What do you see in your local housing market this weekend? Builder incentives? Auctions? How about price reductions? "Some of you may remember a listing a while back, that picture-perfect executive home out in Wingfield Springs that my clients purchased for $595K eighteen months ago at the top of the market?"

"The one I had listed for $480K then $460K then $450K? That home closed on December 21 for $439K after 75 days on the market. Now I'm sure there's someone out there who's going to ream me or the seller for 'giving that house away' or 'undercutting the competition' or 'destroying the values of the neighborhood' or whatever."

"The truth is, it's a market. The market doesn't care what you paid for your house or how much you think its worth or what your neighbors think it's worth. The market isn't personal, whatsoever. Price is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to sell for."

A related industry. "An estimated 500 workers at KraftMaid Cabinetry Inc., Geauga County's largest manufacturer, received layoff notices Thursday. County Commissioner Mary Samide said she believed last year's nationwide 'housing bubble' was a temporary, artificial inflation of prices that was bound to burst eventually."

"'People made their money up front, but somebody had to pay the price eventually,' Samide said. 'It's just a shame it had to be here.'"

Suspect calculations? "Housing prices in Alberta's largest cities skyrocketed in 2006, with an average residential property jumping 49 per cent in Edmonton and 38 per cent in Calgary over the year."

"'All one has to do is look back over the last 30 years to see where house prices come from, and if you use a calculator and extrapolate the percentage increases over those years, I think by the year 2025 the average home may be about a million dollars,' said Ron Esch, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board."

Public pronouncements? "Real Estate agent Anthony Toop said he was surprised areas like North Adelaide (-16 per cent, Adelaide (-14 per cent) and Kensington Park (-9 per cent) had experienced such big falls in property prices."

"'There are a lot of investors in these suburbs,' Toop said. 'Fewer people are paying over the odds for a property. Buyers are playing hardball and walking away if their price isn't accepted. This is reflected in the Valuer-General's figures, which show the boom is over and the market is marking time,' he said."