The Fulton Sun reports from Missouri. "There is no doubt that the mortgage crisis has made its way to Missouri, and the effects are slowly trickling down to the state and county level. Mikki Starmer, a real estate agent, said she thought the reason for an increase in foreclosures was due to lenders giving loans to home-owners that do not have the ability to properly manage their debt."

"'They are too quick to loan,' she said. 'They call them fast and easy loans, and it turns out they are not so easy. In this area it has more to do with bad loans and people getting in over their head.'"

"Rick Gohring, president of the Callaway County Market for The Callaway Bank, said most of the banks that are responsible for foreclosures in the area are national or statewide lenders."

"'I would have to say that when you see a trustee that is handling a foreclosure, they are not the trustees that work with local banks - these are mortgage companies,' he said. 'This happens because of the way they were organized when they did the loans, they made deals that may not have been in the best interest of the consumers.'"

"Data from Callaway combined with other counties shows a sharp decrease in sales. 'In looking at what all of Callaway and Cole did, we are down 35 percent from a year ago,' Starmer said. 'In Callaway and Audrain we are down 45 percent - we did 55 percent of what we did last year at this time.'"

"Gohring said even though interest rates are low and that it is a buyers' market, there has been a decrease in customers at The Callaway Bank looking for home loans. Gohring attributed that fact to concerns that new home owners may have about the ailing economy and the future of the housing market."

"'There is a saying that the decision to by real estate is the most postponeable decision you can make,' he said. 'In terms of home sales, when you have uncertainty in the market... you can hold off on buying a house because you always have the option to continue to rent. Once you buy a house you are set in it no matter what happens.'"

The Post Dispatch from Missouri. "Jan Winters took a proactive approach with her lender, First National, for her 2-bedroom, 2½-bath town house in a new subdivision in O'Fallon, Mo. It was built for her two years ago while she was going through a divorce."

"But shortly after the divorce, Winters quickly realized she was in trouble trying to make payments on her $199,000 mortgage. Her expenses exceeded income by $400 a month. By March 2007, she was constantly one mortgage payment behind, and that was before the interest rate rose on her adjustable mortgage."

"'I knew they didn't want my house and I did. I tried selling the house but couldn't,' Winters said. 'So I told the lender if they helped me through this, life's going to turn around.'"

"In the end, she agreed to get a second job - in information technology - and seek credit counseling. First National let her skip three payments and added them to the end of her loan. So far, Winters has managed to make all of her payments on time."

"Even borrowers like Winters who work out solutions to stave off foreclosure continue to teeter on the brink of financial ruin. Winters' credit was hurt by the payments she missed, and that means she cannot refinance to a fixed-rate mortgage."

"But First National recently agreed to keep the interest rate, which was due to reset this year, fixed for three more years. Still, more than half of her monthly income is going toward repaying debts, including the mortgage, credit cards and car loan. She recently lost her second job, and is now sewing clothing and upholstery out of her house."

From WSBT South Bend in Indiana. "The relief bill...would give some home buyers a tax credit up to $7,500. Experts say it may encourage people to reconsider buying a home, especially with prices dropping on foreclosed homes."

"The Nortons are searching for their dream home. One South Bend home caught their eye, but the price may still be a little high. 'We only have $3,000 for the down or closing,' explained Geri Norton, a first time home buyer. And they don't qualify for low income help. 'We fall between the cracks,' said Norton."

"The relief for first time homeowners could turn the Norton's dream into a reality. 'Yea that would be wonderful,' said Norton. 'We don't want the house to own us.'"

The Journal Star from Illinois. "Belief that the U.S. housing market will not recover for an extended period of time played a large part in Standex International Corp.'s decision to close its Bartonville plant, the company said in a news release."

In its first statement since informing nearly 60 employees of the Acme Standex Co. of the decision, the Salem, N.H.-based company issued a one-paragraph release."

"'The company made the decision to close the facility after careful consideration and in light of the continued severe recession in the new housing construction market...It was necessary considering that the housing market is not forecast to recover for an extended period of time,' said the statement."

From ABC 4. "Home prices have fallen as much as 50% in some cities around the country recently. That's bad news if you're selling, but great news if you're buying. One prime example is a home in Cleveland, Ohio: a 3-bedroom, 2-bath multi-level house that had an estimated value of $112,692. Today, it's yours for just under $37,000."

"'One thing that is really unprecedented is the speed at which the prices have fallen in these markets,' said Paul Bishop, Ph.D. of the National Association of Realtors."

