Into the throes of the holiday season, many of our real estate experts are reporting a slowdown in the market, with the western states setting the trend.

Realty Times columnist Broderick Perkins reported just two short weeks ago that home prices in Silicon Valley, California had dropped by $27,000 in only one month. That is nearly a 4 percent decrease in home price, even considering that the average single family home price was at $760,000.

Rick Campbell of Information Designs notes, "For sellers, the market is turning and in a few more months it will be a buyers' market. That means 'as is' won't cut it. You will need to spiff up your home to sell it. For buyers, a moderating market makes the whole process of finding and buying a home less stressful. Although the sales price to list price ratio is still over 100 percent, the trend is downward."

Many experts are worried about the proliferation of interest-only loans and other "dangerous" mortgages. If prices drop like many experts fear, thousands could lose equity built up in their homes -- or worse -- the homes themselves.

Report after report that comes in to Realty Times from our experts notes that California cities are seeing homes sitting on the market much longer than they used to. The market is swiftly shifting from one that favors sellers to one that favors buyers. And with interest rates on the rise again, many are getting into the market while the getting is good.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, has commented on the current market, noting, "The housing market is probably close to a peak right now in terms of sales activity, but there is tremendous momentum. Sales are expected to coast at historically high levels into next year, but they will trend slightly downward."

In this western trend is Sacramento, California, known to locals as River City. Sacramento is experiencing a lot of new construction. Homes under the $450,000 mark are still selling fairly quickly, but higher end homes, above $450,000 take more marketing to move. As cliched as it might sound, the key to the Sacramento market, is "location, location, location."

Further north up the coast, Seattle, Washington, is beginning to see the slow down experienced by its southern neighbors. While homes are still moving quickly off the market, there are signs that the market has begun to cool. While prices are still up over last year at this time, 17 percent to be exact, they have not kept the momentum from earlier in the summer.

Portland, Oregon, homes are selling quickly, with a 1.9 month long supply of homes on the market. This is up from 1.6 month -- which may not seem like much, but the effect it is having on the market is very clear. Buyers have more leverage, but sellers are still getting what they ask for, with the average home sale price in Portland being $278,700, up 35,000 from last year. One expert reports, "Suburbs sales activity in Portland is off slightly from last month, but when considering the record breaking activity all year, it really doesn't mean much. It's still quite lively."