The Journal & Courier reports from Indiana. "When Ron Aldridge and his wife, Alice, bought a new condominium on Lafayette's south side in 2001, they were glad to be rid of yard work once and for all. The retired steelworker, however, soon found that just climbing the stairs in their two-story, three-bedroom condo was laborious. So they put it up for sale two years ago."

"Now, after reducing the price a second time and showing their home to fewer than 12 people in the past year, they're looking at a potential loss. 'We're not having any luck selling ours,' he said. 'The housing market is just saturated right now.'"

"Len Wilson, broker in Lafayette, said after a fairly busy first quarter, the spring and summer months have settled into a classic 'buyer's market.' 'Business has been going down steadily, even from the standpoint of new construction. I don't understand why,' Wilson said. 'Starting prices on homes are starting to come down.'"

"'Upper end houses are (selling) very slow. Those in the $275,000 to $400,000 range are very slow right now. I'm not seeing a lot of turnover in existing homes in that range,' he said."

"Aldridge, for one, points to rapid new development of residential subdivisions on the outskirts of Lafayette. 'I think the county people have let the housing market run away from them,' he said."

"In the past 10 years, the number of new single-family homes built in Tippecanoe County has outpaced the estimated number of new households. According to census records, Tippecanoe County added approximately 5,900 new households from 1995 through 2005. The total of all new residential units built surpassed 16,000, or well more than the total population growth."

"(Builder) Bruce Gunstra, offered this assessment: 'I would be hesitant to say if that is universal or something we created on our part. What seems to me to be the case is, in certain price points in housing this market has been overbuilt, and there are a lot more (houses) for sale than the market can (absorb).'"

"Wilson, a Realtor since 1989, anticipates some of the next round of home buyers in Greater Lafayette will be coming from areas outside the Midwest. 'We're getting a lot of inquiries coming from out of town. A lot of people are coming from the West Coast and East Coast, even from Florida,' he said."

"The Aldridges hope that's the case. Visible from their driveway are two other condos for sale in their same complex. The price they are currently asking for their property is $110,900, which is reduced from $115,900 they asked originally when they listed it for sale themselves."