I am currently working with 23 different buyers actively looking to buy a house. I had lunch with an East Bay colleague in Rockridge this week (at the delectable Wood Tavern) and he mentioned he is working with 28 buyers. So between the two of us we have 51 potential home sales desperate to happen. Unfortunately for us and our clients, this week the new houses that came on the market were few and far between.

So I ask, sellers, where are you?

For the past 7 years my sales have been consistently 50% buyers and 50% sellers. This year to date my buyer-side transactions are 33% higher than my seller sides. I believe the explanation for this is that sellers who have experienced deteriorated property values (let’s face it, that includes all of us who own real estate) believe that if they hold out their values will “recover.”

While this may be the case for those of us who plan to hold on to our properties for at least 5 years, and probably longer, according to those who track statistics like the Audubon Society tracks the Spotted Brown Owl, it is equally likely that over the next two years values, according to the same experts, will erode further.

If you don’t want to put your life on hold for the next 5 years, then the time to sell is now, while there is still some enamel left on your real estate dentin. Be brave, be bold, put your house on the market priced appropriately, and you will look like a genius a year from now.

Image courtesy of dpalmer_md on Flickr