A report from the Arizona Republic. "Still dragging down the market is the number of existing homes for sale. Listings are still hovering in the mid-50,000s. Resales continued their slide in September, as did the median price of existing homes sold. Lower prices are helping the new-home market now. RL Brown, publisher of the Phoenix Housing Market Letter, said most Valley builders finally have realized they need to drop prices to sell homes."

"David Seiders, National Association of Home Builders chief economist, said last week that these four areas will be most vulnerable to the subprime-loan fallout: California, coastal Florida, Phoenix and Las Vegas."

"The speculator-driven housing boom is to blame. All those areas saw the huge run-ups in prices prompted mainly by speculators, often using subprime loans. Regular home buyers then often had to take out subprime loans to afford the higher prices."

"'With many of these mortgages scheduled to reset to higher rates in the remainder of 2007 and through 2008, additional weakness in housing markets is likely,' Seiders said."

"He said the potential for a vicious cycle of defaults and price declines will depend on the level of exposure to subprime loans, the current house-price environment and the strength of the local economy. Metro Phoenix is at a 15-year high for foreclosures."

"Reason 97 that we've maxed-out on real estate reality shows: A Scottsdale, Ariz., couple are participating in a pilot for a TV series that aims to show, via their experiences, that the downturn in the market is pinching the wealthy, too."

"The short version of the 'Real Estate Rescue' pilot, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper: A well-off guy takes early retirement, gets stuck with two very expensive houses and his new business, a tutoring service. To make ends meet, he goes back to his early career, as a pharmacist at a local grocery."

"The fledgling producers hope to make a weekly go of chronicling the real estate travails of the well-to-do. There are no network or cable takers for the pilot, the newspaper reported. Big surprise."

In Business Las Vegas from Nevada. "The number of new-home and existing-home sales in September fell to the lowest monthly total this decade as home prices continued to tumble, according to statistics. Builders didn't show much confidence in the Las Vegas housing market in September when they took out 591 housing permits. That's the lowest monthly total this decade, said SalesTraq's Larry Murphy."

"New-home sales plummeted to 1,328 in September, down 52 percent from September 2006, when there were 2,565. The median prices fetched for new-home sales in September was $308,055, 13 percent below the market's peak in April 2006 when the price was $355,435."

"As for existing-home sales, there were 1,466 in September, down 50 percent from September 2006 when there were 2,946. Of those homes that sold, the median price of $263,075 is nearly $27,000 or 9.2 percent below its peak of $290,000 in October 2006. That's the lowest median price since it was $263,000 in March 2005."

"Inventory remains at record levels with a 19-month supply."

"Builders continue to offer...as much as $100,000 in free upgrades to buyers, Murphy said. Earlier this month, Lennar Homes dropped prices 25 percent in about 30 of its new-home subdivisions, Pulte had a sale advertising a 15 percent cut in prices while Astoria Homes had price cuts of $70,000 or more."

"The fall in prices comes as a credit crunch makes it harder for buyers to qualify for loans. Analysts said that's an even bigger problem in Las Vegas where there are a lot of first-time and second-time homebuyers. In addition, casino workers who in the past have relied on stated income loans aren't qualifying today."

"The release of the data by SalesTraq comes as a local housing analyst said Wall Street investment bankers are concerned that at least one and maybe other major public builders will pull out of the Las Vegas housing market."

"Steve Bottfeld, VP of Marketing Solutions, declined to name the builder analysts named, but said they are concerned because Las Vegas has been so profitable for builders."

"Despite the prices and sales continuing to nosedive, Bottfeld remains optimistic. 'If we are not at the bottom, then we will have one more bad month before we see it turn around,' he said."

"For the ninth month in a row, Nevada reported the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, nearly triple the number of filings in September 2006, according to RealtyTrac."

"Las Vegas firm SalesTraq reported that through September, 5,603 homes had been repossessed by banks, a 472 percent gain over all of 2006, when 1,829 homes were repossessed."

"Tim Sullivan, president of the Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors cited a report from Banc of America Securities tracking the volume of resetting adjustable-rate mortgages. In March, one estimate said it would peak at about $110 million and remain elevated through next summer, Sullivan said."

"'The net effect is that we have the first six months of 2008 to go through this and another three to four months of where we go from there,' Sullivan said. 'The implication is that it's going to be a very difficult year for figuring our values from a real estate standpoint. There is going to be a lot of competition.'"

"Michael Krein, president of Nevada Real Estate Services, which handles foreclosures for lenders, said 80 percent to 90 percent of the properties he's handled so far have been investors but expects that to change when loans reset for many homeowners next year."

