The Denver Post reports on Colorado. "Prices of existing homes in the Denver and Boulder metro areas fell in the first quarter of 2006, the first time in at least 16 years. At least one expert attributes the decline to basic supply-and- demand imbalances."

"'People who are upside down on their mortgages are putting their houses on the market,' said Mike Rinner, a real estate analyst in Englewood. 'There are too many homes on the market.'"

"Soft home prices could stretch for several more months as excesses get worked out, especially in the lower end of the market, said Phil Storms, a real estate investor in Denver. 'I would be worried about a bubble bursting if we had seen the same markets we saw in Florida,' he said. 'But we have had some slow markets for quite some time.'"

"If price declines continue, recent buyers who put no or little money down on their homes will find it increasingly difficult to sell them, warns mortgage broker Lou Barnes. Barnes also cited a building boom stretching along the northern Interstate 25 and E-470 corridors that is flooding the market with new homes. Those homes are undercutting the demand for existing homes, putting downward price pressure on older properties."

"'We are in worse foreclosure shape than Michigan is,' Barnes said. The difference is that in Michigan, which is suffering from automotive layoffs, 'nobody is building a lot of homes.'"

The Rocky Mountain News. "Steve McGuire, an agent who closely tracks the area housing market, said two culprits hurt home values: foreclosures and a record glut of unsold homes clogging the market. 'I think we're at the top of the list as far as foreclosures,' McGuire said. 'That is playing a big factor as far as home prices. Also, the inventory is going to continue to grow throughout this summer.'"

"He notes that last month there were more than 29,000 unsold homes in the Denver market, a record amount, and 'now we have to be well over 30,000.'"

"Rising foreclosures and growing inventory are 'just fueling the fire,' McGuire said. 'I expect that they are both going to continue to impact the market into the fall.'"

"Independent real estate broker Gary Bauer said, 'there are some areas that will be showing negative growth.' For example, Adams County, plagued by a large number of foreclosures, likely will see a drop in home prices, he said."