The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. "A record 19,425 real estate foreclosures were filed in the seven-county Denver area in 2006, 35 percent more than in 2005. Last year's numbers topped the record set in 1988 by 13.45 percent. 'It is a problem, a big problem, but it is not the worst it has ever been,' said Chris Holbert, president of the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association."

"'If everybody groans this is the worst it has ever been, it scares people out of the home-buying market,' Holbert said."

"He said people who bought during the previous foreclosure crisis in the late 1980s are the ones who have made the most money on their homes."

"He also noted that a large percentage of homes that enter foreclosure do not complete the process. In some of those cases, lenders accept 'short sales,' or less than the mortgage amount for the home, instead of going through with the foreclosure."

"Holbert said lenders have told him that they are losing an average of $40,000 to $50,000 every time a home goes into foreclosure."

"Sandy Hume, public trustee for Boulder County, said many experts tell him the foreclosure crisis 'will get worse before it gets better. Unfortunately, I believe it will, too.'"

The Gazette from Colorado. "What a difference a year makes. In 2005, home construction in Colorado Springs and El Paso County soared to a second straight record-setting year. In 2006, the pace of home building fell to its lowest level in more than a decade."

"The 2006 slowdown delivered a blow to the construction industry, which employs thousands of carpenters, framers, painters and other workers. Several builders, from local firms Vantage and Classic Cos. to national companies such as Pulte, said they laid off workers when production sagged. The slowdown also was felt among plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors."

"Heidi and Greg Smith, who own Affordable Plumbing and Heat Inc. in Colorado Springs, said they were hit by a one-two punch in 2006. First, prices for copper and other materials skyrocketed. When the company hoped to offset those higher costs by doing more work, home builders cut back on construction. The result: Affordable Plumbing laid off 26 of 47 employees."

"'Instead of the subs being able to recoup the losses, building is down by 25 percent,' Heidi Smith said. 'So now it’s a fight to get the work, and you have to bid as low as you possibly can to undercut everybody else to get the work.'"

The Explorer News from Arizona. "The rookie realtor sat at a dining room table covered in brochures and home listings for his first open house. A sign-in sheet contained two names. 'Those are fake names,' Charles Durrenberger said. 'A little trick of the trade. No one’s come by yet.'"

"The five-bedroom house seemed bigger than reality as Durrenberger paced through the home alone, saying things like, 'Someone please come' and 'I wish someone would show up.'"

"Some call it a correction or a buyer’s market. Some call it a bust. Jane White, the owner of the home in Oro Valley Durrenberger wants to sell, just says 'whatever.' 'I’m lucky in a sense because I’m not in a hurry,' said White, who wants $492,000 for the home built in 2001. 'The market is going to do what it is going to do. You can’t let it drive you crazy.'"

"White remains optimistic, predicting that the market will improve by spring. 'Then maybe I can be a buyer in a buyer’s market.'"

"Experts have refrained from calling the state of the market an outright bust, though it seems like nothing less to those in the trenches. Take John, who ran into a wall when trying to sell his family’s home in Starr Pass Heights on the westside. He had a job offer elsewhere."

"'We hold open houses and no one shows up. We get two visitors a week, but no offers. We advertise like crazy, but without much response. I don’t know what to do next,' John wrote."

"The frustrated seller purchased the home for $300,000 in November 2005. Even though a realtor advised him to price the home at $375,000, John has lowered his asking price to $289,000. Still no buyers. 'I’m definitely going to lose $30,000,' John wrote, wondering what to do next. 'Keep it at the insanely low price where I’m losing my shirt and wait for a buyer to come around? Try to find a renter and wait out this downturn?'"

"Production builders have been hit the hardest, said Alex Jacome, government liaison for the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association. Rumors have swirled about people walking out on home orders and down payments. 'I’ve heard some talk about people backing out on sales, but I haven’t seen anything concrete,' Jacome said."

"Nonetheless, construction workers have lost their jobs. 'Not hordes of them, but there have been some layoffs,' Jacome said. 'We’re all just waiting for 2007 when this thing corrects itself.'"

"Richmond American recently abandoned two high-profile projects in Marana. The builder based its decision on an unattractive market, according to sources with the town of Marana."

"The Tucson housing market has 'all but stopped,' according to University of Arizona’s economic forecaster Marshall Vest. Sellers have unrealistic price expectations and buyers think prices are plummeting 'so why buy now?' Maybe buyers read the newspapers and sellers do not, Vest joked."

"More than 9,000 homes in the region remain listed for sale. Inventory numbers have stayed about 66 percent higher than 2005 levels. Almost 40 percent of homes on the market are vacant, the product of investors or home-flippers who abandoned their purchases when the market shifted."

"The investors, most from California, mistakenly thought they could cash in on 2005’s market but came too late, added Rosey Koberlein, CEO of Long Realty."

"All in all, the past two years in Tucson’s real estate market, as one expert put it, tell a 'textbook bubble story.' Most think the ending will be written in 2007."