More reports on the housing bubble in Washington. "Homes are coming onto the market and basically sitting there in many parts of Pierce and King counties, according to a new report released Thursday."

"(Broker) Gideon Epistola said that while his listing board has been filling up, the sales board has been somewhat static. 'A year ago, that wasn’t the case,' he said."

"Epistola had a personal experience with the shifting market. When he recently sold his home in Lakewood, he first listed it at $375,000. Three weeks later and a price reduction of $30,000, the home finally sold. On the flip side, he bought a home in University Place that had been on the market for a bit last fall. 'We really didn’t compete against anyone,' to get the house, he said."

"Dick Beeson, broker in Tacoma, said that housing inventory has indeed climbed, 26 percent in Pierce County compared with last March. Most of the new listings driving up the numbers come from Spanaway and the Puyallup area, Beeson said. Pierce County’s booming condominium market continues to thrive, with listings increasing by 11 percent when compared with this time last year."

"NWMLS members added 12,639 new listings to inventory last month, edging out the year-ago total of 11,808 new listings. With those new listings, the total inventory at month end rose to 23,533 listings. Compared to the same month a year ago, the inventory grew by 15.9 percent."

"The largest gains from a year ago are in Thurston County (up 77.5 percent), Grays Harbor County (up 62.5 percent), Pierce County (up 26.7 percent) and Kitsap County (up 22.9 percent). Only four counties have fewer listings than a year ago: Cowlitz, King, Lewis and Kittitas.'"

"'Traffic at open houses has been pretty decent,' Beeson remarked. 'People are taking a bit longer to decide,' he acknowledged. He believes the abundance of people moving into the area will sustain demand and price appreciation 'for some time,' but tempers his optimism by noting, 'So long as rates stay under 7 percent.'"

"Pending home sales in Seattle and King County fell again in March. Pending sales countywide fell 8 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The same trend held true in Seattle, with pending sales down 8.8 percent."

"Throughout King County, listings fell 5.5 percent compared with last March. In Seattle, listings were down 6.2 percent. The drop in listings has worked in favor of some home sellers, such as Pat Garrison in Wallingford. Last month she listed the house..there were three bids from potential buyers, and it sold. 'Realtors were representing their clients with letters and telling us why they were perfect for the house. It was just like you read about,' Garrison said."