The Uinta County Herald reports from Wyoming. "The concrete foundations poured and seemingly left for dead on Cheyenne Drive, and in Brook Hollow Subdivision Phase 4 are just the visible fragments of a big real estate investment and development plan that has crashed down in recent months. Leo Coleman of Utah, the 2003 Utah County Builder of the Year, and his partner, Dean Casutt,...purchased nearly every available building lot in town - 125 lots in at least four subdivisions, according to public record."

"Investors were then invited to buy lots in order to provide Coleman Construction with capital. The plan, outlined in the prospectus and other documents, was that investors would buy the lots from Coleman; he would develop those lots, build houses on them and then find an end user - someone to buy and live in the house."

"Kurrin Bickmore, a Utah-based investor, said all of this was to happen in less than a year. Most of the investors had no knowledge of Evanston, nor any intention of owning property here for any time over the 120 days. Few, if any, knew what they were buying."

"Bickmore admitted that he didn't investigate his properties and see what he owned until much later."

"Coleman stopped making the agreed upon mortgage payments for the investors this spring. Still stuck with real estate in Evanston, now making payments, or facing foreclosure and the ruin of their credit, they started to worry and ask questions and investigate the situation."

"Karen Field of Coldwell Banker facilitated Coleman's initial purchase of the lots, and though unable to disclose details, adds that after he closed, 'he got all different people to invest at astronomical prices;' some for as much as $81,000."

"'We all lied. Everybody that has a lot - we signed and said we were making the down [payment] and making payments. Maybe we did it naively, but we did it,' said Bickmore."

"Though a picture was painted of numerous workers from the oil fields lining up to buy new homes, Georgia Harvey of Uinta Title said that the need was probably not inflated too much, actually."

" Harvey calculated that homes could have been built and could have sold, even with the demand slowing - she estimated that at one time there was at least $5.2 million in Coleman's hands. 'But,' she said, 'the wheels fell off somewhere...something happened.'"

"As it is now, the investors have now found themselves owning pieces of Evanston, lots most likely worth less than $15,000, for which they paid highly inflated prices. Many of them are wishing, as Roger Harding said, that they had 'done a little better due diligence.'"

"The investors, 'not unsophisticated, first-time buyers,' Harvey said, took too much at face value, with things going so well in real estate. 'They all should have known better,' is the general attitude floating around."

From KPVI in Idaho. "The country as a whole has experienced problems when it comes to home loans. Here in Eastern Idaho, things might not seem as bad, but we definitely aren't immune."

"Stacy Davis, Consumer Loan Manager: 'Over the last year, year and a half, the housing market has slowed down. Idaho has been impacted by that somewhat. We are still behind the national average, but we are seeing the impact more recently in Idaho.'"

"Stacy says a big factor that goes into the lending decision is if the borrower is extending themselves financially. They say it's easy for families to push it when it comes to what they can afford."

"'A lot of the problem has been people over-buying for their ability,' Davis said. 'As the market begins to lose value and there's tightening up of guidelines, you will see less people qualifying for large homes. That seems to be the problem, when you are trying to buy more of a home than you can afford.'"

The Heraldnet from Washington. "Major cutbacks in the building industry in Snohomish County are blamed for a sharp increase in unemployment in May, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday. Local unemployment increased from 3.6 percent in April to 4.6 percent last month."

"'We dodged a bullet for quite a while,' said Donna Thompson, a regional labor economist with the department. 'But unfortunately, it's catching up with us.'"

"Thompson was talking about the national housing crisis. Thompson said the local construction industry is doing poorly because of the slowdown in home sales. 'There are a high number of homes that haven't sold and are still in the market,' she said."

"Last month, the county lost 300 construction jobs. During the past year, it's lost 3,300. 'Construction workers are losing their jobs and it's really having an effect,' Thompson said."

"She noted that many local homebuyers bought adjustable mortgages that could be increasing to much higher interest rates during the next four years. 'We could be looking for another year of pain and then we should start coming out of it,' Thompson said."

The Seattle PI from Washington. "Bellevue resident Dane Gill graduated from the University of Washington in December, just as the national economic downturn was starting to hit here. He has been looking for work since being laid off in September."

"'I've applied to at least, I want to say, like, 50 places,' he said. 'I've had a couple of interviews and a couple of them, they told me afterwards that they stopped their search, so I guess they felt nervous about giving somebody a job.'"

"Gill's job struggle is part of a larger problem in Washington state: It is producing workers faster than it can produce jobs."

"Another problem facing Washington workers is underemployment, though the state does not collect statistics on that phenomenon because it's a matter of opinion and hard to track. Gill, the recent college graduate, said that his counselor told him a humanities degree would be useful."

"'She said I could do a lot of stuff with it,' he said. "I don't feel like working at McDonald's or Target would be good for me because I went to five years of college, graduated with honors, you know?'"

The Columbian from Washington. "A sharp downturn in Clark County home building this year is showing up in the local job profile. The construction industry has shed an estimated 700 jobs in the past 12 months."

"Scott Bailey, a regional economist with the Washington Employment Security Department, said he expects the housing market to continue to have an negative influence on construction."

"'If we follow the national trend, the other sectors of construction (commercial and home remodeling) will start to turn down as well,' he said."

