To Sell Your House, Make It Shine

Recent stories ARE true, we definitely ARE in a downtrend in the real estate market. Since the middle of 2005 here in Metro Detroit, it's turned from a sellers market, where sellers could literally name their own price, to a buyers market where buyers can literally name their own price. There are many, many more homes on the market at this time of year, than there were at a similar time in any year, from the late 1990's to 2005. As a result, there is a "glut" of homes on the market, meaning a buyer has many homes to choose from fitting his or her needs. An example would be a buyer looking for a ranch in the $200,000 range. 5 years ago, there may have been 10 houses to look at, matching the buyer's criteria. Today, there are 40. So what to do to make your home stick out amongst the "glut.".

First and foremost, price it right. A buyer who's done their homework and a good real estate agent will know value when they see it. An agent can just look on the Multiple Listing Service, see a price in a certain neighborhood and know it's priced to high and may not even show your home. If you price your home to high with the thought of gradually reducing the price a bit at a time, you could be in for a long wait for an offer. While your house sits on the market, more and more houses are entering the marketplace making your high priced home, even less desirable.

Second, make your home sparkle. Remove the clutter and open it up. Do work both inside and out to give the home more curb appeal. Inside, paint walls, polish floors, shampoo carpeting and follow the advice of your Realtor who knows what's appealing to buyers currently out there looking, because in many cases, your Realtor is also working with buyers and he knows what their current likes and dislikes are.

Third, choose your agent carefully. Select at least 3 agents from 3 different companies to interview. Many sellers think the important thing is what commission the agent will charge. But MARKETING is the key. An agent may charge you a low commission, take a picture or two and put your home on the Multiple Listing Service and that's it! A full service broker WILL charge a higher commission, but will not only take pictures and put your home on the MLS, but will do virtual tours, put your home on many Internet websites, buy print advertising and will constantly keep you informed about what's happening in the marketplace. The full service broker could get your home sold weeks, even months faster than the "commission cheapie."

All in all, it's not easy being a seller. There are big decisions to make and I'm here to help you make the right choices!

Let The World Series Begin!

Well, it's World Series time and I have to say I think the Red Sox will take the Rockies in 6 games or less. Now I have to be careful here, as a native New Englander and lifelong Red Sox fan, not be to biased. Boston has been going to World Series since the first one was played, back in 1903, when the then Boston Pilgrims beat the Pirates. Back then, there was no such thing as Fenway Park. The Boston franchise played it's games at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, now the site of Northeastern University. Fenway Park didn't open it's doors until April 20, 1912 and what a season that was for the renamed Red Sox in that fine piece of real estate.

One of the big differences between Detroit baseball and Boston baseball is the Tigers are not a regional team, they basically draw from Michigan, Northwestern Ohio and parts of Western Ontario and that's it. The Red Sox are New England's team, drawing fans from all six New England states and the Canadian Maritimes in what really is a regional franchise. And that's where the great 1912 Red Sox team comes in, the first Boston team to win a World Series with the nickname of Red Sox. With a roster full of New Englanders, they beat John McGraw's Giants. The 1912 Red Sox featured 2 eventual Hall of Famers, outfielders Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper, neither of whom were New Englanders. Catcher Bill Carrigan was from Lewiston, Maine. Pitcher Ray Collins who went 2-1 in the World Series and was from Burlington, Vermont. Backup 1st baseman Hugh Bradley, 4th outfielder Olaf Henriksen and 20 game winner Buck O'Brien were all from Massachusetts. There was even a Michigander on the 1912 World Champion Red Sox, utility infielder Neal Beal from Grand Haven.

Finally, one of the great clutch hitters of his era anchored the infield at third base. Burlington, Vermont's Larry Gardner! Now I met Larry in 1975 in Burlington, where I worked in radio. Here was this white haired little man, at that time age 88, at a dinner I attended and I was introduced to him. Turns out I knew little about him other than I was told he played at one time for the Red Sox. Well folks, Larry Gardner should be the third Hall of Famer from that 1912 Boston Roster. He started at third base for 4, count 'em, 4 world champions. The 1912, '15 & '16 Red Sox and the 1920 Indians. He had a lifetime average at 289 and just under 2000 career hits. A superb fielder along with his clutch hitting, Gardner, like fine wine, actually became better with age, have back to back 100+ rbi seasons with the Indians in 1920 and 1921 and his batting averages got higher as he got older. His stats stand up to any third baseman who's ever played the game!

