The New York press is reacting to the February housing numbers. "For a limited time only, you can buy 2006 homes at 2004 prices. OK, that might be a stretch, but Orange County's median sale price dipped to $293,500 in February, the lowest it's been since July 2004 (median $280,500)."

"It's also the first time the median price for single-family homes has been below $300,000 since March 2005 (median $299,000), according to the Orange County Association of Realtors."

"The February data is the latest evidence that Orange County's real-estate market is cooling off after a remarkable five-year run that saw home prices more or less double. 'There's no question the deals are harder and more time-consuming,' said (broker) Chris Scibelli."

"Through the first two months of the year, there have been 380 sales in Orange County, down from 405 in the same period last year. 'One of the things we don't know here is who's buying,' said Ann Garti, chief executive officer of OCAR. 'What is the market for these houses? Do we have investors who are buying to renovate, or are these buyers getting in at price points they can afford?'"

"Another thing yet to be determined: Is this just the usual winter housing lull, or the beginning of something else? After a slow start in 2005, activity picked up during the summer. But this winter has been even slower than last. Sales are down around the region, and prices are flat."

"'Last year, we were able to blame the weather. This year, January wasn't really a weather-blamable phenomenon,' Garti said." Sales slump "Home sales last month were down across the region, while median sale prices were down in Orange and Sullivan counties, and up slightly in Ulster."

"Home sales in Herkimer and Oneida counties mirrored a statewide drop in January. Oneida County's median price dipped from $90,000 to $79,500. Existing single-family home sales dipped from 189 in December 2005 to 119 in January in Oneida County, while similar sales declined in Herkimer County from 23 to 18. Statewide, sales dropped 33.8 percent, from 8,984 in December 2005 to 5,947 in January. "