If I said we had a housing shortage, people would think I'd lost my sanity.

It certainly feels like a shortage. If you look at raw numbers, the fact is that we still have an oversupply of homes in the Las Vegas area. But with most of the homes on the market priced well beyond what buyers are willing to pay, most homes just aren't going to sell any time soon.

If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say, "The seller needs to get real and drop the price if he wants to sell it," I'd take all those dimes and buy every REO I could get my hands on right now. When you have a mortgage that's twice the value of your home today, you can't sell it except as a short sale or by coming out of pocket with a big chunk of money. No matter how motivated most sellers are, they can't drop the price low enough to sell their home.

So we have an oversupply of homes for sale. But with only 2100 REOs on the market and fierce competition for those homes, it feels like a shortage. The good news for some sellers is that their homes are getting shown more now. With strong demand for homes today, and fewer REOs on the market, buyers are beginning to look at some of these privately-owned homes again. I'm seeing increased activity on my listings. This may change again, at least for awhile, when the banks release more REOs.

Here at Top10RealEstateValues.com, we continue to grow. I'm proud to introduce 3 new agents. Lucy Stewart is a former Clark County zoning director, and brings a wealth of knowledge in land use and planning to our team. Linda Masciola has years of experience in real estate sales. Patricia Hernandez is bilingual, and a former restaurateur. I'm disappointed to have lost Cailin, who moved on; she is a bright young woman and future superstar.

We recently introduced a cellphone application to a limited number of our clients who agreed to be "beta testers". This application allows our clients to search for homes very easily from their own cellphones – very handy for clients who want to drive neighborhoods and view homes without being trapped in the back seat of a Realtor's car. Buyers can find the price on any house on the MLS, and this gps-based application will map other homes for sale in the neighborhood. So far the feedback is great: easy to use, fun, and very helpful in finding the best deals in any area. We'll roll this out soon to all of our clients; in the meantime, if you'd like to be a beta tester, just ask.

As an aside – my clients can't accuse me of holding them hostage, trapped in the back seat of my car until they buy! I drive a Corvette; a two-seater. As any of my clients who've been out looking at homes with me can attest to, riding with me would be a very scary experience. My driving style could best be described as Creative, Freestyle Driving; those white lines and road signs are merely suggestions. My clients prefer to follow me in their own car, quickly becoming adept in Intuitive Driving techniques. What is Robin about to do? Will she turn on that street 12 feet ahead without ever slowing down or even using her turn signal?

So I'm not the hard-sell type. I sell a lot of homes; I must be doing something right. I think people appreciate that I'm  there to advise and counsel, not to "sell". I listen well, and I show my clients just what they tell me they are looking for. When I take them to the perfect home, they make an offer. I don't ever want to influence someone's decision; I prefer to help buyers see the pros and cons in any home they view.  After all, that's how I want to be treated.