A report from the Independent Record in Montana. "Everyone has noticed the surge of new construction in Missoula recently, but what’s surprising is it looks like that growth is only accelerating. 'We’ve got quite a few of those big homes being built right now,' said Walt Willey, president of Vanguard Gold Management. 'We’ve got a spec home worth over $1 million under construction right over there. There’s a lot of activity and a lot of homes going up.'"

"Kevin Kivela of Spire Inspections said he has had to put customers on a seven- to 10-day waiting list. 'A lot of people don’t pay to have their home inspected if it’s new construction, but it depends on what their comfort level is,' he said. 'Just because it’s new doesn’t mean there isn’t human error. I had a client that didn’t get a home inspection on a new home, but after three months of living there they noticed a foul odor coming from the crawl space. The plumbing for the shower had not been hooked up to the main drain system, so all that water went into the crawl space for three months. Sometimes things get missed, even in new homes.'"

"Kivela estimated there are a dozen licensed home inspectors in Missoula, and all of them are busy. 'I don't know where all these people are coming from,' he said. 'The housing inventory is still low. All these homes are going under contract the day of listing and they all have multiple offers.'"

The Denver Post in Colorado. "October temperatures might have run on the mild side, but a big drop in sales and listings cast a chill on metro Denver’s housing market, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Buyers closed on 4,294 homes and condos last month, a decline of 17.5 percent from September and 11.4 percent fewer sales than in October 2015. Sellers listed 4,874 homes last month. About three in 10 sellers had to drop their list price to get an acceptable offer, although that level was similar to the price drops measured the past two Octobers, according to the report."

"'Price reductions are being seen across the board as sellers adjust to the cool down,' Steve Danyliw, incoming chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, said in the report."

The McAlester New-Capital in Oklahoma. "Real estate reports indicate a slight bump in year-to-date residential sales in southeast Oklahoma has not matched the near 96 percent increase of new listings in the area. Data from the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors show that while 57 more houses have been sold thus far in 2016 as compared to this time last year, there are 1,280 more homes listed for sale in the same time frame. Data reflected markets in Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore, McIntosh, Pittsburg and Pushmataha counties."

"'(The) oil field pulled out,' Century 21 Realtor Shirley Donaldson said. 'They’ve laid off (people) and all those houses have come up for sale. Our biggest problem is all these jobs are gone.'"

"Donaldson said she’s seen sellers struggle to sell their homes because of the flood of new listings. However, the average days on market to sale dropped more than 41 percent compared to this time last year. Homes spent an average of 102 days on market before selling. 'You’ve got to price them right on the money or just under it,' Donaldson said. 'We need jobs. J-O-B-S is the answer.'"

The Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey. "If you’ve been notified, or even just worried, that you could lose your home to foreclosure, experts say parts of your home can actually help you fight that fate. That could be useful knowledge in South Jersey, even if recent statistics show that Atlantic County lost its unwelcome status as the foreclosure capital of the U.S. in the third quarter of 2016. Start with the mailbox. Atlantic County Sheriff Frank Balles' office prints dozens of sheriff’s-sale listings every Monday in this newspaper. He knows some owners’ initial reaction to getting the first notice of foreclosure is to put it aside, or even throw it away."

"'The worst thing you can do is not open that letter from the bank,' Balles warned recently in Atlantic City, at a foreclosure-prevention seminar hosted by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency."

"When Alejandra and Jose Perez realized their Galloway Township condo was in danger, the parents of three first tried to fight on their own. They worked at Showboat and Trump Plaza, two of five Atlantic City casinos to close since 2014. But even before they lost their jobs for good — Jose after 23 years at the Plaza — their hours were cut so much that they couldn’t keep up with the bills."

"Alejandra asked the mortgage company to modify their loan, but they were rejected because of that low income. Still, at the end of that process, she stumbled onto help in the form of the state’s Homekeeper program. They had to go through a HUD housing counselor to qualify, but ended up getting $50,000 in mortgage help from Homekeeper. When that ran out after two years, they still didn't have full-time jobs in Atlantic County’s struggling economy. NJHMFA suggested they try again for a loan modification, and put them in touch with another counseling agency."

"Their monthly payment was cut from $1,100 to $800, and 'so far we’re making it, we’re up to date,' she adds. 'I'd tell (struggling owners) first of all to never give up. The worst thing you can do is do nothing. Look for options, look for information. … And don’t wait until the last minute. It worked out for us, so it might work out for other people too.'"

"She also recommends a HUD-certified counselor such as Clarifi, where Stephanie Bittner is outreach director. Bittner can also suggest parts of the home owners can use to stay in their homes. She recommends a 'crisis budget ... They should make sure they’re reducing their electric bills. After the mortgage, utility bills are a major expense,' Bittner says. 'If they’re upside down by maybe $200 a month, it’s going to be a lot better than if they’re upside down by $500 a month. … They have to ask, ‘Can I reduce the cable bill? Can I cut back on food?’"

"Local utilities can also suggest ways to cut bills. At NJHMFA’s foreclosure session, an Atlantic City Electric representative handed out charts detailing the cost of leaving dozens of common items plugged in full-time. 'Go through and unplug your devices. … And don’t leave your phone charger plugged in,' Maria Waldman advised. She also gave a quick trick of adding an already dry towel to each load of laundry in the dryer. 'You may get a little lint,' she said, 'but it will cut down on your drying time by five or 10 minutes.'"