The Housing Bubble

The Voice of San Diego reports from California. “For several months, the least expensive units for sale in La Boheme, a North Park condo project, were a handful of identically priced, one-bedroom, one-bathroom units on the third and fourth floors. But a few weeks ago, the units, priced at $183,701, gained some competition in the building, another one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit with six more square feet. It was being sold by someone who bought the condo new in 2006. The asking price: $166,000 to $168,000.”

“One price was set by the government as part of an affordable housing program. One price was set by the market. Which one is offering the lowest price? At La Boheme, it’s the market.”

“Because of government assistance and land-use regulations, about 40 of the units in the project were designated ‘affordable’ when it was built in 2006. That means their prices were, at the time, artificially lowered so that households earning under a certain income threshold could buy them and not spend more than 35 percent of their monthly income on housing costs.”

“In 2006, that formula spat out a price close to $200,000. But to try to compete in these market conditions, the builder has since had to lower the price even more.”

“Most of the market-rate units in this project once sold between $300,000 and $500,000. ‘There may have [once] been a $200,000 spread — but that spread is gone,’ said Peter Armstrong, supervising project manager for the Housing Commission. ‘They don’t have a competitive price advantage. But this dynamic is not unique to North Park or D.R. Horton.’”

“This is not the first time La Boheme has seen prices sink. In September, the builder auctioned nearly three dozen new units for discounts of about 30 to 50 percent from the original asking price. Then, some market-rate units sold less than the affordable ones were listed, about $200,000.”

“In La Boheme, the $166,000-priced unit is a short sale, a condo on the market for less than the owner owes on the mortgage, said the seller’s agent, Norma Santacruz. Her client was one of the first buyers in the building, she said, and she bought for $300,000 in 2006.”

The Union Tribune. “UCLA’s Anderson Forecast, which previously has been ahead of the curve in forecasting the downturn of the California housing market and the resulting decline in the economy, predicted yesterday that the state and nation would not fall into a recession.”

“The relatively rosy tone of yesterday’s Anderson Forecast is a marked change for the panel, which was one of the first economic groups to recognize the dangers of the housing bubble.”

“‘The data don’t yet add up to a recession, and there is nothing to challenge the basic story of sluggishness that we have had for two years. Don’t worry, be happy,’ said Edward Leamer, director of the forecast, the state’s best-known economic report.”

The Recordnet. “In the past, housing downturns have gone hand-in-hand with job losses, Leamer noted, while this time, there has been a disconnect between the housing market and employment.”

“‘The complete collapse of housing has come without a similar problem in the job market,’ Leamer said. ‘This time people are walking away from their homes not because they lost their jobs, got divorced or had health problems but only because declining home prices have turned their net worth in the house negative.’”

The Contra Costa Times. “The job losses in the state’s residential real estate sector still do not appear to be broad enough to trigger a severe economic contraction, Ryan Ratcliff, an economist with the closely watched forecast, wrote in a report.”

“California lost about 59,000 construction jobs and 32,000 credit intermediation jobs — which are primarily mortgage positions — during 2007. However, these job losses by themselves are not enough to trigger a recession, Ratcliff said.”

“‘With these two very junior partners, it’s very hard to generate recession-level losses,” Ratcliff wrote.”

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. “‘Both statistically and conceptually, today’s economy is something new - stinky,’ economists Ratcliff and Jerry Nickelsburg wrote in their closely watched UCLA Anderson Forecast.”

“Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., agrees with the UCLA outlook. ‘We still don’t see that we are in recession. But for most people there is some extreme pain out there. It’s still going to be a very difficult year,’ he said.”

From USA Today. “Riverside, Calif., is at the heart of the state’s Inland Empire, an area that has attracted people in droves from costlier coastal areas but now ranks fourth nationally in foreclosures. Most of the housing boom, however, did not occur in the city but in communities to the east where foreclosures are mounting.”

