It appears as if many cities are breathing out sighs of relief -- as their real estate markets normalize.

A normalizing market doesn't mean that prices will cease to rise, but it does mean that buyers will be more likely to find a home in their price range.

After two years of impressive appreciation hikes, prices have begun to stabalize in Sarasota, Florida. One expert reports that inventory is almost triple what it was a year ago, meaning sellers are having to adjust their expectations. This gives buyers a far greater advantage when it comes to pricing, contracts, and overall choice in housing.

Coming off of a slowed holiday season, the next few months should prove to be some of the busiest for the Sarasota area. Named one of the "best small cities" in the U.S. to live and work in, Sarasota has many snowbirds heading for its beaches and shopping.

A city that is seeing much market activity is Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa, the second largest city in the state, is located in the Native American Creek nation. The city normally experiences a 5 percent appreciation rate each year -- and recent reports have shown that the number of January sales were up significantly over December's.

This buyer's market with steadily increasing prices, is seeing the average sales price at $151,093 -- a 7 percent increase over 2004 -- but a drop of 3 percent from the 3rd quarter of 2005. Houses are taking much longer to sell (65 days), but as one expert puts it, "As long as interest rates remain stable, the market should stay steady through these winter months."

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