Southampton - Who says the market is dead and what have you sold lately are the two most popular questions making the rounds in real estate offices around the South Fork as agents hunker down for a long cold winter or a busy selling season.

Veteran broker Jeanine Edington of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Bridgehampton office stepped up to plate to speak positively. "Who says the market is dead?" she asked to no one in particular. "I don't listen to the media." She has six deals in contract and an office wall filled with inspirational quotes jotted down hastily on napkins as she makes her way around town networking and searching for the next listing. She rarely goes to the office preferring to work at home with a full time assistant.

"I run this like a business," Edington said. "I make a cup of coffee and head over to my desk early in the morning." The hard working agent stays there until at least 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. "Sometimes I work later."

Edington arrived in the Hamptons eight years ago from her native Kentucky where she grew up on a dairy farm years before she turned to real estate and got hooked. She set up two offices, one in Louisville, Kentucky and another just across the border in Southern Indiana. Working with a staff of three assistants and one sales agent the charming Southern gal was able to sell 125 homes a year. She entered the Hamptons market full-time a few years ago. "I just love it here," she said, "I couldn't go back to Kentucky."

Like most agents who stay in the business through markets that are alternately good or bad, Edington says the business is in her blood. She loves her work.

"It is always interesting," she said as her workday began to wind down late in the afternoon. "You never get bored with this job." Then she reeled off a list of job descriptions involved in the multi-faceted task of selling a house. You have to be an advisor and a counselor. You need to be a stager. It helps to be a good photographer and advertising copywriter. Aggressive marketing helps a lot too.

Jeanine Edington, of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Bridgehampton office.

A contact list that now tops out at over 5,000 names combined with a customer list of 1,500 potential buyers helps to keep the phones ringing. Email blasts alerting this network to new listings spreads the word, along with persistent advertising and marketing. Edington relies heavily on internet advertising noting nearly 90 percent of home buyers start their search online. She has her own website aptly named www.sellingthehamptons.com.

Edington cuts to the chase as she describes the way she works. "I keep this simple," she said. "You only need one buyer for each house." Edington foregoes what she describes as a cookie cutter approach to selling preferring instead to concentrate on each listing. She has a coach who has guided her for the last 10 years as she honed her sales techniques. "He is one of the top in the United States," she said before she turned to her wall of napkins in her home office. This engaging broker loves to list and sell while her assistant handles details relating to marketing. She prides herself on the number of doubled-ended deals she has gotten into contract. "I sell a lot of my own listings," Edington said. "My marketing campaign is designed to bring the buyers right to me."

Right now new construction is moving along with waterfront homes and houses with water views. "Anything that is best of show will sell," she said noting correct pricing is crucial. The six deals heading to the closing table soon are all under $2 million. "But there's a lot of interest in my other listing," Edington said noting her highest priced listings are in the $3 million to $6 million range right now.

"I didn't back away from the market," Edington said recalling 2006 and 2007. "I didn't depend on it to support my business. I just went to work and did what I do."

"We try to keep everything positive," she said. "We laugh all day." Then she shared some of her favorite quotations. "In a windstorm even turkeys can fly," followed by the classic "Are we having fun yet???" with three question marks for added emphasis. "It's only when we get too serious that trouble arises," and "Today and always let joy be your compass." The last napkin quote she read summed it up best. "When choosing a direction in life chose the path of your heart. Do what you love and follow your bliss."

Editor's Note: "Broker's Outlook" is a new column here at Hamptons.com where we invite all real estate agents from across the Hamptons and East End to be part of the story discussing their take on the Hamptons real estate market. For details contact info@hamptons.com.