The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "Real-estate agents note that resort communities have certain advantages over the Front Range and much of the nation: Foreclosures have not been a big problem, they remain attractive to retiring baby boomers, and the rich just keep on buying, which helps prop up overall sales. 'We aren't seeing foreclosures or the wholesale abandoning of value,' said Doug Landin, managing broker at Eagle Ranch. 'I think we are seeing maybe a little bit of a market correction.'"

"Summit County's inventory of 1,955 homes for sale marks the highest point in three years. Meanwhile, the value of total Summit County home sales this year through May is down 22 percent from the same period last year."

"Property in Eagle Ranch is still selling for at least 90 percent of asking price, Landin said."

"But a 10 percent discount off the asking price of a house, while typical in most real-estate markets, is a notable drop in a mountain community. A year ago, an offer that came in 10 percent below asking price could 'insult' the seller, Landin said. Soon, it could be welcomed, he said."

"'People who are waiting for it to hit the bottom are rolling the dice,' broker John Trtanj said as he lounged at his open house for a $600,000 two-bedroom condo in Singletree. 'We've been saying for 30 years, 'It can't get any higher.' And every year, it does. And when it gets higher again, this will be the time that people look back and call the best time to buy.'"

The Steamboat Pilot from Colorado. "Recent changes to the city's community housing guidelines will result in higher costs to developers and increased affordable housing in Steamboat Springs, city officials said Tuesday."

"City Council President Loui Antonucci, who is also a Realtor, voiced concern about basing the number on home sales prices from last year - a time he considered to be a 'bubble' when homes sold for much higher prices than they are selling for now."

"'Are these numbers that accurate? Prices are coming down every week. I'm not sure we should base it on those prices,' Antonucci said."

The Grande Junction Sentinel from Colorado. "Residential and commercial real estate sales in the Grand Valley are down 28 percent from the same time last year, and home sales decreased by 18 percent, lending officials said last week."

"'We've had eight quarters of declining real estate sales, so that is more than a trend,' said Bob Reece, district manager of Stewart Title Company. 'That's a reality of where we are today. Anytime you have a decline in the number of home sales, you know you're going to have a softening of prices.'"

"Housing inventory available is at 2,236 houses right now, Reece said. He didn't have the inventory numbers from a year ago but recalled 'it was substantially less.' Property values in Grand Junction went up so quickly in the past few years that the average buyer got reluctant to buy and borrow money, he said."

"Moab, Utah's days as a sleepy, hidden-gem destination with a population of 4,875, according to the U.S. Census, may be numbered. The largest resort development in the town's history, the Lionsback Resort, is weaving its way through approval and annexation into the city."

"Moab is under a housing crunch, said Jeff Reinhart, the city's planning director. Vacation-home seekers are buying homes that would otherwise be affordable for full-time residents, he said, and that is driving up prices."

''One in three homes in Moab is a vacation home,' Reinhart said. 'The growth in that market is killing us.'"

"Julianne Fitzgerald, however, says that market no longer exists. Fitzgerald, a real estate broker in Moab who opposes the development, said Lionsback most likely would sit empty and unsold. She claims the demand for vacation homes bottomed out four months ago after a peak in 2006."

"'Right now, we can't give away homes at $100,000,' Fitzgerald said. 'How do they expect to sell $400,000 starter mansions?'"

The Deseret News from Utah. "Home values across the nation may be tanking, but that's not the case in Salt Lake County. Although appreciation isn't as high as years past, 'the Salt Lake market still is fairly strong and robust compared to the national market,' said Tom Leech, an economic and statistical manager at the Salt Lake County Assessor's Office."

"Lee Gardner, Salt Lake County assessor, said he's not in the business of philosophizing why home values are going up or down, but said that high gas prices could be in play in the southwest corner of the valley."

"The construction boom out there might not be helping either, Leech said. 'There just hasn't been the demand to move out there and occupy it yet,' Leech said."

From Utah Business. "Utah's residential construction industry remains dismal, as home and condominium sales continued to slow during recent months, according to Newreach, a Salt Lake City-based real estate research firm."

"The report states that the number of new home and condo closings in Salt Lake County fell to 550 units in the second quarter of 2008, down 48 percent from 1,058 closings in the second quarter of 2007. Lot and home prices have also decreased, according to the report."

"And Salt Lake County isn't the only county in the Beehive State experiencing a drop in home/condo sales. 'We're seeing a decline across much of the state,' said Todd Cook, VP of housing at Newreach."

