Waiting longer to buy a home is not likely to pay off, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS ) director Kathy Estey. She pointed to shrinking inventory (about 20 percent fewer listings than a year ago), double-digit increases in the number of pending sales (up 17.7 percent from a year ago), solid open house activity, and signs of stabilizing prices as indicators of an improving market. Affordable homes inventory is down to the levels of a normal market and reaching for a sellers' market. "Multiple offers are common in the under $400,000 range when the home is priced well, shows nicely and is marketed professionally," Estey remarked. "Buyers who are waiting for prices to come down more have missed the bottom."