Like most adults, we at Buyitprivately.com we have more than a mildly obsessive interest with the state of the housing market.

We look at blogs, price indices and news sites on a day to day basis.Barely a day goes by without the media rallying in one feverish direction - “House prices have gone up!” screams The Express, just as the rest of the press has finally decided that the crash has arrived.

But it appears that nobody is championing the middle ground - and it is a simple fact of the life that whilst the market has slowed down and potentially stands before a precipice, as I write this article prices are still relatively stable.

As I have written before, houses are still selling - just in smaller numbers. And the properties that are selling are the properties that are priced realistically.

I know the buyers are out there - there are still plenty of people surfing this website for example. The dip is barely noticeable. And I have a feeling that there are a large number of people waiting to pounce - if market conditions improve.

The problem is that as a nation our perception of our personal wealth has been determined by unsustainably high property price increases. As the value of our property has gone up, so we have all become more frivolous with our personal expenditure.

Thus, estate agents could be partly to blame, of course. Buyers, still desperate to hang on to their Summer 07 valuation are not being given the reality check that’s needed to move property in a market like this. The supply of property is still relatively low (though nothing like as the shortage of last year) so competition between agencies is fierce - and with that comes the overpriced valuation.So, 2008. The party may be over - but the business of selling property continues despite the headlines. And right now, it’s the realistically priced properties that are selling.

According to Rightmove, houses in the capital are taking on overage 87 days to sell, in other words the best part of three months.

Unlike the last year or so, when a seller could practically name his price and in many cases end up with a sealed bidding situation - the market has dramatically changed and the buyers are getting more demanding.

87 Days - that’s a substantial amount of time.

So what can the seller do to decrease this selling period?

1. Put a realistic price on the property. Despite the doom sayers there are still plenty of buyers out there - but they want a more realistic price. By selling privately you could consider chopping part of the agent’s fee off the price of your house - thus making your proposition much more attractive to potential buyers.

2. Sell privately. Back on the 15th June we reported that an Alliance And Leicester survey had shown that selling privately wasn’t just easier - it is faster too. Click http://www.buyitprivately.com/blog/?m=200706  to read the full article.

Remember - houses are still selling - and a realistically priced property in a good location is attractive as it ever was - you may just have to work a little harder to secure the sale.