I was putting together a post on one thing (use of the term “below market” to market and sell a home) when I noticed something even more interesting: Prices on three of five homes I spotted with “below market” in their listing remarks on June 3 are still for sale. (The other two are no longer listed.) These were homes that, according to the listing remarks in June, were already priced below market value. And all three have since seen price drops.

Two are located in Sumner and one is in Gig Harbor. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Sumner five-bedroom: Price dropped from $719,950 to $675,000, a change of 6.7 percent. The listing on this 3,295-square-foot home puts it near Lake Tapps. The home was built in 2006 with 2.75 bathrooms, including a master suite, landscaped yard with sprinkler system and built-in bookshelves.

Gig Harbor three-bedroom: Price dropped from $690,000 to $667,250, a change of 3.4 percent. This 3,209-square-foot house sits on 1 acre with a wetbar, slate countertops, birch hardwood floors and a six-burner gas stove in the kitchen.

Sumner four-bedroom: Price dropped from $559,950 to $539,950, a change of 3.7 percent. This 3,064-square-foot home is advertised near Bonney Lake as "a steal” and “well below market value.” It has a den and bonus room and a five-car garage. It’s also in a gated community and was built in 2006.

I reached Windermere listing agent Melissa Moller, who's selling the Gig Harbor home, and she said the house appraised even higher than the June price -- at $749,000 in November 2007.

“It’s within a mile of the most desirable area, downtown Gig Harbor, so when it was built we assumed that would be a plus. And so did the appraiser and it also has all kinds of features,” she said.

The house was listed about a year ago at $735,000 and came down to $667,250 near the end of June, Moller said.

“If you can’t sell them, you’ve got to lower them to where the market is,” she said.

Moller pointed to the lack of financing options, and therefore buyers, as fundamental to today’s difficulty in getting homes sold.

“The creative loan options just aren’t there. I can’t say they need to be there. There’s just such a swing as the market adjusts. That needed to happen,” she said.

A few similarities stand out among these three listings: All are around the same size and all have what appear to be top-of-the-line amenities. All are a drive from major employment centers and could face some gas-price resistance from prospective buyers who feel disinclined in today's economic climate to commute. And all are more than double Pierce County’s median home price of $259,950.

For some additional context, prices on homes across the county have dropped in recent months. From January to June, for example, the median price fell 5.5 percent on closed sales compared to what was sold in the first six months of 2007, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.