The Gazette.net reports from Maryland. "It’s a lesson being learned by potential sellers all over Montgomery County. Margaret Carty figured her 5,000-square-foot home would sell quickly and profitably when it went on the market in April. But it took almost five months before Carty agreed to the first offer they received at $100,000 less than the original asking price."

"'Be reasonable about it,' Carty advised would-be home sellers. 'If you want to sell it fast, sell it low.'"

"The total number of homes listed for sale in July was one-and-a-half times more than in July 2005. For the same period, the number of settlements fell by more than a fifth. 'A lot of people lost track as to what is normal,' said Stephen Fuller, at George Mason University."

"While real estate agents knew the housing market is cyclical and could not continue at the same rate, said said Frank Valentino, of Coldwell Banker Residential Mortgage, predictions of a burst housing bubble became a self-fulfilling prophecy for many potential homeowners."

"'The psychology of the purchaser has been somewhat negative,' he said. 'The market is a great deal of perception. People are saying, 'Our decision is to not make a decision.'"

"At the same time consumer confidence was falling, a glut of houses became available. Fuller attributed it to investors panicking over the predicted burst in the housing bubble and getting out of the housing market. Said Fuller: 'Shoppers are being more careful with what they buy. People are not going to spend more than $1 million for a house when they can spend $750,000 for an adequate replacement.'"

The Daily Times. "The real estate market currently favors buyers, according to local real estate agents. Interest rates have forced property prices down, causing owners to take a more realistic approach to the market."

"'The market now is back to a normal market, whereas the last few years it was high,' said associate broker Claire McLaughlin. 'It's a little more in favor of buyers.'"

"To sellers who are really looking to make a large profit, it may seem like a bad time to sell, but this is where agents are saying sellers should change their perception. 'The home seller is probably realizing the big boom of large increases is momentarily not here, it's a little bit more realistic at this time,' said Realtor Rosie Beauclair."

"Beauclair said for a while the market in the area was getting out of hand. 'It was getting a little over-inflated,' she said. 'Sellers have to realize we can't sell at yesterday's prices,' she said. 'That's the way it is, I think once the sellers understand that and they're not just out there to make a lot of money, they're ready to be realistic about it.'"

The Globe and Mail. "Real estate agent Andrea Gaus knew the market was out of whack when the price of a typical four-bedroom house near good schools in the leafy Maryland suburbs outside Washington shot past the $1 million mark. 'It got to the point where appreciation was so high that it priced people out of the market,' Gaus said."

"Increasingly nervous home sellers are slashing prices to get rid of properties before their value sinks even further. One buyer recently threatened to walk away from a signed contract on a $1.6 million house unless the seller took $100,000 off the price to reflect the drop in value since the deal was struck. The seller quickly buckled, fearing the house might be worth even less if put back on the market today."

'"Look how fast prices were going up. The same thing is happening on the way down,' observed Gaus, who's been selling homes in the Washington area for 16 years. 'It's a very tough market.'"