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The first article, Existing home sales in December worst of 2006, from the Arizona Republic, reports that metropolitan Phoenix's resale market finished the year with 67,035 homes sold, down from the boom years of 2004 and 2005, according to the latest numbers released by the Realty Studies Group at ASU. In 2005, there were 110,835 resales in the Valley. December 2006 sales were the worst monthly total for the entire year. Experts blame investors, many of whom fled the Valley, leaving a glut of housing behind. "They were the driving force", said Jay Butler, who heads Realty Studies. "They were the ones who would pay any price for a home." Single-family resale inventory stands at more than 42,000, nearly double that of 2005. Median prices rose nearly 50%, from $174,815 in 2004 to $260,000 in 2006. Many people are looking to this year with hopes of better times. Some agents say they are seeing buyers who stayed on the sidelines early in 2006 moving into the market. Agents say houses in good locations and at realistic prices will sell, and they are seeing a different type of buyer, the person who wants to stay put rather than the quick-money investor.

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