The Mail Tribune reports from Oregon. "The median October sales price for an existing home in Jackson County was $245,500, 12 percent below the $279,950 price a year earlier. Going into winter, sales generally fall off, but prices haven't necessarily declined during the off months during the 2000s. The slumping sales prices are a clear sign of more sellers than buyers at the moment."

"For Ron Galbreath, a top seller in Medford, that means wrestling with sellers over what they would like to get and what they will likely receive for their property."

"'I try to get clients to realize the realities of this market,' Galbreath said. 'When you do a market analysis telling you this figure would be the value of your home, in today's market you have to price it 5 to 10 percent less. I've told my clients, if they don't have to sell right now, then don't sell.'"

"Galbreath said refinancing appraisals from last year are useless. One Reddy Avenue property in Medford was appraised for $340,000 last year, but it's on the market for $249,000."

"'And it's still not selling,' he said."

"'I heard about an agent the other day that waited until the last day before closing to give the seller disclosure form to the buyer,' said Doug Morse, an agent (in) Medford. 'The buyer backed out. If everything doesn't get done on time, it can be a real deal buster right now.'"

"'A lot of people have lowered their prices and some (sellers) are losing money,' Morse said."

The Dalles Chronicle from Oregon. "With winter settling in over a cold residential real estate market, some Central Oregon builders are rolling out the deals to get something — anything — to move. And Woodhill Homes, a builder of multiple subdivisions in the region is, in effect, partially converting itself into a landlord for the winter to keep its cash flows moving."

"The builder will probably sell 50 homes this year, co-owner Jay Campbell estimated, but that's only about half of its early year target. Meanwhile, with its construction pace pared to the minimum, the rents and lease-to-owns help keep the bills paid."

"'We are in the business of buying and selling homes, but this is what we have to do today in order to see tomorrow,' Campbell said."

"Woodhill isn’t the only builder trying to navigate through a frigid sales environment. Sales of single-family homes on an acre or less were down 27 percent through the third quarter of this year in Bend, compared with the same time last year, according to the Central Oregon Association of Realtors. In Redmond, the volume plunged 48.3 percent."

The News Tribune from Washington. "Pierce County home prices dipped again in October, marking the second consecutive month of year-over-year decreases as sales remained down. At the same time, 33 percent more homes were for sale than in October 2006."

"Coldwell Banker agent Sharon Benson said Tuesday that she’s not concerned about Pierce County’s price declines, which she attributed to the market normalizing in the post-boom years. Buyers today, she said, are more picky and bring contingencies, such as the need to sell a first home."

"'Some buyers are just not making commitments,' she said. 'Buyers at some point are going to realize sellers aren’t going to give their houses away.'"

"The median home price in King County dipped to $387,500 while the number of listings was up 44.3 percent, higher than Pierce County’s year-over-year increase. Snohomish County’s listings jumped even more, by 51.6 percent. Its October decline in sales, however, largely mirrored Pierce County’s as they fell 34 percent."

The Olympian from Washington. "October home sales in Thurston County fell 13 percent from a year ago, but demand for homes was strong enough that the median price rose four percent in the same period, according to the Northwest MLS."

"Broker Steve Cahill said a drop in home sales, higher levels of inventory and stricter lending standards have contributed to a slower Thurston County housing market compared with last year."

"'We could sugarcoat it but that's the reality,' Cahill said."

"Yet those same factors, such as higher levels of inventory, have helped to create a buyer's market here, one of the best Cahill has seen in 15 years, he said."

The Columbian from Washington. "Eleven homes to be auctioned by trustee's sale drew a recent Friday morning crowd of about 40 people to the Clark County Public Service Center."

"As Clark County's once booming housing market slows and foreclosures here rise. Data released by RealtyTrac showed 374 foreclosure filings in Clark County during the third quarter, compared with 180 filed during the same period a year ago, and 182 filed during the third quarter in 2005."

