The Tucson Citizen reports from Arizona. "The real estate dip put the brakes on the downtown 44 Broadway Lofts project this year, but the developers expect to start looking for condo buyers in the next few weeks in the former federal courthouse annex. Managing partners Ron Schwabe and James LeBeau opened a sales office with a splash on the July 4th holiday, but that coincided with the slump in housing prices."

"'We just kind of pulled back,' said Schwabe. 'In the next few weeks, we'll know more about our pricing.'"

"Realtor Susan Cassidy took down a couple hundred names of people, but has not entered into any contract talks with potential condo buyers in the vacant concrete-and-steel building. 'The developer never really decided they wanted to take reservations,' Cassidy said."

The Arizona Daily Star. "The chill in the air is not just from the weather. New figures from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight show a definite cooling of home prices in Arizona."

"'There are still some areas where appreciation rates remain very high,' Agency director James Lockhart said. 'But now they are the exception rather than the norm.'"

"One of those areas is Flagstaff. Prices increased nearly 3 percent in the last quarter and by close to 22 percent since the same time last year. The continued increase in Flagstaff is bad news for those hoping to find affordable housing in the area, according to Helen Hudgens Ferrell, the executive director of Both Hands Inc., which deals with housing and shelter issues."

"'I was certainly hoping it would cool down like the rest of the state and the country,' she said. The problem, said Hudgens Ferrell, is land, the lack of it. She said the community is more or less landlocked, with little available private land on its boundaries for new homes."

"And complicating the problem of available housing for Flagstaff residents is that perhaps a quarter of the houses are second homes for those living elsewhere."

"She said some firms have even taken to hiring buses to bring in workers from Winslow, where homes are more affordable."

The Salt Lake Tribune from Utah. "Nancy Cygan is home-shopping in Salt Lake City this week, wedged between two worlds. Her house in the Chicago suburb of Roselle, listed at $369,900, has been shown only once since May. Then there is Utah."

"'I never thought, leaving Chicago, that I would not be able to afford something comparable in Salt Lake City,' Cygan said."

"Three years ago, Utah's housing market was the weakest in the nation. Today, it is second only to Idaho. Home prices in Utah rose 17.4 percent during the three-month period ending Sept. 30 compared to a year ago, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight."

"It was only a matter of time before Utah caught up, Salt Lake City economist and Zions Bank consultant Jeff Thredgold. said. But going from dead last to No. 2 is 'amazing,' he said, noting Utah does not attract the same level of speculation as places like Nevada and Arizona."

"Rather, housing prices here are a reflection of a raging economy, a tight labor market and a steady flow of newcomers, he said. 'People have been cashing out in places like San Diego and Phoenix and going to Boise, Salt Lake and Twin Falls where they can get twice the house for half as much money,' Thredgold said."

"'But someone in Austin or Atlanta would be stunned at what they would have to pay to live in Salt Lake City,' he said. Or, say, someone in Logan."

"Jeremy Pugh and wife started scouting for a home in Sugar House. 'I was like, 'Whoa, are you kidding me?' There were these bungalows and they were cute, but they were teeny. We finally upped our price range.'"

"They sold their home in Logan for $140,000 and paid $260,000 for a 1914 Victorian in Sugar House. 'We now have twice the house payment for a smaller home,' Pugh said. 'We bought high, basically, and we're just hoping our value will continue to appreciate.'"

"Don't count on it, says Salt Lake City real estate agent Bob Plumb. The market already is softening, Plumb said, and while some of the slowdown is seasonal, sellers aren't as brazen as they were six months ago. 'Sellers used to just add 5 to 10 percent onto the value and get it,' Plumb said. 'Now pricing is a little more critical.'"

"Real estate agent Joan Taylor echoed Plumb, saying it used to be that houses registered to be part of a home tour would sell before the tour began. Which is why she's advising her sister, Nancy Cygan of Chicago, to be patient, and to steer clear of Idaho."