Real estate sales trainers often encourage their proteges to answer the question, "How is real estate?"with "Absolutely Amazing!" .That way it's always an honest answer because real estate is usually at the end of two extremes: Amazingly good or amazingly crappy.

I take issue with that sort of response because it's not totally honest and it may cause clients and customers to get the wrong expectations.

As the challenging environment of today's market continues we feel that our customers are more in need than ever before of information that is "ground truth" which means no B.S., no spin, and useful information

On Thursday,March 11 we will host our first Home Seller Seminar at Valdosta's Hilton Garden Inn from 6 until 8 PM. This will be an evening of authentic conversation on market trends over the past several years, today's buyer's behavior, marketing and pricing strategies that attract attention, and options for distressed sellers.

Please join us for this special evening. Space is limited to the first 100 who respond by calling us at 229-247-7653 or by email at office@century21winnersville.com

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Today there are nearly 1200 homes on the market in the Valdosta-Lowndes County Service. To put that number in perspective, in balanced times we typically host profiles of between 500 and 600 houses. What does this mean to the home seller? Well, more competition, less attention from buyers, longer marketing time to name just a few. But the most important thing is that it means sellers MUST price ahead of the market.

From a broker's perspective, we love seller's markets. My personal experience over the course of fifteeen years is that I've always enjoyed greater success when seller's are successful. A few short years ago that was the case. There was such a demand for housing that it was not untypical to sell property within a matter of days,sometimes hours.

Today, we face a whole different environment; foreclosure activity has placed downward pressure on sales prices, tightening credit standards have driven away many prospective buyers, and with double the amount of inventory than is usual in balance times, houses are a commodity.

In ANY market it is wise to price right the first time. Today it is the most crucial marketing step of all. The most activity a new listing will ever enjoy is within the first seventy hours. With so much competing inventory, today's buyer will not waste his time on a listing that is even nominally overpriced. By the way, Nearly twenty percent of the lisitings found in South Georgia MLS have been on the market for over 200 days.  And yes, many of those properties are (or were) overpriced.

In this climate it is an absolute necessity to price for dramatic effect. The sort of price that makes the next guy say "Hey,if you don't, I will!"