The Burbank Leader reports from California. "Home prices in Burbank and Glendale plummeted more than 12% in June as foreclosures soared in the second quarter this year. The average median sale price for single-family homes in Glendale, now $654,000, dropped 13% in June from the same point last year. The number of foreclosed homes shot up 418% in the second quarter this year, from the second quarter in 2007."

"Similar housing troubles plague Burbank, where the median home sale price, $596,000, sunk 12.2% from last year, and foreclosures rose more than 127%. The figures were released by DataQuick."

"The most severe home price drop-off in Burbank occurred in a portion of its hillside community, encompassed by the 91501 ZIP code. There, home prices dropped to $655,000 in June, a decrease of 26.1% from last year."

"The hardest-hit region in Glendale is the Adams Square district, where the median sale price for homes in June reached $440,000, a 32.2% drop from last year. Foreclosures shot up 800%, with nine of them recorded in the second quarter this year compared with just one during the same period last year."

"The continued drop in the local market, and the paralleled media coverage, has further entrenched people's belief that the worst has yet to come, said Judy Graff, a broker associate who deals in Burbank, Glendale and other San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. 'I don't want to paint a completely rosy picture, but in our middle-class areas, I don't think it's as bad as our people make it out to be,' she said."

"'They're kind of entrenching themselves a little bit,' said Michael Teahan, president of the Adams Hill Homeowners Assn. 'People aren't looking to bail in Adams Hill or Adams Square. It's not really affected people. If you're in your house now and working, then I don't think it makes a difference.'"

"The worsening state of the housing market in the region and state has tipped the economy closer toward a recession, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp."

"'Los Angeles County is on the brink of a recession, and when you get to the housing sectors, we're in a depression,' Kyser said. 'We should see prices bottom out in L.A. County the middle of 2009 and in the inland areas of the state - from Sacramento all the way down to Riverside County, middle of 2010.'"

The Orange County Register. "Danielle Aldrich and her fiance William Greer ignored the rule and arrived an hour early. The anxious couple got to the sale of the new Platinum Triangle condos in Anaheim at 5 p.m. on Friday, one hour before lines were supposed to form."

"They were hoping to be among the first in line for one of 58 Stadium Lofts condos that were discounted between 24 percent and 29 percent."

"The developer cut the condo prices because roughly 18 months after the Stadium Lofts were completed, more than half of the project's 390 units remain unsold, the developer said at the beginning of this month."

"'This is a buyer's market,' said Linda Tawara, a Cypress resident who waited in line on Saturday to buy her second home. That's why she didn't fret that she was fourth to last in line. She got there at 6 a.m. on Saturday instead of the evening before."

"Why didn't you sleep over? 'Uh, it's not worth it,' said Tawara. 'There are other homes out there" that buyers can get for a good deal.'"

"She put a deposit down for a 1,082-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath condo for about $350,000. That's about a 25 percent discount or a savings of $114,300 from the original price.'

"'It was my fourth choice. But it's still in my budget. I'm happy,' she said."

The North County Times. "House prices are falling at the steepest rate on record, but for some buyers, the attraction of a home is overcoming the anxiety of buying a depreciating asset."

"From October through April, North County homes lost about 3 percent in equity ---- per month. Right in the middle of that slide, which some analysts expect to continue through the year, Steve and Shelby Nowak pooled their savings and made the biggest purchase of their lives, a $447,000 house."

"The newlyweds bought their three-bedroom, 2,250-square foot house in an east San Marcos gated community four months ago."

"'"We didn't buy the house to get rich in,' said Steve Nowak, 28. 'We got it to live in. It was just an ideal situation for us. The house was the right price and interest rates were low.'"

"The couple plan to have children in the near future and see the house as their home for at least five years. The Nowaks bought their home at 20 percent below the previous sale price in 2005. Because they submitted their offer in December, they were able to secure a loan with just 5 percent down, products that are tough to find now that banks have tightened lending standards."

"While Oceanside and Escondido have seen older, subprime-plagued neighborhoods lose up to 50 percent of value, newer neighborhoods such as Nowak's, where most homes were built after 2003, have not lost much value, based on county records and real estate Web sites."

"Another cause for concern among home buyers is a growing number of foreclosures. Throughout North County, notices of default ---- a forward-looking indicator of foreclosures ---- have doubled from last year."

"'I don't think (they) have a lot to be worried about in losing value,' said Nathan Moeder, a principal with The London Group, a San Diego real estate consultant firm. 'I think in the long run, meaning five years or more, their values should be retained at least.'"

