What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Lower prices? "Most Clark County homeowners will see a decline in their assessed property values when 2007 statements from the Assessor's office are mailed out next week. It is the first drop in overall assessed values since the early 1980s. 'I've just never seen assessed values go down,' said Mike Webber, residential appraisal staff manager, adding that some Clark County homeowners might be expecting even larger declines."

"Housing experts from around the state are taking an up-close look at Montana's housing economy, and the statewide drop in housing prices. Home prices in Montana have fallen almost 5% during the past year, and new housing starts are down statewide more than 34%."

"Treasure Valley single-family residential home sales reached their high for the year in May with 717 transactions, or a 59 percent increase since the start of the year. Median home prices, however, are still drifting lower as long-suffering homeowners are finally throwing in the towel and lowering their asking price and lenders are increasingly willing to accept 'short sales,' experts said."

"'People have seen their homes sitting on the market for a year, or year-and-a-half, and have finally taken a bite out of a reality sandwich and dropped their (asking) price,' said Mike Pennington, a residential specialist in Boise."

"For sale signs are becoming yard art for many Arkansas homes. They represent many different realtors, advertising reduced prices and specials designed to attract buyers. Heather Waterfield is one of those home owners with her Benton home on market. Waterfield bought the house two years ago and hopes to move to Florida soon to be with her family."

"'We've had the house on the market since December, and we have not had one person look at,' she said."

Or foreclosures? "As a consequence of the mortgage crisis, banks and lenders are forced into making sure foreclosed properties are secure. As a result, several locksmiths in the area have seen an increase in business. 'Sometimes you have to pick the locks to get into the houses because they usually don't leave the keys,' said Ed Mitchell, owner of A1 Locksmith."

"Lately, Mitchell has been changing locks on two or three foreclosed homes per week, making sure previous homeowners who have been evicted can't back get in. 'We don't want the owners going back in to strip the houses out,' said Mitchell."

Business fallout? "Franklin Bank Corp., the Texas bank led by founder Lewis Ranieri, is closing its unit that provides financing to mortgage bankers, according to a person familiar with the situation."

"The Houston-based company is 'substantially exiting' the so-called warehouse-lending business, firing most of its 20 employees, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn't been announced. Franklin can't sell the loans to securities firms, the person said."

"With Franklin's departure, the number of banks providing funding for mortgage bankers has dwindled to 12 from about 75 two years ago, said David Lykken, head of Austin, Texas-based Mortgage Banking Solutions. Among those, only half are taking applications, he said."

"'This is alarming for the mortgage industry,' said Lykken. 'It is right now the weakest link.'"

"IndyMac Bancorp Inc.'s troubles have gone from bad to worse. The Pasadena-based bank - already battered by fallout from the subprime meltdown, mounting home foreclosures and tightened credit standards - is now facing a class-action lawsuit."

"The complaint...filed this week in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of IndyMac shareholders accuses the bank of issuing misleading information that artificially inflated IndyMac's stock price."

"In an interview earlier this year, CEO Michael W. Perry expressed frustration with the industrywide problems IndyMac has had to grapple with - problems than began in earnest last year. 'It was bad from beginning to end,' he said, referring to 2007. 'We started the year missing our forecast for the fourth quarter of 2006. But that was nothing compared to the way the year progressed.'"

"A combination of slow sales and a desire to do something different has led Gary Robinson to close his 33-year-old business, The Yard Lumber & Fence Supply in Modesto. Construction-related businesses, from contractors to furniture stores, have reported slow sales over the last year as part of the meltdown in the valley's housing market."

"At The Auction Park in Salida, owner Roger Ernst said he's had about 20 business liquidations in recent months. Many of them are from construction-related businesses that are closing or consolidating, Ernst said, and have too much equipment relative to their workload."'

"If it's not working, why have it?' said Ernst. 'It's a sign of the times.'"

Rent to own comparisons? "Although the Scottish housing market is performing better than many other parts of the UK, most commentators believe future gains will be subdued."

"On the open market the property Emma McCaffery currently rents in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh would cost over £750,000. If she were to put down a 10 per cent deposit and mortgage the remaining £675,000 at 6 per cent, it would cost a fraction under £4,350 a month to service a 25-year mortgage on an interest and repayment basis. As it stands, the monthly rent on the property is £1,050."

"'My boyfriend and I are both working and so we can afford to pay the rent, save some money and live in a nice place,' McCaffery explained. 'We don't think it's worth mortgaging ourselves up to the hilt and taking on board all of the associated maintenance costs that ownership brings, especially since we are unlikely to see a significant return on any property investment in the short to medium term.'"