Some Countrywide/Bank of American borrowers may be eligible for cheaper loans beginning December as a result of the Homeownership Retention Program, the state Attorney General's Office announced this week.

The program applies to borrowers of certain loans that originated between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, who are behind on payments or likely to fall behind. It also includes money for borrowers who lost their homes and those who face foreclosure.

"My office is taking every possible step to help our state's residents survive a series of devastating blows to our economy," Attorney General Rob McKenna said in his "Ask the AG" column. "By working together, we'll weather this financial tempest as we look forward to better days ahead."

Those who qualify will receive a letter from the Attorney General's office and Bank of America in December. More information is available at my.countrywide.com/media/FinancialAssistance1.html.

Countrywide won't start foreclosures on homeowners who likely qualify for loan modifications. Those who face foreclosure are encouraged to call Countrywide at 1-800-669-6607.

Updates one the program are available at www.atg.wa.gov/countrywide.aspx.

Anyone who is not a Countrywide customer but who is still concerned about if they are able to make their mortgage payments should visit www.atg.wa.gov/foreclosure.aspx for information, McKenna wrote. Counseling is available at www.homeownership.wa.gov or 1-877-894-HOME.

Zillow.com said it is laying off 40 workers, about 25 percent of its staff, to weather the "economic storm."

The Seattle-based Web site provides consumers with estimates of their home's value based on market trends and sales.

"This was an incredibly painful decision for me and the leadership team, but, in the end, we concluded that we had no choice but to securely batten down the hatches as we sail into a major economic storm," said Zillow chief executive Rich Barton on the company's blog.

The staff reductions are effective Tuesday. Laid off workers will receive severance packages.

The housing industry has seen sales and prices fall steeply as mortgage money becomes increasingly hard to find. Some major banks and financial houses collapsed under the weight of subprime mortgage loans in recent weeks sending financial markets into a panic and prompting Congress to enact a $700 billion bailout bill.

A recent Webware column by Rafe Needleman names one of our favorite Web sites, Seattle-based Zillow, among 11 Web 2.0 start-ups "in serious danger of falling off a cliff."

Zillow's the site that gives approximations of your home's value based on sales and market data of nearby and like properties.

Here's what he says:

"The real estate site's revenue model is advertising. Real estate and bank advertising. Unless the real estate site starts charging for foreclosure listings, I don't see it doing too well in a hunkered-down economy in which people are trying to hold on to their homes for dear life, not upgrade."

At Zillow, as you might guess, they disagree.

Here's part of their reply from Zillow director of community relations David Gibbons:

"We actually do have a revenue-generating relationship with the supplier of our foreclosure listings, thanks, You're right that it's one of the opportunities to make lemonade right now. Zillow traffic is actually up 40 percent from last year. We're fortunate to enjoy a very strong brand in a fragmented real estate market."

Gibbons says on-line ad growth is out-stripping traffic growth.

"I won't deny that these are tough times and there's no free lunch in the real estate media industry right now. We've been very frank about the fact that this market delays IPO plans for Zillow. But there are opportunities in every market and many home buyers and owners are more interested in the value of their homes today than ever."

Judy Mayfield, head of sales at The Esplanade condominium project in Tacoma, called Monday to say that she thought last Friday’s News Tribune story about poor condo sales inaccurately portrayed the situation at The Esplanade.

The story correctly noted that no sales have closed so far at the 162-unit development, but it did not mention that Mayfield has lined up 21 buyers whose sales are, for one reason or another, in a pending status.

“We have had tremendous interest and very positive responses,” Mayfield said. “The story had a tone to it that this has been a big failure here, and that is just not the case.”

Mayfield had a legitimate beef with the caption on a photograph that accompanied the story. The caption said “. . . no buyers have stepped forward for any of the 162 units.”

The way Mayfield sees it, 21 buyers have “stepped forward.” It’s just that, so far, none of them has actually closed a deal. Mayfield says she’s expecting at least one closure this Friday.

The upside of all this housing gloom is that homes that previously seemed unreachably expensive are now more reasonably priced - at least for those with cash and good credit.

We're planning a story or stories about the relative bargains that are now available on the market.

Real estate folks, e-mail me, John Gillie, at john.gillie@thenewstribune.com, with your nominations for the best bargain houses or condos available now.

Include your reasons for nominating the home. For example, it's priced substantially below what the neighbors paid for their homes, it's 60 percent of last year's asking price, it comes with a free cruise on the Amazon or the owner is willing to finance with zero down.

We're looking for a variety of properties at several price points and in several areas of the South Sound.

Our selections will be made somewhat arbitrarily with an eye toward providing our readers a broad idea of what's available on the market. If your nomination isn't picked, it's nothing personal. It may be that we just had too many nominations for 4-bedroom homes in Proctor.