We continue to be in a 'Buyer's Market'. Lots of homes, few Buyers!

That said, if you are a seller, it would also be to your benefit to contact an experienced Realtor. The experienced Realtor will know the market conditions on a daily basis and could possibly earn you many dollars more by helping to price your home according to current market.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, to be in the very best position to purchase, I would recommend that you contact a lender and ask to be pre-qualified. That will enable you to not only present an offer, but to accompany that offer with a letter of pre-qualification from your lender.

**Be sure to check out the Inventory List below to view the number of available properties within your price range**

1.NORTHEAST:

This area is the first choice of most homebuyers based on its image of better schools, more prestigious neighborhoods and fashionable shopping centers. Many of the upscale neighborhoods have become the favorite haunts of white-collar professionals drawn to the city's universities, medical facilities and law offices.

Highlights: Goodwood, a restored plantation mansion built in the 1830s; Los Robles, Tallahassee's first suburb and a favorite for artists, writers and young government workers; recently spiffed-up Lake Ella's walking path and mid-lake fountain; Dorothy P. Oven Park for a fairy-tale wedding; Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens, home of a dazzling display of trees, shrubs and flowers; Phipps-Overstreet Nature Trail, with 678 acres of biking, hiking and horseback riding paths between lakes Jackson and Hall.

Recent Additions: Super Wal-Mart, anchor for Bull Run, a 427-acre mega-complex off Thomasville Road of 745 proposed residential units, along with more than 300,000 square feet of commercial and office space. An all-new Tallahassee Community Hospital, renamed Tallahassee Regional Medical Center. Summit East office complex on 117 acres facing Interstate 10. Welaunee Plantation, a proposed residential, commercial and office component on 2,450 acres between Miccosukee and Centerville Roads. Plus the addition of Target and various business off N. Thomasville Rd, in the Bradfordville area.

2. NORTHWEST:

A magnet for university students in search of off-campus housing, Northwest Tallahassee remains an area of middle-class neighborhoods and dormitory-style apartment complexes interspersed with a few high-dollar outposts.

Hemmed in by Lake Jackson and Ayavalla Plantation on one side and the Ochlockonee River's wetlands on the other, this relatively narrow slice of Tallahassee has just about maxed out its potential for growth.

In general, though, the attraction is larger lots and a little more home for your money than you might find elsewhere. Commuters enjoy comparative ease at commuting downtown, with a number of ways to penetrate the I-10 barrier.

Highlights: Spectacular display of Christmas lights each year, particularly in the Huntington Estates and Settler's Springs neighborhoods; San Luis Mission, site of a 17th-century Spanish mission now under archaeological restoration; Commonwealth Centre, the city's most successful industrial park; and Lake Jackson, an oasis for fisherfolk and recreational boaters -- when it's full. (A 40-by-120-foot sinkhole caused by recent droughts swallowed the southern end of the lake in September of 1999.)

Recent Additions: Northwood Center and the newly revamped Northwood Station, with a combined 172,000 square feet of shopping and office space including a top-of-the-line Publix in the old K-Mark building; Hopkins Crossing, opened by Lowe's with 370,000 sq.ft. of commercial and office space; Home Depot, 127,160 sq.ft. home center off Capital Circle Northwest; Refurbished Wal-Mart, now a Super Wal-Mart.

3. SOUTHEAST:

Taking off even faster than developers anticipated, Arvida's planned community of Southwood already is making its mark with new homes, apartments and commercial space for as many as 15,000 residents adjoining major state-government buildings along Capital Circle Southeast.

Highlights: St. Marks Historical Railroad Trail, 16 miles of paved biking, walking and in-line skating trails; Myers Park for swimming, tennis and jogging; Governor's Square mall, with the area's largest selection of specialty shops; Tom Brown Park's natural trails, softball fields, tennis courts and more, as well as a nearly two-acre romper room for dogs; and Lafayette Heritage Trail Park.

New Additions: Capital Circle Office Center, looking to add 100,000 sq.ft. to existing 1.16 million sq.ft. of state government office space. Southwood, project in progress, a multi-use complex on 1,859 acres that expects 2,270 residential units, 317,000 sq.ft. of commercial and 700,000 sq.ft. of office space by build-out in 2015.

4. SOUTHWEST:

Student apartments continue to flourish in this area, long known as home to the city's sewer plants, airport, sand mines, county jail and spray fields. But there's nothing like the townhouses built for students around Tallahassee Community College and northwest of the two universities.

Some of the area's finest recreational facilities mark this section of town. Leon Sinks state geological site offers an entry into one of the world's great underwater cave systems. The state-long Florida Trail gives hikers a first-hand tour of the Apalachicola National Forest. And the Lake Bradford chain of lakes, Seminole Golf Course and Messer Park are all top-notch for outdoor recreation.

Highlights: Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, with indigenous wildlife, nature studies and living history; National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Innovation Park, a world-class facility for scientific research and engineering; FAMU/FSU College of Engineering, a shared venture that offers advanced degrees in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering; and Seminole Reservation, a popular outdoor recreational complex on Lake Bradford.

New Additions: Airport Commerce Center, a 189,000 sq.ft. addition across from the Tallahassee Regional Airport with plans to add light industrial.

CURRENT SUPPLY OF HOMES AS OF 5/8/08:

Northeast Tallahassee:
(NewConstruction & Resale)

$ 80-100K: 2
$100-125K: 5
$125-150K: 10
$150-200K: 110
$200-250K: 192
$250-300K: 203
$300-350K: 117
$350-400K: 121
$400-450K: 88
$450-500K: 73
$500-600K: 73
$600-700K: 37
$700K+: 73

Northwest Tallahassee:
(New Construction & Resale)

$80-100K: 14
$100-125K:36
$125-150K: 86
$150-200K: 214
$200-250K: 86
$250-300K: 32
$300-350K: 13
$350-400K: 20
$400-450K: 8
$450-500K: 5
$500-600K: 2
$600-700K: 3
$700K+: 3

Southeast Tallahassee:
(NewConstruction & Resale)

$80-100K: 12
$100-125K: 18
$125-150K: 47
$150-200K: 100
$200-250K: 31
$250-300K: 28
$300-350K: 24
$350-400K: 31
$400-450K: 15
$450-500K: 11
$500-600K: 12
$600-700K: 3
$700+K: 10

Southwest Tallahassee:
(NewConstruction & Resale)

$80-100K: 12
$100-125K: 18
$125-150K: 47
$150-200K: 40
$200-250K: 10
$250-300K: 7
$300-350K: 7
$350-400K: 10
$400-450K: 1
$450-500K: 1
$500-600K: 2
$600-700K: 1
$700+K: 0