KMBC Kansas City reports from Missouri. "You may hear a lot about all the great deals on foreclosures out there. But are they really bargains? 'The market here on foreclosures is one out of every four houses sold is going to be a foreclosure now,' said Mike Phillips, who owns Century 21 All Pro. 'We used to do a lot of new homes and that's all but dried up. For now, the business volume for us is all foreclosures.'"

"Why are people snatching them up? 'The big advantage on the bank properties is being priced correctly seems like a bargain,' Phillips said."

"Phillips said that there are deals out there, but most foreclosures seem like a better buy because they are priced to sell in 30 days."

The Indy Channel from Indiana. "Like thousands of Hoosiers, Michael Kaylor is behind on his mortgage payments. Indiana has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the U.S."

"'I can't pay my mortgage because gas prices went up so much," said Kaylor, who works in the home service industry. 'I am paying $600 a month just to do my job.'"

"As a real estate agent, Kelly Clark was hurt in more ways than one by the downturn of the housing market. The market decline cut her income and forced her into foreclosure."

"'Things started to fall apart about a year ago,' Clark said. 'I have a sale date on Wednesday. I am trying to get that put off.'"

"A common theme emerged from some of the personal stories -- adjustable rate mortgages. Payments that were low to begin with skyrocketed over the last couple of years for many homeowners."

"More than a half-dozen houses on the same street Clark lives on have been foreclosed upon since she moved there two years ago."

The Toledo Blade from Ohio. "Metropolitan Toledo homes are selling more cheaply than they did last year, but residents are even less likely to be able to afford them, a new study shows."

"Local experts blamed the area's high unemployment rate and tight lending practices as contributing to the decline in home affordability. 'A lot of this relates to our economic underperformance, and our unemployment,' said Richard DeKaser, chief economist with National City Bank in Cleveland."

"It doesn't matter how low home prices are if residents don't have jobs and income to purchase them, he added."

"Area home builders in Toledo said they continue to build homes of all sizes, but mostly focus on more entry-level houses and dwellings that are very expensive. 'The lower end and the higher end is where the majority of the activity is,' said Tony Plath, executive VP of the Home Builders Association of Greater Toledo."

From WOOD TV in Michigan. "Hundreds of Michigan home builders gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to let lawmakers know they need help. Home building created 153,000 Michigan jobs three years ago. Since then, that number has fallen by 69,000 workers."

"'Nobody's buying homes,' Dave Roberts, a Kalamazoo home builder, told 24 Hour News 8. 'I'm talking to some people to build homes but it's just extremely, extremely slow in the building industry.'"

"'Right now, a lot of our members are paying on properties that are not selling, and those taxes are very difficult for them. If they could get a relief that would help them to stay in business...' adds Judy Barnes of the Home & Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids."

"Grand Valley State University business professor Paul Isely said the construction slow-down runs deep. For starters, our state continues losing jobs."

"'And when you lose jobs people leave the state,' said Isely. 'You're seeing a decrease in population, and if people are leaving the state they don't need to buy a house here.'"

"Isely believes the housing bubble caught builders off guard when it burst. 'Houses were already being built, materials were already purchased, houses were put up and that created a back-log of housing,' Isely said."

"The Grand Rapids Association of Realtors said there is a 12-month inventory in most places across West Michigan. It is an inventory that includes an excessive number of foreclosures. That results in banks scrutinizing home loans, with the effects suffocating the industry."

The Fond du Lac Reporter from Wisconsin. "Amid a drooping housing market, Jessica and John Westphal are eager to break even when they sell their first home. They've given up trying to make a profit."

"The young couple listed the three-bedroom home at 27 Sibley St. for sale in March while seeking bigger digs to start a family. They have already lowered the asking price by $5,000 after a sluggish first month, but they aren't discouraged."

"In fact, the couple is hoping to get a good deal on their next house. 'In today's market, we are able to find houses well below their appraised value,' Jessica Westphal said."

"The Westphals' experience is becoming more common as prices drop in a well-stocked, buyer-friendly real estate market."

"During the first quarter of 2008, home sales in Fond du Lac County dropped 12 percent compared to the same period last year, said Scott Swick, owner of First Weber Group Realtors. Prices also fell in the first quarter. The median home price tumbled 6 percent from the same period last year to $112,000, Swick said."

"'Are you happy about a 12 percent drop? No. But compared to the state, it doesn't seem so bad,' he said."

"Wisconsin home sales fell 24 percent during the first quarter. In the Midwest region, home sales dropped 18.3 percent, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association."

"Median home prices slumped 3.8 percent statewide to $154,000 during the first quarter compared to the same period in 2007. The WRA blamed bad weather and price moderation for the downturn."

"Dawn Kimpel is hoping she doesn't lose money selling the Fond du Lac home she purchased two years ago. Kimpel recently moved to take a job in La Crosse. She is renting out her home at 296 E. 11th St. and hoping to sell it before Thanksgiving."

"'I'm concerned about it going on too long. I don't want to have to pay two mortgages,' she said. Only one person has looked at the home since she put it on the market for $89,900 two months ago."

The way sellers look at the market has changed, said broker Frank Adashun. 'They are being realistic in today's market. It's a different attitude than there was in 2004 when homes were flying off the shelves,' he said."

"However, not every seller is sensible about the market. Both Adashun and Swick said they have had to turn away potential customers who wouldn't set practical prices."

"'It doesn't make sense to waste our time and efforts if the seller is unrealistic,' Adashun said."

The Post Bulletin from Minnesota. "Ask Rep. Tim Walz about the housing crisis, and he will tell you he sees it out the front window of his Mankato home. 'My personal story is that the house right next to (mine) has been in foreclosure for a year and my property value dropped 20 percent this year,' he said."

"Walz is not alone in seeing the effects of the bursting of the housing bubble in Minnesota. Lawmakers from both parties and in both chambers of Congress have heard from constituents and community leaders about falling home prices and vacant properties resulting from the home ownership crisis."

"Walz said he backed the notion of having the government insure refinanced loans made on a voluntary basis between lenders and borrowers. He dismissed the the debate over whether struggling borrowers should have been denied loans or lenders were lax as not helpful."

"'It's almost as if, as the forest fire is burning, we're arguing who started it,' he said."

"Walz said the crisis should be addressed at both the borrower level and the broader housing and mortgage sector level. 'If it's at all possible, it has to be both. I know our homebuilders are hurting,' he said."