The Orange County Register reports on that housing bubble. "Orange County home sales have fallen for a fifth month, and the number of homes on the market is rising. Multiple offers and bidding wars still occur, real estate agents say."

"But there have been sporadic reports of sellers dropping their prices, especially for homes above $1 million. And, yes, sellers are starting to offer bigger buyer-agent commissions and buyer incentives, agents said."

"As of mid- April, Orange County had 10,755 houses and condos listed for sale, more than double the number a year ago. Gone are the days where houses sold in a couple of days with multiple offers. Gone, too, are the days of agents inking hasty bids on the trunks of their shiny new sedans. 'We're slowly turning into a buyer's market,' Chuck Wood, an agent in Anaheim Hills, said."

"Orange County real estate agents say the market isn't crashing. It's just returning to a 'normal market' after years of explosive growth. The phenomenon of rising prices and declining sales may be caused either by sellers not realizing that the market has changed, or by unmotivated sellers testing the market, they said. If they don't get their price, they won't sell."

"(Realtor) Barbara Greenfield said that rather than pricing homes above recent sales of similar homes, she now sets prices equal to those of earlier sales. 'There are a lot of price reductions,' she said."

"(Realtor) Don Palmer in Placentia said sellers no longer are agreeing to make deals contingent on the buyers selling their own homes before escrow closes. With homes staying on the market longer, he said, there's a greater chance the deal will fall through because buyers won't find their own buyer, he said."

"Home shopper Richard Fleming wonders, however, if home sellers really are getting the message..in Irvine. The architect-real estate agent is looking for a bigger home, but so far discovered that most sellers are expecting top dollar for houses with minimal upgrades and lean landscaping. 'I think sellers are being unrealistic,' said Fleming. 'The house I'm looking at down the street, the (recent comparable sale) is $1.5 million, and they're asking $1.98 million.'"

"So now, he's considering a newly built home. Some homebuilding firms, Fleming said, are offering incentives, bigger commissions for the agents and free landscaping for the buyer. Deals offered by owners of existing homes can't compare. 'Basically, I think people are testing the market with unrealistically priced homes,' he said. 'And the buyers are not interested in going into homes when they're that high priced.'"