Brokers feel a pulse in home market

By Lynn Adler

NEW YORK (Reuters) - While the data says "no end in sight" for the housing crisis, real estate agents are beginning to see signs of life among people looking for homes to buy around the United States.

It's too early to talk of a trend, but lower house prices and mortgage rates are bringing buyers out of hibernation, at least in some markets. Provided sellers are prepared to cut prices, buyers are willing to bid, real estate agents say.

"If you're not going for pie-in-the-sky type of numbers and price your house accordingly, I think that they'll go pretty quickly," said Victoria Hanbury Howard, a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker in Washington.

Brokers report the same story in several other places, according to real estate companies with a wide reach like RE/MAX International Inc and Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

If this anecdotal evidence proves durable, it could mark a turnaround from one of the worst downturns in the housing market in a century.

The pulse is faint, though, which could indicate stabilization rather than recovery. Added to that, banks demand larger down payments and clean credit, to avoid more of the mortgage defaults and foreclosures that have plagued the market for the past year.

Once past those hurdles, buyers are finding choice is plentiful and they are looking for bargains.

Among those drawn by the lower prices and mortgage rates are Kristen Werner, a 30-year old attorney for an insurance company, and her 32-year-old husband James, who said they are now looking seriously for their first home after a lull of several years.

A pre-approved mortgage and the fact that they don't have a home to sell should smoothe the process, and the volume of unsold homes where they are looking -- on Long Island, in the New York suburbs -- means they are more likely to find a house they want.

But, in a caution for sellers, the Werners are coming in with expectations of a bargain.

"We need something that's in move-in condition -- I'm not Martha Stewart and my husband's not Bob Vila," Kristen Werner said, referring to a domestic style-setter and the presenter of a home remodeling show.

"I just feel that in today's market we can be a little pickier than maybe five years ago, and the seller has to put their house at market value and not inflate the price."

SPRING SEASON

Spring is typically when buyers like the Werners start looking in earnest, and it often sets the tone for the rest of the year. With the economy on the brink of recession, economists are watching developments this spring more closely than ever, looking for signs of recovery.

Some real estate brokers are seeing those signs.