Well it's the beginning of 2009 and I think we will all agree that we have seen a decline in housing prices as compared to a year ago, and a sellers market to a buyers market( sellers market is when we have less homes for sale and more buyers looking for a home that is why home prices go up and  a buyers market is when we have more homes for sale in the market and less buyers looking  now there are economic factors that play roles in the market but that's for another day) in almost all areas of real estate. Now that being said we definitely have sellers who have found it difficult to come to terms as to what their home is worth in this market.

 Why is it that all investments that one could make they view their home differently and that a purchaser of their home would not have the same view as everybody else out there when it comes to investing ?

Let me explain  what I mean by that ?

If you bought Yahoo stock at its high of $108 per share and had to sell today, you would
understand that you could sell your stock at most for $11 per share. You might be disappointed to
take the loss but if you HAD to sell you certainly wouldn't price it at $12 per share especially
if you thought prices would continue to go down. You would feel lucky to sell it at $11 per share.
In other words, I doubt you would tell your stock broker I don't care that it is only worth $11 per
share today, I have over $100 invested in that stock and I need that money to pay off my credit
card. Your stock broker without hesitation  would let you know that the market does not care how much you paid for the stock; the market does not care that you need the money you have invested to pay off your credit card. A buyer will pay the market value of that stock. They will pay the $11 per share. And so it is with the housing market. A home is an investment. And the fundamentals of
investing and economics apply. In a declining market, a buyer is always looking for the best
value  they are looking for the deal. We accept this principal with other investments, so why
is it so difficult to accept with regards to the value of our homes?
I notice that even with having all of the market statistics (facts and reality) sellers still think that
their house is better than everyone elses and therefore is entitled to a higher price than the
same house down the street. People feel that they are unique and special. I guess it therefore
stands to reason that their houses are also special. And to add fuel to the fire, as a homeowner
personalizes and customizes their home to make it more like them (by investing more money in
it), it begins what we call My home an extension of myself syndrome. The syndrome can be
described as the intrinsic value a seller places on their home as a result of having lived in it and
improving it according to their liking. Their identity becomes wrapped up in their home. This
ultimately shows up as an unrealistic price that the seller thinks their house is worth when they
go about selling it  they really think a buyer will pay more for that very special extension of
self. Problem is  they are wrong. Buyers just don't care.
Yes. The cold reality is that buyers don't care. They don't care what we paid. They don't care
what we invested in our special granite counter tops ( the buyer may want marble or different color granite because you don't have the same taste as they might) and upgraded carpeting (instead they might prefer hardwood not carpeting let alone upgraded carpeting) you see these are personal choices one makes when making that house into their home, oh and they don't care about the
time we invested in our landscaping. And they definitely don't care we need that additional ten grand to buy our new house. They are indifferent that we are taking a loss. In any market, a buyer only cares
about their situation which requires finding the best house at the lowest price. In a declining market like today, the lowest price is the home with a deal price attached.

 Bottom line:Buyers do not buy overpriced homes in a declining market.