Readers suggested a topic on acceptable entry levels. "I’d like to recommend a weekend topic of what price and area people are going to buy in. What are they going to consider a buy signal and what will make them hold off? I think I’m going to get a condo in Miami, downtown San Diego, and Vegas for vacation rental biz. Maybe even a home in Costa Rica once they dry up like a dead dog."

"The condo’s would have to be buy-one-get-one-free for me to jump. I think if they want to move property they will get better action that way. One to live in and one to rent. Can it get that bad?"

"We are in the second inning of a perfect game...the only thing that can keep it from a perfect game is the kool aid buyers diving in front of the fast ball!"

A reply, "If sellers in my area would accept an offer 10-12 percent below asking, that would be my signal. I’m not waiting for rock bottom. I just don’t want to pay for anything hideously overpriced."

"Currently sellers are obstinately holding out for their wishing prices, as the comps slowly but surely reset downward."

One has this buy signal, "Here’s the answer: PACKAGED FORCLOSRES." "For a limited time you can get a condo in Miami, a beachfront house in Texas, and a Boat in Washington State…..all for the price of…[insert b***s**t finance package here]."

From MarketWatch. "Home sellers are not automatically turning up their noses at offers that come in far below their asking price these days as prices stagnate and the inventory of homes for sale remains elevated in many markets."

"But buyers who do ask for deep discounts still risk offending sellers to the point where they quash any deal. So before making an aggressive offer, some homework is in order, real estate professionals say."

"Further, buyers need to effectively explain why the price of a home should be lower. That's what Pat O'Heron did recently when buying a home in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was able to negotiate a steep discount with a seller who relocated for a job, in a neighborhood that had two years' worth of inventory on the market."

"Before he even made an offer, the asking price had already dropped by about $80,000, he said. After O'Heron made his case why the cost should be even lower, he eventually bought the home for $270,400, with about $11,000 in other credits. The net price ended up being $115,000 below the initial asking price."

"'There's a danger of them taking it too personally,' said Jon Boyd, president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. 'When you're making the offer, if you justify that offer with outside data, then it's much less likely to be perceived as being an insult or (the buyer) not as serious,' he added."

"If the sellers have already purchased another home and that sale has closed, they're likely to be more willing to make a deal, said Dick Gaylord, president elect of the National Association of Realtors and a broker based in Long Beach."

"And certainly if the property has been on the market for a long time, sellers will be interested in entertaining any offers, he added."

"'If we just looked at the relative values of the houses that sold, we would end up paying too much for that house because we know that the values are going to fall,' he said. 'If we see two years' worth of inventory, we should be buying 5 percent, potentially 10 percent less than what houses have sold for in the past year in the neighborhood.'"

"Buyers may even personally write a letter to the sellers to make their point, as they did when the market was hot and they aimed to stand out from the crowd, Gaylord said. That way, they can detail what they like about the house but express their fear of future dropping values."

"'The difficulty we're having in my market right now ... sale prices are not dropping, things are staying on the market longer,' Gaylord said. 'Buyers read about how terrible the market is; sellers don't want to budge because they're reading that prices aren't falling.'"

"Danielle Kennedy, a real estate sales coach based in Pacific Palisades, advises sellers not to think of a low offer as an insult but as 'a sign of interest.'"

"'And it begins the dialogue regarding the purchase of your house,' she said. 'They should make every effort to be grateful that an offer has come in.'"

"Also, not all hope is lost even if a seller doesn't bite immediately. Sometimes after time elapses, the seller comes around and decides to negotiate, Boyd said. Or new information, such as the sale of a comparable home at a lower price, can nudge a seller to give an aggressive offer a second look and open the negotiation process."