Currently the inventory levels are high. There are a lot of homes for sale. But really are they for sale? There's a pricerange a home can fetch. An agent comes to a listing presentation with this. "Sir" Or "Madame" homes like yours sell between "200-225". Sometimes today that number is shocking to the homeowner. The homeowners today may still have a different idea bout what their home is worth...or what they need to sell it for to get into that next home. But if they're not careful...they may become "Non-Sellers."

"Non-Sellers" who are not "there" or "in the market" or "motivated" because they price their homes without taking into consideration what the market will bring on their home. Granted there are some REAL Sellers still out there...Sellers who have to sell for jobs, relocation, etc. Sellers who will compromise on the difference between what the market will bear and their expectations of their home. But most homes on the market are really "not for sale." That's why we have a lot still sitting on the market. That's why they just sit there and accumulate days on the market.

"Non-Sellers" remember their home's value in 2005...but only recently barely realize the evolving market value in 2008. The biggest question to ask them is...do they want to "Sell?" or "Stay?" (Thank You, David Knox). Someone is always willing to buy a home. Depending on who determines the price of a home, the market or the homeowner who has loved and cared for the home for a period of time that makes them emotionally attached to that pink wallpaper with mauve border in the dining room. But what is true about every market is that a buyer will come to the property, but this is the catch: the willing buyer for the home is either someone else (a buyer)...or...the current owner...you.

We all need to keep this in mind. When a patient goes to the doctor and asks the professional to give an X-ray analysis of their chest, it is because the patient wants to know it like it is. "Live" or "Not." Wanting to know the Market Value of the home should be the same. There's a price range that it Sells and a price that it does not. This is the elephant in the room and we all need to talk about it.

Sure...homes have values beyond square footage and lot size. They have subjective appeal. Emotional Appeal. But a buyer won't buy what they can buy next door for cheaper. It's a fact. There's a price-range at which a home plays in, no bones about it. Remember that it is with that price range that you have to decide if you want to "Sell" or do you want to "Stay."