A report from the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. "More Charlotte home listings saw price cuts in June than a year earlier, indicating that Charlotte’s housing market is shifting 'ever-so-slightly in favor of buyers,' a Zillow report says. Sellers cut home prices 15.4 percent in the Charlotte metro region, according to Zillow. That’s up from 11.2 percent a year earlier. Price cuts in Charlotte averaged 2.4 percent. The numbers are similar nationwide: In June, about 14 percent of U.S. home listings decreased prices, up from 11.7 percent in 2016, according to Zillow. But one month of price decreases may not mean the market is tilting to favor buyers, a Charlotte Realtor warns."

"The price cuts are 'due to sellers getting too confident in a seller’s market,' said Jason Gentry, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. 'And then they’re having to do price corrections.'"

"The number of houses for sale in Charlotte in July decreased 16 percent from last year. Inventory is down even more dramatically from July 2012, when there were more than 18,000 houses available. Now, there’s barely half of that amount."

"Gentry said Charlotte buyers shouldn’t be too optimistic. Buyers hoping for the market to shift toward them should look for signs like more inventory and houses spending a longer amount of time on the market, Gentry said. Neither has happened. 'We’re not headed toward a buyer’s market yet.'"

From Seattle PI in Washington. "I’m going to explain why the market has been shifting towards buyers and secondly, I’m going to show you an example of a Seattle condo my client bought where we reduced the price and he ended up with an incredible 39th floor view unit. The number of homes for sale reflect a 37% annual increase in condos for sale in the downtown core. The months supply of inventory has moved up 67%."

"For the last 6 years sellers have been be able to get 100% or more of their asking price. In fact, just 4 months ago, Downtown Seattle sellers were getting close to 5% more than their initial asking price. Recently, buying has cooled a bit (buyer fatigue) and the inventory of available homes have risen."

"What this does is present an opportunity for prospective buyers to step in an negotiate their terms. For example, if you find a condo that has been on the market for 30 days or more, you might be able to negotiate a price reduction and even a closing cost credit. This hasn’t happened for nearly 7 years."

"You may have noticed the negative headlines in the news the last 60-90 days. To be honest, some of it is just good honest reporting, but some of it is also sensationalism. You have to be careful what you read and how you read it. Real estate is hyperlocal. So when you hear about news stories and headlines that throw Seattle, Tacoma and Lynnwood in the same sentence, take caution."