The last few years in real estate, more often than not, anything we did as real estate agents worked! We all had the "Midas Touch!" Multiple offers, highest prices, inspections waived, "0 Days on Market!" Wow! The list went on and on! The "up" market that defied gravity generated a lot of enthusiasm for our industry! All of a sudden there were popular TV shows about real estate, flipping homes, staging homes, trading homes, home decor and so much more. Real estate was the buzzword everywhere!

But yesterday seems now an eternity away, and the popular sentiment is that real estate today feels like a "Lost Weekend!" For most Realtors the reality of the current market is sinking in, but there is one big problem. The seller's still think it is yesterday!

They are the ones that are still enthusiastic. But the scenario changes when reality sets in. There are too many homes for sale. Passive marketing, overpricing, and inexperience won't help. It could take someone that has worked softer or declining real estate markets to guide homeowners with some real solutions.

In a recent LA Times interview, I commented on the latest fads in California real estate.

What did I think of real estate agents staging homes to sell and hiring actors to become part of the staging. I said, "It won't work!"

The reporter said very quickly that I was the only agent that did not like the idea. I then asked the reporter did she inquire how many years the agents she interviewed were in the real estate business. There was silence. A real estate agent is like reading a book.

My book is the late 1980's and early 90's in real estate, with the last chapter was that the increased commissions, agent bonuses, drawings to win fancy cars, free trips agents and buyer bonuses did not sell the over priced homes. That is experience.

As Realtors, we have an ethical responsibility to advise the seller on correct pricing -- that comes from experience. More often than not sellers in this current market are seeking our services out of desperation! They are seeking us out for our expertise; they do not want empathy, but rather results! So a listing appointment is not a magic show or time for a group hug. It is reality time! \

Even though we may be rejected for telling a seller the truth, we must advise sellers of actual current market statistics and trends, supporting our observations with hard facts, and numbers. We should offer the seller the opportunity to work with us and develop a customized strategy that allows a win for all:

• Offer client testimonials.

• Your sales stats.

• In depth current market statistics: Sales. listings, expireds, withdrawns, and days on market

• Absorption rates: How long will it take to sell - given current supply and demand?

Published: January 25, 2007

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Jim Crawford, ABR, e-PRO 500 is a Broker Associate with REMAX Greater Atlanta in Roswell, Georgia, where he and his wife, Ellen, work as a team in the northern Atlanta suburbs. His marketing ideas have been published in numerous trade publications and he is also an online real estate coach, with a self-tutorial coaching site for real estate professionals. Jim was a featured speaker at the November 2004 National Association of REALTORS® convention in Orlando, he also recently spoke at the Wisconsin REALTORS® convention in September 2005, and at the Atlantic Connection in Halifax Nova Scotia September 2006. Visit his website at RealEstateTechCoach.com, or e-mail him at .