“‘It’s having a ripple effect on our budget and city finances,’ says Riverside Mayor Ronald Loveridge. ‘Housing industry is not simply building homes. There’s less money being spent for new cars. … That’s had a powerful effect on the economy of our region.’”

“California cities rely heavily on sales tax revenues since the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, which caps real estate taxes. Riverside faces a $12 million deficit this fiscal year. ‘We handle that by essentially not filling positions,’ Loveridge says.”

“Riverside is adjusting the payment schedule of development fees to encourage construction and passed an ordinance requiring the upkeep of homes — even when in foreclosures.”

“The Press Enterprise. “What was once Kevin’s framing saw, is one of countless power tools lining the walls of Inland Jewelry & Loan in Riverside. In an economy hit hard by a housing crisis, out-of-work construction workers are pawning their tools and equipment. Some pawnshops have stopped taking tools because they have more than they can sell.”

“In a good economy, customers bring in high-class items for layaway. If it’s bad, they bring in the sentimental remains, ‘things they may not want to give up their first time around,’ said said Sam Shocket, owner of King’s Jewelry & Loans in Los Angeles.”

The Desert Sun. “Restaurant owners who’ve been in the Coachella Valley since the 1980s have seen downturns before. The waves come in 11-year cycles, they say.”

“‘Profit-wise, it’s the worst I’ve seen,’ noted George Argyros, owner of two viable mid-valley restaurants that attract families, senior citizens, service industry workers and the price-conscious travelers. ‘Everyone is feeling the squeeze.’”

“‘Right now, the industry is in a downward cycle, and we hope the bottom is going to be at the end of the year,’ said Tony Bruggemans, general manager of a Palm Springs business that his brother began in the valley 35 years ago. ‘People are watching their disposable income.’”

The Times Herald. “The Golovich family home in Vallejo survived more than 40 years of tragedy and triumph, but not the subprime mortgage crisis.”

“The El Dorado Street home is in foreclosure, said Nancy Golovich and her mother, Sheila Golovich. Everything is packed and ready to go, but just where is still unclear, the women said in an interview.”

“The home eventually went from a tiny two-bedroom to a four-bedroom, two-story affair in which the entire Golovich clan grew up, Nancy Golovich said.”

“Sheila Golovich said her husband died in 1997, and things got harder to cope with. She said she worked several jobs, including 25 years at a local mini-mart, and continued raising her five children and even some of her 10 grandchildren.”

“She refinanced the home a couple of times to get money for needed repairs, but always managed to make the payments, Sheila Golovich said. But the last loan ended up being a negative amortization loan, which only grew larger each month, and it seemed that the faster she paid, the more behind she got, she said.”

“‘About six months ago, I wound up with this loan, I don’t know how it happened, but I got so far behind there was no way to catch up,’ Sheila Golovich said. ‘I was appalled when I went into foreclosure. I’ve lived in this house since I was 19. I’m devastated.’”

“‘Everything is packed, and my daughter and her daughter found a small apartment and that’s where they are, but I’m still here. I’m staying until the bank makes me leave,’ said Nancy Golovich. ‘I keep hoping something will happen and I won’t have to leave.’”

“Sheila Golovich said she’s looking for a small place to rent and hopes to be able to send for her family, who she says she misses terribly. ‘At my age, I’m not going to buy again,’ she said. ‘But I’m strong and I’ll make it.’”

The Daily Breeze. “The slumping real estate market has brought Hawthorne’s housing boom to a standstill, interrupting plans for about 800 new luxury homes that were set to go up for sale this year.”

“Former Hawthorne Mayor Guy Hocker has canceled his plans to build about 100 single-family homes. Hocker, with a partner, bought the property about a year ago for $15 million. He received City Council approval to build the Prestige Villas in September, but, months later, he abandoned the project because of upheaval in the housing market.”

“Hocker said last week that he’s trying to sell the eight-acre parcel.”

“At the newly built gated community called Threesixty at The South Bay, the developer has stopped the sales of its 625 luxury condominiums on the site of the annexed portion of the Los Angeles Air Force Base.”

