"Is a 'Buyer's Market' really a bad time to sell?"

I have had a lot of people tell me they are thinking about putting their house on the market because they want to move for any number of reasons, and the question "should we wait until the market turns around" always comes up.  There is a lot of negativity on the evening news, but

A common perception is that a buyer's market is always a bad time to sell.  The truth is that it all depends on the seller's individual situation and circumstances.

~  If you are planning on moving up to a larger or more expensive home, then now is a great time to sell.  The money you receive from the sale of your home, even though it might not be as much as it would have been several years ago, will go much further in a buyer's market.  Typically, the more expensive a home is, the more its price will drop in a buyer's market.

~  If selling is good for your family, your career, or your way of life, then selling is probably a good decision even if you receive less then you like from the sale.  Some things are simply more important.

~  In many markets across the country, the current 'low' is still well above the typical market conditions (the last couple years were far from typical, so don't base you percptions on what was happening then).  If you bought prior to the boom, then now is still a great time to sell.

~  If your current interest rate is very high, and you could get a better interest rate if you bought now, it may make financial dollars and sense to sell now.

People are still buying houses (you wouldn't believe it based on what you hear on the evening news), they may not be buying as fast and furious as we saw a couple years ago, but they are still buying.  The trick is to be the best deal on the block, which means pricing your house right and keeping it in near-perfect condition.