"Moeder said that buying near Interstate 5 is a good bet because the limited real estate close to the ocean ensures better price stability. Other analysts, such as Christopher Thornberg, an economist with Beacon Economics, disagree, saying all home prices need to track incomes better."

"For Thornberg, he suggests waiting to buy until the end of 2009. That is when he will start looking to purchase, he said. 'Even if we are at the bottom, I don't care,' Thornberg said. 'Because they (prices) are not coming up anytime soon.'"

The Tribune. "Owners of more than 12,000 homes county-wide will see their property taxes reduced - sometimes dramatically - or face no tax increase this year after the county Assessor's Office lowered valuations a total of about $732 million."

"All of the properties affected were those bought since January 2005. San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom Bordonaro's office has sent out more than 12,000 notices to property owners notifying them of the changes."

"Bordonaro said that houses in subdivisions were down by 18 percent on average, and custom homes were down by 8 to 10 percent. He said his staff did see a few extremes of 20 to 25 percent."

"'Geographically, the North County and the South County were affected the most,' he said. 'Nipomo, Atascadero and Paso Robles, mainly the subdivisions.'"

The Mountain View Voice. "While sales of commercial real estate have slowed nationwide, Mountain View is experiencing a surge of new office development for the first time since the dot-com boom. "The city has recently managed to attract seven major new office developments, including five major high density office projects in the North Whisman Area, Google's first-ever new building."

"'We're in a unique position here in the Valley,' said Vice Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga. 'I was surprised to hear that the rest of the country is hurting.'"

"'There was some concern by developers that these projects get approved in a timely manner because of the looming real estate bubble,' Abe-Koga said, 'but everything is working pretty well.'"

The San Francisco Chronicle. "When at a recent brunch I heard some Noe Valley residents discussing what was bolstering the value of their homes, I was particularly fascinated by a single factor they had all settled on: the proximity of the Google Shuttle stop. None of the group was employed by Google, but that didn't seem to matter."

"All the real estate agents who responded to my inquiries about the Google Shuttle effect offered anecdotes about Google employees who were looking for homes to buy within spitting distance of a shuttle stop."

"'I'm working with a couple that is specifically looking for a home/condo near the Google line. They have made several offers but were outbid every single time,' Zephyr Real Estate's Tanja Beck told me in typical response."

The Marin Independent Journal. "Brittany and Climition Welch grew up in Novato and now, as new parents, they hope to buy a place of their own. As a bank clerk and a day-care worker, they can afford a mortgage of about $200,000, a limit that would normally put a home in Marin out of reach."

"But the foreclosure crisis that's turning some homeowners' dreams into nightmares is opening a door for the Welches and others like them as distressed properties flood the market at fire sale prices."

"'We've been pretty optimistic about finding something,' said Brittany, 25, who has toured five condos in Novato."

"Condominium and townhouse prices have dropped 26 percent in the county, from $555,000 in June 2007 to $410,000 last month, according to DataQuick. 'We have seen more people come into the market,' said Sylvia Barry, an agent with Frank Howard Allen Realtors who recently sold a Novato townhome for $345,000 to a family who had been living in affordable housing."

"Barry said her investor clients are keeping a close eye on the market but, for now, they're waiting on the sidelines. They're looking for homes they can fix up and rent out, she said, but so far they're not convinced the market has reached rock bottom. 'They just want to make sure,' she said."

"Clustered in Novato and San Rafael's Canal area, these homes are mostly condos between 598 and 1,525 square feet and range from one-bedroom, one-bath units to a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse. The Welches' agent, Martin Sanz, describes units in the $200,000 range as in 'fair condition.'"

"Broker Steve Schoen says a look at the number of condos for sale on the low-end of the market shows a 'very high ratio of pending to sales,' which, in a normal market would mean condo sales are hot. Because of the drawn-out short sale process, instead it means there's a backlog of offers waiting for lender approval. 'It's a little misleading,' Schoen said."

"For Welch and her husband, the dream for a home where they can raise their newborn son means avoiding the traps that have caught so many others. They have a down payment, loan approval, and plan on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. 'We're just being smart about it.'"

The Sacramento Bee. "Many homeowners associations begin planning next year's budgets in the summer. And just like the state, the groups - and their members - are getting into a financial bind because of the weakening economy and steadily rising costs of everything from fuel to swimming pool chemicals."

