It seems like every one of these monkeys has an answer. I won't label any of them. I have been busy for the past month working with those buyers that the "experts" keep saying don't exist. I have been writing offers for those buyers that the "experts" keep saying won't get off the fence. I have been assisting a seller I listed in reviewing the multiple offers on the property he agreed to sell at a reasonable price.

The "experts"??????

If you stop and listen to the "old time" agents pontificate, you will hear that this is the worst real estate market since Sherman marched to the sea. You will hear claims that no one has ever seen a market this bad. If you read the headlines offered by the Wall Street Journal and other major news folks, you will read that everybody is sinking. You will read that foreclosures are creating a global crisis. If you listen to the talking heads, you will hear gloom and doom.

Of course, we can always dial in the NAR. Larry Yun continues to offer up comical advice for agents and consumers alike.

Your other choice is to wake up. It is not their market. It is YOUR market. You live there. You work there. You know the dirt better than anyone else. You know the streets. You know the shopping. You know the impact the overall economy has had on your friends and neighbors. You know the truth.

If you don't....shame on you. Has housing overall gone to hell in a handbasket? In some places, sure. There are neighborhoods that have been hammered. Only an idiot could not have seen it coming. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" sure does fit 100% interest only financing. I don't know of any poker game that would allow someone to sit in and bet without tossing in the ante. Newspapers and nightly news share the stories of hard pressed homeowners losing the home of their dreams.

Bunk.

Just because you dream it does not validate your right to that dream. The country was built on a system of people that dream and follow the steps to realize that dream. They saved money and were invested in the homes they purchased. The foreclosure rate on that group was minuscule.

Too many agents, lenders, reporters, talking heads and "experts" are focusing on the dire predicaments of a small segment of the market place. We are inundated with information. The causes of the problem keep changing.

Over the last few years, I have heard that the market collapse is the result of .... the War in Iraq, Katrina, Global Warming, the Bush Administration, fast talking mortgage brokers, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, the rise in the cost of energy, speculators, teaser rates, investors (pouring in and pouring out), over building, builders, local governments, english only loan documents, lack of government oversight, the rise in the cost of gas, too much government intervention, the pending election, bond bundling, and the increased pressure on fannie and freddie because of bad loans.

Lots of reasons.

I have heard agents with decades of experience share that they have no idea how low the market will go and moments later complain about bottom feeders. I have heard agents with decades of experience complain about listings that were being bought ( a cute way some agents procure listings by having the seller convinced that the home is worth more that market value) and then listened to them share that they think last years prices will hold this year.

Lastly, I keep hearing that the big problem with the market is the consumer. The sellers are too dumb to lower their prices to realistic levels. The sellers listen to agents. Agents take over priced listings. Agents as a group support homes priced to high. It would seem to me that if you take a higher priced listing, you should charge a higher commission rate. It will be harder to sell. If the seller agrees with your advice and lists the home at a more attractive price, you can charge less because you won't have to work as hard.

Buyers won't move. Hmmmm, I don't doubt that some agents find this the case. It might be hard to make a move if you are working with either mister gloom or misses doom. How can you expect a buyer to act if you support the illusion that things are changing so quickly todays bargin may become tomorrows burden? Looking at the market and seeing nothing good will leave you fulfilling a self fulfilling prophecy.

It is your market and your career. There is not one damn gimmick that will get you back on track. There is no magic system that will turn things around. You walked into this career with all the skills needed to be successful. You will craft your tomorrow, in part, using the tools you have acquired.

I do have a mantra.

Shut the hell up and just let me work.