The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "New-home sales in metro Denver are down nearly 20 percent through the first nine months of the year, a new report says. Existing-home sales declined 9.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to a report by the Genesis Group. 'The resale market is facing significant downward pressure on prices,' the report said."

"Aggressive building and lending practices also have contributed to a wave of mortgage foreclosures, which has helped fuel the downturn, experts say. Many parts of the metro area, particularly in Adams, Arapahoe and Weld counties, have seen home prices depreciate in recent months."

"New-home sales have fared worse in northern Colorado than existing-home sales, said (realtor) Dave Pettigrew. 'The cost of new construction is relatively high, and builders are bucking a lot of competition in the resale market,' he said."

"'New-home builders have been under a lot of pressure, and they continued to build for too long and were not as aware of the warning signs as they could be,' Pettigrew said. 'If they had stopped construction a year ago, we wouldn't have so much inventory.'"

"Declining home prices can feed on themselves once they get started, said Tom Dunn, an economist with the Colorado Legislative Council. 'Do you want to buy something today that is going to be worth less tomorrow?' Dunn asked."

"Nearly three out of 10 new- home contracts in the metro area were canceled in the third quarter, compared with only one out of five during the third quarter of 2005. The seven- county metro area recorded 14,164 foreclosures in the first three quarters of the year, up 34.2 percent from the same period a year ago."

"The inability of potential new- home buyers to sell their existing homes or to obtain financing is contributing to the high cancellation rates, said Dave Bracht, division president of Neumann Homes, which is selling off lots in areas where it has excess inventory."

"'A lot of builders are looking at peeling off excess inventory,' he said. 'We bought significant landholdings in too few places. We don't need 400 lots in southeast Aurora.'"

The Idaho Statesman. "According to the latest Intermountain MLS statistics, the downturn in housing continued in October, with sales in the Treasure Valley falling 41 percent below the same month a year ago. 'Even the Realtors can't put a good face on that,' said Ken D. Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America."

"New home sales in Ada and Canyon County were off last month 50 percent and 38 percent, respectively, while existing home sales slumped 33 percent and 44 percent. New home sales in Ada and Canyon County were off last month 50 percent and 38 percent, respectively. The median price of an Ada County home has fallen 6 percent since July, from $248,900 to $235,000 last month."

"Some sellers are being forced to consider drastic measures to market their homes. Victor Clark, a Meridian building contractor, considered offering a new Chevy truck or Suburban to anybody willing to pay $699,900 for a 3,550-square-foot, four-bedroom, 3-bath spec home he’s building in the Foothills overlooking Boise."

"His goal, he said, has always been to keep from having to slash his price. 'I think it’s imperative that people keep their prices up,' Clark said. Cutting the asking price of a home simply devalues other homes for sale in the area, he said."

"Don Hubble, owner of Meridian-based Hubble Homes attributes the continuing decline to the exodus of out-of-state investors who drove the market to record levels in 2005. 'Now, not only aren’t they buying, I think they’ve turned into sellers,' Hubble said."

From USA Today. "During the real estate boom, home prices in the Sun Valley, Idaho area spiked almost as high as the peak of nearby Bald Mountain. The median home price is now about as high as San Francisco's."

"Sales of homes in Sun Valley and the adjacent town of Ketchum that are priced over $2 million are holding their own right now. But the rest of the market, with sales in the area down 50% from last year, looks as scary as a black-diamond slope."

"'I've been in real estate here for 18 years,' says Mia Edsall, an agent in the southern part of the valley. 'I've seen it slow but never like this. There are no buyers, and the reason there are no buyers is because they can't sell the house they have. A lot of us (agents) are getting second jobs.'"