Looking for that magical solution to your home selling situation? I believe there are over 800 sellers in Williamsburg Virginia that have the same question.

It's hard to be both optimistic and realistic at the same time. As a listing agent as well as a buyers agent, I see and appreciate both sides of a contract often.  As a listing agent, I must be optimistic about the current market for both buyers and sellers. It is the realistic part that is a little more difficult to get both sides to agree to.

Realistically, if a home is priced to sell, there is a buyer ready to buy-even in todays market. There really are quite a few buyers looking. And realistically-many sellers are priced below market value and still willing to negotiate. But not all. If you purchased your home after 2006 and are trying to sell right now at more than you paid, don't look for a quick sale or a reasonable offer (in your opinion). Think of buying a car and deciding to trade it in a year or two. To say the least, you will be very disappointed in your trade value!

When I look at the asking price and what homes have sold for in the last 60 days, I see the prices we were selling them for in 2004-2005. That's not to say that prices have gone down. I'd rather say they realistically stopped going up at that point. Here's another way to look at it. If we take mid 2004 to mid 2005 stats out of the equation and figure a consistent 3 % increase in value annually-we will be at the selling price range today, that we had in the mid 2004-mid 2005 period. You just have to really understand that those prices were influenced by a great demand and limited supply, fueled by easy credit (money and terms).

So when you are looking at your options for buying or selling, consult your Realtor and ask what the price range was during that time period. In most of the communities I have been listing and selling in (23185,23168,23188), this is what I've found. A buyer should be satisfied that they are buying today at realistic prices, and the seller should be satisfied that they listed and sold their property in a reasonable amount of time. The longer the credit and economic crisis lingers we may find ourselves looking beyond 2004-perhaps into the 2002-2003 period for correct pricing.

 Trust me, I'm optimistic that this thought process will work for you too!

Jim Mellen, Liz Moore and associates Realtors, Licensed in Virginia