I was recently at a listing appointment; I was going over everything that had recently sold in that area, most of which were bank foreclosures.  After going over all of the comps, the seller leaned back in his chair and said how hard these sales were on “regular sellers.”  I have told several of my sellers that now is not the time to sell if you are a “regular seller.”

It is important to realize that the buyers are in charge of the market at this time. 

It reminds me of the time that Jane and I were driving back to Hilton Head from Jacksonville and Jane wanted to stop at Krystal.  I decided to go get some gas while she was getting the food.  There were two gas stations right across the street from each other  - one advertising gas for $2.39/gallon and the other advertising $2.99/gallon.  The gas station with the less expensive gas was getting all of the business and it was easy to understand why. 

It is the same way with the real estate market; nobody is going to pay $400,000 for a house when there is a bank foreclosure that is almost identical down the street priced at $349,000. 

Sure, the bank foreclosure might need new carpet and some fresh paint, but that is just a small expense in the long run.  Hopefully one day we will get back to the days where there are more “regular sellers” and not so many foreclosures.