I’ve been to about half of the cities on the list. I like all of them (excluding one). The cities on the list are larger, small-cities that have retained much of their culture and older character, while embracing a positive approach toward developing a local and national business culture.

I know from my own buyer’s, as well as the feedback from many other agents, as well as looking at the market (agent access to MLS data, along with the large amount of showings I do), that our market is in serious need of good listings.

There are still quite a few listings on the market which have not yet sold, but this is usually a pricing, presentation and marketing issue.

The fact is, our local inventory is down, significantly, over the past year, and there are plenty of buyers locked and loaded at our great rates, waiting for the right home.

My advice to those with a good home: put it on the market this spring. If it is priced moderately well, is dialed-in (needs very little work) and it is marketed right, I firmly believe it will sell quite successfully.

Timing is not everything though. Timing is the first half. The second half is having your investment tools ready and in order; lender backing/pre-approval, cash moved into position, knowledge of the market so that when you pull the trigger, you are confident in your decision, as well as having discipline and the confidence to make a smart move. These are the basics that an opportunistic investor must have.

Also, Robert Schiller is quoted as saying that over the next 3-5 years, real estate values in the U.S. (in general) could possibly drop 10%-25%. That’s quite a broad range, and with it would be tough to lose, with a prediction like that. I think the 25% part, or anything near that is highly unlikely.

I think it is a great time to purchase homes, so long as you stick to the basic rules of smart investing/buying.

Obviously a fast reduction in the job market (going from 4.5% to around 10%) has been a major factor in the reduction of home  ownership. The job market affects all areas. Also, in tandem with this were people getting ARM loans that they could not longer afford: Once the terms adjusted and their equity dropped, millions have had to give the home up, either through short sale, foreclosure or outright abandonment.

I hesitate to say we are at the bottom, but I will say that if our unemployment numbers do not get worse, or if they get just a bit better, we should be seeing a level of parity with home ownership @ 65%-66%.

Yesterday, I received a text from a friend of mine who lives in Linden Hills who told me one of my bus-bench ads ‘grew a beard…Chuck Norris-style’ – I laughed and assumed it was the typical black-marker beard job, and thus called my sales rep at US Bench. He said ‘no problem’.

Well, last eve when I took my kids to Dairy Queen on 50th, I decided to drive by the 49 1/2 and France bus-bench to see what I would look  like with a beard. What I did not realize was that my friend meant ‘Chuck Norris-style’ quite literally.

Somebody actually took the time to print-out Chuck’s head – to-scale – and put it on my body, with a very permanent adhesive/glue.

I’ve gotten quite a few calls/emails/texts since yesterday. This has been good for quite a few laughs. Not too bad. Once my rep at US Bench found out the permanence of this one, (understandably) he was not too happy.