"Salt Lake County currently has 944 complete unoccupied homes/condos on the market, an 8 percent decline from 1,037 units available in the fourth quarter of 2007. This drop is significant, as the state's standing inventory during the fourth quarter of 2007 increased 205 percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2006."

"Jason Eldredge, executive VP of sales at Newreach also noted that there are still development opportunities in the state. 'Every place isn't oversupplied; you just need to be sure that your location and prices are right,' he said."

"Eldredge reminded developers to be mindful of gas prices and other rising costs when searching for a location to build. 'People can't afford to buy on the outskirts because the money that they're saving by buying there is lost in how much they have to spend on gas.'"

The Arizona Republic. "Metropolitan Phoenix's foreclosure problem has spread. Many Valley neighborhoods closer in, particularly in south, west and central Phoenix, now have the highest foreclosure rates, according to an Arizona Republic analysis."

"Foreclosures across metro Phoenix number 16,647 for the first half of the year compared with 9,966 during all of 2007 and 1,070 in 2006."

"Many of the homes going into foreclosure were bought or refinanced during the peak of the housing boom in 2006, according to property records. Home prices are down almost 30 percent from that time, so many people struggling now owe much more than their home is worth."

"'It has become more of an equity problem than a subprime problem,' said Tom Ruff, a real-estate analyst with Information Market."

"Notice of trustee sales, or pre-foreclosures, also continue to climb. There were 35,111 pre-foreclosures filed in Maricopa County through July. That compares with 30,166 for all of 2007. When pre-foreclosures stop climbing, foreclosures could peak a few months later, Ruff said."

"As long as foreclosures continue to rise, home prices are likely to fall."

"'Foreclosures are a problem for almost every neighborhood of the Valley now,' said Margie O'Campo de Castillo of Arizona Dream Realty. 'The problem has trickled in and will continue to get worse as people lose jobs and struggle in this economy.'"

"Real estate experts say investors and speculators opened the spigot on the foreclosure crisis but now it's the typical homeowner who is paying the price as the result of job losses in a struggling economy."

"During June, 40 percent of Mesa's recorded home sales were foreclosures, 27 percent of Chandler's were foreclosures and 20 percent of Tempe's were foreclosures, said Jay Butler, director of real estate studies at Arizona State University."

"'My big concern is we're getting change from the investor-driven to properties that were owner occupied because of job losses' and other factors, Butler said. 'No one sees a quick turnaround from the economic issues that the Phoenix area has been having.'"

"He said the Arizona economy has lost 26,000 jobs on a year-to-year comparison basis."

"Bill Ryan, a broker with RE/Max Elite, which specializes in the Southeast Valley, estimated that about three-quarters of the houses being purchased are foreclosures 'I have not personally seen a lot of properties go into foreclosure from unemployment,' Ryan said."

"The primary reason is that homeowners are giving up on their properties because prices are so low that they can't envision making money off their home for at least five years, he said."

"'Everybody has got to get back to the mindset that you buy a house to live in,' rather than turn a quick buck, Ryan said."

In Business Las Vegas from Nevada. "Despite the housing slowdown that has dropped median prices more than 20 percent in the past year, affordability remains a long-term problem that could stop industries and workers from moving to Southern Nevada, according to a study done on behalf of local governments."

"Even with the price drops, about 45 percent of the market was priced above $300,000, but homes need to be priced between $212,000 to $276,000 to be considered affordable, the study said. Between January and April, 57 percent of the housing units sold on the MLS were priced $250,000 and below."

"The bigger concern about the housing market, however, is not prices, but the availability of credit, said Steve Schauer, a loan officer with Flagship Financial Group."

"'I don't think the prices are the issue but the stricter loan guidelines,' said Schauer. That has prevented many buyers from getting loans without putting down 3 percent to 5 percent, he said."

"Eric Trump, VP of development and acquisitions for his dad's company, has been coming to Las Vegas every two to four weeks overseeing the 1,282-room Trump International Hotel."

"The Trump tower in Las Vegas has been deemed a success with 98 percent of the 1,282 units sold. The closings have been slowed by the credit market making it tougher on buyers to wrap up loans. It's a matter of paper pushing and will take at least six more months to move closings along, he says."

"'It is no secret the market conditions have changed,' Trump says. 'Eighteen months ago, you could write a FICO score on a cocktail napkin and get what you want. Now with the subprime and overall economy, loans are being more scrutinized.'"

