Nice to be back, my son is 10 months old now and for some reason I have not posted an entry in about a year.
One aspect which is often overlooked in residential real estate is time. Some of the changes that have taken place since last fall '08 (first noticed in fall of '07) are noticeable - price and an increase in the number of homes available. When the inventory of homes for sale increases, the entire sales process becomes longer. It is longer for the buyer to understand the market - more homes to see to formulate an opinion. It is longer for the right home to be found since the buyer has more to chose from and naturally adds more to their expectations (the buyer does not have to settle for less, they will just keep looking until they find everything they want). All of this is applicable to anytime a real estate market shifts to a ''Buyers'' market. One addition of late is the lending process.
Now, loans need about 45 days to close. From the time a property is found to the date it officially changes hands, one can expect 45 days. Prior to the last 6-12 months, I would quote 20 to 30 days but not now. I am also assuming the buyers have done their necessary pre qualification well before finding their home. In summary of ''time''; the buyer takes more time to find the right home, the seller needs more patience waiting for the buyer, the lender needs more time to process all loan requirements.