“On Monday, the development’s Web site stated: ‘Sales opportunities are temporarily unavailable while we give the market time to improve.’ The homes went on the market in October at prices from the mid-$600,000s to nearly $1 million. But all sales were canceled, and selling stopped this year.”

“A third planned housing development has also changed direction. South Bay Ford owner Gary Premeaux said he’s abandoned plans to build 164 homes at the former dealership.”

“‘I spent a ton of money to get the entitlements approved, which I got,’ he said. ‘The subprime housing problem is a cloud over everyone that’s going to be around another 12 months.’”

“City Manager Jag Pathirana said the loss of these housing developments will cause a budget shortfall for the city. ‘It is unfortunate that these projects have been temporarily halted, but this is to be expected in the current housing market,’ Pathirana said. ‘The temporary stalling of the projects will hurt the city financially.’”

“However, some projects in Hawthorne are moving forward. Fusion at South Bay, a project comprising 280 condominiums is nearly sold out, according to its advertisements. Representatives from Centex Homes, the project’s developer, did not return phone calls and e-mails.”

“A banner outside the development lists home prices beginning at $300,000, while they initially were advertised at $520,000.”

From KERO 23. “For the third time in just two weeks, authorities broke up a big party inside a recently foreclosed home. Sheriff’s deputies…arrested 16 adults for trespassing and cited 10 teens who were then released to their parents.”

“Neighbors said the home had been vacant for just a few days before the wild party. It was just two weeks ago Bakersfield Police Department officers broke up two parties at vacant and foreclosed homes. No arrests were made in either of those parties.”

From ABC 7 News. “The downturn in the real estate market means land trusts that buy and preserve open space are able to buy more land now. Since they rely entirely on donations, they can’t be as competitive when the market is hot.”

“Four thousand acres of ranch land in Contra Costa County, ranch land in Truckee and hundreds of thousands of acres of land in California have been preserved as open space through the Trust for Public Land, or TPL.”

“Reed Holderman, TPL’s western regional director says the market downturn allows them to snap up properties otherwise out of reach, like 365 acres along the Nashua River in New England, 27 acres in Portland, Oregon.”

“There, TPL paid a mere $4 million for what could have yielded around $20 million for developers who wanted to build homes. But with the housing market plummeting, the developers saw a safe out with an offer from the trust.”

“‘It’s all cash now, and when people have loans outstanding and want to move on and know that this isn’t where the market’s going, then we tend to get these better deals,’ says Holderman.”

The Mail Tribune reports from Oregon. “Three or four years ago, buyers were snapping up new homes faster than builders could pour foundations. Lately, those same builders are more apt to be sitting on their hands. The median sales price for new construction in Jackson County fell 13.8 percent to $266,200 for the quarter. Existing homes sales activity slowed 33 percent over a similar period a year earlier; the median sales price fell 8.5 percent to $233,325.”

“‘A lot of builders have stopped building unless they’re pre-sold,’ said Coldwell Banker Pro West Real Estate agent Doug Morse. ‘They’re just trying to sell the stuff they have and holding on.’”

“Foreclosures have been a key component in the decline in sale prices. The number of Jackson County homes in default nearly tripled to 124 in January, up from 42 the year before. In February, defaults declined to 103 but were still nearly triple the previous year’s 37.”

“When such homes are sold in distress situations is that additional sales aren’t generated. ‘Normally, you have both a buyer and seller, who is going to look for another house,’ said agent Rich Oliveria. ‘The problem is that when these houses are sold, they’re not buying another house.’”

“As mortgage interest rates hover at 6 to 6.25 percent, high-end buyers are still riding the fence. The majority of action is below the $300,000 mark, while higher-end houses are ‘really quiet,’ said Morse. ‘Buyers are still waiting for the interest rates to go down more. Right now there are lot of bargains.’”

The News Review from Oregon. “Houses in Oregon take a long time to sell. But so far the glut of homes on the market and increases in foreclosures haven’t caused prices to drop like in other parts of the country. However, inventory of listings now pushes beyond 20 months, meaning it would take that long to sell the 1,080 homes on the market.”

