I’ve been out with several buyers these last few weeks. All have been sophisticated internet shoppers with very clear ideas about what they’re looking for: views, space, upgrades, location. But at the top of everyone’s list is a great deal. Because when you’re buying in a market that isn’t so stable, you want to give yourself the biggest cushion possible, as things will probably get worse before they get better.

Why are they buying rather than renting? Various reasons, but usually it’s about control. They want to own the property so that they can decorate, landscape and upgrade it however they want. And they are often planning to stay in the property for years, which gives the market time to work itself out before they have to worry about it again.

My buyers are mostly folks from out of town, looking to relocate. They usually have 20% down, high credit scores and are coming to the table with plain old vanilla 30-year fixed loans. They’ve got so much to look at, it can really be daunting. So we focus on the best values, as in, homes offering the most bells and whistles for the least amount of money.

Grossly overpriced? We’ll never see it. But we’ll see lots of other houses. One couple looked at 30 houses per day for four days straight before making their decision two weeks later. If your house doesn’t stand out, we won’t even remember it.

I was particularly struck by how much prices have been slashed by new homebuilders. Talon Pointe in Somersett used to sell those beautiful little view homes on the ridge for $650K+… now they’ve scaled back pricing to the high threes, for a quality-built, panoramic view home in Somersett. Allegedly these prices are just above cost. I imagine Ryder is pushing onward to keep the machine going and finish out the subdivision. The neighbors can’t be happy, but what can they do?

 Toll Brothers has taken similar action at Dorado in Damonte Ranch. Where once, these beautiful decked-out duets sold for the high fives and up, now they’re starting in the high threes. I hear the guy who paid $800K for his highly upgraded special unit is furious, but what can anyone do? Markets go up and markets go down. Hopefully he’ll enjoy the property and maybe even retire there.

We saw a lot of empty houses. Judging by the dead bugs, ice cold temperature and little rodent poops, some had been vacant for a very long time. Many were in South Meadows and Northwest Suburban, but we also found them in the Old Southwest, Galena Estates and Caughlin Ranch. No neighborhood seems to be entirely immune.

Not a short sale! has become a badge of honor for any well-priced listing. We saw many short sales. Some were with agents who knew the bank and seemed to have the process all dialed in, others were with agents struggling to understand the process, and some were with experienced agents dealing with difficult, non-responsive banks.

After inquiring on several such properties, I’ve come to the conclusion that unless you have all the time in the world to wait for a response, it’s probably better to let the house go through foreclosure and back to the bank. Once the banks own them, they seem a lot more willing to make a deal.

So as foreclosure sales exceed resales, as 96% of standing inventory lingers on, and as banks reduce prices on their properties in the MLS, Centex Cyan sells 20 homes a month. The banks and builders are leading the way, along with the occasional smart seller who prices her home to move no matter what the market is doing.

We have a long way to go.