2006 for many real estate professionals will be remembered as the year the market turned. The year was by no means a bust for housing — most economists still expect it to be the third best on record for sales — but a slowdown hit hard in many markets, causing brokers and agents to hunker down and focus on the basics. Memorable developments in online real estate include the launch of Zillow, a free site that offers valuations and information on some 64 million properties, and the explosive growth of real estate blogs. Also this year, more brokers started sending listings to search sites Google Base, Trulia and Oodle. And 2006 had its share of controversy, with the Federal Trade Commission initiating law enforcement actions against a number of MLSs, former Homestore CEO Stuart Wolff going to trial for his role in a lucrative accounting scandal, and banking regulators laying down tighter restrictions on riskier nontraditional, or “exotic,” mortgages.

OLYMPIA — The 2007 Legislature will be asked to help bridge the widening gap between the cost of housing and the mortgage a family of modest means can afford.

In Clark County, that gap has become a chasm.

A family earning the county’s median income of about $54,300 can afford to pay $175,000 for a house without squeezing its budget.

In October, the median sale price in Clark County was $256,000 for an existing house and $328,000 for a new house.

The situation is more extreme in the state’s most populated area.