“‘(It) is the highest I have seen it in the past 10 years,’ said Neil Hummel, broker in Roseburg. ‘In order for us to get this backlog moving we are going to have to see some movement on the part of sellers to reduce their prices or accept lower than their asking prices.’”

The Bend Bulletin from Oregon. “Central Oregon homes sales are coming off of one of their worst winters in a decade, and the tenor of the industry’s sales incentives is changing. Gone are the offers of free cars and Pottery Barn gift certificates. In their place: cold, hard cash.”

“It’s all about inventory reduction and, so far, price cuts have not done the trick, Renaissance Homes President Randy Sebastian said.”

“Renaissance has shaved anywhere from 11 percent to 20 percent off the list prices of its unsold homes, cutting anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 per home in south Bend’s Renaissance Ridge and west Bend’s Shevlin Park, Sebastian said.”

“‘The cars, the Pottery Barn, those were kind of on the cusp of the market slowdown,’ Sebastian said. ‘Now the incentives are a little more about the home and it’s a little more serious. People are wanting to make the home more affordable … and homes in Bend have become much more affordable.’”

“In Bend, the Central Oregon MLS had logged fewer than 50 closed sales of homes on urban lots by the last week in February, according to data tracked by Bratton Appraisal Group’s Mike Caba, making it the slowest February for closed deals in at least 10 years.”

“Private sellers also seem to be getting the idea that 2006 asking prices aren’t going to move a house in 2008, although buyers, in aggregate, are still looking for more, broker Norma DuBois said.”

“‘We’re starting to see people come in with prices that are more in line with where the market is,’ DuBois said. ‘We’re not seeing sellers being anywhere near as unrealistic as they were before.’”

The Gazette Times from Oregon. “Tumbling real estate values in much of the country have economists and homeowners struggling to predict where the bottom will fall in the coming year. Built-in demand in the cities surrounding Oregon’s two largest universities helped keep them largely above the fray.”

“‘We have guaranteed action in university towns; they’re not going anywhere,’ said Ann Morgan, a real estate agent in Corvallis. ‘Everybody is listening to the national media who say it’s horrible. It’s not horrible here.’”

“The report showed single-family building permits in Corvallis down 43 percent last year compared to 2006, with more than 100 fewer building permits issued by the city last year. That figure was topped statewide only in Bend, which saw permits plunge by 48 percent.”

“Doug Burton, president of the Willamette Valley Association of Realtors, said the existing supply of homes add to the high value of Benton County real estate. Before the slowdown, he said, new construction in North Albany in the $200,000 price range was snapped up, leaving mid-$300,000 homes the only option for buyers in that part of Benton County.”

“‘If you’re going to live in North Albany, you’re going to pay $300,000,’ he said.”

“The most extreme end of the housing market is the hardest hit, Morgan said. High-end homes over $500,000, which represent the top 10 percent of the Corvallis market, represent the slowest-moving properties and those most likely to depreciate.”

“‘That was so inflated that there’s bound to be a correction,’ Morgan said.”

The Statesman Journal from Oregon. “Take a drive to the outskirts of West or South Salem, and you’re bound to come across the same sight: leveled lots of land. On some lots, houses are going up. Many others are just dirt. It’s a reflection of what officials say is a significant slowdown in residential construction across the city.”

“‘There’s a great deal of inventory of lots but not a lot of building going on,’ said Glenn Gross, Salem’s urban planning administrator.”

“The city of Salem issued 17 building permits for single-family homes in December and again in February, marking the lowest monthly totals since December 2000.”

“The number of people applying for subdivisions also is way down, Gross said. There’ve only been six applications so far this fiscal year, which ends in June, compared with 29 last fiscal year. Locally, many said the slowdown is largely because of the housing surplus.”

“In Salem, there were 291 new homes for sale in January, according to the Willamette Valley MLS. That was only about 50 shy of the number of new homes that sold in the 12 prior months.”

