The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "One out of three mortgages made during the past three years with 'teaser' interest rates below 4 percent are expected to go into foreclosure because of rising payments, according to a study Tuesday from FirstAmerican CoreLogic. Zachary Urban in Denver, estimates that about 40 percent of loans made in Colorado during the past three years were subprime, adjustable-rate or otherwise 'exotic.'"

"Urban, who oversees the Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Hotline, said more calls are coming in from people desperate because their mortgage payments are rising beyond what they can afford. 'We are seeing a lot more people in that position who are current but they are caught by the rate adjustment,' Urban said. 'They are slammed.'"

"Aurora resident Kevin Bell suffered payment shock just a month after refinancing into an option-ARM loan with a low teaser rate in March 2006. Like the majority of option-ARM borrowers, he is taking the minimum-payment option most months, adding principal back to his mortgage."

"Bell said he is trying to get other debts paid off so he can refinance. But time is running out, either a refinancing or a day of reckoning will come next year."

The East Valley Tribune from Arizona. "Gilbert homeowner Raul Harris is the unfortunate bearer of two mortgages. For months now, the local loan officer has been trying to sell his four-bedroom home in the massive Seville development, where builders are still active."

"A major part of the problem, Harris said, is that builders are dramatically slashing prices to off load homes that are finished but unsold. 'You can’t really compete,' he said."

"Builders say homeowners aren’t asking realistic prices. But many owners can’t afford to drop prices because of the steep prices they paid for their homes a year or two ago, said John Fioramonti, who tracks the Valley’s new home market."

"What some sellers are asking may be unrealistic in terms of current market prices, but it’s not unrealistic when it comes to their financial situations, Fioramonti said. 'They’re just trying to get what they have in the place,' he said."

"Harris paid $569,000 for his 2,700-square-foot home about a year ago and put it on the market for $575,000. 'I’m being realistic, especially when I owe the bank,' said Harris, who purchased another home in December."

"Builders in his neighborhood are selling similar homes in the high $400,000s."

"Many of the speculative homes Montalbano Homes is trying to sell in its project in the Queen Creek area already have upgrades, Jon Baer, VP of sales said. That’s because many buyers couldn’t sell their own homes and walked away from contracts, he said."

"'The builder is stuck in a situation where now we have to find a new buyer,' he said."

"Despite difficulties selling his Seville home, Harris remains optimistic, expecting the market to pick back up in a couple of years. So for now, he’s renting the place out. Sellers need to be patient, Harris said. 'If you couldn’t afford to buy a half million-dollar home, you shouldn’t have bought it,' he said. 'Or stay in it.'"

The Review Journal from Nevada. "An officer for a $600 million luxury Las Vegas condominium project that filed for bankruptcy protection said Tuesday he is confident developers will secure new financing and a new partner so the project can proceed."

"'We have not been able to refinance our project to get to the point where we can proceed with construction,' said Ryan Langson, vice president of Langson Development."

"Salestraq, a Southern Nevada real estate research firm, counts Las Vegas Central among Las Vegas 19 high-rise condo projects with 8,874 units in the sales stage. Another 26 projects with 12,714 units are under construction."

The Las Vegas Business Press. "The Nevada Mortgage Lending Division finished its investigation into the collapse of locally-owned Silver State Mortgage. Silver State has not yet declared bankruptcy but faced similar liquidity problems, brought on by the large volumes of loans it was forced to repurchase from warehouse bank Washington Mutual. Silver State closed its doors Feb. 14."

"Another obligation left to deal with is to continue making monthly payments for California builder Shapell Industries, which Scott Bice, Nevada's Mortgage Lending commissioner said had more than $400,000 in an escrow trust account with Silver State."

"The account was set up in order to cover the first six months of mortgage payments for customers who bought homes this year from the Beverly Hills developer. The $400,000, Bice's auditors found, was comingled with Silver State's operating funds. Bice said it's a clear case of financial mismanagement."

"'They blame it on their accounting department. But that's clearly sort of a theft thing,' Bice said."

In Business Las Vegas. "It's a profession that attracted everyone from strippers and school teachers to waiters and blackjack dealers with the lure of easy money by simply listing a house, only to have a buyer later that day."

"A doubling of real estate agents and brokers in Nevada between 2001 and 2006 is more than the industry can handle and there are indications a number of them are leaving the industry, according to a report by the Nevada Association of Realtors."

"That's changed with the slowdown in the housing industry that has seen some agents' incomes go from more than $100,000 a year to $1,000 a month."

"Mike Denley said friends of his in the real estate industry have had to turn to other jobs to support their income until the housing market rebounds. 'There are opportunities for those who will do the business,' Denley said. 'Before, you could put a sign in a yard and could have made it. Now, you have to work.'"

"Those employed in real estate sales, leasing and related positions account for 3.8 percent of the state's workforce. Real estate professionals and their employees account for 48,000 jobs in Nevada, the report said."

The Salt Lake Tribune. "As expected, Utah's red-hot housing market is cooling off, and builders are offering up goodies such as free appliances and luxury vehicles in a bid to reel in buyers."

"The freebies represent an abrupt change from the past two years, when builders along the Wasatch Front have not had to offer much of anything to entice buyers."

"The housing market is losing steam. Inventories are growing. Homes, both new and used, are staying on the market longer. And appreciation has slowed. As a result, 'you're going to see a lot more incentives now,' said Gary Cannon, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors."

"The incentives, worth in some cases tens of thousands of dollars, stem from a steep drop in demand for new homes. Home builders have taken out permits for the construction of 1,846 new single-family homes along the Wasatch Front since January, a surprising 37 percent drop compared with nearly 3,000 in the same period last year, according to Construction Monitor."

"All builders are probably feeling the pain, although many, including Utah-based Ivory Homes, declined to be interviewed about the slowdown."

"Sage Builders was offering $5,000 off closing costs to buyers who use a 'preferred lender.' Now the company is offering buyers who meet certain criteria 'zero down' and no mortgage payments for six months, said Juliette Beckstrand, marketing director for Sage Builders."

"'It's our biggest promotion ever. We wanted to do something important that would really help people get into a home,' Beckstrand said."

"The biggest savings can be on speculative houses built without a contract. Builders in some cases are so eager to unload these properties they will offer an assortment of sweeteners."

"Jim Wood, director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, also does not see doom, but he thinks Utahns should brace themselves for a more sluggish real estate market."

"He isn't surprised that home building is slowing given that surrounding states such as Arizona and Nevada started to see that a year ago. 'It was only a matter of time before it happened here,' he said."

"Also inevitable, he said, is a slowdown in the resale market. When a residential market that has been booming starts to slow, the home building industry is affected first."

"'Then you'll see the resale market hit next. You're going to see fewer sales, longer days on the market and lower price appreciation. It's coming,' he said."