That’s right, in this real estate market, nobody is happy – not even the buyers. 

I did not realize this until I was talking to a Realtor friend of mine from Chicago today.  We, as Realtors, think that purchasers are happy and excited because they are getting some phenomenal deals in this market.  But in reality, buyers are still nervous about their purchases as prices continue to fall – they want to know if their new home is going to retain its value.

We all want this real estate market to turn around, so we can all be happy!

A couple days later the owners of the property sent a letter to their Realtor saying why they thought their house was worth approximately 15% more than what the research showed.

I read the letter and it was very well written, but they needed to understand that they don’t determine the price of their home.  In a real estate market like today’s, it is important to realize that it is the buyer who determines the sales price.  In a seller’s market, the seller often determines the sales price. 

In a good real estate market the seller determines the price because there are a lot more buyers than sellers in the market.  This makes sense when you think about it like that and it is true with any commodity.  It all goes back to Economics 101 – supply vs. demand.

I guess this really shows that it does not matter what a good deal a property is; if you do not like it, you are not going to buy it.  I always try to point out to people that the need to like what they buy because they are going to have to live in it.

When you love selling real estate as much as I do and you have sold real estate for over 30 years, you tend to lots about it.

I started asking my client questions about sports and he knew all of the answers.  I asked him how he knew all the answers to my questions and he said that it was because it was something that he was interested in and sports were important to him. 

When you choose a Realtor, I believe you should choose someone who loves real estate and it is important to them.  I believe you pay for good advice, but you pay even more for bad advice. 

There are a lot of people who like to get a real estate license and “dabble” in real estate.  Make sure you have someone working on your side who knows the real estate market.

I just ran the numbers to see the number of current pending sales on Hilton Head Island.  It is good to see that this many homes are selling in the market today. 

I’m also pleased to say that Charter I Realty continues to be the #1 Real Estate Company in sales on Hilton Head with 92 pending sales.

I think it is important to realize that for a market to rebound, you have to have activity and I think the fact that sales are up from last year is a good sign that the market has bottomed out!

The following are the states with the lowest percentage of mortgages with negative equity; Oklahoma with 6.1%, New York with 6.2%, Montana with 7.4%, Alabama with 7.4% and North Dakota with 8.6%.  There were several states that did not report including Louisiana, South Dakota, Maine and West Virginia. 

If you will notice, the states with the highest percentage of mortgages with negative equity are ones where massive building occurred and most of the mortgages were obtained between 2003 and 2007.

For the real estate market to turn around we are going to have to see the number of foreclosures reduced.  With high numbers of foreclosures, it makes it very hard for regular sellers to compete in the real estate market. 

For purchasers, there are some great opportunities available.  Visit my website to view a list of short sale and foreclosure properties available for sale.

I find this absolutely unbelievable – this means that in Nevada that 2 out of every 3 people with a mortgage have negative equity.  These statistics have a detrimental effect on the real estate market.  I feel that it important to realize that one of the first things that needs to be fixed is the real estate market as it has an effect on many other factors in this economy.

If you look at these numbers you will realize that we have not solved the foreclosure problem in the United States and it could definitely get worse before it gets better.  For purchasers, there are some great opportunities available. 

Stay tuned – tomorrow I will give you the states with the states with the lowest percentage of mortgages with negative equity.

This is the prime time to lock in a low interest rate. 

It is the perfect storm for buying – low prices, low interest rates and a great selection.  So what are you waiting for – NOW is the time to buy!

Every day, I see real estate agents who talk a good game, but can’t perform. 

I had a good client of mine who decided to list their house with another agent.  This agent had a great listing presentation and she was a member of a national real estate group of 5,000 agents; however, she herself had never made a sale. 

She convinced my clients that they would benefit from listing with her because she had agents all over the country working to sell their house every single day.  It seems to me that most properties on Hilton Head Island are sold by agents on Hilton Head Island.  For instance, I have never heard of an agent in Des Moines, Iowa waking up every day with the goal of selling a house on Hilton Head Island, just as I do not wake up every day with the though of how I am going to sell a property in Des Moines, Iowa.

I always appreciate the referrals I receive from clients because with over 1,400 members in the Hilton Head Island MLS; I know that buyers and sellers have a choice.

In the end, make sure you choose an agent who can back up their game and can get results for you.

I had a client in town who was looking for a property in a particular plantation.  I told them that there were 55 homes currently on the market and there had been two sales.  Nothing that was currently on the market could begin to compare to the two homes that sold because the owners were clearly not as motivated to sell. 

The lesson from this; act when you find a good buy on the market so you don’t miss out later on.