Supply and Demand 101: Real estate market is seeing more houses for sale, but fewer purchases being made, and that's leaving some sellers in a bind

Homes on market longer. Prices going down. Not as many buyers. Hmmm.. wonder what's going on out there?

It's frustrating. We've had several people who want (our house), but they have to sell their place before they can make an offer on ours," said Kari Vollmer, 43, of Auburn. "And we keep finding places that we like, but we have to sell ours first."

Some sellers might consider taking their homes off the market during this "pause period," until the home can be "more realistically addressed by the market."

While the Vollmers' roller coaster ride on the market may not be entirely common, the family's current bind is.

"The market sort of all of a sudden slowed down," Vollmer said. "What I keep hearing is right now it's a buyers' market. It's like, 'OK, I'm a buyer, but I have to sell too.' "

Mary Jane Mahoney, Realtor with HomeTown Realtors, calls it Economics 101."There's a decreased buyer pool and increased inventory, which spells out not being in a sellers' market anymore," she said. "We're leveling out, that's all."