A columnist at the Boston Herald thinks local realtors are missing something. "The amazing thing about the real estate market is that it’s never in a slump. Just ask any Realtor. 'Strong?' Frequently. 'Red hot?' Sometimes. And on all other occasions it’s 'soft,' 'flattening out,' 'a little bit slow right now,' and, of course, 'just starting to pick up again,' especially for 'the right properties at the right price.'"

"Which is pretty much where we are now."

"Recently I had lunch with a young businessman who is trying to sell his South End condo. This guy’s place has been on the market since July. He’s even cut the price 20 percent, to around $400,000. And every month he writes another check to the mortgage bank. You’re starting to hear more and more stories like this around town."

"The way to measure a slowdown isn’t in average sale prices, because higher-end properties keep selling well in almost any market. It’s in the volumes. The facts? The number of condos sitting on the Greater Boston market has doubled in the last 12 months, to 6,569. The number of single-family homes has jumped 60 percent. Among the hardest hit neighborhoods: South Boston and the South End."

"'It’s become a buyers’ market, because of the amount of inventory,' admits Susan Kieley, a real estate agent in Southie. It’s just one of those cycles we have to ride out,' she adds."

"Realtors have a variety of ways of dealing with a slowdown. Last fall, a Boston Realtor seriously tried to blame the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina. 'This is the Boston market we’re talking about?' I asked. This year, expect to be told it’s the election."