“The surplus, real estate and building experts say, stems from the construction boom in Salem during the past several years. ‘All of the builders here were doing a great job delivering product for the demand, but timing is difficult,’ said Byron Hendricks, president of Prudential Real Estate Professionals. ‘We might have gotten a little top heavy on supply.’”

“‘If demand is down, you have to reduce supply,’ said Mike Erdmann, executive VP of the Home Builders Association of Marion and Polk Counties. ‘If you build a home anyway, it’s just going to sit there.’”

“Not everyone is holding back. Bob Cavell of Salem-based Providence Homes, has 26 homes under construction in two subdivisions in South Salem. His homes typically sell for $240,000 to $320,000.”

“‘It’s slower than it was in 2005, but I’m still moving forward,’ Cavell said. ‘I’m confident in the market based on the price range that we’re in. I think they’ll sell.’”

“Judson’s, a heating, plumbing and electrical company in Salem, is seeing fewer new housing jobs, particularly since late fall, said owner Ron Judson. The subcontractor has had to shorten employees’ hours and do minor layoffs.”

“‘It’s more difficult to keep all of our crew busy,’ Judson said. ‘When we are scheduled, we’re not scheduled nearly as far as we used to be.’”

The Kitsap Sun from Washington. “More ‘For Sale’ signs are going up in front of houses and condos in Kitsap County, but the sales pace is slowing, a combination that hints the real estate doldrums are sticking around.”

“According to new figures from Bellevue-based industry tracker Northwest MLS, 2,489 houses and condominiums were on the market in Kitsap County in February, a 31 percent increase over February 2007. Pending sales, meanwhile, were down 38 percent this February compared with February 2007, and closed sales dropped 11 percent.”

“Bigger housing inventories were the story as well in Mason and Jefferson counties, as they were for 19 of the 39 Washington counties tracked by the NMLS. February inventories for those 19 counties rose 39 percent over February 2007. Pending sales for the 19 were down 31 percent.”

“Meanwhile, median Kitsap house and condo prices combined so far this year are all over the map compared with January and February of 2007.”

“Smarting from a 10-month backlog of unsold homes in Kitsap County, builders are talking very seriously about new ways to sweeten deals to bring in buyers.”

“Reducing prices much more isn’t enough. Offering a host of incentives designed to calm buyers’ jitters and protect them in an uncertain housing market may be.”

“Rick Courson of Cedar Bay Homes Inc. of Silverdale suggested to members of the Home Builders Association of Kitsap County, that they consider buying their customers’ old homes or taking them as trades so they can buy new ones. Or, that they offer generous, irresistible maintenance plans for long after the home deal is closed.”

“‘The bottom line is that our inventory is starting to grow,’ said Courson, who builds high-end, green homes.”

“Dave Smith of Central Highlands Inc. said builders should consider reimbursing customers if their homes lose value after sales close, or even buying back the homes. ‘Cover the buyer’s risk of price reduction,’ he said.”

“Buyers here are simply too frightened to buy, the local builders said. ‘They’re scared to get into a house and have the thing turn upside down,’ Smith said.”

“Larry Skinner, seller at Poulsbo Place II, sees the same fear. ‘They walk into my sales office with a dark cloud over their head,’ he said.”

“Besides the fear factor, Courson said today’s big backlog of local homes was caused by non-local investors and home builders starting to do business here. Flippers, people who buy low and immediately sell at a higher price, had a role, as well as slower population and job growth, he said.”

“Smith said he believes prospective buyers are waiting in the wings, but they’re trembling mightily ‘We do need to address theses fears, and we need to address them hard,’ he said.”

The Seattle Times from Washington. “Eric and Whitney Johnsen prepared to sell their house as they shopped for a larger replacement. Recently they found it, in Newcastle. ‘We found a house we liked and fell in love too fast and there was a huge variable — we had to sell our house and the market was terrible,’ Eric Johnsen says. They didn’t want to own two homes.”

