I don't understand some of you guys (both genders) out there. Are you really going to let the doomsday sayers have the last word and have your clients and customers have a "Chicken Little" view of the East End real estate market?

I emailed so many of you with Suffolk Research George Simpson's last six-month report ending Jan. 31, 2008 - both median prices and units sold fell, except for Shelter Island - to give you an opportunity to respond, but only a few (three actually) took advantage of the opportunity to recite your own spin. Look, you can't argue with numbers, but you can present interpretations rather than the NY Post's 'East End Market Falling' (page three) article and interview based on George's numbers.

Property listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Yes, well, those headlines sell newspapers, but needn't necessarily predict a rotten future for east end realtors and east end property owners. There are remedies and ways to make the best of it.

As I make suggestions, let me share the three responses to the Suffolk Research data. One from Prudential Douglas Elliman's Tom MacNiven, veteran broker and manager of their East Hampton office, who has been through market vagaries ups and down. "We had an extremely strong February and are off to a fantastic start in March. If the price is right…the property sells. Are prices correcting a bit at some price points? Yes! Is that necessarily a bad thing? Well, let's put it this way - any top athlete knows you don't get stronger by going flat out all the time. You go hard and then you rest. The rest makes you stronger in the long run. Why should real estate be any different? We're resting a bit!"

Thank you, Tom, for the good February news, and for the attitude.

Not only rest, guys, but do some buyer's market research to let all customers know the time to buy is now. Let clients know pricing is competitive so whatever range they are in they may want to have a long talk with the professionals. (That's you, Bub). After all who wants to buy at the top of the market? There must be some extraordinary values out there. Advertise them! (Don't shut down!) Contact buyers! Dig them up, as now is the time to get in the market in one of the most prestigious and gorgeous resort areas in the world!

The next response came from Barbara Feldman of BFDesigns who helps create the setting that make empty homes sell. "I've heard prices are dropping, but inventory is not. My staging business is one of the only ones out here that is growing as a result, a tough sell… [at the top of the market]…but is now welcomed as a marketing tool. We are finding that more buyers want the whole package, not a fixer-upper or an empty house that keeps them home weekends waiting for deliveries or schlepping their decorators out from NYC for months (even years) until they get their house in shape to enjoy it."

"Providing a well-designed, furnished house adds value to houses that have not been moving, and is a marketing tool for those houses that are getting lowball offers. It's an easier negotiation to include the furniture package as a trade-off against lowering a price." Feldman says, "Everyone comes out ahead since the cost of furnishing is usually less than a price decrease, especially for those houses that are $1.5 million and up. If a house sells one or two months sooner, the expenditure is mitigated by the decrease in monthly carrying costs."

Feldman goes on to say, "We're also seeing a transition from selling into renting, and the competition in this market is fierce. Those houses that have the most to offer will be snapped up first, so an appropriately designed interior that makes a buyer or renter feel like they could move right in gives the seller/landlord an advantage.

"It may have slowed down, and that emphasizes the need for buyers to feel like their getting value for their money whatever the price point," she ends.

And the third bit of information comes from mortgage broker, Kris Vanderslice, Senior Loan Originator, of The Manhattan Mortgage Company - "I've attached a press release for you regarding some of the changes in the marketplace. Many believe the Hamptons don't fall into an FHA category, but they have just increased their lending limit to approximately $729,000 which does apply for people who are purchasing more of the year-round properties in our area. It may help stimulate that lagging aspect of our region…east and west of the bridge."

East End Real Estate is a very strange business but one needn't surrender to numbers.