The East Valley Tribune reports from Arizona. "A house was sold Tuesday for what may be the highest price ever paid for a residential property in Scottsdale. The home was sold for $10 million, said broker Bob Hassett."

"The 27,000-square-foot Scottsdale home was built in 1994 and cost more to build 12 years ago than it was sold for on Tuesday, Hassett said. 'The replacement cost in today’s market would be about $30 million,' he said."

"The owner originally sought $35 million for the property, but the price had to be reduced to sell, he said. 'Despite what has happened in the marketplace, it still is the most expensive house ever to sell out here,' Hassett said."

"R.L. Brown, a Valley housing-market analyst, said he was not surprised that the seller had to lower the price because the high end of the market has been affected by the same pressures as lesselaborate homes."

"'Right now, it’s tougher to sell everything,' he said. 'The reason is the expectations of the sellers are often out of whack with the reality of the marketplace.'"

"At the high end of the market, there are not many properties available, but there also are not many buyers, he said."

The Arizona Republic. "Emily and John Craiger are among more than 100 homeowners Valley-wide who were left with unfinished projects when Sunvek, one of the Valley's biggest names in residential remodeling and roofing, filed for reorganization Sept. 18 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court."

"'We're furious. Remodeling your home is tough enough without something like this happening,' John said. Some homeowners had signed contracts with Sunvek and put down deposits but never saw the work start."

"'It took everyone by surprise, that is how quickly the decision was made,' said Lori Ramirez, Sunvek's controller. 'But we had to call it what it is.' Sunvek quickly asked the federal Bankruptcy Court to release it from more than 100 unfulfilled contracts, saying they 'are of no benefit to the bankruptcy estate.' Judge Charles Case agreed last month."

"Homeowners may get something back when the bankruptcy case wraps up, but lawyers consider that unlikely. The homeowners are considered unsecured creditors, who are among the last groups to be paid in bankruptcy cases."

"Years of poor financial performance, aggravated by an inability to raise prices in a competitive market and topped off by a huge state sales-tax bill, sank longtime Valley roofer and remodeler Sunvek, according to its controller."

"The company tried to keep going until the end, however. Bankruptcy filings paint a picture of an enterprise that in its final year was slow to pay its bills and an owner who periodically pumped in money to make payments."

"'Just because the economy is booming doesn't mean all businesses are doing well,' controller Lori Ramirez said."

"Despite its shaky finances in the past few years, Sunvek couldn't raise prices because few customers were willing to pay over the going rate for projects, Ramirez said."