Independent Newspapers reports from Arizona. "Real estate experts have a mixed view on the future of the real estate market in the Southeast Valley. However all agree it is definitely a buyer’s market."

"(Realtor) Ron Wilczek said in Mesa, the November home sales rate was $156 per-square foot, which was the lowest of the year for Mesa homes. 'Let’s wait for what happens over the next one to two months to see if this is a significant trend,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'Lower sales and higher inventory have created a seven-month supply of homes.'"

"According to Mr. Wilczek’s figures for homes under $1 million and larger than 1,000 square feet, in November, 3,246 homes were on the market (and) 450 sold."

"'Buyers get the best news in Chandler,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'A $5 per-square-foot drop in November makes the year-to-date total a $14 decline, plus the number of sales has dropped every month this year. And days on market jumped 18 to a record 101 days.' In November there were 2,298 homes for sale in Chandler and 306 sold, Mr. Wilczek said. The average home sold was 2,045 square feet at $342,923."

"He noted smaller cities like Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek are suffering from too much inventory."

"'What’s hurting them is new home buyers are trying to get rid of their excess inventories. When the housing boom was really happening in 2004 and 2005, developers built all these homes. People were on waiting lists,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'Then the market slowed down and interest rates hiked and people backed out of contracts. Developers started offering reductions up to $100,000.'"

"Mr. Wilczek said Gilbert is the fastest growing city in the United States and with the number of houses for sale rising, buyers have more choices."

"'November’s sales saw the continuation of a year-long drop in price per-square-foot,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'At $162, November’s price is $15 less than in March. Sales continue to decrease and the city has almost a ninth-month supply of homes on the market. The number of homes for sale is going down, perhaps signifying some seller’s dissatisfaction with long market times and dropping prices.'"

"Mr. Wilczek said a rise in Queen Creek home prices in October was probably a fluke. 'November’s figures show another decline to $124 per-square foot. Queen Creek’s losses have totaled $27 February to October,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'This means homes lost about $56,700 in value. The resale market here is still getting beat by new home builders who are slashing prices and giving huge incentives to lower their inventories.'"

"According to Mr. Wilczek, in November there were 1,834 homes for sale in Queen Creek and 169 homes sold."

"Mr. Wilczek said as far as projections are concerned, the market can generally go two ways this year. 'A lot of it depends on whether sellers panic or hold firm. Once a seller decides to sell at a greatly reduced price and a few neighbors do the same, they set a trend and change the price of the community,' Mr. Wilczek said."

"Mr. Wilczek said he believes many people panicked and unnecessarily rushed to sell their houses when the market started changing last year, thinking they would get the best deal if they sold quickly, which contributed to high inventory. 'When inventory is back down again, things will be fine,' Mr. Wilczek said. 'But if the opposite happens, they won’t.'"

The Lahontan Valley News from Nevada. "Average home prices in Churchill County are starting a downward trend while the numbers of homes sold this year is lower than those of last year."

"Figures released by Bob Getto, local Realtor and trustee for the Northern Nevada region of the MLS, show the median sales price for homes have dropped from a high of $271,200 in January to $208,200 in November, a $63,000 decrease."

"The data shows median sales price of local homes has rocketed from $128,000 in the first quarter of 2004 to $238,000 in the second quarter of 2006. While it's hard to predict future homes prices, 'my gut feeling is they'll come down. It needs to come down,' he said."

"Broker Kim McCreary theorized that national builders who came to Northern Nevada, builders who 'tear down a mountain and build houses,' drove up the price of dirt and overfilled the market with houses."

"'The market is a little tougher, but it probably needed to happen,' McCreary said."

"Realtor Diane Lowery said developments with standing inventory are doing better than those without readily available homes. 'We're not seeing people come in who want to wait five months for a home to be built,' she said, adding that the situation was different two years ago when people were clamoring to buy homes."

"'There's very few new families,' Getto said. 'To meet the average sale price, you've gotta have a good job. Jobs are the key - we need good paying jobs.'"