"Right now, people still want too much. Even the banks, they don't just want it to go. They want every penny," Viruet said. "If the price is right, they'll get the market going again. There will be thousands of people to rent and buy."

He said he'd like to buy more properties but he's in no rush. The Vineland house he closed on in August is already being rented for $900 per month.

Viruet's belief that lower prices will drive sales is being realized where the market collapse has been most acute, in states such as California, Nevada and Arizona. Each saw sales rise by more than 25 percent in the quarter.

But the cost of those sales can be seen in the price figures. Three California markets led the nation with prices plummeting more than a third in the past year. Las Vegas home prices were off 28 percent.

The median sale price in Atlantic County in the third quarter was $248,900 - meaning half of sales were for more and half for less.

That was down 2.7 percent from $255,900 in the second quarter, not a big enough drop to spur sales.

The NAR survey doesn't include the markets of Cape May, Cumberland or Ocean counties.

Bob Marquis wonders how much he'll have to drop the price on his four-bedroom Linwood house to sell it, or even get people to look at it.

He started at $429,000 seven months ago and already has reduced the price in steps to $365,000. Now, he said, he's thinking of going down to $355,000.

Marquis said he can't understand the lack of interest in the newly redone home with finished basement, two-car garage, new kitchen, hardwood floors and oversized lot.

"I thought being in Linwood meant something," he said. "I've slashed it to nothing and I still can't get a bite."

Part of the problem, he said, is that new houses in nearby Egg Harbor Township have been priced down below $300,000.

"The builders are hurting and they're dropping their prices, and that's not helping either," he said.

The New Jersey Association of Realtors took some comfort from the Trenton area being among the one in five metro areas nationwide that saw prices increase in the third quarter - up 4.2 percent there.

Drew Fishman, president of the state association and a broker with Re/Max Atlantic in Northfield, said the state is faring better than other parts of the country, but real estate agents are still counting on federal mortgage programs and another stimulus package to get the market moving.

He said too few people are aware of the $7,500 tax credit available to new homebuyers, defined as anyone who hasn't had a mortgage in the past three years. He said that although the money must eventually be repaid - starting after two years and taking as long as 17 years - there's no interest charged on it and no repayment required if the home is sold without a gain.

"In essence, it's free money to allow you to get things done in that house and move forward," Fishman said.

The association also hopes the housing slump convinces political leaders to roll back increases in the realty transfer tax implemented during the real estate bubble.

"Now that prices are adjusting, most homeowners won't have the equity built up to pay the taxes," said Jarrod Grasso, executive vice president of the association.

He said a typical home seller must pay $2,800 in transfer taxes, an increase of 80 percent since 2003.

"The Republican side of the aisle is interested in legislation to alleviate the home equity tax," Grasso said. "We're hoping that as the governor moves into a new year and is looking at the fiscal picture, he will consider rolling back the increases."

E-mail Kevin Post:

KPost@pressofac.com