The Dream Is Over

I imagine that not all of the pressure to keep prices high comes from clients. Real estate agents have an incentive to keep sale prices high as low sales prices of comparable homes will drive down their commission. Still I suppose they have to give up the dream at some point, too.

TAMPA - Real estate agent Tony Rojas loves his job. But there's one thing that drives him crazy: unrealistic sellers who insist on asking buyers to pay boom-year sales prices despite profound drops in area home values.

So he has decided to walk away. In essence, he's firing them.

"We as Realtors have two choices," said Rojas, of ReMax Realty Associates in Tampa. "We can tell clients what they want to hear. Or we can tell them the truth: Values have dropped.

"Some clients get so mad when I tell them what their home is really worth that they won't even call me back. I have 40 to 50 listings. I have to get really serious about selling."

That's a lot of listings.