There is no easy way to say it: The market is painfully slow for sellers. The only cure for what ails us right now is time. We need time to get the low-priced, bank-owned, and or otherwise foreclosed homes off the market. Too many times I am asked about listing a house only to find that it was purchased in 1995 for $125,000 and then there was an equity line taken out on it (to pay for those granite counters) in 1998 for $20,000. There was a re-finance loan in 2002 for $155,000 to pay off the equity line and the first mortgage and now the house across the street with everything but the granite counters is vacant, bank-owned and on the market for $98,900. I hate to walk away from business, but in this case I would have no choice.   The problem is that this case is far less fictional than you might think! Americans rode a wave for a few years. Property values went up, up, up until  confidence in the ability of borrowers to repay all those re-financed, overly leveraged loans came into question. Suddenly the value went down but the debt secured by the property stayed where it was.   That's where we are at this point. Selling a home for what is owed on it is more challenging than it has been in a long time. Patience and  the willingness to negotiate while understanding that the big profit you had dreamed about is not possible in most cases are essential elements to the process.