“A year or so ago, sellers generally wouldn’t agree to the Johnsens’ solution to their dilemma: a contingency allowing buyers weeks to get their home sold or back out of the deal. Sellers didn’t have to.”

“But with sales soft, prices flat and buyers cautious, real-estate agents say, contingencies have returned with a roar. They’re just one of many negotiating tools, from price cuts to help with closing costs, necessary to get homes sold these days.”

“The Newcastle sellers agreed to give the Johnsens 30 days to sell their old home and also shaved 2 percent off their already reduced asking price.”

“February home-sales numbers show why such tactics increasingly are necessary. In King County, single-family house and condominium sales were down 36 percent last month, available properties increased 69 percent and prices were nearly unchanged from a year earlier, the Northwest MLS reported.”

“On the day before the Johnsens’ contingent offer was to expire, buyers materialized for their West Seattle home. Those buyers also wanted to talk let’s-make-a-deal, and so the Johnsens did. They agreed to drop their asking price 2 percent.”

“To make their finances work, the couple couldn’t afford to pay what they’d agreed to for the Newcastle house. So Kari Scott, their agent, went back to the negotiating table for a last-minute price concession — something she says has been extraordinarily rare until recently.”

“Ultimately, the Johnsens got their nearly new four-bedroom home for 7.6 percent less than the original price.”

“‘It’s a whole different atmosphere,’ (said) Diedre Haines, a Coldwell Banker Bain managing broker. ‘In the last five years, we saw very little negotiation. Instead it was multiple offers with escalator clauses. Now sellers are more open to negotiation than they were a year ago.’”

“Scott, the Johnsens’ agent, cautions, however, that while most sellers are more flexible than in the past, they’re not frantic and buyers need to know that.”

“‘The reality is we’re not desperate; we’re not California; we’re not Florida,’ she says, recalling a recent bid. Someone offered 30 percent less than the asking price for a million-dollar house. The sellers laughed.”

“‘It’s fruitless when people put in a ridiculous offer instead of a reasonable offer,’ Scott says.”

The Telegram reports from Massachusetts. “The state’s housing market, reflecting the national scene, is a mess. Sales and prices have been in a downward slide since early 2006, and economists say it isn’t over. There is an abundance of supply, and the record foreclosure rate is dumping more properties onto the market each week, cramping prices even further. Judy Leonelli, owner of Century 21 in Mendon, said a lot of good properties are sitting because potential buyers are nervous or waiting for prices to drop further.”

“‘I think a lot of people have been sitting on the sidelines, particularly in this marketplace,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if they think someone will blow a whistle only buyers will hear, to get them out there.’”

“A 2,800-square-foot house in Mendon recently sold for $449,000. A house of the same size and nearly exact amenities in the same town sold for $538,000, she said after pulling sales records. ‘There’s not anything significantly different, and I think this one that just got sold is nicer,’ Ms. Leonelli said.”

“She pointed out another house in Uxbridge that she showed a few months ago, but did not sell. The 2,634-square-foot house was built in 2005, loaded with amenities, and sold that year for $570,000. It recently closed at $395,000, she said.”

“‘I showed it at $425,000,’ she said. ‘That’s a classic example of the kind of opportunities out there.’”

“Scott C. and Christina M. Pulicari of Uxbridge are trying to sell their home and purchase a newly constructed home in the same town so they will have more room for their sons. When Mr. Pulicari sold his last house seven years ago, it took less than 24 hours, after only three people looked at it, he said.”

“His current home has been on the market since late September, and he has lowered his asking price from $319,900 to $309,000. Unable to get an offer, he has had to pass up on making offers on another house, he said.”

“‘The new house was originally listed at $459,000, but is now $399,000, he said.”

“He said he will not consider paying the buyer’s closing costs or throwing in a flat screen television. ‘I work at a supermarket. My wife cleans houses. I don’t want to give things away. We did a lot to this house. I put new appliances in the kitchen, a tile backsplash, some new floors,’ Pulicari said.”

