These homes all shared a handful of common characteristics: •They had great floor plans, were in great locations, and showed beautifully. If they were missing any single one of these ingredients, they probably would have remained sitting on the market.•They were all well-marketed with professional staging and photography. With buyers looking online first, these elements can’t be overlooked by a good listing agent who wants to get their Seller the highest price.

•They were all priced right in the “sweet spots” that generate multiple offers. The comps for the Glen Park home probably indicated a selling price that could push up to $900K or above, but listing it just below $800K drew in many more buyers, who subsequently fell in love with the home’s charm and ‘just right’ location.

I’m finding my own buyers are picky and definite about their tastes. While they are ready to step up to the plate and aggressively compete for the property they really want to buy, they will pass on anything that doesn’t meet the criteria listed above.

As one of my esteemed associates put it: “It’s definitely not a buyer’s market in many areas of the city. There are a ton of buyers out there coming into open houses. . . They are strong financially, have good savings, and not a single one in the last several weeks has even made a sound like they think the market shifted, or that they are concerned by all the horror stories the media is spinning. Granted, there are grains of truth in some of the stories, but they are all out of perspective, and the media is seizing on people’s fears. I started selling real estate when loans were 18%, so I find it hard to take all this loan stuff seriously. To me, the reality is that the rates are great, even though they’ve gone up, inventory is fairly low, and there are still plenty of buyers competing. . .”

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