The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "Despite a concerted effort to reduce the tide of people losing their homes, foreclosures in Colorado shot up 40 percent in 2007 compared to 2006, according to a count from the Colorado Division of Housing. Public trustees in Colorado reported 39,915 foreclosures last year, including 10,955 in the fourth quarter. That is 11,400 more than the record set in 2006."

"The report also found that a smaller percentage of homeowners were able to avoid a forced auction of their property once they entered foreclosure. There were 25,320 foreclosure sales last year, compared to 17,451 in 2006."

The Coloradoan. "The proliferation of new home construction along the Front Range is a leading cause of the larger numbers motive behind larger numbers compared to counties outside of the Front Range."

"'Foreclosures are being partially driven by a very high inventory of newly-built homes,' said Kathi Williams, co-chair of the Colorado Foreclosure Task Force and director of the Colorado Division of Housing, in a statement. 'In many cases, in the Denver area, someone who can’t make his payments simply can’t sell his house fast enough to avoid that final foreclosure sale.'"

The Greeley Tribune from Colorado. "Banks and lenders filed foreclosures on 2,877 homes in Weld County in 2007, according to a Colorado Division of Housing report. Foreclosure filings increased in Weld by 38 percent, just under the statewide increase of 40 percent from 2006 to 2007."

"'I was expecting about a 30 percent increase, so it is very disheartening to see it up 40 percent,' said Williams."

The Daily Planet from Colorado. "Telluride real-estate sales racked up a record year in 2007, but the new year has opened on a darker note. This January, the dollar volume for all real-estate sales fell nearly 40 percent from last year, according to new data from Telluride Consulting."

"Brokers say...it’s hard to dispute the conclusions of the new data: For Telluride real estate, last month was the worst January in four years — longer still, if you account for inflation."

"Matthew Hintermeister, president of the Telluride Association of Realtors, said that a nationwide panic over sub-prime mortgages, lending crises and an overall housing and economic slump may have finally come home to roost in Telluride."

"'I think it’s more of a sign of buyer sentiment,' he said. 'Buyers are coming from all over the country, and in their home markets, the media pounds away at them that real-estate is a terrible investment, and that it’s not a time to buy. Buyers are coming to town, and they have this mindset that the world might be ending,' he said.'"

"Even if the market in Telluride slows, we’re not likely to see the fire sales, cratering prices and parade of for-sale signs that have plagued some parts of the country. Telluride isn’t overbuilt like, say, Phoenix, and most sellers here would rather sit on their hands and wait for the market to pick up, rather than sell at a desperate discount."

The Arizona Republic. "New-home building and sales dropped again in January, but it's not likely metropolitan Phoenix's housing market has hit bottom yet."

"Single-family permits fell to 1,370 in January, according to RL Brown's Phoenix Housing Market Letter. That's the lowest monthly level since 1992. New-home closings fell to 1,848 last month, their lowest level since October 1995."

"The median price of a new metro Phoenix home last month was $231,771, compared with $274,995 a year ago. The market hit a high in December 2005, when the median price of a new house climbed to almost $300,000."

The Arizona Daily Star. "One of the largest new housing developments slated to be built in Marana has been put on hold after a falling-out between the project's partners. Saguaro Springs is in limbo after KB Home and The Empire Cos. parted ways late last fall."

"But officials with Marana say Saguaro Springs was stopped because Empire is attempting to exit the Arizona market, likely because of the housing slump, and the company is in the process of finding a buyer for its share of the project."

"'Empire is shutting down statewide,' Marana Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat said. 'Empire's been shopping that project for several months.'"

"In the meantime, several hundred acres on the north side of Twin Peaks Road have been bladed, streets have been paved, utilities have been installed and three model homes are complete — though currently they are surrounded by a chain-link fence."

"Reuwsaat said he is working with KB to negotiate how to keep the neighborhood maintained during the hiatus, the hope being that aspects such as landscaping would still be tended to. Doing so would keep the area from becoming 'vandalized and torn up,' Reuwsaat said."

The Las Vegas Sun from Nevada. "In a sign the Las Vegas housing market continues to deteriorate, foreclosures in January surpassed the sales of new and existing homes for the first time during the downturn. SalesTraq reported that 2,177 homes were repossessed in January, surpassing the 1,962 sales in the new and existing home markets."

"Sales usually outnumber foreclosures by a large margin, but that changed in January as foreclosures more than doubled from December’s 988. The previous high for a single month was 1,560, in November."

