The Washington Times has this report. "Last month was the best month for buyers since 1997. All over the Washington area, buyers could negotiate from a position of strength when making an offer on a home. Sellers, many of whom didn't want to believe the seller's market was over, seem to be finally accepting this truth. And that's causing sales prices to drop."

"Compared to June, there were 700 more homes for sale and 600 fewer sales. Median sales prices in Arlington fell 15 percent from June to July, and July's figures were down 9 percent compared to July 2005. Other jurisdictions saw prices fall by single digits last month."

"In fact, sales prices fell in every Washington-area jurisdiction between June and July. The fact that median prices fell throughout the region in July does seem to indicate that the slower market is causing sellers to accept lower offers. Sellers were reluctant to do so earlier in the year. But now that homes regularly take two to three months to sell, home sellers seem to be willing to take a hit to make a deal."

The Baltimore Sun. "After a couple of heady years of soaring demand and accelerated building of homes, sales are down, inventories are up and buyers are canceling new-home contracts at twice the rate of a year ago. So builders are enticing buyers by offering to throw in extras. Such packages haven't been seen in more than a decade, experts say."

"In the Baltimore area, cancellation rates jumped in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties in the first half of the year compared with the first half of 2005. Chris Wood, a mortgage lender in Severna Park, said he has seen new-home contracts fall through because the buyers are having trouble selling their existing homes first."

"'The package of incentives builders are reporting to us now look similar to the early 1990s, when the market had a bona fide economic recession and housing took a heavy hit,' said David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. 'The incentives clearly cannot stop a bona fide housing downswing, but they certainly can help limit it.'"

The Fairfax County Times. "According to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, housing sales slowed locally in July, dropping 39 percent from a year ago. As a result, the number of homes available in the market shot up 147 percent compared to this time last year."

"A main factor for the slowing sales, according to one agent, is negative media attention about the housing market and the economy. 'There is a psychological fear out there that things are going to slow down, and it's stimulated by the media,' said (realtor) Alica Yowell. But she said sellers are starting to get fed up and are no longer bowing to pressure to lower their asking prices."

The Leesburg Today. "Veteran industry experts frequently point out that real estate prices are falling, but only from the over-inflated heights to which they had climbed in recent years. Most agreed there is a definite cooling of the super-heated Loudoun market."

"Their advice to sellers? Don’t expect anywhere near the astronomical prices of a year or 18 months ago. You won’t get them. Instead, price your home realistically, while being prepared to lower it by $100,000 or more. And expect it to take longer to sell."

"Jeanette Newton, director of the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, said..people should remember real estate is a long-term investment, and she has no patience with 'all that trash about I lost money.' 'They never had it,' she says forthrightly, claiming Loudoun is still a strong market."

"Susan MacNamara Gonzalez, who specializes in helping homeowners prepare their home for sale, gets a close up look at sellers’ emotional distress. Some look as if they’ll yell or burst into tears, she said."

"Attorney Eric Zimmerman in Leesburg, who does a lot of real estate closings, quipped 'What real estate market? Is there one out there?' He is seeing significantly fewer closings. 'The market may be off 25 percent, but it’s 50 percent for us.'"

"Longtime Leesburg Realtor Ron Resnick, noted a vast difference in today’s sales numbers. 'If you’re looking at a year ago, you’re going to be pretty disappointed,' he said, cautioning that anyone who bought a year or so ago to flip it quickly for a huge profit should 'expect a rude awakening.'"

"(Broker) Chuck Anderson is forthright on what he sees as one reason for the huge swings in the market. 'Greed has run the whole market,' he says. 'You still will probably make more than you should.'"

"Purcellville Realtor Carl Fischer agrees that 'greed drove the market to a point it could not succeed.' 'Buyers were buying properties they couldn’t really afford, caught up in the hope they could hold for a year and gain $100,000,' he said, while sellers were not satisfied with better than average gains, unhappy they couldn’t get more."

"'Townhouses at present are a nightmare.' The bloated upper end single-family home market means a drop of at least $100,000 is needed, he said."