Larry Gardner retired from major league baseball in 1924 and went back to Burlington to become head baseball coach and athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Vermont from the late 1920's until the early 1950's. The indoor track facility at the school is named for him and his former 1912 Red Sox teamate and fellow UVM grad Ray Collins, the Gardner-Collins cage. Larry Gardner was also a lifelong friend of University of Michigan baseball coaching legend Ray Fisher, who was also a native Vermonter and they annually coached against each other in the summer Northern Collegiate Baseball League, which was based in Vermont.

So when you think of regional major league teams, don't forget the Red Sox and that team of 1912, which opened Fenway with a bang, won a World Series title and with a quarter of their roster being New Englanders, earned the Boston franchise the title of "New England's Team."

For those of you who are new to Larry Gardner's name, he died in 1976 at age 89, a few months after I met him. Check out his stats for yourself by clicking on this link. You'll be amazed at what this man did in his career of basically 13 full seasons and 4 world championships, I promise you:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gardnla01.shtml

He belongs in Cooperstown! Thanx......Paul

October, the 10th and Greatest Month!

I love October. The weather in my opinion, is the best of the year. Early in the month, warm temperatures, then later crisp days and nights as winter draws near. The color of the leaves in their autumnal change lets you know that winter is just around the corner and many sports, high school and professional, start to go full bore in. In baseball, it's the playoffs and World Series and the pro basketball and hockey seasons are just beginning. The pro seasons are way to long though. I remember when I was a youngster, the World Series ended in mid October and the pro basketball and hockey playoffs finished in April.

Sports wise, the Tigers season was a disappointment in that injuries derailed them. They should bounce back strong next year with Pudge Rodriguez still there to lead. They'll find a new shortstop, possibly Cesar Izturis of the Pirates and look for them to enter the Adam Dunn sweepstakes to get a heavyweight and heavy hitting left fielder. In hockey, the Red Wings will disappoint their fans once again, with a great regular season then a slip and fall in the playoffs. When will Wing's management realize you must be competitive in the playoffs and win the occasional Stanley Cup, to keep putting fannies in the seats? It doesn't matter whether they play in the east or west, whether they are allowed to fight or not. What matters is to win cups and the Wings are now 5 seasons removed from their last title, soon to be 6.

In football, the Lions will have their ups and downs this year, but I still see them finishing at 8 and 8, which might get them into the playoffs. Michigan football will go 8-4 in the regular season, a far cry from what was expected, but Mike Hart will be one of the finalists invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremonies. And the Michigan State Spartans will have a winning season and will go to a bowl game. As for the Pistons, well, they like the Wings, are getting older, but there is hope that some youth will be infused with their new draft picks. They'll be competitive again but I don't see them getting to the NBA Finals.

As a Realtor, October signifies a slow down in the selling season, a chance to put on the brakes a bit and reflect back on the year 2007. As a Realtor in the only state in the union that's in recession right now, it's been difficult and I don't see it getting any better for us, Realtors or our clients, until mid 2009, so hang in there. October is also a time to look ahead for all of us to set our sights on that new year that's just around the corner. I can't wait for the excitement of 2008, with new hope ready to burst from every seam. The elections will be upon us soon and that will also bring change.

I can't wait. I love October!

Post Season Baseball

Well, the regular baseball season is over and I for one, was disappointed that the Detroit Tigers did not fare better in their quest to repeat as American League Champions. What my feeling is, the Tigers 2007 showing was disappointing due to injuries. Kenny Rogers gone for most of the year, Fernando Rodney out for a month and a half and Joel Zumaya missing more than half the season, cost the Tigers 10 or 12 wins in my opinion and you add those 10 or 12 wins onto their final season win total of 88 and the Tigers are Central Division champions and in the playoffs. On other Tiger issues, nice to see Jim Leyland get a contract extension and I think that will be the route the Tigers use with Pudge Rodriguez. Rather than picking up his 13 million dollar option for 2008, I think they'll extend him 3 years at around 9 or 10 million a year, keeping him in a Detroit uniform thru 2010, if Pudge will accept that. What the Tigers need more than anything now is a left handed thumper to play leftfield, a new shortstop, preferably with a great glove more than a big stick and a veteran starting pitcher even if Rogers comes back.

