Every bank is differnet but a month does seem obsessive. Generally the bank negotiators work on a number of files at one time and when they get around to yours then progress is made. A month from my experience is pretty long, I usually will get an update like that within two weeks.
Also keep in mind that If the property has two loans then it will take generally twice the time.
As a buyer in this situation you are limited by what you can do. Your agent just needs to call the listing agent perhaps twice a week at this point to check up on them to see if they have heard anything back. As the listing agent, he or she should call the negotiator once a week to see what the progress is. You would be surprised, sometimes the negotiators look at your file and realize that there is not much needed and get it pushed through.
Best of luck, - Sun Dec 6 2009, 10:25