The Columbus Dispatch reports from Ohio. "For decades, central Ohio residents could count on steadily rising home prices that provided a bedrock of financial stability in good times and bad. That ended in 2005. Franklin County home values peaked that year, and the median sale price began dropping for the first time in at least 25 years, a Dispatch analysis found."

"If not for the loose subprime-mortgage cash flowing from Wall Street, Alice Goff probably would not have become a homeowner in 2005. Last month, Deputy Eddy showed up on her porch. She and her 13-year-old daughter needed to leave."

"Goff and her then-husband were looking for a place to rent in December 2004 when they ran across a mortgage broker's sign that said 'No down payment' in front of a 90-year-old house on the South Side."

"Although the couple lived on government disability payments for Goff's mental problems and the income from his cleaning business, they snapped up the home. 'It was exciting at first,' said Goff. 'They made it so easy.'"

"Goff's home sits where scores of subprime loans meet plunging house prices. There were 482 home loans signed in Goff's census tract from 2004 through 2006, and just over half were subprime. In Goff's neighborhood, the median price of single-family homes went up 45 percent from 2000 to 2005, peaking at $79,999, according to county records."

"But since then, the median sale price has slid 15 percent, to $67,950 last year.'

"Goff's home cost $84,900. The interest rate on her Wells Fargo mortgage started at 9.95 percent and could never go lower. It reset every six months, and could reach as high as 15.95 percent. After six months, her monthly payment jumped from $636 to $766."

"Goff divorced in 2006. When she was late on a payment, the monthly total was reset to $1,301, she said. 'I didn't know it would have got that bad,' she said. 'I think they knew I really didn't qualify for the house, but they played with the numbers.'"

"Wells Fargo took back the house in March through a sheriff's sale, paying $36,000."

"Franklin County deputy sheriffs William Eddy estimates that 70 percent of those being evicted countywide are renters. That's because lenders peddled many of the risky mortgages to landlords and property investors."

"'They ran out of chumps who wanted to be homeowners and tried the 'I want to be Donald Trump' crowd,' said Paul Bellamy of a Columbus-based legal advocacy group that helps homeowners fighting foreclosure."

The Daily Tribune from Michigan. "The dramatic drop in home values has left some Oakland County residents feeling cheated, while others don't see a quick turnaround."

"In Oakland County, current property taxes are based on values as of Sept. 30, 2007. 'Everything you read seems to point toward continued lowered home sales prices,' said retired Oak Park police officer Kurt Skarjune, who lives in a 2,800-square-foot contemporary Cape Cod-style home in Commerce Township. 'However, assessments aren't accurately reflecting the lower home sales prices,' he said."

"The market is also affecting the prices of lofts in downtown Royal Oak. Tom Barjak, a realtor (who) sells lofts... said he has had to reduce the prices for many higher-priced lofts, some as much as 30 percent."

"'Our premium loft went from $389,000 to $280,000,' he said. 'The higher price range has dropped.'"

"A new option Barjak said his company is beginning to offer is a leasing option for lofts. Renters can lease a loft anywhere between $1,900-$2,100. 'We're only leasing them because we can't sell them,' he said. 'It's more advantageous to lease (than let them go unoccupied).'"

The Chicago Tribune from Illinois. "Homeowners in danger of foreclosure increasingly are looking to beat the bank to the process by selling their homes for less than the value of the mortgage, with their lender's permission. But real estate agents say the growth of the short-sale market is having a detrimental impact on the overall housing market because it brings down comparable-sales data, making neighborhoods look less valuable."

"'It screws up a lot of stuff,' said Jason Pietrucha, a broker in Glenview, adding: 'It's without a doubt the healthiest part of the market right now, that and bank-owned properties.'"

"A company that acts as a negotiator between real estate agents and lenders, recorded a 380 percent increase in its short-sale activity in the Chicago area between the first quarter of 2006 and this year's first quarter."

"'When I go through the MLS, and I do it daily, I see 'pre-foreclosure, must need bank approval' all over the place,' said Bo Buchanan, a real estate agent in Oswego."

"Stephen Johnson of Crystal Lake, a former branch manager at a wholesale mortgage lender, is selling his home short for $220,000, when it appraised 14 months ago for $290,000, the same amount he said he owes on his mortgage."

"Johnson had borrowed 100 percent of the home's value in 2007 at 10 percent interest to pay for his wife to attend law school and had hoped to refinance at a lower interest rate. But he lost his job when the lender he worked for folded, and by the time he found another job in October his mortgage company already had begun foreclosure proceedings."

"He submitted the buyer's bid of $220,000 in January to his lender and was told less than two weeks ago that the bid was accepted and the transaction would have to close by June 15. His credit report will still take a hit, but Johnson reasons that showing that the loan was settled for less than the full amount is better than looking like he just walked away from his responsibilities."

"'If the short sale hadn't been approved I would have had to be out Aug. 15 as a foreclosure,' Johnson said. 'The last thing you want your neighbors to see is the sheriff knocking on your door and putting your stuff out on the street. I feel bad because prior to this I was always the one who paid [on time] and understood the market.'"

