11.   Investors are already nervous because of ambiguous signs that the auto market is softening.

12.   Residential real estate remained strong, though the commercial market softened.

13.   Seeming weakness in initial figures released on Wednesday led some analysts to conclude that the market had substantially softened.

14.   Some experts expect to see the apartment market soften as huge amounts of new units being built are finished later this year.

15.   That project lost steam when the real estate market softened, leading to indefinite postponement of the towers.

16.   The company stuck to its numbers even as the ad market softened and the economy tumbled into a recession.

17.   The increase suggested that the labor market could be softening and that economic activity could be slowing.

18.   The House has just passed a tougher welfare reform proposal requiring still more hours of work for aid recipients, even as the job market softens.

19.   The smaller condominium markets softened last month.

20.   There is a perennial shortage of homes in the Bay Area and plenty of pent-up demand that surfaces during times such as this when the market softens.