The Review Journal from Nevada. "Short sales have become increasingly prevalent in Las Vegas, where home values have dropped by more than 20 percent in the past year and some 5,000 homes are headed for foreclosure."

"While more than half of all home sales in Las Vegas have been reported as foreclosures or short sales, the figure is actually closer to 80 percent in the past few weeks, a home loan consultant said."

"About 26 percent of available inventory in Las Vegas, or 5,800 units, are listed as short sales, reported Applied Analysis."

"Most buyers get frustrated and go looking for another house, Jo-Anne Guderian of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty said. 'I had one property in escrow for three months and the buyer walked away,' Guderian said. 'They got tired of waiting. I put it back on the market at $325,000 and got an offer immediately.'"

"The problem, she said, is that the lender, Countrywide Mortgage, keeps coming up with a higher price than the market will bear. Countrywide just sold a two-story, 3,758-square-foot model match in the same area for $295,000, she said."

"Applied Analysis principal Brian Gordon said there's a 'disconnect' between the 26 percent short-sale listings and the 6.7 percent short-sale closings over the past three months."

"Many agents believe the closing ratios for short sales under contract could be as low as 10 percent to 20 percent, Thomas Taylor of Desert Classic Properties said."

"'If this is the case, or anywhere near the case, there are hundreds of buyers being put on hold from a very clogged-up, nonperforming system,' he said. 'There is a rumor that Countrywide has decided to not do any short sales for four to six months. This can have a big impact on the market.'"

"KB Home is moving forward with construction and sales of affordable townhomes at Inspirada, a master-planned community in west Henderson. The Monet collection, as it's being called, are priced from the $140,000s for 1,087 square feet."

"'Our home designs and floor plans are driven by market demand and today's economics are driving some homebuyers to choose smaller, more affordable floor plans,' KB spokesman Craig LeMessurier said."

"KB's larger Rembrandt townhomes at Inspirada start around $190,000 for 1,643 square feet."

"Tim Sullivan, president of San Diego-based Sullivan Group, advised real estate professionals to watch out for the under-$200,000 segment of the housing market. He counted 21 active subdivisions in Las Vegas with at least one floor plan under $150,000."

"The percentage of homes selling for under $250,000 went from 28.2 percent in 2005 to 42 percent in 2008 and the percentage of homes under $300,000 went from 44.8 percent to 63.5 percent during the same period."

"Las Vegas' housing opportunity index, which measures what percentage of median income households can afford a median-priced home, has gone from 64.4 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2007, Sullivan said at a recent seminar."

The Las Vegas Sun from Nevada. "For more than a decade, Las Vegas has been the envy of the nation in at least one regard: its explosive growth. It's a story Nevadans have grown accustomed to hearing. And its repeated tellings have fed the belief that such growth would never end, that Las Vegas was immune from the economic pressures that affect the rest of the country."

"In the past week, several signs, read together, show that long-held assumptions about growth in Southern Nevada could be fundamentally changing."

"In his previous job, when he compiled Clark County's population estimates during the 1990s, Jeff Hardcastle said people often approached him with the same question regarding the region's growth: 'How long can this go on?'"

"As long as four factors remained in place, Hardcastle would reply: the relative monopoly held by Nevada's gaming industry; the lower cost of housing, especially compared with neighboring California; the stable local and national economies; and the availability of natural resources such as water and land on which to build houses."

"'Since 2001, pretty much all that's been changing,' Hardcastle said. 'And now we're seeing the culmination of some of these changes.'"

"Commercial development here - which is driven by travel and tourism - has slowed dramatically. Associated General Contractors reported the value of commercial projects permitted during the second quarter of 2008 dropped 66 percent, to $131 million, from the second quarter of 2007."

"'Those decisions to build 30,000 hotel rooms were made several years back,' when times were good, said Linda Macey, properties manager for Southwest Airlines. 'We're not sure if anyone knows whether all those rooms will be filled.'"

"Dusty Dickens retired in 2005 after 10 years as director of zoning, demographics and real estate for the School District. Even before her retirement, Dickens said, there were indications growth was slowing. During the peak of the housing boom, teachers and families were selling their homes and relocating to cash in on the bonanza."

"'Now you flip it the other way, and families are leaving because they've lost their homes,' Dickens said. 'Did we see this coming two or five or seven years ago? I don't think anyone would have seen this sharp a downturn was coming.'"