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MARQUETTE -- Nationally, existing home sales have plunged to their lowest level in 15 years.  But what does that mean to us here in the U.P.?

Existing home sales dropped 27 percent in July.  But some local realtors say that's not an accurate reflection of the U.P.'s housing market.

"I think, nationally, there are parts of the country that saw such extreme growth that there was only one way to go, and here in Marquette County, our growth has always been fairly consistent and measured," says realtor Stephanie Jones of Select Realty.

That's not quite true, according to economist Tawni Ferrarini, who says that the U.P. isn't in the clear just yet.

So what does that mean if you're looking to either buy or sell a home?

"If you have real access to credit, then it is a very good market for you, but we're finding that people are really struggling and having some difficulties obtaining credit in order to purchase homes," says Ferrarini.

It's been suggested that the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit offered by the government earlier this year, which artificially boosted sales, helped create the current national slump in sales.  Ferrarini says it's possible that the tax credit shifted the time period that first homeowners decided to purchase.

So, bottom line, where do we stand now in mid-2010?

"Although our sales have been high over the years in various parts of the market, when I pulled the research this morning, I found that actually from this time last year to this year, we'd sold 60 more homes this year than we did last year," Jones adds.