A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Pinal County's nascent resale housing market continues to reflect the Valley's as it backslid in third-quarter 2006. Sales volume was off by nearly half from the same period last year and the median price dipped under $200,000, according to a report by Arizona State University."

"The median price on a year-to-year basis dropped 6.4 percent to $199,900 from $213,500, and fell 5.3 percent from second-quarter 2006's median of $211,000, the report said. Pinal County's median resale price peaked at $220,000 in fourth-quarter 2005 and has dropped for three straight quarters."

"Sales fell 45.2 percent to 850 homes, from 1,550 homes sold in third-quarter 2005, and by 28 percent from last quarter's 1,180 transactions."

"Bill Murdoch, an associate broker-manager at ReMax's Queen Creek office, said the market is cooling from 'last year's insanity.' He predicted that first-time buyers and investors would return to Pinal County's resale market once the median price dips under $190,000."

"Buyers and refinancers who did deals last year from July to November, at about the market's peak, and want to sell now will find themselves 'completely upside down,' Murdoch said."

"Probably the biggest loss is Pinal County's image as a quick-turn cash cow, ASU's Jay Butler said. '(Buyers) figured they could turn around and sell and make a lot of money,' he said. 'That market is gone now. There is a loss of expectation.'"

"Sweet deals from new home builders, infrastructure and traffic problems, and higher prices than first-time buyers and investors can afford continued to push Pinal County's resale housing market downward in third-quarter 2006."

The East Valley Tribune. "The resale prices of single- family homes in Pinal County, including Apache Junction and portions of Queen Creek, are declining partly because of buying incentives being offered by builders for new homes."

"'New homebuilders have been aggressively pursuing buyers through incentives such as specially priced upgrades, free pools and gift cards,' said Jay Butler."

"Butler said new homes have become a 'strong competitive and attractive alternative' to resale homes in Pinal County. As a result, the market for the resale of homes is also slowing."

Arizona State University. "Although the average 30-year mortgage for third quarter 2006 was 6.2 percent (5.5 percent for a year ago), the declining home prices allowed the monthly mortgage payment for the median price, based on an 85 percent loan-to-value, to be very comparable at $1,040 versus $1,350 for a year ago."

"'Because investors were drawn to the inexpensive housing in Pinal County, higher prices have limited the investor’s role in the local housing market,' said Butler. 'There are many reasons for the slowing market and issues that will have to be overcome for any future recovery.'"

The Tucson Citizen. "The Tucson market has seen cutbacks in new homes, aggressive incentives by home sellers, the exit of many speculative investors, said Mike Inselmann, president of Metrostudy."

"About 10,062 new homes were built in the 12 months ending in September 2006. That's a 9 percent decline from the market peak six months before."

"The median resale price in September was $210,000, a decline of 6.7 percent from June, when the median price peaked. During the 12 months ending August 2006, the median price hovered near $220,000, so the September price decline is noteworthy, said Ben Sage, director of Metrostudy's Arizona division."

The Business Journal of Phoenix. "The Phoenix area posted an annual rate of 54,747 home starts at the end of the third quarter, a decline of 12 percent from the record 62,000 starts recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2006, according to the Metrostudy."

"'Builders' efforts to liquidate inventory have been successful, but starts are likely to continue dropping until inventory declines further,' said Sage."

From AZ Family. "If you’re looking to buy real estate in the Valley, you may want to wait a year. Last year, as many as a third of new homes sales went to speculators and investors. Now, many of them are competing with builders to dump their holdings. As a result, some developments have dropped by more than $100,000."