The NAR has this out on todays housing market. "A lower level of home sales expected this year will create a more level playing field for buyers and sellers on the heels of a five-year sellers’ market. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the number of homes on the market has been improving nicely."

"'The cooling from overheated sales conditions in recent months is helping to bring inventory levels up to the point where buyers have more choices than they’ve seen in the last five years,' Lereah said. 'Annual price appreciation is still running at double-digit rates, but the cause of those sharp increases is going away.'"

"Existing-home sales are expected to fall 5.7 percent to 6.67 million in 2006 from the record 7.08 million last year. At the same time, new-home sales are forecast to decline 7.7 percent to 1.18 million from a record 1.28 million in 2005."

"NAR President Thomas M. Stevens said some home buyers and sellers have unrealistic expectations. 'Some sellers in markets that have had rapid appreciation are listing the price of their home too high, but those homes are just languishing on the market,' said Stevens. 'At the same time, some buyers who have believed hype about a housing bubble are hoping prices will drop, but that’s not happening either.'"

No link available for this statement from the Santa Barbara, California realtors president. "Have you ever tried selling a car by placing an ad? How did you feel when prospective buyers said the car wasn't worth the asking price? When selling your home, you may hear the same objections. Do those comments mean you will have to reduce your price to achieve a sale? Not neccesarily - if you are represented by a realtor. Recognizing that certain features..may be attractive to the prospects, they may be presented as offsetting benefits, thus neutralizing buyers' concerns. This eliminates the need to offer price reductions as the only solution to objections."The Herald Tribune reports on prospects for new realtors in Florida. "Jake Morse recently decided to become a Florida real estate agent. You might think he is crazy. After all, the Sarasota-Bradenton market just witnessed a 48 percent decline in January closings, and there are three times more homes for sale now than a year ago."

"The number of real estate agents who pay for membership in the Sarasota Association of Realtors has risen 109 percent since early 2001, to a total of 4,861. It is the same story down south, even more exaggerated, with the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors showing a 123 percent five-year increase in paying members to 1,648. Statewide, the number has doubled to 154,558 in five years."

"At the Andy Gray School of Real Estate in Sarasota, classes were running flat-out all last year, with a typical waiting list of a dozen or more. Now, the list is gone."

"Ken Miller thought he knew what he was doing last summer when he became an agent. 'The easy money is gone,' Miller said. 'Right now, real estate is really, really slow. First of all, we had a market when I got my license where we had a plethora of buyers and no sellers. And now, we have no buyers but plenty of sellers. It has been a roller coaster, to tell you the truth.'"

"He has so far landed only four listings, two of which have eventually sold. 'I only got half the transaction. That's not enough to survive, I'll tell you that. It really isn't.'"

"When he started as an agent in 1978, it took him a year to receive his first commission check, Ron Cornette recalled. His advice? Get a job with one of the agencies that has a division dedicated to selling condominium conversions, subdivision properties or new condos for a builder. That way, Cornette reasons, 'You do have somebody to talk to every day.'"