The number of house sales has dropped by approximately one-half in the space of two years with properties staying on the market longer than previously and deals taking more time to close.That is according to Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty's agency manager Susan Thompson, who said in her Sales Market Update for this month that residential real estate transactions were down 30 percent in 2009 and by about 50 percent at the end of 2010 from the average of 584 sales per year at the height of the real estate market in Bermuda between 2000 and 2008.But she added that while the figures may be a concern for those looking to sell, recent trends have shown an increase in market activity more reminiscent of 2009 levels.Ms Thompson said that Island-wide there were currently 355 properties for sale with an average of 328 days on the market - meaning that properties were on the market longer than they have been in the past. In addition, she said that once a property was contracted for sale, the average number of days it took to close was 99 - up by 43 percent over 2010.Nevertheless, Ms Thompson said that real estate was selling and some segments offered a number of opportunities due to lower prices.“On average properties sold by Coldwell Banker are selling at 93.5 percent of the list price which proves that sellers are taking our advice and pricing their properties to sell in this market,” she said.“As an example, 48 percent of the residential inventory available for sale are condos, which contrary to popular opinion, is down from previous years when the figure was around 60 percent.”Ms Thompson went on to say that now might be the best time to buy a home with markets across the world reporting an abundance of homes for sale, and interest rates remaining low, but they still needed to be savvy in order to get the best deal.She advised not to try to time the market and wait as long as possible in the hope that prices will decline even further when prices were already low, and to make an offer based on the prices that similar homes were selling for.Furthermore, Ms Thompson pointed out that the increased supply of homes on the market gave home-buyers a good opportunity to evaluate a range of properties, but not at the cost of procrastination.She said that a recent Coldwell Banker survey revealed that the majority of people were buying a home to take advantage of market conditions as well as lifestyle changes, such as a new job/promotion, marriage, divorce or family expansion, all of which would continue to drive home purchases.