"A growing numbers of foreclosures and late payments have begun biting into monthly dues that pay for supplies and labor. That's especially true in associations created earlier this decade as new neighborhoods blossomed in rapid time."

"'What we're going to see in more of our budgets is a larger line item for bad debt write-off,' said Dan Kocal, owner of Folsom-based Kocal Management Group. Kocal and 85 employees manage 88 HOAs in Sacramento and Northern California. For 25,000 residences, Kocal is the management arm of an HOA, collecting assessments and delivering services."

"'Depending on the community and its size, 3 percent to 10 percent of the budget (next year) could go for bad debt,' Kocal said. That's triple what's been set aside this year."

"The biggest problem, though, for hundreds of new associations in Southern California and the Central Valley, is a dwindling of dues payments. When people lose jobs, 'the first thing they start doing is not paying their assessment,' said Karen Conlon, president of a trade group for HOA property managers. California's unemployment rate reached an 11-year high in June."

"Kocal, the Folsom management group owner, declined to talk about which associations are troubled by delinquent assessments. He said one in Sacramento has a 25 percent delinquency rate. But naming names would spur real estate agents to flag them and would-be buyers to avoid them, he said. Another large association didn't return a phone call about the subject."

"Years ago, before the current housing crisis, associations pursuing back dues might have put a lien on the home, foreclosed and gotten back their money. Homeowner associations are allowed to begin foreclosure proceedings when an owner falls behind by $1,800 or a year's worth of dues. Now, banks do the foreclosing."

"'When they're not paying the assessments, they're usually not paying the mortgage,' Kocal said."

"Yet, when a bank steps in, there's typically no equity left for the HOA's unpaid dues. 'With falling prices there is, as someone once said, no 'there' there,' Haney said. 'The bottom line is, it's a huge problem.'"

The Modesto Bee. "You've heard this before, but this time it's probably true: This is a great time to buy a house in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Yes, people said that last summer, too, and home prices have plummeted more than 40 percent since then. Ouch."

"But that only makes homes a steal-of-a-deal now."

"'Now people who earn as little as $30,000 per year can qualify to buy a house in Modesto,' assured Rich Loudermilk, a broker with All Star Mortgage in Modesto. He checked his math twice just to make sure he was right."

"Monthly payments on a $100,000 mortgage, including taxes, home insurance and loan insurance, are only $837 per month, Loudermilk calculated. That's about the same as Modesto's median apartment rent, and it's only about one-third of the gross monthly income for someone earning $30,000 annually."

"'Two years ago, it took $60,000 a year to qualify for even a lower-priced home in Modesto. That was for, like, a $240,000 house, and those were hard to find,' Loudermilk recalled."

'Prices have fallen so much that now more than 250 Modesto homes are for sale with list prices of $100,000 or less. Most of those houses are in the low-income parts of south and west Modesto, but there are bargains to be had elsewhere as well."

"'There are 360 houses for $150,000 or less within a three-mile radius of Tully and Briggsmore, which is a pretty good part of town,' said Loudermilk."

The Fresno Bee. "In his six years working as a repo man, Roger McKee has never been as busy as he is today. And with the economy faltering and easy lending practices of the recent past now catching up to an increasingly large number of people who borrowed beyond their means, McKee and the repossession industry are flooded with work."

"Nationwide, auto loans at least two months overdue reached an all-time high in January, according to Fitch Ratings. And credit rating company Experian reports that 12% of consumers this year had at least one late auto payment on file."

"Across the country, the number of vehicles repossessed grew 10% to 1.51 million in 2007, and it is expected to grow by another 10% this year, said Tom Webb, chief economist with Atlanta-based Manheim Consulting, which auctions off most of the repossessed vehicles in the United States."

"'It's primarily driven by the financial squeeze that a lot of households find themselves in,' Webb said. The collapse of the housing and credit markets leave more and more people unable to keep up with their debt load, he said."

"McKee has seen the economic devastation up close. About half the cars he repossessed used to be reclaimed by their owners, but now that has dropped to less than one-third, he estimated. And more and more of the addresses for delinquent borrowers provided to him by banks and other lenders are foreclosed homes, he said."

"'We've been overwhelmed, and so has pretty much every other licensed agency here in California,' said Rocky Pipkin, McKee's boss."

"'I'd say the majority of people are working families, middle to lower middle class,' Pipkin said. 'But we have our fair share of doctors, lawyers, correctional officers, state and county employees -- upper economic class people. The problem is, there are a lot of people who went in over their heads, thinking this housing boom was never going to bust.'"