The Times Union has this update from New York. "For-sale signs are sprouting in front of more homes, and staying longer, as the Capital Region's fiery-hot real estate market cools. Sales dropped 4 percent in June, and the association predicts 2006 sales will eventually fall 7 percent below 2005's record mark."

"'I see fewer buyers now than I have in months past,' said Karen Thomas, in Saratoga Springs. Buyers who are out shopping have more breathing room, there are fewer bidding wars and some prices have come down, real estate agents said."

"More sellers are jumping in, too, trying to get a piece of the market before it loses more sizzle. The number of new listings jumped 20 percent in June, and was up 15 percent for the first half of the year. The conditions make for the closest thing to a buyer's market in years."

"Greater Capital Region Association of Realtors, which tracks sales over an 11-county region, was careful not to spook anyone. In a statement, the association's president, John McNamara, said both buyers and sellers would be busy. And he said houses in every price range are on the market.'

The Poughkeepsie Journal. "New-home construction is showing some softness lately compared with the last few banner years in the mid-Hudson Valley. One-family homes contracted for in the first half of this year in Dutchess County, (were) down 20 percent from last year's pace. June had 42 deals, down 41.6 percent from last June's 72."

"'Our traffic is not great but the people who are out there are more serious,' (realtor) said Tom LaPerch. 'You've got to position yourself correctly in terms of spec homes,' LaPerch said. 'Do we have the same pace we had three years ago? Absolutely not,' LaPerch said."

"LaPerch said some builders may have paid too much for vacant land they bought during the boom. 'That's where the difficulty lies. If you overpaid for land, you're having a tough time selling right now,' he said."

The New York Daily News. "Those fat Wall Street bonuses haven't found their way to the Hamptons. The number of homes sold in the recreation zone of the rich and famous fell to 958 during the first half of the year, down 21%, according to a report."

"All the talk of the bubble bursting, coupled with rising interest rates, had Wall Streeters sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to go down. But sellers are continuing to hold firm on price. Instead of buying homes, the big-money guys decided to take some of their bonus bonanza and plow it into rentals."

"'We've seen the best rental market in five years,' said Rick Hoffman, regional vice president of Corcoran's East End offices."

"Broker Lawrence Porter said investment bankers are putting their money elsewhere. 'This is a correction,' Porter said."

"He noted 'a record number of houses on the market in the outer hamlets and north of the highway' areas farther away from the multimillion-dollar oceanfront properties. 'We used to have 15 houses on the market,' Porter said. 'Now we have 65 to 70.'"

"Hoffman is seeing a glut of homes priced between $1 million to $3 million, with inventory up 60%."