The Fresno Bee has this update from California. "For-sale signs litter the landscape, but sellers are still reluctant to lower their prices to better compete, real estate agents say. Prices of existing houses are falling a minimum of 1% to 2% per month, much to the consternation of homeowners, and any would-be sellers are in a state of denial, agents say."

"'I have been through three cycles, and I have seen this kind of downturn before,' said (realtor) Cliff Lloyd in Fresno. 'The sellers chase the market for months and months instead of biting the bullet and reducing the price now.'"

"Lloyd said sellers would have more success if they lowered prices 5%. 'Meanwhile, the market is depreciating..and they fall farther behind the competition,' he said."

"More than 3,700 existing houses are for sale in Fresno and Clovis, and that number does not include properties owners are trying to sell without an agent or the abundance of new homes offered by builders, some using enticing concessions."

"With so much competition, sellers have to be aggressive when it comes to pricing. 'If you list your property at what everyone else lists theirs, it won't get shown,' said (realtor) Ralph Strachan. Strachan said the missing 20% at the bottom of the market has the effect of artificially propping up the median price. 'The statistics are skewed to the higher end of the market that doesn't go away when interest rates go up,' he said."

"Agent Ken Neufeld said: 'I'm telling clients that they have to be 10% less than what they thought prices should have been four months ago.' He cited his daughter's house as an example: It went on the market four months ago for $330,000, was lowered to $319,000 and then sold at $299,000."

"'We're quickly becoming more of a buyers' market than a sellers,' said Michael Keller, an appraiser who estimates price reductions at a more gentle 1% per month. Real estate agents also say that many would-be buyers are waiting to see whether prices fall even more."

"Declining values are something that new homeowners, and some agents, have not experienced. 'We can't say that just sellers have been in denial; a lot of agents have been in denial, too,' said Joan Jolly, president of the Fresno Association of Realtors."