I'd hire you in a heart beat !! Yea, we gotta get through the holiday's and snow. Actually our fall is not going to bad, so that is encouraging.

Missy.  It's still summer!

I hear a lot about that "pent up demand"  not seeing a lot of it in action though.  It's all about the ratios...

I bet you look great with a santa hat, Lenn.

Forget the snow!  We have to get past November 4th.

I'm going fishing.

Come to Palm Springs to help you get through the snow this winter!  We have sunshine all winter long!

Lenn,

Buyers here in Vegas are starting to come off the fence, especially first-timers, and going after bank repos in the lower segment of the market. There is very good value now. Pent-up demand, we are certainly gearing up for it, too.

I'd hire you in a flash, and so should any serious and qualified buyer...without an agent... in your market. Our community is doing pretty well cmpared to some parts of San Diego. I anticipate more movement now that kids are back in school. Yep, Novemeber 4 is looming, and things aren't going to change quickly.

Jeff

Lenn, The buyers are back but they seem to be intimidated by the inventory. They're taking their time to make a decision until they see ALL the homes for sale in their price range.  Ugh!

Some of my "hot leads" for the fall have turned "warm" as they want to wait and see what the election brings.  Hard to convenince them that it won't bring any instant changes.

Lenn-  In Westport, unit sales for the first half of the year were in the toilet very weak.  July, however, was our best month, year-to-date and only 3% below July '07.  I think it was "pent up demand" of those buyers that wanted to be in place before the school year and gave up on waiting for prices to drop like a rock (they never did.)

August is back at a screeching halt, but that could be seasonal.  It will be interesting to see how the fall market plays out.

Ya, what is with all the snow!!! On a different note I am seeing a lot of buyers starting to move back into the market.

Maybe Santa will have "new home" on his list and it will be a hot december?  One can hope :)

Yep.  Pent up demand is a real phenomonon. However, there needs to be a little money flowing in the system to release it.  Prices can drop more but if no one can get a mortgage because they have no money saved for a down payment it won't mean much.

I just had some one low ball one of my lsitings by $105,000 - almost a third of the asking price!  The Seller wasn't interested.  It's time for some buyers to get with the program and realize prices may have reached bottom or close to it.

I do think that there will be a burst of activity from pent up demand before it settles back down to a stable level that is dictated by the new lower numbers of qualified buyers.

Once everyone agrees that prices have leveled out.

Richard

We're seen a bit of a slowdown in August too in Branford which is pretty typical as summer winds down but I'm feeling very optimistic going into the fall market.  One of my biggest pet peeves is no matter how much inventory is out there or how low the prices have come down in recent months. buyers continue to lowball their offers.  It's get so frustrating at times.

Paul.  Not possible.  My homes is now worth a fraction of what I paid for it.  Good thing I love my home.

Amanda.  That's almost irresistable.  The Bass are biting hard in our area in another month.  You've got those lunker Bass. 

Melina.  I'm looking for "pent up demand" in the Spring. 

I'll be ready. I've been ready. I expect the fall and winter to be very slow, with a burst of activity after the first of the year...then another bunch of sellers will flood the market and slow things down again.

Kelly.  Isn't that the way it always is?  It appears that the only thing that has changed is the volume.

"It's the toughest market I have ever seen."  MEGA DITTOS!  When this finally picks up, I will be in a good position, but it isn't here just yet!  I am worried that I cannot pick a bottom.  I think post elections we will have a new surge in optimism.

Jim.  I have never found that an alection affected the market here at all. 

Lenn I would hire an "cantankerous old goat real estate broker, we would identify with each other real well ...... LOL

Lenn, First Time Homebuyers are a huge part of my business.  The loans might be smaller but they are steady :)

Shucks, who would hire a cantankerous old goat real estate broker anyway?

Anyone with half a mind? Yep that's it. We can get through it and you are so right on and dead on target. This market is a strange animal, it is. It's not bad...just different. We have to out-think our sphere. That's what I'm spending time doing right now....thinking...will it work? I dunno.

I just keep trying. Thanks Lenn,

Later in the rain~Deb

Lenn, It is still too hot here for the pent ups to come out - summer is always our worst time, our market seasonally starts in October and ends in May, opposite of most of the world.

I usually joke around and say 'don't call me in August, it's too hot'.  Well, nobody did!

Lookin' forward to October, and getting my ducks in a sweaty little row.

This is a fun blog.  I love the way you said we have to get by Christmas and Winter, with pictures only.  It is a tough time now in real estate but we'll make it.

Lenn I love the winter snowy photo - its ohh so wonderful!  And a historical perspective is probably what we  should educate our buyers with.......maybe even a 'historical perspective' page on our Website!

Thank god I live in California, is all I have to say. Well, that's not all I have to say. Buyers are all over homes priced under $200,000 in Sacramento, like hot fudge on a sundae. Multiple offers are the norm. I know agents in my office who say, 'If one more buyer calls me, I'm going to scream." Hopefully this is hysteria will soon move in your direction.

Elizabeth.  Hi.

I have had one buyer call today.  Sent him to an agent and lender.  Very, very slow. 

Liz.  I have a lot of photos on my web sites, but not of snow.

Barbara.  I'm waiting for the pent up demand to get loose.

Deb.  It is, without doubt, the worse market I have witnessed.

George.  You're smart.  I have been seeking first time home buyers too.  Move up buyers can't sell what they have.  I'm identifying all kinds of niches for our agents.