AZfamily.com reports from Arizona. "Just like the housing boom, the condo craze has also slowed down. The condo boom started as a cheaper alternative to buying a single-family home. But once the market became overcrowded with condos, some developers are now forced to rent."

"'Just recently, we had a boom just like the housing market in places like Phoenix and Florida. What happened was they just overbuilt,' Phoenix broker Mike Bianchi said."

"He said developers in the Phoenix metro area converted too many apartments into condominiums. '(Developers) took a ton of properties that were rentals before and turned them into homes,' Bianchi said. 'At the same time, (developers) flooded the market with too many condos and now there is not enough buyers for those homes.'"

"'I think, currently, 98 percent of the apartments that are in the city of Tempe are currently rented,' he said. 'That's an extremely high rate of rentals.' That's why you're seeing some condos being converted back to apartments."

"'The good news for consumers is if you want to buy a property and you want to buy a condo, today is a great time to do it because there's a ton of them on the market,' Bianchi said."

The Arizona Republic. "Connie Edelman is owner/broker of Sterling Fine Homes and Land, which has offices in Cave Creek, Scottsdale, north Phoenix and Surprise. Question: How long have you been in the real estate business? Answer: 'I have been in real estate for 12 years and have lived in the Valley for 45 years.'"

"Q: Can you discuss trends in the rental market? A: 'As homes sit on the sales market for a longer period, sellers look to the rental market to tide them over until the inventory decreases and the sales market picks up again. This has brought a flood of new inventory to the rental market.'"

"'This has been especially noticeable in the areas that were hard hit by the investors. The increase in rental inventory keeps rental rates lower, making renting a good option for many who want to wait and see what will happen to prices in the coming months.'"

"Q: Some buyers are apprehensive about buying because of a fear the home's value will go down. What is your advice? A: It is not a time to buy and flip a property, but for those looking to buy a home that they will live in and enjoy, it is a great buyer's market.'"

The Arizona Daily Star. "As many as 2.2 million Americans with subpar credit could lose their homes through foreclosure over the next several years, a new report said."

"In Arizona, the delinquency rate during the third quarter was 7.46 percent,an increase over the 5.96 percent in the second quarter of 2006."

"There were 1,097,078 loans serviced during the third quarter of 2006 in Arizona. Of those, 2.93 percent of the homes had payments that were past due, an increase over the 2.44 percent of homes with late payments in the second quarter of 2006. In the third quarter, about 1.2 percent of all Arizona mortgages were at some stage of the foreclosure process."

"The downturn in Arizona's real estate market is translating into business for Catholic gift stores around the Valley, where shoppers are asking for the St. Joseph Home Selling Kit."

"'People come in very sheepishly and ask if we have the statue. They just want to get it and slink out again,' said Mary Gibson, manager of St. Thomas the Apostle gift shop in Phoenix."

"Gibson has seen sales of the kit, which retails for $6.95, rise dramatically since the first of the year. 'During the real estate boom cycle of the past couple of years, we didn't see any movement at all on the saint (statues). When the slump started and people realized that it was going to be around for a while, they started coming in,' she said."

"'Back when the market was hot and you were practically interviewing people to see if you wanted to sell them your house, it was a different story,' Gibson said. 'St. Joseph is their last desperate attempt to get the house sold.'"

"Gibson said her shop is ordering more of the kits to keep up with the new demand."

"The Treasures of Faith gift shop in Paradise Valley has been selling four to 10 kits a day, according to manager Loretta Winn. 'They're driving in from all over the Valley; it's not just people from this neighborhood,' Winn said. The shop, near Paradise Valley Mall is in the middle of a residential neighborhood where 'For Sale' signs abound."

"Recently, Susan Schuerman of central Phoenix bought a statue to help sell the home of her boyfriend's son. The homeowner hasn't reported a sale yet, but Schuerman isn't discouraged. 'He's not living on the property, so maybe that makes a difference,' she said."