In La Quinta, Ca our real estate mantra is ...Close, close, close!

Real Estate Buyers are out there. They are moving from the sidelines into buying. They are begging us to close, close, close. We had 30 people at an open house in a 2 hour period last weekend in PGA West in Close, close, close!. They all were interested in interest rates, how homes were selling, how long it took to close escrow, how many homes had sold recently in PGA West, what they will take for the house.
I sat one gentleman down and figured out his financial condition, had him do a loan application, and got our lender on the phone with him right on site.
We also got 3 other people who told us what exactly they wanted and signed a buyer to broker to work with us to find it.  We are in communication with them daily to be sure they stay with us and they do find the perfect house.
The key is to create the sense of urgency, find the perfect house ( you must know the inventory to find the perfect house at a bargain price) and then go for the close and close again and close again.
Good agents make money in any market. In our area, there is a 15% unemployment rate and we are still doing great in real estate. WE keep working on our skills. We know the inventory. We CLOSE,CLOSE, CLOSE.