"We are committed to ensuring that our clients have a 'Zipity Duda day' when buying or selling a home but sellers need to know that single family homes sales are down 16.2% over the same period last year but sales of homes over $500,000 are up 2%. However home sales between $200,000 and $499,000 are down 13% and homes priced under $200,000 are down 18%, price ranges where the majority of buyers have been purchasing. We are staging all of our properties and we reimburse the seller at the time of closing for the initial consultation to stage the home. We furnish vacant homes so that buyers can envision themselves living in the property because empty houses do not show well, lack warmth and usually take twice as long to sell. The number of homes listed for sale that failed to sell is at an all time record at 58.8% with an average of 63 days on the market. The number of home sales that involved a price reduction to get an offer is up to 31% compared to 26% last year and 80% of sellers are paying some portion of closing costs. And there is no shortage of excess inventory from which buyers can chose: 17.6 months for homes over $500,000, 9.7 months for homes priced between $200,000 and $499,000 and 7.6 months for homes under $200,000."

"There is good news but with a catch. In the current market, homes are selling for top dollar in less than 30 days, and often with multiple offers but they must have four basic ingredients: have the absolute best price, be in the best location (or lot), be in the best condition, and must look and smell better than anything that is comparable in the market place."

Rick Duda is a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Cityside where he works with a select number of investors, other Realtors, and home owners in central and northwest metro Atlanta. Mr. Duda holds the prestigious e-Pro designation and has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, has a BBA with a double major in marketing and real estate, and also earned his MBA with a major in finance. Additional statistics for condominium sales and copies of the full reports are available on the company web site.