"While we were going for the rezoning, the market softened and the projected costs went up," he said.

Some sellers, concerned that the market will soften further, have dropped their prices.

When the market softened, the church cut back on both programming and staff.

When the market for even commercial space softened, beginning about 1989, most grand plans in the real estate industry were placed on hold.

"This reduction reflects that we think the whole market is softening."

And the company dropped out of robotics research when the market softened.

But the market for commuter aircraft has since softened, and the actual selling price could be lower, analysts said today.

"The market softened, and I had to reduce the price of my house three times," he said.

The market has clearly softened in the last year, though.

Dealers, however, said they saw little evidence the market was softening.