"While hard-hit states like California, Nevada and Florida come to mind, some of the best deals for home buyers today can be found in Detroit, Michigan, where a whopping 1,754 homes are currently on the market, all for under $10,000."

"'Five years ago, this house would've gone for 69-89 thousand,' said Carl Williams of Saturn Group Realty in Detroit. 'Right now, this is one of Detroit's great values, and it's going for $7500 -- a real steal.'"

"That home is located in a middle-class neighborhood, and experts say that when the market goes back up, the value will, too."

"'While it is painful for sellers, it is a good opportunity for buyers who are in the market to get a good deal on a house,' Bishop said."

The Pioneer Press from Minnesota. "U.S. home prices took their steepest dive yet in May by one key measure, though the erosion in the Twin Cities market appeared to moderate slightly. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index dropped 15.8 percent in May compared with a year ago and the 10-city index dropped 16.9 percent - both record annual declines since the two gauges started in 2000 and 1987, respectively."

"The Twin Cities index posted a glint of possible hope, plunging 14.8 percent from a year ago - a steep drop but not a record."

"Persistent declines have returned Twin Cities prices to their 2003 levels, according to the index, wiping out years of gains for homeowners."

"Have housing prices hit bottom? Jeff and Anne Deeb would like to know. They've had their Blaine town home on the market for nearly nine months and cut the price more than a dozen times, to $170,000."

"Eager to move closer to their jobs in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie since they pay $700 a month to fuel long commutes, the Deebs are mulling another markdown - and possibly taking a loss on the home to get a sale done."

"'It's frustrating,' said Jeff Deeb. 'We're trying to figure out if it's worth dropping now. Do you do it now and get rid of it and move on? Or do you try to wait it out? Maybe we've hit rock bottom. I don't know.'"

"Christopher Galler, senior VP of the Minnesota Association of Realtors, describes the Twin Cities as being 'in the midst of a muddy turnaround.'"

"It's not clear when the tide of foreclosures and short sales that have flooded the overloaded market will subside. In the first half of this year, lenders have repossessed 9,176 homes in the seven-county Twin Cities area, according to a Pioneer Press survey of sheriff's foreclosure auctions, compared with about 13,000 for all of 2007."

"Warren Hanson, head of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, predicts metro foreclosures will climb more than 50 percent over last year, or reach nearly 20,000 by year's end."

"Such 'lender-mediated sales' make up about 20 percent of metro home sales, or more than 6,000 listings, pressuring down prices overall, according to a Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors study."

"Finally, there's still a lot of new construction that needs to be burned off. About 8,600 homes are under construction or finished and vacant around the Twin Cities, most of which aren't counted in the total for-sale inventory the Realtor groups report."

"The Deebs...two-bedroom town home in Blaine is 7 years old, with windows on both sides and a back patio that opens onto a small woods. But there's an oversupply of brand-new empty town homes nearby in Blaine, said Ryan Karasek, the Deebs' agent with Edina Realty's Champlin Park office."

"So the Deebs are stuck. They've held off hunting for a home closer to Minnetonka or Eden Prairie lest they fall in love with something before they can sell the town home, Jeff Deeb said."

"'When we first priced it, we thought we were right in the ballpark,' Deeb said. 'We don't want to give it away.'"

From KFYR TV in North Dakota. "The housing bubble has not burst in western North Dakota like it has in many other areas, but there are more homes on the market in the Bismarck area waiting to be sold now than in the last four or five years."

"Doug Scheetz`s northwest Bismarck home is for sale. His real estate agent says it has everything a buyer could want. The house has been on sale for two months. 'We`ve had a lot of interest. A lot of people though the house, and then also online,' says Doug."

'But so far, there hasn`t been a buyer who was willing to commit. Doug`s real estate agent says that`s because many interested buyers are scared to buy because of what might happen instead of what`s actually happening."

"Century 21 real estate agent Sonja Tkach says, 'What we`re seeing is that we have a lot of impact that`s coming from our national media. It`s a good market in Bismarck. And what people need to understand is we`ve been very insulated, and we`re not as affected by what we`re seeing nationally as what someone might think.'"

"Inventory levels are different for homes at different prices. Some have enough homes to last for a year and a half. Prospective buyers can be a little more picky. And once they do choose a home, they have extra wiggle room to haggle. Buyers might want to also consider the fact that it`s a good time to find a reasonable mortgage."

"Tkach says, 'If you`re looking at a $200,000 house in today`s market, interest rates are 6.25%. Logically, we`ll see that interest rates will probably go up. If they go up to 7.25%, that`s about a $200 difference in home payments.'"

"So buyers who wait could miss out on saving money on both the purchase price and the mortgage."