The Gazette reports from Maryland. "During the first quarter of this year, Montgomery County ranked second-highest in the number of foreclosures in Maryland, up nearly 54 percent since the previous quarter, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development's research office in April. Prince George's County ranked highest, according to the data."

"Arelis A. Perez, a real estate agent for 16 years, said her business is down about 50 percent, but the housing market should pick up since 'it came crashing down' in 2007. However, the bad luck for many who have lost their homes due to the subprime lending crisis translates to an opportunity to buy for those who can afford it."

"'I had a property that was purchased in January 2007 at $706,000 in Silver Spring. Now it's being sold at $363,080. That is just phenomenal,' Perez said."

"Marilyn Emery, a real estate agent at the North Bethesda Long & Foster office, said while dealing with bank-owned properties was not particularly personal for agents, it can be for potential homebuyers who are hesitant 'to look at a foreclosed house because they think they're taking advantage of someone else's foreclosure.'"

"'What people need to remember is that once a house is foreclosed, it's done, it's now owned by the bank,' said Emery, who lives in Kensington. 'Also, people feel that the houses are always in bad neighborhoods, or in bad shape. ... But they're out there in every area of the county, and every price range.'"

The Baltimore Sun from Maryland. "Local home sales continued their plunge in May, dropping 30 percent. It was the ninth straight month that sales fell at least 30 percent in the Baltimore metropolitan area. About 2,100 homes changed hands - half as many as in May 2005, near the peak of the housing boom, according to Rockville-based Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc."

"'The only inducement to purchasing a house at this point is very low price,' said Celia Chen, director of housing economics at Moody's Economy.com. 'In areas where you do see a price decline, a more substantial price decline, you can probably see a bit better sales activity.'"

"The exception to the trend of better sales results with lower prices was Carroll County, where sales fell 33 percent even as the average price plummeted 11 percent. That's driven at least in part by a continued lack of sales at the higher end."

"None of the nearly 80 homes listed for $800,000 or more in Carroll last month changed hands. Sales of homes priced at $500,000-plus dropped by half from a year earlier."

"Daniel V. Iampieri, a Realtor in Ellicott City, said he's starting to see buyers who had been on the sidelines get more serious, thanks to price decreases. 'There's good deals out there,' he said. 'There's an endless stream of choices, and there's more coming on the market every day.'"

"Risk-taking helped perpetuate the housing boom. Buyers stretched financially to get their foot in the door as prices skyrocketed. Homeowners pulled out equity, counting on continued increases. Investors bought homes at a fever pitch with visions of big profits from rehabbing."

"Canton in Baltimore was a popular rehabbing spot. Now a lot of investors are '"way upside down' on their mortgages, said Dominic Cantalupo, associate broker in Pasadena, who works across the region. Average prices in May fell 15 percent in that ZIP code, 21224."

From WBAL TV in Maryland. "Bail was set on Wednesday for a Maryland man accused of burning down his home to avoid mortgage foreclosure, and experts say that arson as a way out of financial woes is becoming a national trend."

"An Owings Mills man accused of hiring someone to torch his home in January went before a federal magistrate Wednesday to make a plea for bail. Federal investigators alleged that Keith McMahon paid someone $10,000 to burn his house down to collect insurance money because the bank was about to foreclose on his mortgage."

"Federal agents said that McMahon allegedly arranged the arson because he was as much as $30,000 in debt and behind on his mortgage payments. The federal complaint says that he planned to collect $800,000 from insurance proceeds."

"Prosecutors said that as a result of the arson at McMahon's home, a firefighter battling the blaze was seriously injured after falling 12 feet and landing in a basement."

"'Once you unleash that fire, you have no clue where this is going to end up. You've got firefighters responding. Depending on the type of structure, you may have other persons involved. There's just so many things that can happen once a fire gets going,' Barnard said."

"Federal prosecutors said that McMahon also threatened to kill the person who cooperated with investigators."

The Free Lance Star from Virginia. "The Fredericksburg-area housing market continued to struggle last month. The average home sold for 90.3 percent of its list price in May, the best figure this year."

