The Finger Lakes Times has this report from New York. "While the surrounding real estate market is cooling a bit, Geneva’s houses continue selling at relatively high prices, buoyed by out-of-state investors with deep pockets. So far this year, though, property is selling more slowly, and for less."

"'For the past couple years, the market’s been so great, and now we’re seeing more of a normal market,' said Matthew Parrott, an associate broker. 'It’s not that it’s down, but compared to the last few years, it’s normalized.'"

"The Rochester association’s statistics show the average sale price of a home in Geneva was around $116,008 last year. Numbers compiled by Parrott indicate the average sales price dropped slightly in the first half of 2006 to around $112,700."

"Debra Dorn of Coldwell Banker attributed the falling prices to the perception of a lagging market, rising interest rates and jitters over the economy. 'The media in general constantly talks about the housing market, mostly in a negative way,' she said, adding that has an effect on buyers."

"Whatever the reason, she said single-family homes are selling for less than they have in the last few years and have stayed on the market for more than 90 days, an industry benchmark. 'It is what it is,' she said. 'What it’ll turn out to be, I won’t even speculate.'"

"Another reason for the drop in housing prices is the sheer number of homes on the market, said broker Steve Davoli. 'We have a slightly higher inventory than we had last year,' he said. 'When you have more property, you get lower prices. It’s supply and demand.'"

"Davoli said that the second quarter statistics aren’t out yet, but the Rochester association’s figures show a jump in the number of houses on the market, from 96 in 2001 to 207 last year."

"In hot real estate markets, it’s not unusual for neighbors to put their homes on the market, just to see how much they can get for them, Davoli said. The glut of homes in turn drives down prices over time, he said."