What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Motivated sellers? Builder incentives? Here is one from the Twin Cities. "Some metro homeowners frustrated with a slowing home sales market are using innovative incentives to attract buyers. The seller of a 1926 Tudor is offering a free car for the buyer, a trend some think will increase."

"'I think to get people motivated this may be the next step to getting the energy back in the market,' says Suzanne Bates, a real estate investor."

The Burlington Free Press, in Vermont. "For the first time in a decade, the median price of a home in Chittenden County has fallen. Higher interest rates and an exodus of investors have deflated a market where double-digit inflation has been the norm, according to a local real estate analysts."

From Bend Oregon. "So, is Bend’s bubble heading towards a future burst? 'It does appear and feel to me that the market is softening as expected and there will be no 'bubble burst,' but this will be more clear by mid-summer,' according to DavidFoster.biz."

"For anyone wanted to sell this year, they will need to be more careful and competitive in choosing a list price. As buyers have more homes to choose from, become more discriminating and reluctant or simply unable to afford the higher prices; people may not have to pay full price."

The Washington Post. "The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Decorators' Show House, a 1929 Mediterranean-style mansion on almost six acres in fashionable Greenspring Valley, failed to sell at auction last week."

"Though the house is a 'remarkable property,' its failure to sell didn't shock Paul Cooper. 'We knew we would be challenged to do it' because about 29 properties in Baltimore County are currently listed at $2 million-plus, but only four such properties have sold in the past four months, Cooper said. 'That's one a month; you do the math.'"

From the topics thread. "For those interested in the Northern New Jersey market."

June Average Sales (2003-2005): 3486

2005 Sales: 3682

2006 Sales: 2911 (Down 20.9% Year Over Year)

"June statistics for Northern VA (and all counties around D.C.) are out. The first column is 2006 and the second is 2005."

Loudoun County, VA Median Sold Price: $ 485,000 $ 491,000..-1.22 %

Total Units Sold: 515, 994 - 48.19 %

Another had this anecdote. "Anybody besides me doing any home improvement projects right now? I’m finding contractors are actually returning phone calls now; a huge change from only a few months ago."