paulie123,
I have been a realtor for 6 years now and have studied our past markets, the fundamentals that move a market, and spoken with many agents/investors who have been through these cycles.
We are in the beginning slide of this downward market, and things are going to get worse, before they get better. It is a bit confusing for any of those people who are not in the daily trenches of Real Estate. If I were to rely solely on the media to understand our "state of real estate", I too would think that the market may not be that bad or would recover soon...
However, prices are down, foreclosures are just beginning to rise, the lending world is in real trouble, and the ability to borrow money is getting tougher... If you were a buyer in today's market, why would you pay top dollar or even asking price for a property?
I would be happy to send you real data from the past and present markets for you to see where we are going to go.
Mind you, I am not a pessimist, I am a realist. The market is what it is... and if you have the accurate information, whether you are a Buyer or Seller, you can make the best move for you, in what you want to accomplish. As a Buyer, there are real good deals to be found right now... As a Seller, if your agent knows how to position your property to get it sold, vs. the competition, than the knowledge of the market will help you get your property sold before others... instead of losing more precious dollars in your pocket by chasing the market down...
Hope that helps!
