A report from the New York Times. "By nearly any measure, this city is booming. There is so much construction that a local newspaper started a 'crane watch' feature. Yet, Denver’s once-soaring housing market has run into turbulence. Sales and construction activity have slowed in recent months. Houses that would once have drawn a frenzy of offers are sitting on the market for days or weeks. Selling prices are rising more slowly, and asking prices are being slashed to attract buyers."

"Similar slowdowns have hit New York, Seattle and even San Francisco, cities that until recently ranked among the nation’s hottest housing markets. The specifics vary, but economists, real estate agents and home builders say the core issue is the same: Home buyers are reaching a breaking point after years of breakneck price increases that far exceeded income gains."

"'The local economy is still fantastic, all the fundamentals are there, but obviously wages are not keeping pace,' said Steve Danyliw, a Denver realtor. 'As the market continues to move up, buyers are being pushed out.'"

"Introductory economics textbooks suggest that high prices should attract more supply or suppress demand — or both. Inventories of unsold homes have risen in Denver and other markets in recent months, and the real estate site Zillow found that price cuts have become more common."

"Over all, however, the housing market is not behaving as the textbooks say it should. Inventories remain low despite the recent increases, and new construction is slowing, not picking up."

"Part of the problem, local real estate agents say, is that the furious pace of price growth has essentially gummed up the market, making homeowners reluctant to sell for fear of being unable to find a new home."

"This big-city conundrum is spreading. People priced out of San Francisco moved to Seattle and Portland, driving up prices and displacing people who moved to Denver and Austin. Next on the list: Boise, Nashville and other cities offering some of the same attractions at lower prices."

"Sure enough, the online real estate site Redfin this spring found that Denver had joined Seattle and San Francisco as cities with a 'net outflow' of users — that is, there were more people on the site looking to leave Denver than to move there."

"'City after city is going to face this,' said Glenn Kelman, Redfin’s chief executive. 'At some point, the buyers step back and say, ‘Enough is enough.’"