Not saying I've been known to exaggerate ..or blow a little smoke ...but "cute kitchen" can be a relative term. 

Housekeeping issues can be sticky ...I sometimes feel like I have to sugar coat things.. or walk softly.  I can empathize people -- believe me!

But two things that cause me trouble if I exaggerate or sugar coat them:

(1) The price I think you will get for your house --

 (2) What I think about the market we are selling in --

It's tempting when I'm looking into my seller's sweet, puppy dog eyes.. to say "Wow, this is nice!  Start packing this will sell fast!  Where do you want to price it?  Oh definately, I agree!"  But...

My broker puts it this way "I'd rather tell you now what I really think you will get for your home than put the wrong price on it and try to explain to you later why it hasn't sold."

With that in mind... Lately I have been talking about our local housing market in a very good light.   We are improving and the future is looking good -- infact, RIGHT NOW is looking good!

Not everyone believes me... (Wha??)

The following is a conversation I had on Linkedin the other day with someone who (it appears) has not spoken with a local Realtor about our market. 

I am not "blowing smoke" with this guy.  I quote him what's actually going on at our office. I really am expecting some great sales this year!  I hope I got thru to "SF"  but he sounds pretty indoctrinated with the negative stuff we are constantly being fed from other places....

Linkedin Convo from the Linking Terre Haute Group:

Debbie Hill • I'm experiencing GOOD THINGS connected to our local housing market. What's your experience? 'Just came out of a sales meeting where Brian Conley gave us great info about our LOCAL Real Estate market. If you have a house that could be priced between 100k and 250k NOW is the time to put it on the market. Our iventory is LOW in this price range!

SF • So long as the banks keep refusing to lend, you'll have very few buyers in that price range. The rise of rent/lease to own is the only good thing happening in the Terre Haute real estate market.

Debbie Hill • Hi S! So great to get a comment on my topic! Although, I really must respectfully disagree with you and here's a couple reasons why.. Our inventory in the Terre Haute MLS is the lowest it has been in 10 years.. GREAT time for buyers to buy. I just met with lenders from Terre Haute First Fiancial and they confirmed a USDA loan that can be had by a borrower with as low as 600 credit score. I have not experienced the banks refusing to lend. It has taken a little longer to get a few loans closed but we're ok with that. Rates are LOW.. really LOW. Thankfully Terre Haute is a "Market All It's Own" and buyers can take advantage of our stability.

SF • I don't disagree that it's a buyer's market and rates are really low. But 600 is still higher than the 520 it was a few years ago for FHA, and most of Vigo County is ineligible for USDA loans at 600, making 620 the de facto score for a buyer in Terre Haute. Generation Y (aka the Millennials) are screwed and will continue to be for 20+ years unless some reform happens at the Federal level. See: http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/education-planning/studen-loan-debt-bomb-threatens-us-housing-market

Debbie Hill • The mortgage business definately needed some correcting and although it does make some buyers with scores as low as you say ineligible for a mortgage, sales are not suffering. As of this moment 2:25pm on March 28th there are 68 pending sales on the board -- that's JUST AT COLDWELL BANKER! I can vouch that a good number of those are Generation Y'ers!

(This isn't me.. just a HAPPY Realtor!!!)

Check out this site: http://www.conleyappraisals.com/VigoCountyResidentialMarketStudy
This is great information about our MLS compiled by Brian Conley.. Call me and I'll go thru it with you!