To quote a 1960s and 1970s reponse, "RIGHT ON, BROTHER! And to quote a saying approaching 100 years in longevity, "Old REALTORS never die, they just get listless!" ANON, circa 1908. Thank you for the timely reminder of where bread and butter come from in our line of work. My first and only sponsoring broker explained the value of sellers to me in this manner. "Philip, having houses in your inventory is like having peanut butter and jelly on your shelves, if you own a grocery store. When the consumer comes in and says, "Got any peanut butter and jelly here," you had better be able to say, "Yes, let me walk you to aisle 4." And, if you are really a good and 'SMART' store owner, you add, "Did you know that today you get 2 for one on any name brand peanut butter if you buy own new store brand jelly? And, that out fresh, baked today, store brand bread is 3 for one if you buy that jelly?" Carl Sanders, my first and only sponsoring broker, saw preparation and service response as the key to his bottom line. He spurred me to focus on inventory. He would match buyers and sellers in his mind, long before a listing or buyer inquiry occurred. He made it look E-Z. He made it look fun. He knew that almost everyone was a prospect of some kind for some thing and he never quit seeing opportunity in everyone he me. Yet, inventory, I did find out, was never enough. Just like "name brand" peanut butter, there is more to inventory than the generic description of 'dwelling' or 'house' or even the more emotionaslly lush descriptor of 'home'. Why? Because homes are not SOLD in America, they are financed! And that is what prompted today's comments to spark the interest to share back that what matters in this market is how to get the money to buy the "dwelling-house-home" or whatever the buyer may view the property offering as being in their emotional eye. I'd rather 100 listings than 100 buyers anytime. And, I can sell those 100 listings during a listing period EVERYTIME by focusing on sellable inventory, just like in the peanut butter and jelly story. That's right, just like the pb&j with the FRESH BREAD tease. Here how it works in the real estate inventory department. "When the price of any property offering, when the terms of financing made available for the buyer by the seller, when the condition of the subject property are all in line with the current market to offset the competition of other comparable properties, with a factor thrown in to offset whether or not it is a buyers' or sellers' market, YOU WILL HAVE A TIMELY SALE." This long sentence is the equivalent of a Christian missionary's quotation of John 3:16 - it opens up the door to the entire study of what it is all about. The 'it', in the case of real estate, is the fact that without inventory, and that would include new construction through a builder, a buyer representative doesn't have anything but a pre-approved buyer with money burning a hole in the proverbial pocket. How does this translate to "sellable" inventory when the market favors the pre-approved buyer with money burning a hole in the proverbial pocket? This buyer, if informed, will buy the "dwelling-house-home" or whatever the buyer may view the property offering as being in their emotional eye that offers the "not over market value" (genuinely APPRAISABLE by the lender) price, the best terms that move him/her/them into the property with the property condition being in line with what pricing and competing property offerings indicate is "in line with the market". Is this successful? My personal best year is 161 listings and using this, shall we call it the PTC (Price - Terms - Conditions) inventory approach to successful sales. Out of those 161 listings, 160 closed, (not just sold but closed). So, when a prospective seller says, "Well, we think we will list with this HUGE, many bodied, NATIONALLY known company, I am able to state unequivocally that their choice does not have the best mathematical odds of a timely sale as I know that there is no "HUGE, many bodied, NATIONALLY known company or even large local company", together with all it's rookie license holders, that can beat the odds of 160/161. It isn't the individual persuasive personality that makes the sales, it isn't a litany of manipulative selling techniques that gets the buyer's ink pen to the paper, but rather it is simply this: Buyers and Sellers do determine value and they both do and will recognize fairness coupled with perceived value, when and if they have the right information professionally delivered to their platform for decision making. One more time: "When the price of any property offering, when the terms of financing made available for the buyer by the seller, when the condition of the subject property are all in line with the current market to offset the competition of other comparable properties, with a factor thrown in to offset whether or not it is a buyers' or sellers' market, YOU WILL HAVE A TIMELY SALE." As long as all of us, myself, you...everyone involved in the real estate industry, avoid and stop when possible the infiltration of fraud in pricing, terms and property conditions, this method of real estate counseling will continue to support your blog comments that "inventory matters". Time to go to the local store for some PB&J. I wonder which store is most likely to have what I want? Ahhh..some fresh bread to go along with the PB&H. I wonder if there is a sale today on the fresh bread? To reiterate you well-honed conclusion: "The most effective way to respond to a market shift is to stay on course, not to react, and to stick with a business plan that creates a foundation of growth for the future." I submit that, one more time, now, the following does, has and will always do exactly that: "When the price of any property offering, when the terms of financing made available for the buyer by the seller, when the condition of the subject property are all in line with the current market to offset the competition of other comparable properties, with a factor thrown in to offset whether or not it is a buyers' or sellers' market, YOU WILL HAVE A TIMELY SALE." Thank you for you thoughts.