After several years in which buyers lined up for each apartment building that came on the market, suddenly, I am getting mass mailings announcing apartments for sale.

As you plan your business for 2008, it’s clear that sellers no longer have their pick of offers in many markets. A pricing adjustment may be in the works in many regions as fewer buyers are willing to pay any price to get a property.

Just a few weeks ago, the capital markets had rebounded substantially from the shock waves caused by too many home mortgage defaults. But the brief surge in pricing of debt was enough to trigger a change in the dynamics of apartment deal-making.

Sprinkle in an increasing degree of pessimism about job creation and rent growth, and you have the recipe for a slow year for deal making. Owners are not giving in to buyers’ demands as they find it harder to get the generous financing that once made any deal doable.

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