Is it just because I am in the real estate business that every time I read a news article, there is something negative about the real estate market? It seems that the so-called real estate slump dominates the doom and gloom news, with blogs such as Real Estate Doom , the venerable Wall Street Journal and everyone else who thinks they understand the housing market, jumping on the band wagon.

I am supposed to be optimistic here, but I do feel the need to continue to explore this negative news media juggernaut and to share some of the slump talkers’ comments with you in the shared posts and the Blogrolls. Everyone is on the Macro picture, with a few hyper-negative snips (like October sales in California down 40% from October, 2006).

Folks, it just ain’t that way in Memphis, and if you are waiting to buy until real estate prices hit bottom, or waiting to sell until prices soar, well, remember we are in Memphis. To say our real estate market isn’t exciting may be bad wording, but our market is more like riding down Hiway 61 down into the Delta than riding the Zippin Pippin. Not many thrills and chills in getting from point A to point B.

I stand by a post I did a while back http://memphisrealestate.blogspot.com/2007/10/be-not-afraid-home-buyers.html. I will say something at the Micro level that the media won’t: we have great homes here for any price range buyer; we have great mortgage rates; and we have a market that will ever so slowly turn back upward. If you want to buy and you can qualify to buy, now is the time. If you are a motivated seller, you can sell your home and do well.