Tell the truth. It's not that complicated.

In answer to your question, the market is soft. Anyone who tells you otherwise should provide some details on the niche market they work that is impervious to the conditions in the broader set. For everyone else, the truth is sellers are weary, they are reluctant to spend on market preparation, and they don't trust. Buyers are absurdly timid. Their laundry lists are devised from long-nursed neuroses, and their fear of changing a lightbulb is near-crippling. They make offers like they order frothy drinks from a line in a pretentious cafe, staring at the menu the whole time, changing their order midstream, and then returning the delectable upon receipt, for something with less nutmeg and more turmeric. Most brokers won't say any of this out loud, but believe me when I tell you we think it and when we are alone we talk about it a lot. A lot, a lot.

So how do you, as a prospective seller or buyer, know when this fragility exists in the market? These are some, but not all of the signs:

Price changes. Not one, but multiple price changes over long periods of time, and across more than one listing, more than one market.

Unavailability of range in market. When all the inventory on the market looks flat, about the same value, long market times, no super-beautiful, high-priced homes in the group, no fixer-uppers at the bottom? That's lack of range, and it's a sign of a stagnated market.

Gimmick-driven offers. When the developer is offering a new pony with every sale, the agent is offering cash-back, the broker is incentivizing other agents before a deadline, it's because there's an urgency that should be there for well-placed inventory in a healthy market.

As we have learned over time, news about the real estate market is not good or bad. It's just the truth. And armed with that, you can make the most of the market at hand.