The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "New-home sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area continued to dive in the second quarter - down almost a third from a year ago. It was the lowest quarterly home sales total in a decade. And starts of new homes were off about 30 percent from second quarter 2007, according to Metrostudy Inc."

"The pace of home construction in the D-FW area is less than half what it was at the peak of the market, said Mark Dotzour, an economist with Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center."

"Tuesday's quarterly new-home sales report comes just a day after the latest statistics for the pre-owned housing market showed a 20 percent decline in sales in North Texas in June. Sales of pre-owned homes are down 15 percent and sales of new homes are off 32 percent comparing the first six months of the year with the first half of 2007."

"Dawn Lyon, her husband and their four children had been in their lakefront Rockwall home for little more than a year when their $150,000 adjustable-rate mortgage reset. Monthly payments of $1,200 jumped to $1,600 in September. At the same time, the family was hit with weak business prospects and children's medical bills."

"They stopped making their mortgage payments and, by Christmas, the family was considering bankruptcy."

"The Lyons contacted Southwest Home, which bought their house for $130,000 in March. Southwest Home arranges short sales. 'It definitely felt good to get out from under that house, and not have to worry about bankruptcy,' Ms. Lyon said."

"Many of Southwest Home's customers are police officers or postal workers who bought their first home recently and now struggle to make the mortgage payments."

"'There are brand-new homes that are being foreclosed on,' said owner of Southwest Home Solutions, Mike Arnold. 'You can still smell the paint.'"

The Fort Worth Business Press. "As the fallout from the housing slump continues to mount, mortgage fraud continues to top the list of problems throughout the United States and in Dallas-Fort Worth's own backyard. Of the top 10 states experiencing mortgage fraud in 2006, the FBI includes Texas as one of the top 10 mortgage fraud 'hot spots.'"

"'It's bad, but it's going to get worse,' said Scott Burdette, managing director of an independent organization of appraisal companies based in Fort Worth. 'A lot of people have been charged with mortgage fraud, but the numbers are going to keep growing for a while.'"

"Gilbert Denizard, a loan officer with Fort Worth's Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., said many mortgage fraud schemes were covered up by home appreciation. Over-valued homes appreciated and eventually caught up with the inflated value, he said. But once the housing boom came to a halt, appreciation could no longer make up for an over-valued home."

"'Many times, if there's a mistake in the home's value, there's enough equity in the house for another person to come along and bail us out,' Denizard said. 'But once things started slowing down, it's like if you're driving along on I-30 and someone up ahead taps on their brakes...Before you know it, everything behind them has slowed down. That's essentially what happened in the housing market.'"

"In the late 1990s, owning a home was made easier through government-sponsored lending programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Burdette said, and the ease contributed to the housing bubble seen throughout the country."

"'We used to have willing and able buyers, but in the late '90s we had willing and enabled buyers,' Burdette said. 'The creation of the programs that let so many people own a home lowered the bar just enough and created an environment where this stuff could be done.'"

"Burdette said much of the crime wave originated with appraisers giving inflated appraisals of homes during the housing boom. 'We were supposed to be the gatekeepers, but we functioned as the doorman instead,' said Burdette."

The Kerrville Daily Times. "Many economists remain focused on what they call a U.S. housing bust, or even a crisis. According to Kerrville Realtor Brandon Douglass, the market here is feeling the effects."

"'We are an insulated market in some regards because we don't really have big industry, so we don't feel the pain of layoffs, etc.,' Douglass said. 'But we are feeling the effects from other places. ... We are a lagging indicator of how things get in other places.'"

"'I think the big part of the reason we haven't had more buyers is, A, the insecurity of the market and, B, the fact that they can't sell their homes in the other markets,' he said."

"From Jan. 1 to June 30, there have been 560 new listings on the market compared with 484 during the same time last year. The number of single-family residences that have sold, however, is down more than 17 percent for the year. Last year, 473 homes sold through June 30, compared with 392 this year."

"Douglass said that in previous years, his office would see at least one buyer from California or Florida a week. It has now been months since he has seen buyers from those markets."

"'There are still a large number of folks that want to buy in our area and cannot do so until they sell their homes in other areas,' Douglass said. 'We can't put our heads in the sand. It's just the reality of it.'"

The American Statesman. "In more evidence that the national housing troubles are hitting Central Texas, one of every 133 homes in Travis County was posted for foreclosure in the first six months of the year - compared with one in 265 homes in 2001. The same trend prevailed in Williamson County."

"The largest increase in Travis County postings was among homes valued at $300,000 up to $500,000. Those postings were up 44 percent from a year ago. Postings for homes from $500,000 up to $1 million rose 22 percent. Postings for homes at $1 million or more rose 18 percent."

"The region's rising foreclosures...are higher than they were in 2004, when Central Texas was still in the doldrums of the tech bust. They also answer those who say rising foreclosures simply reflect the increased number of homes in the region."

"George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc, said, the contention 'that today's foreclosure posting rate on a per capita basis is not as bad as it was a decade ago does not fly.'"

"Jeffee Palmer had gotten used to the inconvenience caused by construction on Lavaca Street between 17th and 18th streets, and then she started wondering what happened to it."

"In addition to the 17th Street closure, a block of the right lane of Lavaca Street has been closed for almost a year. The developers of La Vista on Lavaca, a luxury condominium and office project, took out a permit with the City of Austin on April 20, 2007, to close the block during construction, said Jason Redfern, manager of the Right of Way Management Division in the city's Watershed Protection and Development Review Department."

"The developers paid $99,900 to the city to keep the street closed for six months, Redfern said. The permit was to have been renewed for the same fee every six months until construction was completed.'

"The developers renewed their street permit in November 2007 but failed to renew it in April, Redfern said. Palmer said she has not seen anyone working at the site for months."

"Redfern said that he began making inquiries and that he was told that construction would resume soon. 'This one is very unusual,' Redfern said. 'You normally don't see construction starting and stopping like this.'"

The Record Star. "Soaring fuel prices, the housing market slow down, and other economic forces have claimed one long-time Robstown business. Access Chevrolet closed its doors June 20. The Access Chevrolet sales office in Calallen also closed June 20."

"'Continued changes in the marketplace due to the housing market slow down, high fuel prices and other outside influences have placed severe pressure on retail car dealers,' said dealership owner Charlie Massey."

"'I think housing started the downhill affect,' Charlie said. 'Demand is down because they can't use their homes as (automated teller machines).'"

From KTRK Houston. "Struggling to sell, some homeowners forced to pay more property taxes, while the housing market continues to drop. We found it's a problem affecting almost half the neighborhoods in Harris County."

"HCAD started working Saturdays last week to handle all the property tax protests. And with dozens of neighborhoods going through price dips and spotty foreclosures, many people are complaining the tax man is ignoring the market."

"'My taxes are very high and the market is down' said homeowner Jaleh Duran. 'I came to get help.'"

"'We hear that argument a lot from homeowners,' said HCAD Deputy Chief Appraiser Guy Griscom."

"Tito Guerra's taxes went up on his Denver Harbor home. According to realtors average sales prices dropped 38% from May 2008 to May 2007, but taxes went up 6 and half percent. 'I don't think it's fair,' (said) Guerra."

"The taxes up, prices down problem is especially obvious in areas where home values are less than $150,000 dollars and that is where nearly all of these examples are. 'The starter home, move up home 85-150 has dropped down considerably,' said HAR Chairman. 'I would say 13-15%.'"