From the Virginia Pilot. "They are signs of the times: red placards standing in front of two homes on one block in the Coleman Place neighborhood. 'For Sale. Price Reduced.' From Virginia Beach to Suffolk, much of the momentum in the local real estate market has shifted to buyers after years of rip-roaring price increases and speedy sales brought hefty gains to sellers."

"The number of properties sold in South Hampton Roads fell to 1,506 in September, a 20.2 percent drop from the same month last year. The number of units sold in Virginia Beach shrank by 23.7 percent in September."

"Many sellers are reluctant to lower their asking prices. Still some are offering enticements such as picking up closing costs to attract buyers. 'We're seeing lots of reductions, we're seeing lots of incentives,' said Andi Helfant-Frye, an associate broker in Virginia Beach.. 'We're seeing all the things that people used in the normal markets to entice people to look at their properties.'"

"Some worry that too many sellers still expect unrealistic prices. 'In some areas home sellers are not making sufficient adjustments in their listing price, so their homes are staying on the market and contributing to the build up in inventory,' said Thomas M. Stevens, the president of the NAR."

"'There are unrealistic expectations' among sellers, said Dave Macklin, an associate broker in Virginia Beach Macklin said. 'They're looking at, 'My neighbor sold his house last year for X dollars, so I have to sell my house for X-plus.' And that's not what has happened to the market - it may be worth more, but it's not worth that much more.'"

The Washington Post. "NVR Inc., the region's largest home builder, said yesterday that four out of 10 of its new-home sales in the Washington area were canceled last quarter. Around the Washington market, cancellation rates have tripled in the past year, to 17 percent. In August alone, that meant about 250 cancellations."

"In its most recent earnings report, builder Toll Brothers Inc. said cancellations in the quarter that ended in July had more than doubled, to 18 percent nationally, while numerous builders said in interviews that their cancellations locally had increased."

"Developers and builders say buyers are abandoning five-figure deposits on their future homes because they cannot sell their existing homes or did not sell them for nearly as much as they had counted on."

"In an effort to reverse the trend, builders are helping buyers sell their old houses, delaying closing dates or offering favorable loan terms -- or even cash."

"It is difficult to put a price tag on how much in incentives builders are giving to buyers with existing contracts because they tend to be worked out on a case-by-case basis. But both cancellations and builders' efforts to stop them have generally been more prevalent in markets where prices increased rapidly during the housing boom, including Washington."

"With little success in selling their home and a settlement date rapidly approaching on a new $900,000 house in Clinton, Irica and James Cheeks last month decided to walk away from that dream house and their $60,000 deposit."

"The Cheeks said that when they signed the contract to buy, in spring 2005, they had no idea the market would turn as quickly as it did. They decided on the house from Ryan Homes after they grew tired of losing bidding wars for resale homes, said Irica Cheeks."

"They figured they would sell their house, also in Clinton, for about $725,000. That factored in the way the value of the house had been climbing. But now, after three months on the market, the house is priced at $670,000."

"But after the couple notified the builder that they wanted to cancel the deal, the company agreed to push back the settlement date, the Cheekses said. The company also offered more money toward closing costs."

"'Overall, the company was very understanding,' said James Cheeks, who now plans to settle on the new 8,000-square-foot house next week. 'I think they were more flexible than they wanted to be, but I think they had to at this point. They realized that they needed us as much as we needed them. And they started throwing in more incentives.'"

"When sales are slow, large builders can control the number of homes they have to sell by not building or by backing out of contracts to buy land. For example, NVR recorded an $81 million write-off of deposits on land in the third quarter."

"However, cancellations are a big headache for builders because they have already spent the money to build houses and are responsible for carrying costs. 'Standing inventory' in the Washington market had roughly tripled, to 3,600 homes, by August, the latest figures available, compared with a year earlier"

"Deborah Rosenstein, VP for a local builder, said her firm tries to work with every buyer, but she expressed frustration at some 'outrageous' demands. 'Home buyers are really taking home builders to the carpet. 'They just want to get out of contracts,' she said. 'Sometimes consumers are unrealistic. When the market was good, they weren't saying, 'You know, it's too low; let me give you another $50,000.'"