The Star Telegram reports from Texas. "Existing-home sales in North Texas slipped again in October. The 4 percent drop from year-ago levels was the seventh down month this year. 'It's really crazy right now,' said (realtor) Jane Crook in Colleyville. 'It's definitely a buyer's market.'"

"Crook said job growth and movement into the Dallas-Fort Worth area are solid, but they're not keeping up with the inventory that homeowners are putting on the market. 'We're getting way out of whack,' Crook said. 'It's every area.'"

"In October, there were 45,715 homes on the market, up 11 percent from a year ago. That rise in inventory in an area that is already a buyer's market, combined with nationwide reports of an overheated real estate market, makes prospective buyers think twice about committing to purchasing a home, said Nancy Stephens in ZipRealty's Irving office."

"'We call it a 'pause' in DFW, instead of a bubble,' she said. She describes it as a time when buyers say, 'Let's wait and see what happens.'"

"Builders are adding to the supply of homes for sale, she said, offering aggressive incentives that the average homeowner has trouble matching. 'The buyers are asking for so much, as far as closing costs,' she said."

"A homeowner in northeast Fort Worth has reduced the selling price and increased the remodeling allowance. A seller in Haltom City is offering a $500 Lowe's gift card to the buyer. Homes in east Fort Worth, Summerfields in north Fort Worth and North Richland Hills are touting pre-foreclosure bargains."

"The median price of a home sold in October, $143,000, is down 3 percent from the October 2005 level. This is the second month in a row that the median price has fallen. Before last month, the median price hadn't fallen in two years."

"Crook said concessions by sellers may be hurting home prices, but she also cited the high number of foreclosures. The number of foreclosure postings has skyrocketed in recent years to the highest levels seen since the late 1980s."

""Real estate agents note that buyers are coming from the East and West coasts to buy investment and residential property."

The Dallas Morning News. "The slump in home sales during the last few months is a sign that the local housing market has weakened. Agents say that potential buyers are in no hurry to make a decision. Some are waiting to see if prices fall."

"'My own house is on the market, so I have a different perspective,' said Jim Fite, president of Dallas' Century 21 Judge Fite Realtors. 'We've had more than two dozen people look at it, and we've had no offers.'"

"'It's just a matter of time before the right buyer comes along,' he said. 'But we are a little bit discouraged that we haven't had an offer in 2 ½ months.'"

"'The unemployment rate is low, and there is no reason for people not to be buying and selling real estate,' Mr. Fite said. 'I don't think we are going to have a serious slowdown – maybe a blip.'"

The Tulsa World reports from Oklahoma. "Shrugging off the national real estate slump has come to an end in the Tulsa area, where home sales dropped 13 percent in September from the month before."

"Tulsa home values took a sizeable hit as well. The average price of a home dropped 3 percent from the month before to $146,233, while the median price dropped 4 percent to $121,000, the second straight significant monthly drop."

"(Broker) David Momper said the cool-off was unexpected. 'Typically, September is a spike in our market, and it didn't happen this year,' he said. 'We're not sure why.'"

"Momper said many buyers and sellers are leaving the market due to waning confidence. 'It's scared money,' he said. 'We're not sure what's scaring people.'" "Wheeler said negative news about the national real estate market, especially in coastal areas where prices and sales are plummeting after years of dramatic increases, has influenced local buyers and sellers."

"'The news you get on the housing market is negative and depressing, and I've heard negativity from the public as well,' he said. He predicted that local home sales will stay slow through the end of the year."