The only market that matters is yours!

Recently on the Today Show, during a segment on the national real estate market, CNBC's Jim Kramer uncompromisingly stated, "now is the absolutely worst time to buy!"

There is little doubt that remarks such as these from so-called experts have been pushing potential buyers to the sidelines.

Here's what Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of Keller Williams Realty has to say about waiting out the current market:

First, residential real estate is not a national market product - it is a local one. To say from a national position that this is either a good time or a bad time to buy real estate is like saying the national forecast for the U.S. today is 92 degrees - it is a useless and irrevelant perspective. What is happening in your local market is all that matters.

Second, trying to predict when it is a good time to buy, or not, means you're trying to time the market. Staying on the sidelines is the surest way for most people to never time anything correctly.

Last, and maybe most important - there are always two markets in every market. There is the market of properties that are good buys and there is the market that are not good buys. Interestingly enough, this is true in either buyer or seller markets. To categorically say that this is the time to buy or not is absolutely ignoring the fact that every market really has two markets inside it.

So, what does the picture look like in the New Bern, Havelock, Oriental area. Well, it happens that those of us in the real estate business have been taking a serious look at the situation in recent weeks. In the current market, there is presently an excellent selection of homes, more homes than there are buyers for. As a result, the prices of these homes are being reduced and offers are being thoughtfully considered. In addition, interest rates have remained quite low. Our thoughts are that this is the beginning of a superb time for buying real estate, whether it be a single home or several investment properties. Not everything on the market is an exceptional buy, so you will need to do some shopping as always, but there are a lot of very good properties available.