Valley Real Estate Hits Peak

It was only a matter of time before the Phoenix area real estate market would slow down. The National Association of Realtors already sees signs of slowing and houses prices and sales are at an all time high.

U.S. home sales are "close to a peak" and prices will rise next year at about half the rate of 2005, the National Association of Realtors said. The median price of an existing home will increase 5.2 percent to $215,200 next year, the smallest gain since 2000, when prices rose 4.1 percent, according to a forecast today by the Washington-based trade group. Sales of previously owned homes are forecast to fall 3.6 percent and sales of new homes to drop 4.5 percent.