A pair of reports from the northeastern US. "Fairfield County’s housing market is getting a little squishy around the edges, but it’s nothing to be alarmed about, real estate agents say. The market should settle into a buyer’s market stretching into next spring."

"Right now, however, things are in a bit of flux. Inventories are starting to build throughout the county as sales soften, houses are staying on the market longer, and some sellers are being forced to reduce their asking price to market value in order to sell their property."

"'Sellers have begun to realize they have to be competitive with their asking prices, that they can’t reach beyond what’s market value,' said George Schneider in Danbury. 'It’s taken a better part of a year to realize we’re in a trend of reduced demand, increased inventory and the need for sellers to be more realistic in their pricing.'"

"The housing market 'is definitely in transition to a buyer’s market,' which is a month or two away, Schneider said. 'The market is about to turn, but it won’t happen until the mindset of the sellers change, where sellers begin to welcome any interest in their property, when a buyer makes any kind of an offer and the seller begins to welcome that.'"

"As buyers become more cautious, 'deals are becoming tougher to put together,' said Todd Debek in the town of Fairfield, as potential home buyers bring more considerations into their equations than location, price and condition. 'People don’t want to buy something they think is going to be a depreciating asset.'"

"Not that depreciation is on the horizon, 'but no question about it, some markets haven’t seen appreciation since August,' Debek said, especially in new construction in the $1 million to $1.5 million range in the Fairfield area."

"'The market has really changed around here,' Peggy Nye said. 'We’re back to a normal market, but people aren’t used to a normal market. People are panicked; they don’t know what to do.'"

The Boston Globe. "Home sellers are learning what any retailer already knows: Low prices are one of the surest ways to beat the competition. Coldwell Banker is coaching agents on how to persuade clients to list their homes at an asking price that undercuts those of comparable ones on the market."

"The hope is low prices will attract more prospective buyers, leading to faster sales. Other real estate agents in the Boston area report success with similar strategies in a housing market with an unprecedented glut of properties for sale."

"Buyers are 'overloaded' with options and 'only respond when they see a perception of value,' said Angela Stamoulos, who teaches Coldwell Banker's course on this pricing technique, which the firm rolled out this spring in Connecticut and last month in Massachusetts. By grabbing buyers' attention, she said, 'the true market value of the property comes to fruition.'"

"Coldwell Banker's efforts reflect a sea change in the market's psychology. Today, what's important is what is not selling. Drama pricing focuses on what buyers see on the market, forcing sellers to look at the prices of active listings."

"'It's another indication that it's clearly a buyers' market,' said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. 'There's a lot of stuff on the market, and it's going to have downward pressure on prices.'"