And it starts:

Legislation to Help Military Veterans Survive the Subprime Mortgage Crisis Mortgage Foreclosure & Refinance Resource

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) on December 19, 2007 introduced a pair of bills to address the needs of veterans during the ongoing subprime mortgage market crisis.
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H.R. 4883 will prohibit foreclosure of property owned by a servicemember for one year following a period of military service.
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“For many of our returning servicemembers and veterans, the stress of what they have gone through in war is still prevalent when they return home,” continued Chairman Filner. “Unfortunately, for many of these heroes, subprime loans are the only option when they do not have the best credit score, and more often than not, their low credit score is a direct result of their service to our country."

Winston-Salem Journal Military families among those hit with home foreclosures

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The number of defaulted home mortgages in the state has risen sharply in recent years, and about a third of foreclosure auctions in the Fayetteville area have involved active-duty military families or veterans.

Military members are going to be particularly susceptible to the housing crash because in many cases they will be unable to wait it out, and be forced into a position of having to sell, due to mandatory military moves.

Anchorage Real Estate: 2007 Annual Homes Sales Data Published

Anchorage Real Estate: 2007 Annual Homes Sales Data Published:

The headline numbers are that the average price of a home in Anchorage rose 3.75% last year, notwithstanding a 10.3% decline in total residential sales. Only high-end homes, above $750,000, are experiencing excessive market times. Those sellers are in the process of adjusting their expectations.

The gap between final listing prices and ultimate selling prices has widened to 1.75%. That figure does not, however, reveal what I believe is a pattern of larger below-the-top-line concessions like seller-paid closing costs and builder upgrades. Nor does it break out market performance by quarter for last year, which probably would have shown a weaker market in the fall and early winter than the first half of the year.

Niel Thomas here is referring to this story, Home sales to remain slow, in the Anchorage Daily News.

I am slowly learning to read between the lines. Niel Thomas is a Realtor who has no incentive to downplay the market, so we must take his slightly bearish remarks as evidence that the market isn't all peachy keen.

I wonder if he would say if "now is a good time to buy"?

As I have mentioned, I know three people who have purchased homes in the last two months. All of them will be force to sell in at least the next four years when their tour is up. At least they aren't stationed in Las Vegas or Phoenix.