Continuing my trend of taking national conversations and localizing them …

Myth 1 – Sellers are desperate. Some are; some aren’t.

Myth 2 – Don’t buy until prices bottom. We won’t know when the bottom was until we have the benefit of hindsight.

Myth 3 – You need 20% down to buy a home. We covered this a few months ago.

Myth 4 – Now is the worst time to sell. Maybe; depending on your situation it could be. I’m not a fan of blanket statements; every situation is different.

Myth 5 – Shop around before you refinance. Eh; I’d still advise calling at least two local lenders.

I’ve mentioned Barbara Corcoran before – July of 2007, where she discussed “kiddie condos” and in 2005 when she declared there was “no bubble” … one thing with which I do agree is this from 2005 –

What does the future hold for independents? A: I think the future belongs to small brokers, and I’m one of the [few] people to say that. The big guy clearly has the corner on the money, and that’s the downside to being little. But the little guy has the corner on creativity. Our business is a transaction business — wham, bam, thank you ma’am. We need to be responsive to a changing market. And more often than not, the little guy can move. The big guy is still thinking about it.

I just think we have a pattern here — that little people will always find a home in real estate, because it’s cheap to get in. When they grow to middle size, half fall off because it’s hard to maintain, and the other half grow, get tired of it, and sell to the big guys.

If a big brand comes in that everyone knows, it’s intimidating and a formidable competitor [for small players]. But the fact of the matter is, as long as a local broker can make a big brand in a local market, national and everything else doesn’t matter.