Tricky call, depending on your short or long range plans. Its a great buyer's market in many other cities, so it is possibly opportune to be able to purchase quite advantageously elsewhere. When or will our market slow down? Seasonally, we can expect Nov - Jan 1 to be slow. Other than that, its a crap shoot.

My point of view is largely influenced by history ( which we are constantly advised to learn from, but seldom do). In the past 30 years, there have only been 2 real dips in the Seattle market and recovery took 2+ years in the most serious one, with values blasting past the previous peak. I've met people continuously, since 1976, who told me they were waiting for the prices to go down, and except for 1990 - 92, they never did. They were convinced that a crash was inevitable. I keep expecting the Seattle market to be affected more drastically, but it seems to be insulated from the phenomenon. Will it eventually react? A whole lot of very rich investors seem to feel otherwise and they have read markets successfully for a long time. Caution is certainly advised, but I don't believe there are any Cosmic Certainties out there.

What most people aren't aware of is that during that 30 year period, the average time it took to sell a home was probably 30-90 days. That in fact was the norm. People have become accustomed to a very hot market, thinking that 'it' is the norm, with homes selling in days or weeks. Their impression is that if it takes 30+ days to sell, it must be a problem market, when in fact its simply normalizing. Its interesting how that conditioning has affected many sellers. Its different for builders, who are making interest payments on vacant houses. They may need to reduce prices to stimulate sales to reduce that pressure.

So.. what is the best action to take? I'd say its dictated more by your personal plans, needs and circumstances, rather than being pushed by the fear of a falling market. History seems to indicate that even if it dips, it will recover and surpass. If holding the property is a pain, don't. If getting the cash out isn't important and the property rent covers the payment, its possibly another story.