The most asked question to any realtor...Who's the market?  Most everyone assumes it is pretty bad, they read things in the paper, get statistics like new home sales, construction starts, etc.  Really the market is more closely back to normal than being bad. Here's what I mean: When the market is normal, there are often more choices for buyers to make, inventory is fairly good, and the quality of real estate gets more scrutiny than when the market is hot and buyers are forced to act irrationally. To put it in prospective, inventory in Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga is about 200 units (condos and single family homes) back in 1995, a time before the market took off and after the market downturn in 1990, there were nearly 400 units on in Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga.  A property in a poor location, a problematic property, for example, soils issues, poor condition, immediate corrective work required, will have a tough time selling. The market is littered with properties that have  been on the market for over 6 months.  Quality real estate, in the current market, will sell very quickly, sometimes more multiple offers, unless of course it is completley mispriced which has been a fairly common occurance.  Fixer uppers used to sell in a minute, but many of those buyer candidates where the "flippers" (a topic for another post) who obtained non documented loan approval and or got taught the lesson of why flipping is really a myth. Most fixer buyers are gone and or finanically upside down, so the home needing repair has less candidates than before.  It's a great time to buy, low interest rates, depressed pricing, one simply has to be qualified to get financing. Buyers are back to being buyers....you know, the mentality of taking a month to buy a new TV set, let alone a home.  If you own solid real estate, a good location, a desirable home, you're in great shape.  As I have always told clients, you can sell good real estate easily in any market.