“He said he does not feel anxious over possibly missing the opportunities of reduced prices and low rates. ‘I do get a little frustrated, but there’s nothing I can do about it,’ he said.”

The Telegraph from New Hampshire. “Six months ago, it looked like New Hampshire was faring better than most states in the mortgage-industry meltdown. That’s what experts were saying, and the numbers seemed to back it up.”

“But by year’s end, New Hampshire had fallen close to the middle of the pack in terms of foreclosure and delinquency rates, according to just-released figures.”

“‘I think it simply took a little bit longer to hit our area,’ said Gina McCulloch, northern New England regional manager for Mortgage Network Inc. ‘I saw it hit Massachusetts quicker than it hit New Hampshire. But it’s heading north.’”

“By March 5 of last year, there were 95 foreclosures on record. But by March 5 of this year, there were 156, according to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds. Thirty of the to-date foreclosures were in Nashua.”

“‘No, I don’t find it surprising, because the loans that were written that should not have been written,’ McCullough said. ‘The credit crunch and delinquencies are absolutely continuing to become worse.’”

The Hartford Courant from Connecticut. “The housing recession in Connecticut deepened in January, with sales of single-family houses dropping 29 percent, compared with the same month a year earlier, and the median sales price of homes dropping by the largest percentage since 1995.”

“The market slowdown has spread through every part of the state, including Hartford County. The last time sales dropped by such a large percentage during a single month was in July 1989. It is the fifth month in a row in which Connecticut housing sales have dropped by double-digit percentages.”

“‘The market sucks,’ said John Zubretsky, president of Century 21 Access America, based in Wethersfield, with 14 offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island. ‘Anyone who claims this is a good market is fooling themselves. Inventory is just so high, and there is a perception out there that this is not a good time to sell a home.’”

“‘Connecticut spent most of 2007 defying the downward trends in neighboring states, at least when it came to prices,’ said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. ‘But 2008 is starting out on a different foot, and there’s probably more to come.’”

“At the same time, the inventory of homes for sale jumped. In January, there were 4,838 single-family homes for sale in the Hartford area, a 6 percent increase from January 2007 and an almost 70 percent increase from January 2003, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors.”

“In other words, there are now about two or three buyers for every 10 homes for sale, said Rob Giuffria, a broker in Farmington.”

“‘I’m telling my sellers, ‘If you don’t have to sell, wait,’ Giuffria said. ‘It’s just not a good time to sell. However, if you do have to sell, you have to price appropriately.’”

“‘I just worked with a buyer this weekend who is selling a $600,000 house in Southington and bought a $1.3 million home in Farmington — a cash deal, no mortgage,’ Giuffria said. ‘Will he be able to sell that house in Southington? I don’t know. Some towns are going to continue to do well, and others are going to fall off the cliff.’”

The Providence Journal from Rhode Island. “Rhode Island’s real-estate market in January continued to deteriorate. The median price of a single-family house in Rhode Island fell 12.8 percent compared with the previous January — nearly three times the rate in Massachusetts — to $235,000. That marks the largest monthly decline in Rhode Island house prices since the Warren Group began tracking the market in 1989.”

“Until now, the price declines could be blamed partly on the large number of properties being repurchased by banks at foreclosure auctions.”

“The Warren Group’s latest report, however, attempts to more accurately measure the market by excluding from its calculations all properties that banks repurchased at foreclosure auctions, sales between family members and other ‘non-arm’s length’ sales because they tend to distort the statistics, said the research group’s data analyst, Alan Pasnik.”

“‘In a small state like Rhode Island, month-by-month numbers do not always indicate trends,’ CEO Timothy Warren Jr., said in a statement. ‘But we have seen declines in single-family home sales hover around 20 percent for the past five months, and monthly price drops leading up to January have been pushing toward 10 percent.’”

The Times Herald Record from New York. “Orange County home sales plunged last month to the lowest level since at least 2001, according to the Orange County Association of Realtors.”

