Broward County‘s median home price stayed at $270,000 for the third consecutive month in November, a sign that buyers are starting to win back more control over the recovering market.

“The buyers are saying, ‘Nah, nah, nah,'” said Terry Story, a real estate agent in Broward and Palm Beach counties. “They’re waiting for sellers to reduce their prices and they’re waiting for more properties to come on the market.”

While the median has remained unchanged since September, the $270,000 did represent a 29 percent year-over-year increase from November 2012, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the once-blistering sales pace has cooled. Broward had 1,076 homes trade hands in November, an 11 percent drop from a year ago. It was only the county’s second annual sales decline since late 2010.

The high-flying housing market was bound to lose some momentum, analysts say. They expect prices to continue rising next year, but at a much slower rate.

Investors have fueled demand since the market hit bottom early last year, but many are pulling back as prices rise, agents and analysts say. Cash sales declined by 8 percent in November from a year earlier, the Realtor board data show.

Cash buyers can’t find as many bargains as they used to — and they’re losing the advantage they once enjoyed over buyers who need mortgages, said Bonnie Metviner, an agent in Coral Springs and Parkland.

Many sellers are no longer willing to accept less from a cash buyer, Metviner said.

“A seller doesn’t care whether you’re an investor or not,” she said. “All he cares about is what price his house is selling for.

“I would tell investors that if you’re not going to be competitive, you’re not going to win.”

Buyers have complained about a lack of single-family homes for sale for much of the past year, and the tight supply created bidding wars that helped drive prices higher.

But more homeowners are starting to test the market. New listings shot up 17 percent last month from a year earlier, while the total inventory of available homes was 8 percent higher than a a year ago.

South Florida broker Randy Bianchi still calls inventory levels “shockingly low,” but he expects listings to increase early next year as rising prices help “underwater” mortgage holders regain lost equity.

“More people are getting closer to a number that makes it palatable to sell,” he said.

In Broward County‘s existing condominium market, the median price in November jumped 27 percent to $117,000, but sales fell 6 percent. Cash sales declined 12 percent.

Statewide, single-family home sales dipped 1 percent, while the median price rose 13 percent to $169,900, the Florida Realtors said. The state’s median price has increased on an annual basis for 24 consecutive months.

The median means half the homes sold for more and half for less. Not all homes in an area increase in value at the same rate as the median price.

Mike Pappas, president of the Keyes Co. in South Florida, said he’s looking forward to slower price appreciation in 2014 — something that will help sustain the market in the long term.

“That’s going to give us more consistency and predictability that I think people are looking for,” he said.

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