"But when taking a longer view, the market appears weaker. In addition, some of the improvements this year could be due to seasonal factors, as sales and prices have tended to trend upward as summer approaches. Fewer homes sold in the area last month than in any other May since 1998."

"The area's median sales price in May was 16 percent lower than the same month a year before. Seventeen percent fewer homes sold, and total sales volume dropped 30 percent to $92.9 million."

"The trend was the same on a locality-specific basis. Other than Fredericksburg and King George County, median prices dropped in every area locality between May 2007 and last month."

"Prices continued to dip in Stafford County, where last month's median sales price of $281,100 was the lowest since April 2004. Median prices have dipped 30 percent in Stafford since May 2006."

"The county has more foreclosed properties listed on RealtyTrac.com than any other in the Fredericksburg area, although its total, 1,068, pales in comparison to Prince William's 6,936."

The Cascade Connection in Virginia. "A plan to get people who work in Loudoun into foreclosed Loudoun homes has even longtime political adversaries Chairman Scott York and Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio working together."

"Both live in Sterling, where the foreclosure rate is highest, and York had planned the initiative to apply only to the Sterling and Sugarland Run areas, but a close vote on an amendment by Supervisor Lori Waters opened the proposed program up to the entire county."

"If adopted, the initiative, similar to one recently adopted in Prince William County, would direct money from the county's $6 million housing trust funds toward grants of up to $25,000 or low-interest loans for people who work in the county but live elsewhere to buy houses that are currently in foreclosure."

"Originally, the plan was to apply only to county employees and teachers, but York accepted an amendment from Delgaudio to open it up to anyone who works in the county. Currently, almost 45 percent of county employees live outside the county, often as a result of Loudoun's cost of living."

"About 42 percent of the county's 2,000 foreclosures between October 2007 and last March were in the 20164, 20165 and 20166 ZIP codes, which include the Sterling and Sugarland Run areas."

"In Sterling Park, York said, 'we had a lot of purchasing of housing for investment by folks who don't live there.' This resulted in a neighborhood where most residents were temporary renters, he said, adding, 'Many of these landlords haven't taken care of [their houses].'"

"Anyone buying a home through the program would be required to live there for a certain time or repay the county. 'They would definitely have to live in the house, too. They can't rent it out,' York said."

"If grants of $25,000 were given out and $1 million were spent on the program, that would mean 40 houses filled, he said. 'It's not much, but it's something.'"

"'I think it's a great idea. When does an opportunity come along like this?' said Kevin Chroninger, chairman of the Sterling Foundation, noting the already low housing prices. 'It seems like the time is right to take advantage of that.'"

"Chroninger lives in Dominion Station, just west of Sterling Park, and owns a condominium off Sterling Boulevard in Rolling Ridge, which he rents out. He said widespread foreclosures had not only dragged down home values but had also changed the atmosphere of Sterling Park, with unkempt lawns, vandalism and empty streets."

"'I've seen a huge downturn in the number of people you see out and about in the community,' he said."

From WAVY TV in Virginia. "According to Realtytrac, Virginia has the 15th highest foreclosure rate in the country -- for the first quarter of the year. That's up 526% from last year. WAVY.com took a trip to the Newport News Courthouse Thursday, where a foreclosure sale was underway."

"'I'm here to offer a number of properties,' says Trustee Holly Fisher, who conducts the auction and sees the stark reality of home foreclosure. 'Banks have stopped lending as much money people can't borrow. It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul.'"

"Banks and mortgage companies are in trouble too. During the auction, no one paid the minimum for 2500 Roanoke Ave, or 950 Ivy Avenue. 'The banks are stuck with them. They will fix them up, and sell them on the open market,' Fisher says."

"Housing Opportunities Made Equal is a free, private, non-profit organiztion in Portsmouth. Their Mission is to save people's homes from foreclosure. Home Director Denise Goode says, 'As soon as you know you're in trouble call your lender.'"

"You've got to call and communicate with the mortgage company. And you've got to act quickly, don't bury your head in the sand. 'In Virginia, you don't have time on your side. We have one of the fastest foreclosure processes in the nation,' Goode."