“The 99 sales completed in February represented a 37 percent decline compared with the same month of 2007. The median sale price of $297,000 was 7 percent lower than a year ago. Ulster County’s median price slipped nearly 7 percent to $225,000, according to the Ulster County Board of Realtors.”

“The extent of the carnage surprised OCAR Chief Executive Ann Garti. ‘It was almost as if, because our numbers were still up (last summer), we weren’t comprehending the extent of the fallout,’ Garti said.”

“Orange County homes are taking longer to sell, and sellers are knocking more off their list prices in order to close deals, according to OCAR data. Builders have lopped tens of thousands off their asking prices and are still struggling to unload inventory.”

“Several vendors at the home show said they’ve increased promotions and emphasized value to keep customers coming in. Competition is intense. ‘At one point, there was food for everybody, and now there’s not,” said Matthew Wilhelm, president of EKB Kitchen and Bath, which operates showrooms in the Town of Wallkill, Kingston and Beacon.”

“The competition is good news for homeowners looking to remodel. Like buyers shopping for homes, they have more options, and can play one supplier or contractor against another.”

“Helga Weiss of LaGrange, for instance, is in the market for a kitchen remodel. ‘I’m trying to get an idea where I can get the best deal,’ Weiss said after looking over Kitchen Elegance’s stock.”

“Then she turned to George Loussedes, owner of Kitchen Elegance in Clinton Corners, Dutchess County. ‘You don’t give a senior discount, do you?’”

The Sharon Herald from Pennsylvania. “Mercer County sheriff’s sales for home foreclosures in 2007 continued at a torrid pace of 354 houses — just three shy of the all-time record set the prior year. Compared to 1995, this marks more than a 10-fold increase.” “The situation is even worse than those numbers indicate, said Mark Thompson, housing director for Shenango Valley Urban League.”

“‘A sheriff’s sale is the most extreme point in a foreclosure,’ Thompson said. ‘About one-third to one-half of foreclosed homes have gone to sheriff’s sale. The rest have gone through foreclosure but the homeowner found some way to resolve it.’”

“‘Nobody is talking of things improving or a turn in the numbers yet,’ Thompson said. ‘It’s a very scary thing.’”

“In addition to bad lenders, Tina Beecher, a housing caseworker for Community Action Partnership of Mercer County, said she has clients who lacked financial know-how and bought more of a home than they could afford.”

“‘These are people who just buried themselves in debt,’ she said. ‘They aren’t making the mortgage payment first. Instead they’re taking care of their credit card or car payment.’”

“Ms. Beecher tries to work a payment arrangement between her clients and a lender to allow homeowners to keep their house. Most lenders are willing to deal — but not all. ‘The toughest are subprime lenders with call centers overseas,’ she said. ‘They’re foreign-owned. If they put an American out of their home they couldn’t care less.’”

The Beaver County Times from Pennsylvania. “In Pennsylvania last year, there were 34,089 foreclosures. That figure dropped from 38,333 foreclosures in 2006, but was well above the 28,650 in 2005, according to RealtyTrac.”

“The percentage of households affected was highest in Philadelphia, at 0.86 percent. Lawrence, Dauphin, Westmoreland and Beaver counties rounded out the top five.”

“In January, said Daniel Murrer, vice president of RealSTATs, the Pittsburgh regional housing market was the slowest in seven years, with the number of sales dropping 18.4 percent compared to January 2007.”

“In Beaver County, Murren said, 84 more families lost their homes to foreclosure between 2006 and 2007, a 22 percent increase. ‘That’s bad news any way you look at it,’ Murrer said.”

“Ed McLaughlin, owner of Bovard-Anderson Co. in Beaver, acknowledged that the local housing market ‘is in a cycle like the rest of the country. It goes up and down.’”

“Yong Staughton has been casually trying to sell a house on Highland Avenue in Baden for about a year now. Once in a while, someone will be interested in it, but she said there haven’t been any serious nibbles in quite some time.”

“‘What are you going to do?’ Staughton said. ‘You just have to wait until the right person comes along.’”

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