"The median price of existing homes sold in January was $247,000, a drop of nearly 15 percent in the past 13 months. The median price was $289,500 in February 2007."

"The median price of new homes and condos was $268,000 in January, a drop of $4,500 from December. Prices have fallen 25 percent since the new home market set a record of $355,435 in April 2006."

"The MLS contained 23,803 available houses in January, SalesTraq reported."

The Review Journal from Nevada. "Housing analyst Dennis Smith said residential land prices have peaked and even receded from historical highs, especially now that home builders are selling off excess lot inventory and cutting back on new home permits."

"'The big public builders are writing down their land holdings and they can do that,' Smith said. 'Right now banks are having a difficult time establishing land values. That means the appraisers are, too.'"

"Smith said he knows of one large builder that bought 3,500-square-foot finished lots from Engle Homes -- whose parent company, Tousa Inc., filed for bankruptcy -- for $55,000 each."

"Last summer, Smith had a small builder client who had finished lots appraised at $130,000 in the same area, near Sam Boyd Stadium, and was trying to sell them."

"'I said at that time builders might give $100,000,' he said. 'It doesn't matter what the appraisal is. It's a piece of paper. I know what builders are willing to pay. Now you've got $55,000 lots. You've got distressed sales. That may be too strong. You've got discounted sales.'"

"Smith said part of the next phase of our housing cycle will be banks writing down their lots."

"'You have builders that are losing or giving the lots to the bank for nonpayment,' Smith said. 'What are they going to do with them? The banks want to move these lots. Who'll buy them? Investors. The real issue is trying to establish what values are on these lots.'"

The Las Vegas Business Press from Nevada. "The economic picture isn't pretty. Many observers seem convinced that a recession is imminent if it's not already here."

"Developer George Gekakis is building the 238-unit, $30 million Sonoma Palms affordable senior apartments during the worst housing downturn in Las Vegas history, at a time when a glut of rental homes has cannibalized apartment dwellers and pushed apartment vacancy rates to 8 percent."

"'That's what's hurting multifamily,' he said. 'They can get a home with a $3,000 mortgage and they can rent it for $1,000, maybe $1,200. 'All you can do is stay lean and don't own a lot of property. But it's going to change. In three years, we're going to have 100,000 jobs.'"

"'If it wasn't for big projects on the Strip, I'd be hurting,' said Larry Monkarsh, owner of LM Construction. 'I think the industrial market has been kept alive by the gaming sector because home builders don't take that much industrial space.'"

"Economic pressure forced some companies out of business and others to pare operations to bare bones. Nearly 8,000 construction workers were laid off in Nevada, mostly from the residential sector."

"Monkarsh said he's constantly 'shopping' for the best deals on materials and equipment. He's also taking another look at all aspects of the company to see where he might save money."

"'For example, in order to save on varying interest rates, we've begun to restructure and consolidate our debt on vehicles and equipment,' he said. 'We've also gone back to our employees and requested to restructure their compensation packages.'"

"Southern Nevada's economy is performing a 'high-wire balancing act' between a strong push of big investment spending along the Strip and the drag of falling residential construction and real estate sales, a UNLV economist said."

"A 16.3 percent decline in November's gaming revenue contributed to the downward trend. 'Still, the six-month forecast remains flat, (with) no clear sign of an overall recession in the data, despite the veil of pessimism coming from the media,' economist Keith Schwer said."

"A separate index measuring Clark County business activity declined 1.7 percent from the previous month and 3 percent from a year ago. It's the largest monthly decline in the past year, Schwer said."

"The construction industry has lost roughly 4 percent of its work force, and conditions are not as strong as suggested, he said. 'Looking ahead, jobs for completed projects may not be as easily taken up by the same number of jobs for new projects,' Schwer said."

Las Vegas Now from Nevada. "More than 600 people came to Cashman Center looking for help to avoid a foreclosure. Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures, with an average of 44 homes a day being foreclosed in Clark County."

"'I will be out on the street on the 27th of this month,' said Edward Kasilag, who is facing foreclosure. Kasilag says he had such good credit, a realtor talked him into buying three homes last year and using the realtor's lender."

"'Basically what he told me is after the close of escrow, you can get a home equity line of credit.' The scheme would have Kasilag getting a line of credit on each home to pay the mortgages and then eventually sell for a profit but the bottom dropped out of the housing market leaving him in a financial hole."

