From the Idaho Stateman. "Slumping Treasure Valley single-family residential real-estate sales have begun to affect the area’s once-skyrocketing housing prices, according to September industry statistics released Thursday. An Intermountain MLS report for September revealed the median price of a home sold in Ada County last month was $240,000, a drop of $8,900, or 3.5 percent, since July."

"Boise State University economics professor Don Holley said an inventory of almost 7,000 unsold homes has created a market where homeowners have to slash their asking prices to compete for buyers."

"According to the MLS September report, 1,165 new and existing homes were sold in the Valley last month, or 37 percent fewer than the same month in 2005. Sales in Ada County were off 41 percent from a year ago, while Canyon County saw a drop of 31 percent."

"Nampa Building Safety Director Dennis Davis said that last year was an aberration and that the market is simply returning to normal. Don Hubble, owner of Meridian-based Hubble Homes, was not convinced. 'I think October is going to be even worse,' said Hubble. He said he may have to cut the price of his homes up to 10 percent to generate public interest."

"Kent Proesch, a real estate agent with Columbia Village Realty in Boise, had to take $74,000 off the price of a 2,428-square-foot, four-bedroom home he owns on the Boise Bench before he received his first offer. He didn’t hesitate to take it. 'Right now, at $249,900, I’m just going to break even and get out what I have in the house. And I’ll be glad about it,' Proesch said."

"'Land in north Meridian, which was the hottest market in Idaho, was selling for $140,000 an acre two months ago. Now it’s going for $80,000,' Hubble said. 'Now we have to get back to building homes that the general public can afford.'"

The Las Vegas Sun from Nevada. "With more than 20,000 homes on the MLS... buyers are in the driver's seat and calling the shots. 'In this market, we are competing head to head in a big way with new home inventory,' said Linda Rheinberger, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors."

"Some sellers are simply pricing their homes too high, agents said. Rheinberger said those sellers would rather turn to incentives than lower the price of their home as a matter of pride. 'They want to tell people at cocktail parties how much they made on their house,' Rheinberger said."

"The number of home foreclosures in Nevada has more than tripled in the past year. Chief among those being foreclosed on are investors who purchased homes about a year ago with minimal down payments and are now holding mortgages they can't afford. Some homeowners who paid the barest, or zero, down payments now owe more than their homes are worth."

"Since May, foreclosures in Nevada have increased 83 percent. The foreclosure rate shows no signs of slowing in Nevada with predictions it could triple again in the next six to nine months. Michael Krein, president of Nevada Real Estate Services, which handles foreclosures for banks, said the worst is yet to come. 'This is the tip of the iceberg,' Krein said."

"About a third of the homes now in foreclosure were bought in 2004 and 2005 with adjustable-rate mortgages. 'They are going to sell them for whatever they can, whether they take a loss or not,' said Steve Schauer, a local mortgage broker. Many overstretched homeowners are trying to refinance 100 percent loans, only to be rejected because their homes' appraised values have dropped and they don't have the cash to make up the difference, he said."

"The majority of properties foreclosed on are vacant, Krein said. More than 40 percent are owned by investors who bought in late 2005, hoped to turn them around for quick profits and didn't even make a payment, he said."

The East Valley Tribune from Arizona. "Bill Yakobovich’s ritzy north Scottsdale estate sat vacant for nearly five months before he decided to ditch his real estate agent and put the home up for auction. 'Nobody stepped forward to give me the greenbacks,' he said. 'I said ‘I am not going to go through another winter. I am just going to sell it at auction.'"

"Next month his 4,500-squarefoot Desert Mountain home, which was originally listed for $2.9 million, will sell regardless of price, for no minimum bid and no reserve. 'I’m not using the home,' he said. 'If the market tells me it’s worth less than I expected to get when I listed it a year ago, then that’s OK. It’s really worth it to me, just to get rid of it.'"

"And the majority of the Valley’s million-dollar home auctions are taking place in Scottsdale, said Bob Boone, the local designated broker for a company that specializes in luxury-home auctions."

"Potential buyers can peruse home listings online and actually watch desperate homeowners slash their prices on a weekly basis, Butler said. 'What gets into your mind is, why would I buy now when in fact it may even go lower?' said Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center."

"'It is the complete opposite of what it was when the market was a sellers’ market,' said Stacey Atwell, associate broker in Chandler. 'The buyers last year were saying, why do I have to pay $20,000 above price? That’s not fair. Well, do you want it or not? Now, the same thing goes for the sellers, saying why do I have to take $20,000 less than what I have it listed for? Well, do you want to sell it or not?'"