PRESS RELEASE

(October, 2006) – Rarely a day goes by when a Realtor® is not posed the question, "How is the market?". It always reminds me of an opportunity I had in the late 70's to spend some time with real estate training guru, Tom Hopkins. Being from Arizona, Tom wanted to know how the market was here in Connecticut. Now, if you remember this time, interest rates were near 18% and the honest answer was "not good". Tom's reply was, "you mean unbelievable?". "No, not unbelievable Tom, the market's awful." His response, "that's what I said, unbelievable, unbelievably bad!"

Tom was right, the market was unbelievable, but it was also starting to change. The late 70's become the early 80's and the market started to take off like a rocket ship. It was up, up and away for several years until the late 80's when the market proceeded to drop like a rock. The problem at that time was not so much interest rates as simple economics, supply and demand. Plenty of inventory, badly inflated prices, and buyers no longer willing to pay those prices nearly brought the market to a standstill. It was time for another market adjustment and 1990 was an awful year for Realtors®.

But, the real estate world is cyclical, and the market turned again in the early 90's and stayed vibrant right up through 2005, a terrific run for buyers, sellers and Realtors® too! While other industries struggled, the real estate market stayed hot, being fueled by historically low interest rates. That brings us to 2006, and what is going on now? If you listen to the news and read newspapers, one would think the real estate market is dead in the water. Is this true? The answer is NO! Yes, unit sales are down and inventory is up, but real estate is selling!

If you are a buyer, it's opportunity time. There is lots of supply, softer demand, motivated sellers and low interest rates too. Plus, as we approach the holidays, typically a slower time, why not take advantage of pursuing the American Dream?

If you are a seller, don't panic. Keep the faith. Have your Realtor® do a market analysis of what has closed recently, not what sold last year. Listen to your Realtor's® advice, they are the experts! Most importantly, be reasonable and patient as we are not seeing many multiple offers or properties coming and going in a day as we have in recent years.

Clearly the market is not as sensational as it had been for several years. This does not mean it's a bad market. It means that we have returned to normality, something we have not seen in a long time!

And remember the answer the next time someone asks you how's the market: It's unbelievable!

Cash Mitchell is Vice President and Residential Sales Manager of H. Pearce Company Guilford Office.

H. Pearce Company REALTORS® is a full-service real estate company with more than 140 agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline. Corporate and Industrial & Commercial offices are located in North Haven, where the company was founded in 1958. All listings can be found in color on the web at: www.hpearce.com.