"Kasilag has since lost his job. The counselors at the foreclosure workshop said they could do little to help him."

The Salt Lake Tribune from Utah. "Two new reports out Wednesday show that demand for new homes along the Wasatch Front has plummeted, leaving the area with a glut of unsold houses. Builders along the Wasatch Front took out permits for the construction of 242 homes in January, the lowest level since 1990, a report by Construction Monitor shows."

"January's total is down 74 percent from 937 in January 2007, said the service. In Salt Lake County in the fourth quarter, there were a record 1,037 completed-yet-unoccupied houses and condominiums, up from 340 units in the fourth quarter 2006, Newreach said."

"Even with the drop in new-home construction, though, Newreach is estimating that it will take 10 months to sell the county's inventory of new, unoccupied homes - even if no new homes were constructed during that time period."

"At the Daybreak residential development in South Jordan, all but one builder - Richmond American - has agreed to participate in a Smart Buy program, designed to create interest among prospective buyers."

"The program, which debuted in January and runs through April, offers buyers a price guarantee. If anytime between signing their contract to a buy a home and closing the base price on the model goes down, the buyer will be refunded the difference at closing."

The Deseret Morning News from Utah. "'There is a huge amount of vacant new home inventory,' said Jason Eldredge, executive VP at Newreach. 'The sky isn't falling, but there are areas that are in trouble.'"

"Some of the hardest hit areas are in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley, according to the Newreach report."

"South Jordan had the largest number of unsold new single-family homes in Salt Lake County in the fourth quarter 2007 with 157 units. Herriman ranked second at 121 units, followed by Riverton in third at 110 units. Draper, with 106 unsold units, and West Jordan, with 78 units, rounded out the top five."

"Eldredge said one of the major factors impacting the level of unsold new housing is affordability."

"'A lot of these homes are 4,000 square feet and are $450,000 and above, and yet there are still a few builders who are bringing them to market,' he said. 'The lack of affordable new product has forced potential buyers into the existing home market, attached housing units and rental properties.'"

"Eldredge said the best chance to see significant price reductions on new homes could be in the higher-priced inventory above $500,000 or $600,000. 'Builders will essentially have to decide how long they can carry the cost of their unsold inventory before it becomes too much of a financial burden,' he said."

"The rising levels of unsold new housing inventory have also hit neighboring counties. Utah County had 987 unsold new homes and condominiums sitting on the market in the fourth quarter of 2007, a 256 percent hike from the fourth quarter of the previous year. As of Dec. 31, 2007, there were 2,105 homes and condominiums under construction in Utah County, representing an eight-month supply."

"Zions Bank economist Jeff Thredgold said builders sitting on unsold inventory typically have more incentive to move their properties. He also said the market will likely produce more price flexibility in new homes than in existing homes, which will help clear the market."

"'If you can get good financing, it is a good time to be a home buyer,' he said. 'You can be aggressive in trying to get a better value. It's certainly become more of buyer's market than a seller's market.'"

From KUTV.com in Utah. "It almost sounds too good to be true. With the nation's housing market in the dumps, some people are living in expensive homes, for just a fraction of a monthly mortgage payment; and its happening right here in Utah."

"Autumn Marler plays with her three children while her husband is away from home, working two jobs. The Marlers live in a beautiful 4,000 square-foot home in Kaysville. The home is owned by a family who now lives in Massachusetts. It's for sale for $349,000."

"The Marlers are just 'tending' it. 'I'm paying an awesome amount of rent to live here,' says Autumn, '550-bucks a month. I'm getting a huge discount. That discount for me is income for my family that's tax free and I don't have to pay for childcare.'"

"Cathy Cardenas is the founder of Designer Hometending, a company out of Boise, Idaho that works with home owners to help sell vacant homes faster. Designer Home Tending has contracts with about 14 homes throughout the salt lake area up to 1.5 million dollars."

"'Usually you can get about 550 to 650 million dollar home. So, wanna move in?' laughs Cathy."

"But, of course, there is a catch. As wonderful as the situation might seem, as a hometender, you always have to be prepared to pack up and move out. 'They're given about 10 days to move out from the day they get an offer,' says Cathy."

"Autumn and her husband had to go through the emotional stress of losing their own home in South Jordan. Now, they can take pride in someone else's. 'My husband lost his job recently and we lost our home for a foreclosure,' says Autumn. 'He loves the fact that he doesn't feel like a failure because we're still living in a nice home.'"