Closing costs -who's paying now? (Mansfield, Midlothian: sale, real estate, mortgage)

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So I understand that some economists feel that the housing market/economy has reached its bottom and particularly in North Texas things are going pretty smoothly. We've been looking at homes in the far south parts of the Metro - mostly in Midlothian but also in other nearby areas such as Mansfield, Red Oak, etc.

I'm curious to know what the trend is with negotiating closing costs now and what type of market we are in at this point. Are we still in what is considered a soft market and/or a buyer's market or is the housing market considered to be stable now?

Also, what's the "norm" given the current state of the market on closing costs? Are buyers typically paying their own costs now (or only having sellers pay in exchange for a higher price) OR are we still in such a market that closing costs are quite open and negotiable? We have plenty of cash to bring to the table at closing, but we're hoping for a bit of a price reduction on a house we made an offer on. I'm just trying to weigh what kind of leverage we have since we are paying our end in closing - not to mention that I'm just curious as to how the market is being viewed these days in these parts!

Thanks in advance!!

[loves2read]

there is going to be no statistics about this situation because every sale is different--

the buyer's job is to negotiate the best price s/he can and the seller obviously does not want to give away any money s/he does not have to...
I am sure that any real estate agent will give you different perspective...and that much of your leverage comes from how distressed the seller is...how anxious to make a deal, what financial situation is in play on that side...

people here with good credit are really not having that much trouble getting mortgage money--and the market is moving--just not at the volumn it was two years or three years ago..