As for the post season, in my opinion, the best team I saw the Tigers play all year was the California Angels. They have a great combination of speed, hitting and pitching and they looked more like a National League style team, whenever the Tigers played them . I really think the Angels will take the American League Championship and I have a feeling Lou Piniella will work his magic with the 2007 Cubs, as he did with the 1990 Cincinnati Reds and lead them into the World Series. It's my belief that the Angels will prevail in a 6 game Series, to bring home the bacon to Los Angeles for the second time in 6 years. I just wish the ol' singing cowboy, Gene Autry, could have lived to have seen his Angels win a title. He meant so much to the game over the years. The Cubs will give the Angels a battle in the series, but California has to much veteran experience when it comes to the playoffs.

As for real estate, an agent asked me in the office today, how many homes were for sale in Troy right now. Well, a check on the multiple listing service on my trusty computer, revealed 607. Before the Michigan recession began a couple of years ago, that figure in late September/early October would have been in the 350 homes range. Another agent asked, well if there are currently 607 Troy homes on the market, how many Troy homes have sold this year. Another check turned up the figure of 515 home sales in Troy since January 1, 2007. At the rate of 607 sales a year, that's enough real estate inventory to last thru next July! By the way, a third agent told me that 68 of the homes for sale in Troy are foreclosures, clearly 11% plus of the 607 homes available. Don't believe we're in a statewide recession? Well, those real estate figures speak the truth more than anything else speaks about our current Michigan economy!!

The Real Estate Downturn Continues

Sorry I haven't blogged for 3 weeks, but I've been out of town on vacation! No high speed internet, just dialup available where I was in good ole' "Hooterville," where they say, "the internet, what's that?!"

While away I did manage to read the Detroit papers daily via that slower than slow dialup and I noted that area home prices are down 18% from their levels of 3 years ago. WOW! That means a home that sold for 200,000 in 2004, today would sell for 164,000! Now if you paid 200,000 for that home in 2004 and put a nice 10% down and borrowed the rest, well, you see where I'm headed. You borrowed 180,000 on a 30 year fixed and probably today owe 173,000 or so on that mortgage. Meanwhile Mister real estate man (or woman) is telling you your home is only worth 164,000. This is what we call a "short sale," where the homeowner actually brings money to the closing table to pay off their mortgage, their real estate costs and taxes, just to get out of the house and move on. This is why not only in Detroit, but nationally, we're in the fix we're in economically. Plus here in Metro Detroit, we've been in a big economic turndown for the past 3 years anyway and the rest of the country is just starting to catchup with us.

If you're not in a "short sale" situation, good for you! If you're thinking about trading in that old home for a newer, bigger model, remember, your home may be worth 18% less than it was 3 years ago, but, that new home you're planning on buying is worth 18% less as well! So it all comes out in the wash. If you're waiting for the price of your current home to rebound to 2004 levels, good luck. It will take YEARS for the current market to recover back to those 2004 price levels, so if your planning on selling and getting something bigger and better, remember what I just pointed out. That new bigger and better home will be at a nice bargain price as well!!

This and That, But Mostly That

It's September, time for football and baseball to take over our thoughts as the long summer days start to turn towards those cold winter nights. Real estate wise, I wonder how many people realize the second busiest real estate season, begins after Labor Day and lasts until Thanksgiving. When is the busiest real estate season? That's an easy one, March, April, May and part of June until the kids get out of school. Incidentally, if your wondering, it is still very much a buyers market, especially for first time buyers. They don't have to worry about selling their current home and there's some great deals to be had out there.

As far as sports, The Detroit Tigers seem to be tripping all over themselves to fall out of the pennant and wild cards races. Many are blaming things on manager Jim Leyland. Fans tell talk show hosts and sports forums that "Leyland has to go." That his strategies are "outlandish and nonsensical." Well, last season every move Leyland made turned to gold. This year, he makes those same moves in the same game situations and the moves all seem to backfire. Yet Leyland did not rip the 17 wins that Kenny Rogers posted last year out of the pitching rotation, nor did they give Garry Sheffield shoulder problems, which took him away just after the All Star break, leaving the Tiger offense in shambles since.

