The Deseret News reports from Utah. "The number of building permits issued for new houses, condominiums and apartments is falling across Utah, but in Utah County permits are skyrocketing, according to a new report."

"Many Utah cities have seen the number of residential permits issued this year drop dramatically. Permits in St. George fell 43 percent in the first nine months of 2006, compared with that period in 2005. In Herriman, permits fell 50 percent. West Jordan was down 31 percent."

"However, Chris Gamvourulous, president of biggest homebuilder said, the company remains concerned over the 'investor presence' in the Salt Lake market. 'We think in our communities we are going to be OK, but it just depends on how individual builders and developers deal with it in their individual communities,' Gamvourulous said. 'If they refuse to sell to speculators and investors, then their communities will probably be OK.'"

"'We're optimistic, but we are very cautious,' Gamvourulous said. 'Just because things are transacting doesn't mean they are real. It could be speculators. There are recisions.'"

"'We're still not building too many houses relative to the population and the numbers of jobs that we have,' economist Kelly Matthews said. 'But we have to be cognizant that clearly what's going on nationwide and what's gone on in Phoenix, Las Vegas and even St. George probably will have some bearing here along the Wasatch Front.'"

The Review Journal. "Developers of the 41-story Allure luxury condominium tower plan to build a second, substantially taller tower on the 5-acre site on Sahara Avenue, one block west of the Strip."

"It's been boom, bust, boom,' (developer) Steve Fifield said. 'In 2005, we were in a boom period with presales. It was too good to be true. Now we're reporting a slowdown in sales and traffic. We all jump on the bandwagon and say it's a bust. Public home builders are unloading land. They've got an unsold inventory of homes.'"

"'Las Vegas does have an overhang of housing, but that overhang is coming down quickly. There's only 280 (high-rise) units available for sale, so I think we're at the end of the bust,' he said."

"Research firm Applied Analysis reported 95,647 existing or planned luxury condo units in Las Vegas as of October, including 1,152 existing units on the Strip and 4,795 under construction. 'It's Darwinist times,' said developer Richard Worthington. 'Only the well-positioned, well-located, well-capitalized are going to be successful in the near term.'"

"'The hard thing about condo-hotel is it doesn't pencil out from an investment standpoint,' Applied Analysis principal Jeremy Aguero said. 'It's problematic from the consumer side. We've heard some buyers grumbling about the money they're getting back (on condo-hotel rentals).'"