The U.S. housing market is showing signs of a cool-down, including in New York. Analysts say real estate is changing from being a seller’s market during the COVID-19 pandemic to buyers having more sway.

Those times of bidding wars when the housing market was red-hot, amid soaring home prices, may be behind us.

Amy Gold has been in real estate for about two years. A newcomer on the scene, she shows one of her listings, a single-family house in Hopewell Junction.

Gold says her finance background comes in handy in the real estate business. The pay-off, she said, is so much more, though.

“When you deal with just numbers, you don’t really see it actually affects people’s lives,” she said. “But when you do real estate, you are actually affecting people’s lives.”

She creates a welcoming environment like putting out fresh flowers and candy, so that those looking for a house can feel at home. Gold says the outlook for this year looks bright.

“It’s been crazy due to COVID; people will buy houses sight unseen. That definitely has cooled down,” Gold said. “There are still plenty of jobs, the unemployment rate is very low, and there’s still lack of inventory.”

The U.S. economy is solid, as the unemployment rate is at its lowest point in more than 50 years. And mortgage rates have recently started to fall again. All this could lead to more activity in the housing market, especially on the buying side.

Gold says she hasn’t had many buyers getting cold feet.

“They don’t usually back down unless they realize their circumstances have changed, or they’ve gotten a job elsewhere, and they really just can’t move,” she said.

And with the cool-off, buyers and sellers, Gold said, can finally be on a more even playing field.

“The seller’s need to come back down to earth. Let’s say if you’re selling a house for $500,000, don’t think you’re going to get $1 million for that,” Gold said. “And buyers, even though it’s no longer a seller’s market, you still need to be realistic, and not try to low-ball somebody.”

Her golden rules for both buyers and sellers: Do your homework and be nice.

The real estate website Redfin says the average sale price of a home in New York was $784,000 in December. That’s down almost 6% from the year before.