The Arizona Republic reports on the housing bubble job scene. "Home builders are laying off construction superintendents, subdivision sales agents, finance specialists and other employees, a telling sign that metropolitan Phoenix's new-home market has taken a radical turn from last year's selling frenzy."

"Builders are struggling with reduced demand brought on by skeptical buyers hit with higher prices and rising interest rates. The pileup of unsold houses helped push Valley home building down nearly 24 percent in March and more than 16 percent in the first quarter, following a record 2005."

"Builders say they don't have enough work for some of their workers. KB Home said it made across-the-board cuts at its Phoenix division this month. Fulton Homes recently laid off about 12 people, mostly superintendents or assistant superintendents. 'If you aren't going to build as many subdivisions as last year, you don't need as many employees,' said Jay Butler, at Arizona State University Polytechnic."

"'This is the beginning of a contraction in the home-building industry,' Butler added. Housing is the Valley's biggest industry. At least one of every $3 in the area's economy is generated by housing, according to Republic research."

"Some builders noted in recent quarterly reports that sales were declining in the Phoenix area. Beazer Homes said downturns in Arizona, California and Nevada came from moderating demand and delays in opening subdivisions. Pulte Homes told analysts that sales had slowed in the Phoenix area due to 'limited availability' of Pulte products, an increase in unsold houses and buyers' uncertainty over price appreciation and longer selling times for resale homes."

"'Home builders are saying the Valley is going to be a good long-term market. In their speak, that means they are worried right now,' said Barbara Allen, a Scottsdale based national housing analyst. Home builders in the Phoenix area can't raise prices like they did last year and the market is slowing, she said."

"She said, the market's adjustment from last year's speculator-driven pace is going to be 'painful' for home builders in the Valley."

"Analyst RL Brown said builders are pouring fewer slabs in preparation for house framing, another indicator of slowing demand. He said the problem is cancellations of contracts, not lack of buyers. 'They are writing new deals, but the cancellation rate is out of sight,' he said."

"According to the Arizona Association of Realtors, membership in the Glendale-West Maricopa Board of Realtors has surged 271 percent in the last five years, the largest increase of any Realtor association in the state."

"Now that the market has leveled off, Roger Nelson, chief executive officer of the Glendale-West Maricopa Board of Realtors, anticipates a membership reduction as some new Realtors relent to the long hours, expensive marketing and heavy competition."

"'It was a feeding frenzy and a lot of people saw this as a way to make a quick buck,' (realtor) Julieta Contreras said. 'I knew it wasn't going to stay that way because most things in real estate are cyclical.'"