Puget Sound-area housing markets are starting to slow down, our online news partner The Seattle Times said, based on the monthly report from the Northwest Multiple Listings Service released Monday.

Brokers say the new watchword of the housing market, in terms of both sales and prices, is a return to stability.

Snohomish County, which was charting 8% year-over-year price increases this time last year, saw single-family home prices fall 0.45% compared with last August, to $490,000. And pending sales in Snohomish County are up almost 20% over last year, indicating that buyers who have been waiting for the market to cool are finally taking advantage of more tempered prices, The Times said.