Then there's the Michigan Wolverines, losers to Appalachian State. Is it time for the Lloyd Carr era to end? He's given the university to much of his time and effort to not be able to call his own shot. However, the currently 38 year long Bo Schembechler era at the school, must end once Lloyd steps down and that means no promotion from within. New blood and fresh faces are needed. It's time to go outside the Wolverine family for a younger coach who can give the program a good 20 or so years, just as Don Canham went outside of the Wolverine family to name 39 year old Bo Schembechler head coach back in 1969.

Beat The Glut!

To show you how far down home prices have gone in Metro Detroit after years of steadily rising prices, most good agents are now quoting 2001 figures when they do a competitive market analysis (CMA) on a home. Several weeks ago, I did a CMA in my Troy subdivision and the couple who owned the home, said "we'd love to list our home at the 2001 price." Well, not really and here's why.....

They lived in a medium sized ranch that sits on a main street. Living on a main street means you discount the value of the home 5 to 10% over similar homes in the sub that are not on a main street. In 2004, this home would have gotten an asking price of $182,500 with that main street discount included, but in 2001 it's selling price would have been about $160,000. Home prices in Troy rose about 15% from 2001 to 2004. I quoted them what I felt was a generous listing price of $169,900. They have since listed with another broker for $176,500.

Another point for those waiting before listing, hoping for a return to pre 2005 prices, don't hold your breath! That wait could last 4 or 5 years before market prices rebound. The current Southeastern Michigan housing market appears to be steadying after 2 solid years of declines, but it's not ready to go up and the big reason is the housing glut. 75,000 homes on the market in Metro Detroit speaks for itself. There are buyers out there, but with 75,000 homes to choose from, compared to around 25,000 available in Augusts prior to 2005, buyers can be very picky. The best thing a homeowner can do right now, fix or update your home so when the time comes to market it, it will be appealing enough to "beat the glut."

Bonds Works For Me!

So Barry Bonds is now baseball's all time, home run king. Congratulations Barry!! Is it possible we've all misjudged this man over the years? I saw an interview with him on Wednesday night August 8 on "The Best Damned Sports Show Period" on Fox Sports Network and Barry came across as very genial and friendly in the lengthy sit down with Giants broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow. Detractors might say "well Bonds was being interviewed by a pair of his own, a couple of ex major league ballplayers and current Giant broadcasters." That's true, but it's not like these 2 guys were "schlock's." Krukow, a former pitcher and one time 20 game winner with the Giants and Kuiper, a longtime shortstop with both the Indians and Giants, are both 5 time Emmy award winners. Both had excellent questions for Bonds in my opinion and both shared incites into his career as both had played against Bonds.

And it was great to hear Hank Aaron inject his two cents worth in a pre-taped recording which was played on the scoreboard after Bonds had broken Hank's record. Aaron's words were well chosen and hit the mark right on the bullseye. I did hear some local Detroit sports talk show hosts claim that Hank looked "uncomfortable" on camera as he read his statement. But having followed Hank's career over the years, I remember him as always being "uncomfortable" in such situations! Hank is and was always a quiet and humble man. The fact that he was not on hand live for Barry's record breaker, doesn't surprise me. Hank said he did not want to become the center of attention and take away from Barry's moment. After all, Babe Ruth was not on hand when Hank broke the Babe's all time career home run record (the Babe was dead at the time!) nor was future Hall of Famer Roger Connor on hand when the Babe broke Roger's career home run record (Roger was alive and well and living in his home town of Waterbury, Connecticut).

Finally, I heard one of the best comments I've ever heard on the "Bonds and steroids" issue the other day on another one of those local sports radio talk shows. The hosts were talking about a possible asterisk being placed by Bond's name for holding the career homer record. A caller phoned in and told the hosts that if you put an asterisk by Bond's name for holding a "tainted" career home run record, then "you'll have to put an asterisk by every major league baseball record which was made prior to 1947." That would be all of the yearly batting champions, all of the annual hits leaders, all of the season's wins leaders, all of the shutout leaders, all of the yearly home run champions, etc. Why place an asterisk before all of those records? Replied the caller "Because blacks were not allowed to play major league baseball before 1947."

