The census data was collected before the real estate market began softening over the last year, and it was based on a small sample size, experts cautioned.

The entire American car and truck market began softening last fall, but Chrysler's falloff was disproportionately large while Japanese automakers were gaining market share.

In its third day of rallies and canceled appointments, the work slowdown by New Jersey doctors appeared to be winding down today, as many doctors made plans to resume their normal schedules and organizers of the job action began softening their tone.

Before President Menem began softening his image in the last few years, he enthusiastically cultivated a flamboyant, derring-do style of fast sport cars, wildly extravagant sideburns and open dating with a colorful variety of women.

Like many of the other Scandinavian death metal bands, Dismember began softening their sound in the mid-1990s, with 1995's Massive Killing Capacity more melodic approaches, which had a good public response.

It was partly in response to these charges of vulgarity, Mr. Maland says, that the film maker began softening the more brutish aspects of Charlie's persona, and started injecting a new tenderness into his relationships with women.

With politicians and potential candidates objecting to strict interpretations of New York City's new campaign-finance law, Mayor Koch and the Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, chairman of the new Campaign Finance Board, met yesterday to begin softening the rules under which candidates will operate.

The data, from the American Community Survey, was collected throughout 2005, some of it before the real estate market began softening over the past year.

The New York agency began softening its stance in the late 1980's.

A longtime opponent of abortion, he began softening his stand last year and says he he now supports a woman's right to choose and would not appoint judges unless they pledged to support Roe v. Wade.