A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "In another sign that the condo conversion market is declining, a company that was converting a large Tempe apartment complex to condos announced Friday that it is going to lease the units as apartments instead."

"The CG Development Group, of Chicago, decided there was a greater need for apartments because the market is flooded with condos, according to company staff. About 60 of the 660 units had been pre-sold, and those owners will get their deposits back, said Chris Day, a publicist for the company."

"Several real estate experts say they are seeing more of these 'reversions' and that they are proof the condo conversion craze that began several years ago has peaked."

"'There are still people looking around for property with the intent to convert to condos,' said Ron Brock Jr., vice president and director of sales for a Scottsdale multifamily housing research firm. 'The last man standing is not smart enough to realize it's already over.'"

"He and Terry Feinberg, president of the Arizona Multihousing Association, said they have heard of other complexes intended for condo conversions in Tempe and elsewhere that have reverted to apartments."

"Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center, said he wasn't surprised. Butler said he was around to see the apartment-to-condo conversion market in the 1980s wither away."

"'In a sense, the concept (converting apartments to condos) is a reasonably good idea, but there was just too much. You just can't handle the mass in a reasonable period of time. You can only absorb so much into the market,' he said."

"The latest condo conversion market was driven by a shortage of houses for sale. But that situation eased a year ago, and last month there were about 15,800 homes for sale in the Southeast Valley, according to the Arizona Regional MLS."

"All the units in the Haven, formerly known as the Meridian Corners Apartments, are being stripped out and getting makeovers, complete with granite countertops. They will be available for lease in February at prices ranging from $850 for a studio to $1,400 for a two-bedroom, two-bath."

"A remote parkway in the far West Valley nicknamed the 'Road to Nowhere' is poised to become Main Street for nearly 1 million people. More than a dozen huge developments are sprouting up on both sides of the 30-mile-long Sun Valley Parkway, west of the White Tank Mountains."

"Buckeye, with just 30,000 residents, has been annexing so much land it's about to rival Phoenix in sheer size. Deep-pocketed developers bought huge swaths of land west of the mountains and already have started building the first of more than 300,000 homes."

"'This is Buckeye's shot at growth,' said Kevin Johnson, a real estate agent. 'If it's done right and bosses and their employees want to live in the new developments, then companies will move to them and bring jobs.'"

"Buckeye needs jobs because new homes already are going up. And without jobs there, people have to commute on the already clogged I-10."

"In 2000, fewer than 50 new homes were built in the town. Last year, 5,000 went up. The town stretches across 230 square miles but is planning for 600 square miles."

"Sun Valley's developers are thinking big, too. Douglas Ranch, still in the planning stages, will span almost 34,000 acres and have as many as 83,240 homes."

"People already have moved into new homes in the 12,812-acre Tartesso at the southern gateway of Sun Valley Parkway. Nearly 49,000 homes are planned for the project. Many fringe areas draw buyers with low prices, but homes in Tartesso are now selling in the high $200,000s, close to the Valley's median new-home price."

"Farther north along the parkway is Trillium, a 3,000-acre project that could sprout 7,200 homes. Pulte Homes is building Sun City Festival with 7,200 homes in north Sun Valley."

"Transportation already is an issue. I-10 is jammed with commuters as well as big-rig trucks making the drive between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Every day, more than 100,000 vehicles travel the portion of I-10 that bisects Goodyear."

"Drew Brown, president of DMB, which is developing Verrado, has joked that with all the projects planned for Buckeye, I-10 would need more than 20 lanes."

"One plan is to build a road west of Sun Valley that would connect to the East Valley. But there is no money to build it."

"'We want to show the nice lines on the map for new roads and work out a plan to pay for them,' said Bob Hazelett, senior engineer with the Maricopa Association of Governments."