Readers suggested a topic about who is buying houses these days. "Flippers, move-up and subprime buyers would appear to all have been recently knocked out of the demand queue by flat or falling prices. And anyone who was ridiculed for sitting on their hands while all the financial geniuses were cashing in on an ever-rising market certainly has little reason to change his mind at the moment. So who is left to buy now?"

"Let’s at least agree there is less move-up demand when prices are flat or falling than when they are going up 23% per year. Especially when cashout home equity ATM loans were such a big source of consumption spending money in the past three years."

One replied, "People who change jobs or extend their families and haven’t educated themselves about the housing bubble. They think the market is what it is and it is now necessary to put 50% of their income into housing, because renting is not an approved way of life."

"If you count them in the move-up category, many of them have not yet been knocked out of the demand queue by flat or falling prices. I have one extended family relation in DC and one coworker here in MN who belong in this category, but it’s their money they throw away by buying. The appearance that you are talking about is still different where I live, but, and there I concur, it appears the appearance is changing slowly towards less demand."

Another said, "In L.A., there are reams of affluent Asian buyers, especially in the San Gabriel Valley. Whether they realize the pot has gone off the boil, is another question, altogether."

"David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said 2006 was a different market because past declines were associated with the traditional factors of employment losses and rapidly increasing interest rates."

"'The 2006 declines came from affordability problems because prices were too high, forcing consumers to borrow too much,' Lereah said. 'We also experienced investors leaving the market, the perception that real estate was no longer a favorable investment, and the scare provided by some members of the media that a national bubble was bursting.'"

"The percentage of first-time buyers in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 24 percent in the third quarter of 2006, compared with 28 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the California Association of Realtors."

"The deeper freeze scenario? There's less hard evidence in the latest federal statistics, but there certainly are some sobering trends under way in two categories of real estate markets: First, those areas where the regional economy has been struggling, corporate layoffs and plant closings have pushed unemployment higher, and there is little in the way of immediate relief in sight."

"In the second category are the boom-era shooting stars where excess appreciation has burned itself out and prices are now flat at best."

The New York Times. "In the last five months, single women spent more than $30 million out of the $100 million or so in sales in the 299-unit condominium. In fact, single women bought 72 of the first 165 apartments sold. Spending by these women far surpassed that of single men, who accounted for $19 million. Married couples accounted for about $45 million in sales, and investors $5 million."

"The impact of female buyers may be most pronounced in the Brooklyn condominium market. Brooklyn developers are beginning to see the same troubling market conditions that are hitting Manhattan and the rest of the country. Brooklyn has 5,888 condominiums under construction and another 11,634 units planned, according to data gathered by Halstead Property."

"Apartments are taking far longer to sell. Apartments in Dumbo, Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights sat on the market for an average of 111 days last quarter, compared with 62 days in the corresponding period in 2005."

"Erica Besikof said that her husband would have been happy to postpone buying an apartment. But she convinced him that they could stop paying a lot in rent and live closer to their favorite beer bar, and their favorite restaurant."

"'He’s more nervous about the market and if we’re going to make a profit,' she said. If the couple hadn’t found an apartment at 110 Livingston, 'he would have been fine renting,' she added."