Gilbert, Ariz., sees boom, bust in housing sales

ARIZONA -- Bert Brinton and his neighbors have been lucky.

Brinton lives near the southeast corner of Guadalupe and Recker roads in Gilbert -- an area hit hard by bank foreclosures after the housing market imploded. Still, when Brinton tends to the plants in his yard -- as he was on a muggy, overcast Wednesday afternoon -- he mostly sees the same neighbors along his street coming and going.

"There weren't too many sales during the boom," he said, standing in his front yard. "So, I don't think too many people had problems with their homes."

Brinton said he was the fourth person to buy a home in the immediate neighborhood 12 years ago.

"Our market value is relative to what it was before the boom, so we're not concerned," he said.