlossberg, senior economist at Wells Capital Management, said he thinks the country has entered a recession but doesn't believe it will be particularly deep or long."

"He called for more perspective on housing. Prices have fallen 15% to 20%, but that came after a run-up in values of up to 225% in some areas between 1998 and mid-2006."

"Foreclosed properties comprise 15% of the inventory, or 1,100 houses; account for 38% of the homes in escrow; and have been 25% of all home sales in the Fresno and Clovis region over the last six months."

"Paul Gibson, co-owner of Guarantee Real Estate and Home Loans, said low interest rates, new loan programs and Fresno's relatively low housing prices provide a catalyst for renewed strength."

"'Is this a recession or a fearcession?' he asked. 'The subprime [mess] won't submerge us. But if you watch too much 24/7 talking heads news, it will mess with your mind.'"

The Daily Breeze. "After several years of sharp spikes, Los Angeles County apartment dwellers will see only modest increases in their rent this year, thanks to the tepid housing market, a report predicts."

"USC Lusk Center for Real Estate forecast director Delores Conway said the apartment sector should weather the housing slump and credit squeeze as long as Southern California doesn't lose large numbers of jobs."

"'Renting remains attractive when mortgages are harder to obtain for high-priced homes,' she said."

"And renters will have more choices with many newly built apartments and some condominium projects that have reverted to rentals as well as foreclosed homes hitting the market."

"'The shadow market of houses and condos for rent will continue to grow as owners lease properties rather than sell at a reduced price,' she said."

"Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Department, said more apartments are coming on the market in downtown Los Angeles. While that will limit landlords' ability to raise rent, it will not put them in dire financial straits."

"'I think people are just going to be looking more at renting rather than going out to buy,' he said."

From ABC News. "All around Beverly Hills, ultraluxury condo complexes are sprouting up in an outward show of confidence from investors who have seemingly ignored forecasts that the high-end property market will slow to a crawl."

"'The talk is of a United States on sale, but the truth is that it remains the best place to invest money longer term,' economist Jack Keyser said."

"The CPC group headed by Brits Nick and Christian Candy spent $500 million on a site the previous owner had purchased for $33.5 million just three years earlier. Their idea: build 252 condos and run away with a billion and change."

"Not all experts agree that the high-end real estate market will be able to buck the trend of property value decline indefinitely."

"'Markets are segmented and the high end benefits from a more affluent buyer class, but it still can't defy the laws of supply and demand,' said economist Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA. 'This high-end market will see weaker demand and some slowing as a result -- it just takes a little longer to hit.'"

"Cranes tower over the desirable parts of L.A. and the real estate market is primed for the sale of the 29-bedroom, 40-bath former home of William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies, which is on the market in Beverly Hills for $165 million."

"Look a little closer though and you'll meet developers whose ebullience has dampened and you'll find a $165 million mansion that has sat on the list for more than a year."

From KGTV San Diego. "Earlier this decade, Chula Vista was one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. Four years ago, almost 4,000 homes were built. However, this year, the city will be lucky to see 500, according to city officials."

"'For us, new homebuilding has come to a screeching halt,' said Chula Vista City Manager David Garcia."

"Now, instead of new homes, there are more foreclosure signs. Home prices are dropping, and for people who are still in the area, they are looking to pay less property tax."

"'They're saying, 'Hey, the house down the street sold for $100,000 less. My house is worth less, so I'm going to appeal my property values,' said Garcia."

The North County Times. "It took a jury less than two hours Thursday afternoon to unanimously clear a real estate agent accused of failing in his duties to a couple he helped buy a tony Carlsbad home."

"Marty and Vernon Ummels say that the $1.2 million price tag for the upscale coastal Carlsbad home they bought in 2005 could not be justified, especially when other houses on the street were selling for much less, vital information the couple said they didn't get until after the close of escrow."

"But the jury found that Little had not breeched his responsibility to the couple as their agent, nor had he been negligent. 'Mr. Little did what he was supposed to do,' jury forewoman Wendi Brick said. 'The bottom line is that you (as a buyer) are responsible when you sign a contract and purchase something.'"

The Union Tribune. "'Of course, it's devastating and shocking that the standard of care (provided by an agent) doesn't seem to include having the agent tell you about houses that sold on your block for much less money,' Marty Ummel said. 'I believe it's the agent's responsibility to do his due diligence and inform his clients of any material fact that would impact their willingness to buy or not buy."

"'The jury spoke, but what they decided hurts the real estate industry. It says the Realtors don't have to do their due diligence,' Ummel said."

The Voice of San Diego. "The case attracted national attention as it posed a hot question: What are the responsibilities of a real estate agent?"

"The real estate camp was concerned that if the plaintiffs won Thursday, it would catalyze and focus a growing urge around the country to find someone to blame -- and to hold financially responsible -- when houses aren't worth as much as their buyers once paid."

"At a time when housing market trouble has rocked the global economy, the individual roles of people involved in the basic housing transaction have come under fire. A soaring market this decade hid a multitude of mistakes, a plethora of cut corners and fudged appraisals, because buyers could sell for a profit, nearly no matter what."

"But now that the value of housing has come unhitched from what once propelled it upward by double-digit percentages year after year, a spotlight has become trained on the topic of ethics in real estate."

"Attorney David Bright said his client, Little, was being unfairly blamed for the Ummels' house dropping in value. 'I think Realtors are scapegoats for a declining market,' Bright said after the verdict was reached Thursday afternoon. 'There are always people out there who will blame someone for something that is beyond their control.'"

"But Marty Ummel...said the jury's decision enables real estate agents to skimp on information they provide to their clients. 'I think it sends a bad message to people about the real estate industry,' she said. 'Evidently there is not the relationship of trust that I would've expected.'"

"And Todd Lackner, a real estate appraiser not associated with the case, said the Ummels had 'lost the battle but won the war' when it came to raising questions and delivering a hit to the reputation of real estate agents."

"'I think it's scaring Realtors more than anything else,' he said. '[Little] won the court case, but there's a lot of other Realtors out there that are very concerned. Not just in San Diego. It's got to be nationwide.'"

"'I think people are a little bit more skeptical, more concerned, and rightly so,' he said. 'If you don't think this is the right value, don't do it.'"