I received an email yesterday from a client that said that real estate prices are down 17.1% nationally for the last year.  Even though I appreciate his sending me that information, I took it with a grain of salt. 

I really don’t care what happens in Omaha, Shreveport, Phoenix or Seattle because those markets really don’t affect us.  I think that we all make the mistake of trying to generalize the real estate market – it cannot be done.

Any good Realtor keeps statistics on local activity and has a much better feel of the market as opposed of trying to use national averages to prove a point. 

I know that we sold more property in April and May of 2009 than we did in April and May of 2008.

I also know that the property we closed sold for less money because we have a big enough sample to get a good idea of what prices are doing in this market.

I always encourage clients to look at the local scene and to not be concerned nationally.  If you use those numbers you are going to be getting some bad advice.

It is like the boy who had one foot in a bucket of boiling water and another foot in a bucket of ice water; both feet were miserable, but on the average he was doing alright.  Don’t let averages surprise you – always look at the local situation and try to figure out what is going on.

You can also use local present information to predict future trends in real estate.  I would be glad to share with you my ideas of what is going on in the market.