The Journal Sentinel from Wisconsin. "Pedro Medellin, a young bank teller who lives with his mother, knows he isn't a typical homebuyer. 'With what I make,' he asks, 'how would I get approved for a mortgage?'"

"While earning $9.25 an hour, Medellin struggles to pay a $103,500 high-interest loan for an often-vandalized house on Milwaukee's north side. The city assessed the property at almost $40,000 less."

"As housing prices were rising year after year, lenders across the country had eased underwriting standards. As a result, many homebuyers were able to secure high-interest loans without disclosing such basic information as their employment, income or assets. The real estate boom stalled, and many subprime borrowers found themselves unable to refinance or sell their homes."

"His introduction to the world of real estate came early last year when a friend encouraged him to supplement his income by becoming a property manager. The friend then hooked up Medellin, who earns less than $20,000 a year, with his sometime-real estate partner Randez Long."

"'I'm not a bad guy,' said Long, who has launched a handful of small companies. 'I don't have to swindle people on a property deal to make money.'"

"Long has helped his younger sister take out subprime mortgages to buy about a dozen Milwaukee properties, most of which are being lost to foreclosures or fire sales, according to courthouse records and Long."

"To try to figure out what was going on, Medellin took the bills and other paperwork to his boss at Waukesha State Bank, Juan Morales. After just a minute or two of scanning Medellin's paperwork, Morales said he realized that his employee had bought a house in Milwaukee."

"'He asked me what it was. I said it was a mortgage,' Morales recalled. 'He was floored.'"

"Morales said he didn't understand how Medellin got the 30-year loan. 'Simple math would tell you he couldn't afford it,' said Morales, a banker for eight years."

"Appraiser Michael Davis...set the value for the house on N. 34th St. at $115,000 - the exact price listed on the purchase offer and the amount for which it was sold. Appraisers are required to make an independent judgment of the house's value."

"In two interviews, the appraiser defended his work, acknowledging he used the offering price in his calculations. Appraising real estate, Davis said, is an inexact science."

"'All it is, is an opinion of value, sir,' Davis said. "You could say it's worth $2, and I could say it's worth a million.'"

"From the start, Central States had limited information about Medellin. The type of loan that he received did not require him to report his employer, income or assets. His impressive credit score in the mid-700s helped guarantee that the loan would sail through, said Central States' director of operations."

"Christopher Whalen, managing director of a California risk management firm, (said): 'In the rarefied atmosphere that we had in this country, my dog could have gotten a mortgage. With a paw print, it might have gotten through.'"

The Post Crescent from Wisconsin. "Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions a young couple can make. Making that decision when your husband is finishing a second tour of duty in Iraq requires added finesse."

"Neenah's Stephanie Waitrovich, 23, took a second walk through her new home Saturday just a day after purchasing one of 20 houses for sale at the first Great Fox Valley Home Event, which continues today."

"Stephanie and 2-year-old son Benjamin will move into their new home June 27. Husband Josh, 23, will reunite with his family later this summer. '(The house) kind of fell into our laps and we couldn't pass it up,' she said."

"Developer Fox Valley Homes, which is owned by Robert and Stephanie Millay, came up with the idea to sell the houses in one weekend to promote the first phase of the company's new 161-lot housing development."

"Robert Millay likened the innovative marketing approach to the stock market. 'This is our theory: What do you do with stocks? Buy when they are low. Why not try it with housing?' he said."

"Houses including lots were sold at discounted prices from $119,000 to $139,000 - $30,000 less than valued."

"'Subcontractors and contractors are slow during winter,' Robert Millay said. 'When we approached with this possibility of building 20 homes at once, they were drooling.'"

The Pioneer Press from Minnesota. "The sour economy and continued deterioration of the real estate market are driving down profits for Twin Cities-based banks, according to figures released Thursday from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. A growing number, in fact, are losing money."

"Of 121 banks in the Twin Cities, more than one-fifth posted losses in the first quarter, according to the FDIC. Last year, 14 percent of Twin Cities banks posted a first-quarter loss."

"'One reason banks' earnings are down this quarter is because they set aside a record amount of earnings to take care of problem loans,' said David Barr of the FDIC. Most of those problems loans are real estate related."

"'Our losses are coming because we're reserving, knowing the real estate market continues to turn down and we have builders (who are customers) who haven't been able to sell homes,' said Heidi Gesell, president of BankCherokee, a 100-year-old bank in St. Paul that reported a loss of almost $700,000 in the quarter."

"Though most banks in Minnesota are solid and doing well - despite a tough first quarter - the list of 'problem' banks on the state Commerce Department's watch list has doubled in the past five years, Murphy said."

"That list is not made public, but Murphy said about 10 percent of the 330 banks that his department regulates are on it. When asked if its possible a bank in Minnesota could fail, Murphy said: 'There is a chance of that.'"