If seller's market is ending, you'll need a strategy to lure the right buyer for your home.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Is the seller's market over?

Some real estate brokers say there are signs that the seller's market of the last four years is ending, even though the Federal Reserve's cuts in short-term interest rates have lowered mortgage rates and should increase the number of people ready to buy homes.

But uncertainties about the economy and a drop in consumer confidence have led the real estate industry to predict lower sales in 2001.

"Buyers are starting to lower their offers instead of offering full price as they have been for the last couple of years," said Noelle Barbone, office manager of Weichert Realtors in West Chester, Pa. "There's more negotiation."

Inventory also has increased as "we head into the spring market," she said. "Things may be getting back to normal."

But that shift isn't evident everywhere.

"There's not as much frenzied activity on all properties, but the frenzy is there," said Joanne Davidow, a broker with Prudential Fox & Roach's Philadelphia Center City office. "The nice things, priced within reason, are selling."