At least, that's the word from the front lines at the thirdannual RealShare Phoenix, part of the RealShare Conference Serieshosted by Real Estate Media, a division of Incisive Media. Nearly150 participants, attending the half-day session at the CamelbackInn in Scottsdale, got first-hand validation of their perceptionsabout the market. They also learned some of the reasons behind theslowdown and the best way to tough it out for the duration of theslump.

Christopher E. Toci, executive director for Cushman &Wakefield of Arizona Inc., said the Phoenix real estate cycle hastracked with the national economy since the early 1970s. He alsopointed out that the area has had only one year of negative jobgrowth for the past 30 years--at least until now.

"We're projecting a 25,000 to 50,000 negative job loss thisyear," Toci said. "That would mark the second consecutive year inwhich Phoenix lost jobs. That's the first time it's happened."