Two reports on the cash-out phenomenon. "As Durango real estate becomes pricier, some locals said they have been forced outside city limits while newcomers seize land they still consider cheap. A realtor in Aztec, Gary Jinks noted Colorado workers are crossing the border into New Mexico to find affordable housing.'Who wants to pay $300 a square foot in Durango' he asked, 'when they could pay between $80 and $120 a square foot in Aztec?'"

"Over the past year, the median house price within the Durango city limits rose to $357,000, increasing nearly 20 percent. Prices for housing in Bayfield, Colo., jumped more drastically during the same time frame from $187,000 to $268,650, or just more than 40 percent."

"There are some, however, who find housing prices in Durango a relief. Travis and Jennifer Jones relocated here from California this month. They toured a newly finished five-bedroom home in Forest Lakes north of Bayfield with Wells Group realtor John Ralph on Monday and found its $379,000 price tag warranted."

"'You can’t beat that,' said Travis Jones, adding a comparable home in California would easily reach $800,000. He and his wife took pay cuts to move to Durango but said the cost of living is also cheaper. They said they have been pleased by what they have seen. 'The market hasn’t been too shocking,' he said. 'But then I compare everything to where I came from.'"

"Durango Assistant City Manager Greg Caton called housing a hot-button issue and agreed the supply within Durango has not met the demand. However, as more than 2,000 homes are constructed in Grandview, the housing market may stabilize, he noted."

And from the Dallas News. "January was the second consecutive month with a year-over-year sales decline. More than 4,300 preowned homes were sold last month through the real estate agents' MLS. At the same time sales were easing, the median price of homes sold in North Texas jumped 9 percent to $144,000. That's the biggest annual increase in prices in more than two years."

"At the same time, more higher-priced homes are trading. In January, the number of million dollar and up homes sold in North Texas almost doubled from a year earlier. 'Starting last spring and summer, a lot of our buyers are coming from out of town,' agent Barry Huffer said. 'A lot of the country has enjoyed significant price appreciation in the last three or four years. Some of those homeowners are relocating and buying expensive houses here, he said.'"