"'In the future, I would say there are going to be more,' said Mike Worthy, CEO of the Bank of Clark County."

"Research is imperative, said Gary Colemansmith, a Vancouver investor. 'The property owner might owe $240,000 on a first loan and $60,000 on a second (for $300,000 total), and the house is only worth, maybe, $270,000 because prices are down,' he said."

"Auctioneer Sam Burton said he's noticed investors have changed tactics in the three years since he began conducting the sales. 'I see them buying the lower-end houses instead of those on the high end,' he said. 'More higher-end homes are going back to the bank.'"

"Burton said part of his work includes posting notice of an impending trustee's sale on the door of the home to be auctioned. Burton said he's been posting more notices lately."

"'Last year, we maybe had three or four postings a day. This summer, we were doing between 10 and 30 a day,' Burton said."

The Seattle PI from Washington. "Many prospective Seattle home buyers welcome signs that prices are declining. 'I think (prices) are way out of sight, and I'm glad to see they're finally coming down,' said Steve Noah, while outside a Capitol Hill open house in October."

"The latest evidence came Tuesday, when the Northwest MLS reported that the typical home in Seattle and King County sold for less in October than it did during the same month in 2006. It was the second consecutive year-to-year decline in median price for Seattle and the first for the county after more than five years of monthly price increases, year over year."

"Meanwhile, the city and county continued to have fewer sales and many more homes languishing on the market than a year earlier."

"'I wouldn't want to overpay for a house right now,' said Jessica Bora, who has been looking at homes with her husband for about a year."

"Noah, who has been looking at homes for about two years, thinks prices are still too high. 'I think in the next year that we'll see some serious readjustments,' he said. 'I probably wouldn't buy right now.'"

"The number of homes on the market was up by nearly 53 percent in Seattle, more than 44 percent in King County and nearly 31 percent in the region from October 2006."

"Closed sales declined by nearly 9 percent in Seattle, 25 percent in King County and 26 percent in the region, while pending sales, which can be a better indication of the most recent activity, dropped by nearly 21 percent in the city and 29 percent in the county and region."

"Many agents...say things really slowed in August, because many buyers had a hard time getting financing. 'I think what happened in August moved us into fall early,' said Jim Paddleford of Windermere Real Estate. 'A lot of loan programs disappeared overnight.'"

"Some agents complain that buyers have unrealistic expectations for bargains in Seattle based on stories about the national housing downturn. But Gene Seguin of Windermere Real Estate sees another problem."

"'Sellers don't want to let go of controlling the market,' he said."

"Many sellers think about listing their home for six months before actually doing it, meaning the price they can get now is 3 percent to 5 percent lower than what they could have when they first considered selling, Seguin said. 'That's a very tough pill to swallow.'"

The Seattle Times from Washington. "The switch to a buyer's market, with prices dropping, has caught some sellers by surprise. In the last month and a half, Debbie and Carl Sweetland have bought a home and tried to sell one."

"Their 2,000-square-foot home in West Seattle has been on the market 46 days and they've lowered the price $50,000, to $539,000. By comparison, the Sweetlands bought their new house for $610,000 within a day of it going on the market. They closed in no time on the 3,400-square-foot home, which is near their old one."

"'I knew the market had slowed down some,' said Debbie Sweetland. 'But I thought we'd have an offer by now.'"

"According to an analysis of loan data by The Wall Street Journal, 31 percent of all mortgages originated in the Tacoma market in 2006 were the high-rate loans. That compares with 21.5 percent in Seattle-Bellevue-Everett and 24.3 percent statewide."

"Tacoma-area foreclosures rose 36 percent to 209 in the third quarter, according to DataQuick. That compares with 154 in the second quarter."

"The Sweetlands have twice lowered the price on their home and are thinking about taking it off the market to rent out, or also putting their new home up for sale as well to see which one goes first."

"'I think by January we're going to really be biting our fingernails and figuring we better make a decision,' Debbie Sweetland said. 'Hopefully it's going to sell before then.'"