The Arizona Republic has the 'bad news' for homowners. "On Tuesday, Maricopa County residents will start getting the news: Your homes are worth a lot more, and you're likely to be paying more in property taxes. More than 1.3 million notices of property values will begin hitting Maricopa County mailboxes, bringing news that's sure to cause delight and consternation."

"It will be unknown how these latest valuations will translate into taxes until local governments set their budgets and lock in tax rates in August 2007. Property owners will receive tax bills for the new assessments a month or so later. Although higher taxes are likely, a more valuable home doesn't necessarily mean a costlier tax bill, cautioned Treasurer David Schweikert. 'As long as the taxing districts don't spend more money than the revenues from new construction, most people's tax bills will stay about the same,' Schweikert said."

From a columnist. "Bad news for the many homeowners trying to sell: It's likely only going to get tougher. The number of home listings in metro Phoenix is at an all-time high. In January, there were 30,113 houses for sale across the Valley. A year ago, there were 3,402."

"Some sellers still don't realize the housing market has deflated from last year's peak. Not only are the bidding wars gone but so, too, are many of the buyers. Most of the speculators who sparked multiple offers on homes early last year are long gone, and there aren't as many regular buyers because fewer can afford today's higher home prices. The typical house costs 50 percent more, and the typical income climbed less than 5 percent in the past year."

"Any Valley homeowner with a good crystal ball would have sold last summer and rented until now to be able to take advantage of all the deals out there. I didn't, but I wish I had. Who would have guessed home prices would climb 50 percent in a year? And who knows where they are headed?"

"Valley home sales are down and so are prices. Foreclosures are bound to climb, but they haven't so far. Tom Ruff said only 41 homes went on the foreclosure auction block last month. That's a slow month for the many real estate syndicators hanging out on the county courthouse steps to buy bargain homes. But long before those houses go on the block, investors are trying to buy people out for less than the property is worth."

"Ruff predicts Valley home foreclosures will shoot up by the end of the year. They already have in other overheated housing markets on the East and West Coasts."