Home builders scale back houses to cut costs, sales slow on the Long Island waterfront … and more

1. Home builders scaling back the size of houses they build to cut costs [NYT]
2. CBS radio and television personality Charles Osgood puts 5,100-square-foot home at the Osborne on the market for $7.9 million [NYT]
3. Real estate firm Sheldon Good & Co. blames bankruptcy filing on ex-chairman [Chicago Tribune]
4. Troubled property loans auctioned off on the Internet [NYT]
5. College Point residents say waste sanitation center will attract birds and affect planes at La Guardia airport [NYT]
6. New FICO Web site MortgageReliefOnline.com helps homeowners understand if they qualify for government mortgage programs [NYT]
7. History of an asymmetrical wood-frame home in Bed-Stuy [NYT]
8. Bayside residents are afraid a church will reduce property values and bring congestion [NYT]
9. Sales in the city are picking up, but deals are being done at lower prices [NYT]
10. $600 million mixed-use tower in Hell’s Kitchen is the biggest project developers David and Jed Walentas have ever proposed [Crain’s]
11. Living in Laurelton, Queens [NYT]
12. Sales are slow along the Long Island waterfront [NYT]
13. In Windham County, Conn., one out of every 180 households is in a stage of foreclosure [NYT]
14. Understanding mortgage modifications [NYT]
15. A review of real estate veteran Steve Bergsman’s new book “After the Fall: Opportunities and Strategies for Real Estate Investing in the Coming Decade” [Inman, subscription req.]
16. Editorial says New York must replace Aqueduct in Queens with a major development [NYDN]
17. Stimulus funds may fix elevators in public housing projects [NYDN]
18. New York Magazine lists neighborhoods that saw housing prices jump during real estate booms [NY Mag]
19. First-time homebuyer’s guide to purchasing during the downturn [NY Mag]
20. Broker Tom Demsker chooses the best deals in the Sunday Times classifieds [NY Mag]