OPPOSING THE NAYSAYERS

"When I go to cocktail parties some body will ask me. 'What do you do?' I say I 'Ill a Realtor, and the response I get is, 'Gee, l ' m sorry.'

I tell people, 'You're saying that because values are down right now. But what you should be thinking is that there is tremendous buying opportunity out there. You should be looking to get into a more expensive property."When properties do start going back up in value, the more expensive ones are going to go up even faster. This is the time you should be buying the most expensive properly you can comfortably afford."

And he dismisses the notion that the home seller could be taking a beating.

"Sure, you're selling for less – but you're also buying for less. I f you had a house that had a value once of$600,OO0 and it's now worth $450,000, you think you're losing $ 1 50,000 in equity. But you need to remember that the house that once had a $ 1 million value is now selling for $750,000. You make a net gain by moving up."

And the very next sentence he wants buyers to hear is: "People who are buying real estate today are going to be thought of as geniuses in 10 years."

He concedes prices may still drop over the next 12 months or longer, but over the next 10 years real estate will appreciate.

"History repeals itself," he says. "In 10 years or less values will be fantastic compared to what they are today."