A report from the Arizona Republic. "Both median housing prices and the number of homes sold in June continued to fall throughout the Southeast Valley compared to a year ago and compared to May, according to Arizona State University's Realty Studies. Compared to June 2006, Chandler's prices fell the least, 2 percent to $288,000. Gilbert's prices dropped the most, 10 percent, to $297,000."

"'June's numbers are a little disappointing in being a little low,' said Jay Butler, director."

"He said the Phoenix area still has a high number of homes for sale, new home builders are aggressively wooing buyers with incentives like free pools and gift cards and lenders are tightening mortgage underwriting guidelines."

"Gilbert: Sales fell to 315 from 330, while the price dropped to $297,000 from $330,000. The median price was $300,000 in May. Condo prices fell to $189,900 from $238,750."

"Existing home and condominium prices in Scottsdale dropped in June compared to last year, and home sales fell 11 percent. Scottsdale's median home price declined 4.26 percent to $612,750. Resale condo prices were off 5.6 percent to $249,900."

"'While the resale market is following a very traditional pattern, there are increasing risks that the market could move lower, driven by geopolitical risks and tighter mortgage underwriting guidelines,' said Butler."

"The Valley's resale-home market in June continued to run below last year's pace, according to ASU. About 4,910 homes sold in the month, down from 5,220 in May and 5,460 in the year-earlier period."

"During the first half of 2007, 29,175 homes sold compared with 36,290 during the same stretch last year. That figure was well below the 58,030 resales during the first half of 2005."

The East Valley Tribune from Arizona. "Jill Lord’s Queen Creek neighborhood is often bustling with activity. 'Everybody on the street is tight-knit,' Lord said."

"So home sellers working together to host a community-wide open house seems to be a natural fit for the more than 1,000-home Cortina subdivision."

"Lord, whose home has sat on the market for three months now, is one of two dozen owners opening their doors to potential buyers on Saturday."

"The Valley will likely see a growing number of homeowners combining efforts to host open houses, as the market continues to shift, said Arizona Association of Realtors president Frank Dickens."

"'When it starts to lean toward a buyers market, you’ll see all kinds of creativity,' Dickens said."

"Neighbors in Cortina, which sits near the southeast corner of Power and Germann roads, want to protect their home values by attracting people who have pride of ownership, said homeowners association secretary Tom Duford, who helped organize the event."

"'We have a lot of homes that are owned by investors, that are sitting vacant,' Duford said. 'The homes aren’t getting the care that this quality of neighborhood should have.'"

"During the housing boom, agents didn’t have to do much to promote homes, broker Brian Judy said. Now, 'agents tend to be more willing to participate in one because everybody’s starving for buyers,' he said."

"Cortina homeowner Angie Beirdneau said she thinks the open house is a good idea and will be offering a special incentive of $10,000 off that day. More than 50 homes are for sale right now in Cortina, ranging in price from roughly $230,000 to $650,000, said Judy."

In Business Las Vegas reports from Nevada. "The inventory of homes on the market swelled to an all-time high in June, but this time the jump was caused by a further slowdown in home sales."

"There were 23,642 homes on the MLS at the end of June, an increase of 18 percent from June 2006, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors."

"The reason for the increase was the number of home purchases declined by 6 percent from May. Only 1,476 homes were sold in June, 42 percent below June 2006."

"It appears more certain that sellers are beginning to understand they must cut their prices to sell their homes. June's prices were 3 percent below June 2006. The median price of the new listings in June was $329,835, 2.5 percent below the May price and 5.5 percent less than homeowners asked for in June 2006."

"Devin Reiss, president of the Realtors group, said...that if sellers are serious about selling their property, they should price it to the market."

"Las Vegas housing analyst Dennis Smith said...he increase in inventory shows the bottom hasn't been hit. 'This is going to be a long process, and we aren't going to pull out of this overnight,' Smith said."

"Major developers will likely have to wait until at least November 2008 for the next major land offering by the Bureau of Land Management. Since November 2005 when the BLM auctioned two large parcels in North Las Vegas, the land offerings have been sparse."

"That will be the case again in November when the BLM plans to auction about 150 acres in scattered parcels of 2.5 acres to 20 acres in west Henderson and the south Las Vegas Valley. Henderson hasn't had a major parcel auctioned since June 2004."

"A year ago, the BLM said it would sit on the sideline if necessary and be more selective in the parcels it offers as part of a strategy to be more market-driven."

"The BLM has drawn fire from some in the development and real estate industry for not releasing land on a regular basis to keep up with the growth and hold down its prices."

"'We can't be willy-nilly and sell land if cities aren't ready for that to happen. If there are no developers showing interest in the land, we would spend a lot of money for nothing to get ready for a sale,' Juan Palma, the Las Vegas field manager for the BLM."

"BLM auctions are prompted by nominations from area cities and Clark County. None have suggested the BLM auction those larger parcels, said Palma."

"The housing industry won't be disappointed if the BLM holds off on any major land auctions, said Monica Caruso, spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association. With the housing downturn, builders have laid off employees and focused on selling their inventory rather than acquiring land, she said."

"'I think they recognize demand is not there at the moment, and it's a wise decision,' Caruso said."

"Richard Lee, vice president of First American Title, said he doesn't believe there would be any bidders right now for the larger parcels given the high inventory of homes on the market. No one could afford to sit on that land given the current demand for housing, he said."

"North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon said there's no reason to auction land at this time unless the BLM changed their practice and accepted bids for less than the appraised value. He said his city doesn't nominate land unless buyers show interest."

"No consideration has been given to Focus Property Group and its development of Inspirada, which opened model homes this year for its 13,500-unit project, said Henderson Community Development Director Bristol Ellington. But he acknowledges it will benefit Inspirada if any nearby development is delayed for now."

"'I know companies would like to see themselves established and ride out this economic slump before there is other competition, but at some point it helps to have healthy competition,' Ellington said."

The Lahontan Valley News from Nevada. "Now is a good time to buy a home, according to second quarter figures released by Bob Getto, a local Realtor and trustee for the Northern Nevada region of Multiple Listings Service."

"'The Fallon market seems to be bucking with the national trends,' Getto said. 'The sales prices are still fighting to stay level. It's been the worst in a long time.'"

"The MLS data, encompassing April, May and June of this year, shows the median sales price for a residential, stick-built home located on 1.99 acres or less is $208,167. The all-time high for median sales occurred during the second quarter of 2006, when the average home cost $237,633. That's compared to the first quarter of 2004, when the median price was $128,166."

"Getto said some of the reasons for the drop in price and units sold is the lack of quality in the job market and that the California real estate market is also poor."

"'The California market seems to be sluggish, and people aren't relocating to Fallon,' Getto added. 'We don't have the California buyers looking to come here.'"

"After 57 units sold during the first quarter, that figure dropped to 49 in the second quarter, continuing a decline dating back to the second quarter in 2005 when 99 units were sold."

"Getto doesn't envision any change for the rest of the year. 'The rest of the summer is going to be sluggish,' he said. 'We need the Californian and Western economies to increase.'"

"Getto said the hottest homes to buy have been in the $200,000 range with 1,200 to 1,400 square feet located in town. 'Those tend to be selling the best, but nothing is really moving well,' Getto added."

"For sellers, pricing your home correctly is the big goal. 'Pricing is the key right now, and it has to be priced competitively,' Getto said."