Bernanke and the Fed

So the Federal Reserve Board has kept interest rates at 5 1/4% with no sign of dropping them for the near term anyway, which will more than likely be for the rest of 2007. If there's any good news from the Fed's August 7, 2007 meeting, it's that they didn't raise rates, which I say with my tongue firmly planted in my right cheek. So what does this all mean for the real estate consumer? Frankly, very little. It means the Fed is worried about a slight upswing in inflation, even though employment remains high and economic growth nationally is still solid. Our economy, nationally, is still humming along.

It's surprised me in my years in real estate, how many people think that mortgage interest rates are based on what Alan Greenspan and now Ben Bernanke and their colleagues do with the Federal Reserves interest rates. But such is not the case. That 5 1/4 rate that the Fed held steady at, is what the Federal Reserve charges other U.S. banks to borrow money from them. If you want the real barometer on what's happening with mortgage interest rates, keep an eye on the 10 year, U.S. Treasury note. It's rate will always be your basic rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage.

Yes, what the Fed does is important, because it shows what they feel about the U.S. economy, not the home mortgage market. So the next time you hear someone touting on radio or TV "better get your mortgage now, before the Fed raises interest rates," pay little heed to what they're saying. One thing I do know for sure right now, when it comes to mortgage rates, you're better off with a 30 year fixed than with anything else. And this final note, for those who think house prices are not dropping. My next door neighbor in Troy closed on his house last week, selling it for $178,000. 4 years ago, he paid $201,000 for it and it's a beautiful home!

Does Bonds Deserve Bud (and vice versa)

Well, maybe Barry Bonds deserves a Bud if he breaks Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs soon, but that's a Bud as in the beer, not Bud as in Commissioner Bud Selig. After all, then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not on hand when Aaron hit number 715 in 1974, to break Babe Ruth's career mark. Was it a slight in 1974. I think not. Will it be a slight this year if Bud isn't on hand for the record tying and record breaking bombs. Again, I think not! Potentially to many games involved and to many cities to see.

By all accounts, Selig was on hand in his hometown of Milwaukee and I might add here, the hometown of the commissioners' office, over the weekend past, as the Bond's led Giants took on the hometown Brewers with Barry just 2 homers away from tying the record. He didn't hit a homer though. So, what if it takes 10 games for Bonds to hit a pair of homers to tie. Should Selig attend all 10 games. An emphatic NO! And likewise, after Bonds ties the record, if it takes another, say 6 games to break the record, should Selig be at all 6. Again, an emphatic NO! I would hope the Lord High Commissioner of Baseball has better things to do than to traipse around following Bonds from city to city. After all, there is the business of baseball to be taken care of and that business is more than Bonds chasing a 33 year old career home run record. So bravo Bud on your decision to stay away from the Bonds Circus for potentially game after game and city after city. This Buds for you!

Also on the subject of baseball, it was nice to see the Tigers honor baseball hall of famer Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday with a plaque being attached to the walls of Comerica Park commemorating his career exploits with the old baseball Negro Leagues and more specifically with the Detroit Stars. Tiger owner Mike Ilitch, President Dave Dombrowski, manager Jim Leyland and other Tiger players and dignitaries were on hand, along with members of the Stearnes family and other celebrants. Yet, "Turkey" was voted into Cooperstown in 2000, but is still on the outside looking in, in the city he eventually called home, Detroit. The plaque honoring Stearnes is on the outside of the stadium walls at Brush and Adams not inside the stadium walls, sadly, though I'm sure not intentionally, it seems symbolic of the fact that Stearnes and others from the old Negro Leagues were on the outside, looking in, when it came to having a chance to play major league baseball!

OK, So now What?

You're thinking about a new home and you're putting your current home on the market, while trying to make a decision on the amount of possession time you should keep on your current home after closing. My recommendation has always been 30 to 45 days! Why? Because this allows you enough time to find your new home, without panicking into the "But Paul, if my house sells where am I going to live" question. You'd be surprised how many in this situation do panic. But that 30 to 45 day window will give you plenty of time to find your next home! Trust me, it will. It works!! You just have to be aware of what area you want to move into next and make sure you have several neighborhoods to choose from and become familiar with, so that you're ready to strike when you accept an offer on your current home.

In today's real estate market, it's not wise to go out there and find a new home, while your current home is "for sale" but has yet to recieve an acceptable offer. Homes placed on the market today, may sit unsold for months at a time and if you panic and put an offer in on a new home before you've gotten your old home sold, you would be trapped into paying 2 mortgages for months, putting a real strain on your family's economic structure. We're seeing THAT more and more, where people have panicked and gotten trapped into paying 2 mortgages and they wind up with one or possibly both homes in forclosure!! It's a sad reflection on our current local economy, so be careful how you handle it.

