AZ Republic's lazy Catherine Reagor reports from Phoenix realtor bitch-fest

Miss Reagor sat in on a local realtor meeting (they must have offered her tea and cookies) and got the following market conditions. You can feel the desperation in the room.

If she had used direct quotes (as she always does) I think we'd have gotten much different "market conditions" and spin, so I don't mind this tact. It's better than reading NAR talking points from Reagor's buddies.

So B-, Catherine. It's a start on your way to recovery. But to cure you of your addiction to realtor quotes, we need to do one big thing - STOP TALKING TO YOUR REALTOR BUDDIES AND GO FIND SOME REAL DAMN PEOPLE!

Buyers, sellers seek stability in erratic housing market

Valley home buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see when the market is going to level off.

Most open houses are drawing only a few lookers, and those who do show up aren't serious enough to bring real estate agents.

Neighborhood "vigilantes" are pulling down "for sale" signs because they are tired of having so many lookers cruise their streets and turn around in their driveways.

New homes on the Valley's fringes, particularly in Pinal County, are selling with big discounts.

Buyers are asking some sellers to cut prices by $50,000 to $75,000.

Last year's investor buying spree that fueled the wild runup in home prices has left many buyers, sellers, builders and brokers dealing with a market in flux.

These observations come from comments made at a recent weekly sales meeting at a Coldwell Banker real estate office in Scottsdale. Branch Manager Earlene Nelson invited me to hear some of her agents' firsthand housing market experiences.

Many of the 50-plus agents in the meeting had different observations of the Valley's housing market, depending on what areas or clients they work with. But all agreed that tracking metropolitan Phoenix's housing market is a week-to-week job.
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