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Warren and Butler counties have seen a double-digit dip in sales of new and existing houses since 2005. Yet real estate agents say that the numbers are only part of the local story.

Shelly Scheuer of First Horizon Home Loans, an in-house lender with Century 21 Stellar Real Estate in Mason, said business is brisk.

"I'm swamped!" she said. "When I hear that numbers are down compared to last year, I think that's kind of irrelevant. We just had our fourth-best year on record since we started keeping track 40 years ago."

Although the national housing market is slumping, "People are still buying and selling houses here," Scheuer said.

It may seem that the housing market is a complicated combination of financial ingredients, but it can be reduced to two things: supply and demand.

"There is a lot of misrepresentation of the facts," said Scot Avery, a real estate agent for Huff Realty in West Chester. "What is driving the current market is that there are more sellers on the market than there are buyers."

Tim Hall, co-owner of ReMax Central Properties in Lebanon, said that it may seem that home sales have slowed considerably, but the increased inventory contributes to that perception.

"Imagine a car lot that has 10 cars for sale," Hall said. "If the dealer sells three, it's easy to see when you drive by that cars are selling. But, now imagine that it has 20 cars and the dealer sells the same three cars. People may not notice that they are gone."

The impact of a supply-heavy market is not lost on those trying to sell their homes now.

Judi Meyer of Mason has had her home on the market since Feb. 1. Many people have looked at the house, but there have been no offers.

"I've had a ton of activity," she said. "Since May, we've had about 15 showings. But, because there are so many homes available in my price range, it's difficult."

She thought the combination of a nice house and great neighborhood would sell, but with so many houses available, she said buyers are being more selective than before. "If they don't find exactly what they want, they can just move to the next house."

Sellers don't have to sit and sweat it out until the market turns around. In fact, agents direct their clients to be proactive.

"With so many houses on the market, buyers can afford to be picky," Avey said.

He recommended that sellers take a hard look at what's around them.

"You can control it. Sellers have to make sure their house is the best in their price range."

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