A report from the Arizona Republic. "The number of people losing their homes to foreclosure or falling behind on their mortgages in metropolitan Phoenix is near a two-year high, the latest and most tragic sign of the Valley's housing market slowdown."

"People are losing their homes at a nearly record rate, not only in the West Valley, where foreclosures have traditionally been high, but also in pricey neighborhoods in the East Valley, where credit-card debt levels are higher than average."

"'A lot of people with rising mortgage payments due to adjustable loans can't refinance now because their credit and debt situation has changed,' said (realtor) Margie O'Campo de Castillo in Phoenix. 'They are faced with finding a way to sell their home fast or lose it.'" "Economists say that nearly 40 percent of all home loans in metropolitan Phoenix are adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMS."

"Household debt has climbed to 132 percent of disposable income. It is the first time since the Great Depression that Americans are spending more than they make and saving next to nothing. Some Valley homeowners piled on debt by taking out second mortgages to buy investment houses. Some of those investment properties are now in foreclosure."

"In October, the Valley's notice of trustee sales almost doubled from April's level. Trustee notices, which are handed out by lenders when a homeowner is three months or more behind on mortgage payments, are at their highest level since January 2005."

"Last month, 1,186 homeowners got trustee notices and 133 homes were auctioned off to the highest bidder at foreclosure auctions on the steps of the Maricopa County Courthouse, according data firm Information Market."

"Julian Baeza fell behind on the payments on his west Phoenix home late last year. He tried to refinance with a private lender but ended up losing his job and then his home last summer. 'I thought I was getting help and could catch up on my payments,' he said. 'But, instead, my monthly payment went up, and they wouldn't work with me.'"

"Parts of the Valley, including the poshest neighborhood in Ahwatukee, the Anthem area of the north Valley and far east Mesa, have high foreclosure rates. Some parts of the Valley, particularly new neighborhoods on the fringes, drew more speculators."

"Now, many of those investors can't sell homes or rent them for a profit, so they are walking away from them. Foreclosures are climbing in those neighborhoods as well. 'A lot of homeowners are very nervous, and some are in trouble,' said Jay Butler of the Arizona Real Estate Center at Arizona State University. 'A lot of people gambled on home values continuing to climb like they did last year, and now they are losing that bet.'"

"Arizona's cooling housing market is hitting the town's fledgling multicultural celebration in its pocketbook. KB Home, chief sponsor of the Global Village Festival held in April, recently told organizers that it would no longer be able to sponsor the one-day cultural event, said Omar Hameed, vice chairman of the town's Human Relations Commission."

"The housing boon has shown signs of slowing since June, straining Arizona's home-building industry, an enormous cog in the state's overall economic engine. The slowdown has hit Gilbert. For the first time in almost a decade, median sale prices for existing Gilbert houses are down from what they were the same month a year ago."

"'We understand what happened,' Hameed said, referring to KB Homes' pullout. 'When you're down, you're down.'"

In Business Las Vegas. "Southern Nevadans' buying may be tempered this holiday season by high gasoline prices and a slowdown in the housing industry, retail analysts said."

"In Las Vegas, a slowdown in new home construction has prompted additional layoffs by builders, including some in the last two weeks by KB Home and that in turn has led to cutbacks in the construction industry, mortgage, title and other companies as well."

"The housing market is another factor to watch because of the slowdown in appreciation, said Julie Cameron, a VP of retailer productivity at General Growth Properties."

"Customers have had years of being able to leverage their homes to come up with more money to spend on other things," Cameron said. "That party is kind of over with, and it can affect the holiday season."