The Anacortes American reports from Washington. "With fewer buyers and more homes for sale, the housing market on the island is slowing down. Overall home sales were down 27 percent in Anacortes from January through July. But for buyers looking in Anacortes, that’s not entirely bad news."

"'We’re starting to see a ton of inventory so people have a choice and they’re taking time to make those choices,' said broker Nate Scott."

"As the island heads to a normal market, some sellers still have the pricing expectations of last year. With more homes for sale and fewer buyers, some sellers are having to reduce their prices. 'We’re seeing as many price reductions as new homes on the market,' he said."

"Scott said there are high expectations on the sellers’ part but appreciation has changed. Sellers expect bidding wars like they had last year, which just isn’t happening."

"'The market is spent, Oppel said. There was a lot of activity the past two years and a lot of people who wanted to buy something have."

"High-end homes are what’s hot. People are selling their homes in other areas, like California and Seattle, and they still see Anacortes as a bargain, Oppel said. 'They’ve got the ability to pay more,' he said."

"Some people in the state are having to sell their homes or deal with foreclosures because of adjustable rate mortgages, Scott said. Esther Spence-Crabb, Anacortes Mortgage loan officer, said some buyers who opted to go with an interest-only loan are running into trouble because they bought more house than they can afford, she said."

The Bend Weekly from Oregon. "Bob Wienk, a local real estate broker, says while people in the area have watched the prices appreciate greatly over recent years; the cost of living is still appealing to many. 'We still look like a bargain to people coming from California, Washington State or the Portland, Eugene and Salem areas,' he added."

"However, Wienk says people need to pay attention to the third quarter results. 'They will be very interesting,' he said. 'Since the end of June, things have cooled off.'"

"'I have seen more decreases in the prices of homes for sale that are listed,' he said. 'I just tracked the month of August for curiosity sake and there are about 1,700-plus price decreases of the listed properties.'"

"It is a trend that is happening all across the nation. 'Interest rates have gone up and speculators have gotten out of the market,' Wienk said. Wienk thinks that may be one reason Bend is seeing more of a supply of houses for sale. 'A recent survey done by a local company of homes currently for sale found that 50 percent of those homes are non-owner occupied and 30 percent of those homes are out-of-state owners,' he said."

"The majority of those homes, he believes, are owned by the so-called speculators. 'The market here was going up so fast people were making money very fast by reselling, but that party is sort of over,' Wienk said."