A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Sales have finally started at the long-anticipated Fulton Ranch housing development in south Chandler, just as the Valley is experiencing a significant slowdown in the real estate market."

"Fulton Ranch was conceived several years ago when the market for new homes was red hot. A year ago, it boasted a waiting list of 14,000 potential buyers interested in the lake community, where houses will sell from the high $500,000s to more than $1 million. But market conditions have changed."

"Dennis Webb, vice president of operations of Fulton Homes, said the waiting list has since been whittled down to about 1,800 people by prequalifying buyers and reconfirming interest. He said the biggest challenge now is that many potential buyers have to sell their existing homes first."

"Bill Ryan, a real estate broker in Chandler, predicts predicts the developer probably won't get the 'rampage' of sales it expects. 'It takes pretty strong income to be able to afford homes in the $500,000 or $400,000-plus range,' he said."

"Houses are taking longer to sell due to the Valley's housing market slump, and staging or giving them temporary new decor has become the strategy of choice for many sellers and investors."

"'You're setting a mood, and you're showcasing the lifestyle you could lead in this home,' said Phoenix interior designer Patti Craze. 'You're trying to have the buyer imagine themselves in the space.'"

"Diane Neslund, a Scottsdale interior designer who also does staging, said that it gives the illusion that you're not desperate to sell your home. 'People will think that they had better hurry up and buy it or somebody else will,' she said."

"With the flood of homes on the market now, buyers have become more selective, said Neslund, owner of Distinctive Interiors and Design in Scottsdale. 'There is so much competition you have to do something different than the others," said (realtor) Claudia Michalson."

"Realtor Pat Hune, who sold Kennedy's house, said staging isn't the solution for every for-sale home. 'If you have a home that's getting no showings, it's a price problem,' she said."

The Prescott Daily Courier. "The red-hot Arizona housing market of two years ago has cooled considerably. Developers aren't building new homes because people aren't buying them."

"'We had that spike there for the past two-and-a-half years where everything went crazy,' said Joe Contadino, developer of the Granville subdivision. 'Now we're back at that 2003 level. This notion set in that a house wasn't a home, it was an investment vehicle. Then the bubble burst.'"

"The town is hoping for a new bubble or, at least, some market improvement by February."

"'It's going to go up, this market that we're concerned about,' Councilmember Lora Lee Nye said. 'Do I have bad dreams or trouble going to sleep sometimes? Sure I do.'"