A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. "The better news for homebuyers in King County keeps coming: Inventory is way up. Sales are way down. And prices have stopped skyrocketing. The slowdown in the market, now six months in the making, continued in September when the number of single-family homes on the market in King County jumped 68 percent from a year prior, the biggest increase on record dating back to 2000, according to new data. Only San Jose saw the number of homes for sale jump faster than Seattle among major U.S. metro areas last month."

"Sales dropped 27 percent across King County, the biggest decline since 2010, when the market was still in freefall, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service’s monthly report, released Thursday."

"'We’re in the middle of a shift,' said Andy McDonough, senior vice president for the home-loan division of HomeStreet Bank in Seattle. 'A lot of buyers are playing a bit of the wait-and-see game.'"

"We’re now at the time of year where prices usually start to drop from their peaks in the spring and summer, but it’s happening on a larger scale this year. Prices countywide have fallen $58,000 from their spring peak; last year in that same time frame prices went down $8,000."

"Looking closer, prices on the Eastside dipped to $890,000, down $87,000 from earlier this year. In Seattle, the median house cost $775,000, down $55,000 from the city’s peak. Prices are down more than $100,000 from their spring highs in Central Seattle, East Bellevue, Redmond-Carnation and Kirkland-Bridle Trails."

"Looking year-over-year, prices have dropped more than 5 percent in Jovita/West Hill Auburn, Enumclaw and the Eastside area south of Interstate 90. Also seeing price drops were Southeast Seattle, Sodo/Beacon Hill, Lake Forest Park/Kenmore and Renton-Highlands/Kennydale."

"The condo market has undergone an even bigger transformation: In the past year, inventory is up a mind-boggling 133 percent while sales plummeted 34 percent, countywide. Those condos that are selling are still commanding big bucks, however – prices increased 11.6 percent year-over-year, reaching a median of $425,000."

"Snohomish County inventory surged 40 percent while sales dropped 21 percent. The median price of $485,000 was up 7.8 percent from a year ago, but down $26,000 from the high reached in the spring. Pierce and Kitsap counties saw only a small inventory bump but also had a significant drop in sales."

The Spokesman-Review. "Spokane County home prices continued to level off in September after posting sharp gains earlier in the year. The average sales price was $259,472 last month, down from $260,812 in August, according to figures from the Spokane Association of Realtors. The median sales price was $235,000 last month, down from $247,500 in August."