The Reno Gazette Journal reports from Nevada. "Clark County had 2,163 homes, one in 277 households, in the foreclosure process in December. 'Much of the buying in Southern Nevada was by people that were going to not occupy the house, and they fully expected to flip the house (once it was built),' said Thomas Powell, chairman of the Nevada Mortgage Advisory Council."

"'When it came time to actually put the mortgage in there, they had hoped to have the house sold. And that didn't happen this go-around when it had been happening year after a year for a period of a time,' he said."

"Washoe County has many of the same problems, a slowing market along with exotic loans, that are driving up the foreclosure rate across the country. John Bissett, a foreclosure specialist and broker, said the Wednesday home auctions on the steps of the Washoe County Court House have been busier of late."

"'I've actually bought more at the courthouse in the last 120 days than in the last five years,' Bissett said. 'What we are seeing (is) a slight bump in Washoe County, and certainly Vegas has risen quite a bit.'"

"About three years ago, northern Nevada experienced a boom in the housing market which managed to stabilize about six months ago, leaving some homeowners in a difficult financial situation."

"June Young, president and director of Young & Associates Mortgage Services, describes interest-only loans as a 'big, dangerous bet.'"

"Young, who has over 15 years of experience at credit unions, sees payments 'go through the roof all the time' for people who went through unconventional mortgage companies and signed up for adjustable-rate mortgages. 'Anyone who has two full years on a job, and two full years of credit history in two different areas can buy a house,' said Young."

In Business Las Vegas. "North Las Vegas inserted a clause in its agreement with developer Olympia Group that requires any homes, town homes or condos sold to have deed restrictions preventing owners from renting the property for at least 24 months."

"Call it a lesson learned from the Aliante master-planned community in North Las Vegas, city officials said. There's a concern that selling to investors can result in a large number of homes sitting vacant in neighborhoods."

"'We had to start somewhere,' North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson said. 'We were getting too many investors. It leads to depreciation. It also creates problems with renters who've moved and you have an empty home sitting there for six months.'"

"Terry O'Donnell, sales manager with Coldwell Banker Premier Realty in Las Vegas, said one reason prices for most resale homes aren't likely to increase much this year is that about 42 percent of the homes currently for sale in the area are vacant."

"Many were purchased in recent years by speculators who had no plans to hold their properties but instead hoped to sell at a profit soon after they purchased."

"'When the tap turned off, they didn't know what to do,' O'Donnell said. Many of these homes are still on the market, he said, and 'if almost half the market is in a so-called 'dump' situation, it's not going to help us increase property values.'"

The Deseret News from Utah. "If you own a home in Utah, chances are it was worth a lot more at the end of 2006 than it was at the end of 2005. But steep sales prices and a glut of new listings have started to put the brakes on Utah's fiery real estate market."

"Gary Cannon, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, said the local market slowed in the third and fourth quarters, mainly because investors started to dump more homes on the market. '2006 wasn't as good as it appears because we had a really big slowdown in the latter part of the year,' Cannon said. 'It's the first time in a long while where we are starting to see price reductions and added incentives from new-home builders.'"

"A rising inventory of expensive homes priced from $400,000 to $800,000 are the slowest moving price range. 'Sellers in this range will need to be more aggressive with their pricing if they want to move their home faster,' Cannon said. 'On the south end of the valley, both east and west, this price range is carrying the most inventory, both new and existing.'"

"Drew Larson, a real estate agent in Draper, said home sellers are not very willing to drop prices. 'That's what is contributing to extra inventory,' Larson said. 'So and so sold their home for 'X,' so I should get 'X' or 'X plus one.' We're all competing for the same buyers. I noticed that in Phoenix and in Las Vegas you had to get in a lottery in 2005 to buy a home, and by 2006 they were giving away tens of thousands of dollars in incentives."