The Arizona Republic has this on the new home market. "There's no good news in metropolitan Phoenix's new-home market, unless you're a buyer. The latest numbers show that home builders pulled 21 percent fewer permits for new houses in April than the same month last year. Builders have not been successful persuading consumers to take speculative homes off their hands, said analyst RL Brown."

"Brown calls the new-home market a 'quagmire.' He had forecast a downturn of about 5 percent this year from last year's record 63,570. But with 17,050 permits through April, he's preparing a revision and said it's unlikely that the market will equal 2004's performance of 60,872."

"Stuck with houses they can't sell even with huge incentives, builders have been slow to build more homes. That will hurt them later this year, Brown said, because it soon will be too late for builders to restart production and book sales this year. 'I think they (builders) are in denial,' Brown said."

From Realty Times. "It now takes longer for Queen Creek homes to sell, and the number of homes on the market has climbed, which gives buyers more to choose from with a little leverage. The number of homes for sale in the Southeast Valley hit 14,782 in March. There are currently 2167 resale homes for sale in Queen Creek."

"The number of spec homes on the market has increased because people have had to let their new homes go back to the builder because they can't sell their existing homes."

"Other realtors I have spoken with say the market is very slow. There are so many resale houses on the market from investors who bought last year plus the builders are offering huge incentives to buy new so the competition for buyers is fierce. The builders have had a lot of cancellations as speculators bail out so they are selling these cancelled homes at bargain basement prices to reduce their inventory."

"The most saturated segment is the smaller 3BR, 2BA house which was a favorite of investors. These houses are not upgraded and the investors are trying to cash out. Some investors are feeling the pinch of house payments as they did not expect to have to hold these properties for a long period of time."

"Many investors have unrealistic price expectations and start way too high. In some subdivisions every third house is for sale because the builder allowed investors to purchase. The higher end houses seem to fare a little better. However, they must be very upgraded to justify the price."

"Gas prices also hit hard as Queen Creek is a horrible commute with no signs of getting better."

"Sellers are advised to add some basic upgrades like window coverings, back landscaping and a garage door opener. Most investor properties do not have any of these upgrades so this would be a big advantage over the competition. Also, as summer approaches it is important to have the air conditioning on. Buyers won't linger in a hot house."

"I wish I had better news for my Queen Creek sellers. I recommend doing basic upgrades, putting the house on the market at a competitive price and see what happens. If it doesn't sell either rent it out for a year or wait until next summer to see if the market has improved."