A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Metropolitan Phoenix's housing market is "somewhat" vulnerable to a real estate bubble. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because if home prices dip a little, affordability will climb and the area's growth has a better chance of continuing."

"That was Joel Kotkin's message to the Valley's real estate executives last week at an annual real estate seminar. It wasn't the typical real estate forecast citing past figures and predictions for how rosy metro Phoenix's future will be. Speakers took a hard look at where the Valley was headed and what could halt its long-cherished growth."

"Unlike many national experts, Kotkin knows Phoenix and not just the older cities of the East and Midwest. 'Lower home prices are a necessary correction for Phoenix,' Kotkin told the crowd."

"As the real estate market slows, causing some cooldown in the overall economy, he said Phoenix must stick to the basics that made it grow: affordable housing."

"Many in the audience and on the panel with Kotkin agreed. Grady Gammage, real estate attorney and a firsthand observer of Arizona's evolution, said that for years, people have debated what's behind metro Phoenix's growth. Cheap housing or jobs? He thinks it's cheap housing."

The Arizona Daily Sun. "Alec Wroblewski of Phoenix said he wasn't surprised it took two months for his summer home here in Flagstaff to sell. Wroblewski said his home would have sold more quickly last year. 'It's sluggish,' said Wroblewski of the housing market."

"In Flagstaff, more homes are staying on the market longer than last year, according to the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors MLS. The average time a home stayed on the market so far in 2006 was 69 days, up 10 days from the 2005 average."

"The number of homes sold in Flagstaff and the surrounding areas during the summer months has declined from last year's totals. For the months of June, July and August, total single-family sales were 442 for 2006, down 29.4 percent from 2005's total of 626 sales during the same period."

"'These figures demonstrate that our market is making some adjustments,' said Ginny Britt, spokesperson and president for NAAR. 'Buying a home is still the best cash on cash investment people can make.'"

"Jim Snook, a real estate broker in Flagstaff, said he believes home prices could dip in the near future, following trends across the country. 'This is not last year's market,' said Snook, adding he thought prices locally have not begun to fall because sellers are reluctant to lower prices. Snook sold Wroblewski's home, helping the Phoenix-based owner sell it to another second-home owner."

"Realtor Stephen Brighton said the sense the price of homes in Flagstaff may begin to fall in the near future is natural. 'It makes sense, Arizona led the country on the upside; now we are leading the downside,' said Brighton."

"Tom Brewster, a member of the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors, believes the local real estate market has softened. 'People are sitting on the fence, waiting for a better deal,' said Brewster, who is also a member of Northern Arizona Building Association."

"For Wroblewski, the decision to sell was more sentimental than to take advantage of market forces: He moved back to the San Diego, where he grew up."