i understand what you're saying about supply and demand...but having an agreement on a price is not the same as setting the market. say a seller lists a home for $500K, but ends up selling it for $450K, who determined that price? it isn't the seller because he wanted $500K. it's the buyer because that's all they are willing to pay. if the seller had any control over setting the market, he would have gotten his $500K and not settled for the lower price, and perhaps selling it for less then they bought it for. if sellers set the market, there would be no short sales or foreclosures because all they would do is put it at a price that would cover their loans and expenses. Maybe we're saying the same thing and it's just semantics, but the only role the seller has in our current market is agreeing to take a price that a buyer is willing to pay.