All quiet on the front

Real estate activity in town is just about nonexistent. No contracts, no sales, few new listings and very, very few showings of existing listings. I was just speaking with a friend and fellow agent who told me that she has buyers with $4 million in cash who want a house in a specific part of town, on one of a few specific streets. There's nothing out there. I just checked, although my friend is one of the best agents working and would certainly know everything that's available and she's right: the one listing in that price range is in the wrong neighborhood (and hopelessly over-priced), another is on a very busy street and the handful of other listings are priced to appeal to Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and nobody else.

So we're in a quiet time. Tons of inventory, none of which appeals to buyers, a dearth of well-priced houses and a dwindling pool of buyers who still have the job security, cash and desire to move up. This won't last, I hope, but I do wonder if we'll see any resumption of business before the new year. I'm beginning to doubt it.