The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "New-home sales in Colorado fell by 21 percent in 2006 from the previous year, according to a report from the Genesis Group in Englewood. Too many new and existing homes are on the market given the number of available buyers, said Mike Rinner, a senior analyst with Genesis. 'We have a math problem,' he said of the Denver market."

"Denver homebuilders have generally avoided speculative projects, only to be hit by a surge in cancellations, said Jeffrey Willis, executive VP with Berkeley Homes in Aurora. Metro-area buyers canceled 22.5 percent of the new-home contracts they entered last year, mostly because they couldn't sell their existing homes."

The Rocky Mountain News from Colorado. "The record number of foreclosures may be playing a role in the higher than expected vacancy rates, said Kathi Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing and c-chair of the Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Task Force."

"'Although high foreclosure rates may be driving some current homeowners back into the rental market, many first time homebuyers may find themselves looking at a lot of deals offered by homebuilders,' Williams said. 'Especially in areas where there is a sizable unsold inventory of single-family homes, builders are competing with landlords for renters who might be considering a purchase.'"

"Jeff Hawks, an owner of Apartment Realty Advisors, said many of the current foreclosed homes on the market are creating a 'shadow' rental market that is not being tracked."

"That’s because many of the homes and condos being taken over by lenders or by investors, are being rented, but not are part of the traditional data bases."

The Review Journal from Nevada. "Las Vegas mirrored the downturn in the national housing market as sales of both new and existing homes fell sharply in January."

"New home sales fell to 2,052 in January, compared with 2,815 sales in the same month a year ago, Dennis Smith of Home Builders Research reported. It's the lowest January since 2003. Excluding mid-rise and high-rise units, the number falls to 1,610."

"In Las Vegas, the resale sector fell 25.6 percent in January to 2,423 recorded transactions, the lowest number for that month since 2001. Median price fell by $5,000, or 1.8 percent, to $280,000."

"With an inventory of nearly 20,000 homes for sale in Las Vegas and sales declining, home builders are cutting back on new permits for residential construction. Las Vegas-based SalesTraq showed 1,002 new home permits in January, a 54 percent decline from a year ago. From September through January, only 4,422 new homes have been permitted."

"'If we continue to see new home permits decline, will that impact the existing home inventory? The answer to that question is how much demand will there be in the second quarter,' SalesTraq president Larry Murphy said. 'Watch new-home sales stats very carefully over the next few months to determine how good, or bad, 2007 will be.'"

"SalesTraq reported 2,135 new-home closings in January, down 26.2 percent. Existing-home sales were off 14.3 percent at 2,770."

"An article on Realtor.org said home sales are sluggish because prices are just too high for many buyers. 'Buyers are backing off -- not because of a poor job market or high interest rates -- but because the housing stock is out of their price range,' the article stated."

The Deseret News from Utah. "Up, up and away. Utah home prices keep climbing. At 17.55 percent, the state's house-price appreciation was nearly triple the national rate and was the highest of all states in last year's fourth quarter compared to the same quarter of 2005, according to a new report by the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight."

"Wyoming ranked No. 2 at 14.29 percent, and Idaho came in third at 13.99 percent."

"'I think that the last two years have been very strong in our market after having three relatively flat years,' said real estate agent Debra Sjoblom. 'I think we are still in a very stable situation. I think it's certainly a great appreciation but not so great that we're running any risk of having it tumble.'"

"Santa Barbara, Calif., was down 4.20 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. And the Reno-Sparks, Nev., area showed a nearly 1 percent drop in home prices for the same period. 'In some sense, what we've seen over the last year or two has been unsustainable,' said Andrew Leventis, an economist with OFHEO. 'It was just a matter of when the appreciation rates were going to fall.'"

"The house-price index is based on transactions involving conforming, conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Only mortgage transactions on single-family properties are included. The index measures price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties."

"Leventis cautioned that Utah's double-digit price gains, like those in other states, will only last so long. 'Unless income growth really picks up in your area, 18 percent is definitely unsustainable over the long term,' Leventis said. 'But at the end of the day, Utah house prices relative to income are relatively affordable.'"

"Dan Bodily of Lehi, owner of Blue Ridge Cabinets and a homebuilder, said he is unsure whether Utah's appreciation rates are sustainable. Bodily said he has more work than he can handle, but most of it is for investors hoping to make money on speculative homes yet to be sold."

"'I think the market is being flooded with spec properties at the moment,' Bodily said. 'The builders are making good money right now because they get their money up-front. But I wonder what is going to happen with all these investors.'"

"For now, Utah homeowners and builders are riding the housing wave, hoping it will last amid a national slowdown."