The Arizona press reacts to the April numbers and has some additional information. "The number of houses sold last month isn't very encouraging. At the same time, the number of single-family homes for sale reached what could be a record of 14,782 last month in the Southeast Valley, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. The MLS said there were only 2,402 single-family homes sold."

"People don't seem to be getting the message that it's a difficult time to sell. 'More houses are going on the market quicker than we are selling them,' said Trent Powell, a Mesa Realtor."

"Powell is also optimistic. He said that during spring break sales picked up dramatically and he sold four houses in the week. 'I just got a flood of calls, but it died right after,' he said. 'September will be dead. I am really hoping for summer. It is summer or bust,' Powell said."

"Tempe Realtor Craig Akers advises sellers to be patient, to clean up and de-clutter their houses and to be optimistic. 'There's lots of doom and gloom out there and I am not sure it is warranted,' he said."

"The median prices continue to rise, but Jay Butler said that is because people are moving up and buying more expensive houses. In Ahwatukee Foothills, for example, median prices reached $385,000. Its still too soon to tell if the market is in a swoon, said Butler. Butler said there is increasing concern about the ability of some homeowners to make mortgage payments, especially those that have used some of the more creative financing instruments."

"'A lot of people with home equity loans or short-term adjustables are going to see an increase in monthly payments,' he said. 'For a lot of these, the reason they have them is in order for them to qualify for the home so they may have been marginal people in the first place.'"

"For many buyers during the last few years, town homes and condominiums have been a better option. But sales activity followed a pattern similar to the single family home market with a decrease from 1,750 sales in March to 1,390 in April, which also was well below the 1,670 sales of April 2005."

"A hotel on North Central Avenue in Phoenix will be knocked down to make way for condominiums in the increasingly competitive midtown market. The Holiday Inn will be razed to clear a spot for three five-story condo buildings. (Developer) Wade Kempton said he expects residents to begin moving into the planned 257 condos late next year."

"Affordability is a key issue in metropolitan Phoenix housing in general and especially in the area's fledgling condo market. Condos have become an alternative to the starter home. But so many condo projects aim for the affluent buyer. If the prices aren't in the millions, many of the high-rise towers are asking for several hundred thousand dollars as the entry point, matching or exceeding prices for typical single-family homes in the Valley."

"Some analysts think there are too many condo projects in the works, especially those on the most-expensive side of the ledger. They say the market is unproven in a city where the single-family home has been king. (Consultant) RL Brown said there will be some condo projects that will succeed as workforce housing, although 'no one is positioning downtown condos for the workforce that needs them."

"'The easiest thing to do in this town is issue a press release about your high-rise condo,' said Brown. 'There's nowhere near the demand for expensive downtown condos for the supply that has been proposed.'"