With the 30 to 45 days after closing plan for possession, you get an acceptable offer on your current home and you'll still have up to 2 1/2 months to find and close on your new home (the 30 days more or less that it will take the deal on your current home to close, plus those extra 30 to 45 days possession time.) I just had the home of a young family I had listed in Sterling Heights, sell after almost 4 months. Through those 4 months, they were chomping at the bit, wanting to buy that next home, but they followed my advice and waited until they had an acceptable offer on their Sterling Heights abode. Then we put a bid in on a beautiful new construction home in Macomb Township. Both homes will close about 5 days apart, with their current home closing first. The key, they pretty much knew the neighborhoods they wanted to live in and they were ready to strike, once they got that acceptable offer on their current home.

So you see IT DOES WORK!! Just another one of "Paul's Real Estate Pearls."

Is Anybody Worried About This?

Here's one out of left field for you Detroit Tiger fans. With 4 of their players, including 2 major stars, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen, being natives of Venezuela, is anybody worried that Venezuela's left leaning president, Hugo Chavez could literally end their baseball careers. Pitcher Wil Ledezma and utility infielder Omar Infante are also Venezuelans. I bring this up because Chavez has recently nationalized the Venezuelan oil industry and just this past weekend, closed down his nations top ranked television station, TV-Caracas, after 53 years on the air, allegedly because they were anti-Chavez.

More and more, Mr. Chavez seems to be following in the footsteps of his hero, Cuban boss Fidel Castro and that's my point. I remember as a young boy, Castro banning his Cuban major leaguers from returning to play American baseball. Some of them at that time, like Reds slugger Tony Perez (then playing in the minor leagues) and future Tiger Tony Taylor (then playing with the Cubs), elected not to return to Cuba in order to continue their major league careers. They were then forever banned from returning to their homeland. To this day, the only way a Cuban can play major league baseball is to defect and seek political asylum. It's a shame, because over the years, Cuba had produced some great major leaguers. Mr. Chavez has recognized that the world depends on his nation's oil supply. When will he notice, as Castro did nearly 50 years ago, that his second biggest export is major league baseball players!

Recently, I've been taking clients out to look at new construction homes, "spec" homes if you will. Homes built by the builder on the speculation that someone will but them. Many of those homes I've looked at, have been sitting vacant for not only months, but several years! Their prices have fallen drastically from what the builders were originally asking and their are some great, new home bargains out there. Recently, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the sale of new construction, soared in April. But now, predictions out of Washington are that it will take at least until 2011 for new home sales to completely recover to where they were 3 or 4 years ago!!

How About Those Red Wings!

Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings on a fine season, just concluded. When this year began, I doubt that many of us would have predicted that the Wings would reach the NHL's "Final Four," but they did. I know from listening to our two Detroit sports talk radio stations over the past few days, that there are fans out there who are unhappy about the Wings-Ducks series outcome. They complain about everything from Nick Lidstrom's stick to Dominik Hasek in goal. Dom had a great series, make no mistake about it and lets hope, despite his 41 years, that the "Dominator" decides to return for at least one more year with the Wings. He's proven that, even at his age, he's still one of the leagues best goalies. As for Nick, he's always been one of my favorites. Lets continue to marvel at his skills in hopes that he spends a few more years wearing the captain's "C", before he hangs up his skates and returns to Sweden for good. There's a sports waiting for him at the Hockey Hall of Fame when he does skate off into the sunset. He's marvelous to watch and a good person off the ice as well.

It was disappointing to see many empty seats at Joe Louis Arena during the playoffs, but I guess with the local economy being what it is, local sports attendance must suffer, just like we in real estate and our sellers, are also suffering. Yes, it's a buyers market out there right now and I don't see it changing any time soon. My best guess, the local real estate market will begin to improve in the spring of 2008. Meanwhile, if you're a buyer, there's a lot of terrific bargains out there. Your Realtor can show them to you!

I will use this blog to not only comment on the local real estate market, but as you can see, on other issues, both news and sports, as well. Stay tuned as they say in radio 'cause "you ain't seen nothin' yet."