The Review Journal Business Press from Nevada. "Las Vegas Valley land values softened in the third quarter amid concerns about a residential downturn, tightening credit markets, rising interest rates and increasing construction costs, reports Applied Analysis."

"Median vacant land prices were $677,300 per acre at the end of September, or $41,200 less than the previous quarter. The average price per square foot was $15.55, which is a 5.7 percent drop from the second quarter."

"'It went from a buyer's to a lender's market,' said Kyle Nagy, a director at CommCap Advisors, which specializes in commercial real estate financing. 'Underwriting is more conservative from every funding source...people are taking a wait-and-see attitude.'"

"A dramatic drop in the volume of deals occurred in the third quarter with only 140 parcels totaling 484 acres changing hands. It marks a 45-percent year-to-year decline in activity, due, in part, to diminishing land supplies."

"'Despite a long-term limitation, shifts within the present housing market continue to place downward pressure on demand for raw residential land,' said Brian Gordon, principal of Applied Analysis. 'We expect this trend to continue through the third quarter of 2008 as housing inventory levels will likely remain elevated and pricing remains unstable.'"

"Many investors with a reasonable exit strategy may face tough times ahead."

"'The impacts associated with softening demand for land are partially offset by landowners' unwillingness to sell at deep discounts, forcing property values to remain relatively stable,' said Gordon. 'If residential conditions materially worsen or growth slows down substantially, property price reductions may become a reality.'"

The Review Journal from Nevada. "Southern Nevada's sluggish housing market is spilling over into its commercial market, as ailing companies in the housing sector retrench amid rising foreclosures and a real estate credit crunch. Local office brokers say home builders, real estate brokerages, title companies and mortgage businesses are scrapping expansion plans, chucking office space and subleasing empty suites."

"'All of a sudden, we're noticing softening in the housing-related office market,' said Brad Peterson, a VP with commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis in Las Vegas."

"Based on his conversations with home builders and developers, David Scherer, a VP with Grubb & Ellis in Las Vegas, said doesn't expect tenant rosters in the residential sector to bounce back before 2009 or 2010."

The Douglas Times from Nevada. "Construction of new homes in Douglas County, Carson City and Lyon County has been in decline for several years, government and industry officials from the tri-county area said last week."

"'It will definitely take us a while to catch up,' said Kevin Gattis, chief housing official for Carson City. 'The area has been over-built so much. But things really aren't as gloomy as people say.'"

"'Two years ago the market was out of control and over-inflated in terms of home pricing and construction. Now, the market is correcting itself and coming back to a more normal state,' said Matt Denio, Dayton Land Developers' project manager on the development."

"General contractor Steve Edelstein, bought a half-acre lot at Santa Maria in 2005 and began marketing it in December 2006. The response has been minimal and he doesn't know when he will begin construction."

"'I'm optimistic about the market turning around, I just don't know when,' he said. Edelstein has plans for custom homes in the $600,000-$700,000 range."

"New home permitting in Douglas County plunged to 133 in the first nine months of this year, compared to 442 in the same period of 2005, county Building Official David Lundergreen said. 'The builders are definitely struggling,' he said. 'In (2003 and 2004), it was like we couldn't build fast enough. Now a lot of guys are just holding a lot of inventory.'"

"While it's generally bad for the market when debts go unpaid and residents go homeless, the government bailouts some politicians have suggested will do just as much harm, said Rick DeMar, CEO of the Builders Association of Western Nevada."

"'I'm not a panic guy,' he said. 'This is not a permanent crisis. This is all part of a circular economic environment. It's not the time to short-sell your (property's) value.'"

"While DeMar noted that many builders 'have not made the best decisions' in building ahead of demand, he also blamed consumers who purchased homes that were beyond their means."

"'If you're making $10 an hour, there are probably some houses you can't afford,' he said. 'But you bought one anyway. Before this is over, some people are going to have to bite a very bitter bullet.'"

The Deseret News from Utah. "Real estate agents and developers are often known for their creative marketing strategies to sell houses, which is why one newly constructed home in Plain City is going on the auction block."

"'It (the home) appraises for $370,000, and realistically I think fair market is between $345,000 to $350,000,' said William Velazquez, co-owner of a construction and land investment firm based in Layton."

"Home auctions by owners are becoming more common in many areas around the country but remain relatively new to Utah. Velazquez said his property will begin with a minimum bid of $50,000 with no reserve, meaning it could go for far below the market value."

"'I think there are a lot of people in our situation that are realistically don't want to leave the sale to question with the market letting it sit with all the other properties in the neighborhood for months,' he said."