For many residential real-estate markets in the U.S., this year started with an advantage to sellers and ended with buyers holding the upper hand. But, unlike some people had expected, the switch didn’t follow the deafening “pop” of a massive real estate bubble.

Many markets saw slower home-price increases and a build-up of inventory in 2006, much to the dismay of optimistic sellers. And while speculators—investors who many argue are partially responsible for the massive housing boom—tried to exit the market, buyers began waiting out the correction to get the best prices, causing a drop in home sales.

In many areas, however, the correction wasn’t as harsh as some had feared. In fact, the year as a whole might even have been described as “healthy” if the country’s perspective hadn’t been skewed by the boom of the past few years, said John McIlwain, senior fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute. The market is still “well within long-term norms,” he said.

For more information on this and other real estate matters, your first source for Palm Beach real estate should be licensed agent and long-time resident Caesar Parisi.

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