I was in the office the other day and several of our top producers were discussing the current market situation. The general consensus was that things have pretty much stalled to a full stop. The old cliché "dead in the water" applies. These agents usually are very busy this time of the year but were now lamenting the fact that the market slowdown has finally caught up with them. One said that all here listings have sold and  getting new ones is not happening as it normally does. Several other were bemoaning the fact that they still have a fairly good inventory of homes listed, but none of them are moving at all, in fact many are simply not being looked at. This seems to reflect the national mood of buyers right now. They're scared to make a move. Any move. Consequently listings are stale and some are starting to rot. Agents with these listings are still under the seller's gun to advertise, advertise, advertise. Certainly not a positive for the agents wallet. Sellers need to get with the situation. Pricing a home in today's market is complicated. You need an experienced agent to help do that, one who has some real market background, certainly not one of the newbie agent wannabes that seem to pop out from behind every telephone pole. Price reductions are not the answer, they usually don't work very well. Sellers need to be very selective as to who they choose as an agent to represent their best interests. Needless to say, buyers need to adhere to the same process, more especially in today's market. Paying too much for a home could turn out to be a very serious error.

Having been in the business for 18 years I have seen many, many agents come and go. This year and in the coming year I'm sure I will see a real exodus from the business due to this national and local downturn. Speaking of which I have some more data to share with you from the West Penn Multi List. This is a chart showing 3rd quarter MLS sales over the past 4 years. As you will see the selected local areas I have showing which includes the 5000 (Peters Twp, Nottingham Twp, Union Twp, N Strabane Twp); 5120 (City of Washington, Canton Twp, Amwell Twp, N/S Strabane Twps, N/S Franklin Twps); 5100 (Claysville, Donegal, Blaine and just about everything west of Washington to the WVA border) are declining in closings this year, some significantly.

If you want to get daily updates on new listings coming on the market in Washington County, just visit my website where this information is updated every day.

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