The Oregonian. "Paul West left his Idaho sawmill job in 2006 for Oregon's promise of steady paychecks from a booming housing market. By last summer, he said, he was hammered with work. This summer, he's working the carnival circuit."

"West still puts in the odd day on the job with troubled builder Legend Homes. But with little construction work, West turned to an $8-an-hour job working games at the Rose Festival and Tigard balloon festival. Still, he hopes to get back to his $13-an-hour building job in a few weeks."

"'If that doesn't pan out,' West said, 'I've got the Washington County Fair.'"

"Last week, Legend Homes, Oregon's fifth-largest builder since 2000, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors."

"'The fundamentals that affects Legend Homes are the same fundamentals affecting everybody else in this industry,' said Clyde Hamstreet, a Portland business consultant who's advising Legend Homes. 'Are there likely to be more bankruptcies? I'd be surprised if there weren't. A lot of homebuilders are in tough situations right now.'"

"In May, 95,500 Oregonians worked in construction, down 8.7 percent from May 2007. That's the biggest job loss of any industry in Oregon, according a state reported issued Monday."

"'If you know anything about the construction industry, you know it's gone down by many, many folds,' said Phil Kartel, president of Salem Painting Co. in Tualatin. He's cut his company in half from 120 to 60 employees because of slow home sales."

"What's worse, no one expects the home-building market to get better soon. Tom Potiowsky, Oregon's state economist, said, 'I think '08 is going to be a blood bath.'"

"Homebuilders, suppliers and subcontractors built up their business on the housing boom that helped power the Portland economy from 2004 to 2007. People with spotty credit, no down payment or meager incomes qualified in the new lending world."

"'It didn't seem like the demand would dry up,' Potiowsky said."

The Bend Bulletin from Oregon. "Martin Montes, a Culver resident, didn't see it coming. He bought a new home in 2007, when he had a good job and the economy was OK. But a year later a slew of events - a new baby, a reduction in his weekly hours at Bright Wood Corp., from 40 to 28, and a high-interest loan - made mortgage payments impossible to pay."

"It's a story that's becoming increasingly familiar and like many. Montes decided his best option was to broker a short sale, which is when a property is sold for less than the amount owed to the lender. So, Montes will try and sell the home he bought for $190,000 for $169,000, which is the current market value, according to Selef Spragg, a bilingual homeowner specialist with NeighborImpact."

"In the fourth quarter last year, 4,680 homes in Oregon were in foreclosure proceedings - an increase of 26 percent from the third quarter, according to the state Department of Consumer and Business Services."

"Montes, who said it's been a difficult road, offered some basic advice. 'Don't buy a house if you don't have the money,' he said."

"The street was supposed to be the stuff of dreams. Along South Grasle Road outside Oregon City, six supersize Street of Dreams homes built in 2007 back up to ribbons of Doug fir and a glazed Mount Hood peak."

"The builders came to attract future customers, and they were optimistic about selling the show houses that stretched to $3 million. Normally, two or three homes sell during the show and most are sold within a year. But nine months after the Street of Dreams show, none has sold."

"The show opened just as the U.S. mortgage market tumbled, triggering the Portland region's biggest home price decline in at least two decades."

"One Street of Dreams builder tried unsuccessfully to auction his home. Two builders now own their homes and one of them lives in his. Subcontractors who worked on four homes have filed liens to get paid."

"'The timing was probably about the worst ever,' said builder Ray Derby, a Street of Dreams veteran who is still trying to sell his $1.9 million home. 'We just hit a bad market.'"

"Builder Sean Foushee has built custom homes across the Portland area for 15 years. 'This is absolutely the toughest time I've ever seen,' said Foushee."

"Inside the house, Foushee's voice bounces off the Glacier stone that lines the front room up to the vaulted ceilings. There's a smoking room outfitted with thick drapes and a Robb Report magazine -- the 'Global Luxury Source.' There's a massage parlor and a shower the size of a small bedroom. Even the walk-in closet has a Mount Hood view."

"And how many fireplaces? 'I don't know,' Foushee said. 'Seven or something.'"

"Without a buyer, upkeep falls on Foushee and his work crews. 'It's not fun,' Foushee said."

"Foushee mows the putting green out back. His crews drain the front-yard pond to sweep out algae. Walking next to the wine cellar, Foushee spots dust gathering on the walnut wood floor. The house is still outfitted with $460,000 worth of furniture from the show. 'The couch alone,' Foushee says, 'was $38,000.'"

"He wouldn't say exactly what his loan payment is, but Foushee said builders for homes in that price range typically must cover a $8,000 to $12,000 monthly payment."

"Foushee first advertised the house for $3.2 million. He's now listing it at $2.9 million, and he just wants to get the house off the books. 'I'd take less than that,' Foushee said. 'I'll take a loss, and it's fine.'"

"Just as the 2007 show ended and the housing market started to slide, Greg Heinze learned he'd be the lead developer for the following year. By then, it was clear to anyone that the housing market was headed for trouble."

"Heinze remains confident. He scans his half-built 6,400-square-foot Street of Dreams home on Mount Scott's peak. Heinze said he did a few things differently to build his house at a lower cost this year."

"During the 2006 housing boom, Heinze said he might have asked $2.25 million. Now, he's thinking less than $2 million. 'It's primarily market driven,' he said. 'You're absolutely insane to go over $3 million. You're pretty crazy to go over $2 million.'"