It's going down down down but that's all over the country.

Depression is contagious...

Even though the government is making various "valiant" efforts, nationally speaking, the numbers continue to tumble down.

For sellers, that means the only advice I can give you is, market and price ahead of the market to be ahead of the game. 

You're probably NOT going to like this advice.  You might just even write me off as a jerk and call another agent.  That's fine. I'm not in the business of just listing homes; they need to be sold too.

If you price ahead of the market, you should be the most competitive in pricing, and that means the best. That may mean the lowest. 

Do I have your attention?  Good! Now you have their attention too! Who? The buyers! 

We all know "fluff" doesn't work.  "Fluff" to me is driving a potential buyer to the possible brink of insanity with mindless dribble about the features of the property. I've seen some stuff written in the MLSPIN remarks Shakespeare himself couldn't have dreamed up of.

"Verbal vomit" is another description.

I prove it over and over again, year after year after year. When sellers get the upper hand on their agents and tell them how to market and price the property, failure is sure to follow. 

In this market this is akin to "real estate suicide"...

When you price ahead of the market, here are a couple of things that happen...

1.  The buyers waiting "on the fence" (checking out new listings daily), will see your home and actually might take a drive by, or make an appointment.  They won't skip it or miss it.

2.  You may get multiple offers from buyers who may even bid above asking price.  That's a better position to be in than "no offers"...

3.  It may sell quickly, sparing you both any more losses by waiting, not necessarily from the market, but from paying mortgage payments and other expenses on a property you'd rather not sell.

Think about it. This isn't "rocket science."

However, I need to I tell you, real estate IS local ...

The latest articles from the headlines scream stuff like the following;

"The National Association of Realtors said Monday the median price for an existing home tumbled by more than 11 percent to $183,300 in October, the largest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968, and the lowest median sales price since March 2004."

Source: The Associated Press.

and here is a chart;



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