Wichita Eagle: Jack DeBoer says immediate progress essential for WaterWalk's success - Success won't start with premature lease announcements that damage WaterWalk's credibility when they fade into the night, DeBoer indicated. Instead, it will come from a team of experts he intends to assemble to pinpoint the best uses for "a really wonderful piece of ground down there."

Wichita Eagle: Foreclosures on rise in Sedgwick Co. - The last three months have seen a 74 percent increase in foreclosures compared with the same three months of 2008. "For us, it's directly tied to our employment situation," said Stan Longhofer, director of the Center for Real Estate at Wichita State University."

Wichita Eagle: City: No more funds for WaterWalk - Real estate analyst Stan Longhofer, who directs the Center for Real Estate at Wichita State University, said the change in WaterWalk leadership can help move the project along. "In some ways, once you have a project that is struggling, something to shake up its image can help," he said. "It's not a statement there are things you're doing wrong, but a matter of needing a fresh perspective."

Wichita Eagle: Parade of Homes expects good traffic - "The 2009 Fall Parade of Homes kicks off Saturday for three weekends and about 200 homes ranging in price from $100,000 to more than $2 million. Builders and brokers will pitch the value Galyon referenced to try to lure reluctant buyers into the market... Stan Longhofer, director of Wichita State's Center for Real Estate, said the market is segmented into three types of consumers: serious buyers, lookers not interested in buying and buyers paralyzed by the economic downturn."

Wichita Eagle: Award honors Weigand brother's achievements - "Nestor and Mike Weigand, brothers at the helm of Wichita's oldest residential and commercial real estate company, have been named the 2009 recipients of the Kansas chapter of the Certified Commercial Investment Members Lifetime Achievement Award."

Wichita Eagle: Economic outlook for Wichita area mostly grim - "The Wichita-area economy will continue to shrink and shed jobs in 2010, according to a forecast unveiled Thursday by Wichita State University. The area is projected to lose 3,550 jobs next year, especially in manufacturing, according to WSU's Center for Economic Development and Business Research."

KSN TV:  Wichita could see recession until end of 2010 - "What we've had is both buyers and sellers are staying out of the market, so it's a relatively balanced market even though it's a slow market and that may continue into the foreseeable future, but prices are still relatively stable,” said Stan Longhofer with Wichita State University.

Wichita Eagle:  Index of leading indicators falls in July - Wichita State University's index of leading economic indicators fell again in July, the lowest it's been since June 2004. The index was affected most by a drop in residential building permits, a rise in initial unemployment claims and dips in consumer confidence and wheat futures.

Wichita Eagle:  Sedgwick County property taxes among lowest - "It's good that people's tax burden in this community is not as high as it is in some other places," said Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn, the former executive director of the Kansas Taxpayers Network. "That's a small piece of good economic news when there isn't a lot out there."

Wichita Eagle:  Area Market Looks Up - The Kansas economy and housing markets have bottomed out, but don't expect a quick recovery, a Wichita State University economist said this week. Stan Longhofer, director of the WSU Center for Real Estate, spoke to the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers meeting at the Kansas Association of Realtors annual convention in Wichita.

Wichita Eagle:  Economic Outlook Conference on Oct 1 - The most anticipated piece of the conference is the annual prediction for the local economy and local jobs. This year that will be delivered by Jeremy Hill, the new director of WSU's Center for Economic Development and Business Research. Other speakers are: Mike Jennings, chief executive of Frontier Oil, to talk about energy markets.

Wichita Eagle:  Kansans slow to use tax credit - "I think the number will rise substantially higher when they include the fourth quarter figures.... I won't be surprised at all to see that more than double with the majority of people utilizing the program doing so at the end of the year."

Wichita Eagle:  COX building sale's won't hurt downtown - "If I were going to open a restaurant, specialty store, retail or something like that, I'd put it there. Individuals will shop or eat before they to go an arena event, and I'd say if you're willing to stay open evenings you can pick up some customers leaving that event." The building's parking and location near the arena should make it attractive to developers, said Stan Longhofer, a Wichita real estate analyst and director of Wichita State's Center for Real Estate.

Wichita Eagle:  COX building back on market - Kansans are using the first-time homebuyer tax credit at the same slow pace as their neighbors, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.                                                                                          - Published in Page 1C, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

Wichita Eagle: Realtors diversify: Small brokerages move into other specialties - Home sales have slowed. Tight credit threatens commercial markets. Some of the city's small real estate brokerages are branching out, jumping into new specialties and offering new services to stay afloat in a down market. Those are changes that are expected, said real estate analyst Stan Longhofer, director of Wichita State University's Center for Real Estate.

Wichita Eagle: City's June home prices rise 1.58% over 2008 - "Home prices are a function of both supply and demand," Longhofer said. "People are hunkering down, which holds down transactions. But it holds down both supply and demand." Nationally, home prices were down 7.8 percent in June compared with June 2008. It was the smallest year-over-year decline this year.

Wichita Eagle:   Wichita-Area housing sales decrease in July - Wichita-area home sales tailed off slightly in July, down 59 units from a month ago and still about 14 percent off the 2008 pace. The downturn surprised industry observers who expected sales to rise last month, driven by the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.                                                                    - Published in Page 4B, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

Wichita Eagle:   Residential real estate sales rebounded in the second quarter, but worries about ongoing layoffs in Wichita linger - Home sales inch up 3.3% Residential sales rebounded in Kansas in the second quarter, according to a national survey. But sales of single-family homes, apartment condos and co-ops remain more than 17 percent off the 2008 sales pace, according to the National Association of Realtors. And some in the local industry continue to doubt whether the Wichita housing market will bottom out until aircraft companies stop laying off workers.               - Published in Page 1C, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

Wichita Eagle:  Fewer own homes - Home ownership is on the decline nationally after rising to record levels in 2005, as the painful epidemic of foreclosures continues. The rate of home ownership peaked in 2004 at 69 percent and fell to 67.4 percent in the second quarter of 2009. Those who lose their homes through foreclosure often become renters, although many others will move in with friends or relatives.                                                                                          - Published in Page 5B, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

Wichita Eagle:  Housing collapse ahead? - Turmoil in the housing market has led to fears that home prices will drop precipitously, particularly if foreclosures force large numbers of homes onto the market in the coming year. Recently, these fears have driven financial stocks down and led to the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.