This past year your group has consistantly had the most interesting and pertinent info on the housing market .Congrats on being able to ride the crest of the wave and continue to grow in your business. I am sure you had to do a wild balancing act to keep up with the changes. Sorry, guys. but most of the realtors I seen were doing a dog paddle looking for the pool they USED to swim in.
I do our research because although my husband and I have the minds and the heart of an investor; we have the finances of unemployed transplants from Oregon.It was very interesting to find out how your researcher keeps everything current. Whenever one of the properties on my list popped up on yours, it was a validation that I was on the right track.
Here is a wish for continued good luck for all of your hard work.

Judy, thanks for your recent comments. I responded to the last one
directly, but I think others may be interested in this response. If you are
finding that agents do not want to make a less-than-full price offer on
the house, this may simply be that the agent does not want you to miss
out on the opportunity to buy. In the under-$120,000 market there are
many buyers yet so few homes. If you were looking at $500,000 homes
you would find that the supply outweighs demand. This is not at all true
in the lowest price ranges.
In July and August I was advising clients to write offers well over list price, and yet offers more than $20,000 over list price were not always accepted. An experienced agent should have market knowledge and should know approximately what the home will sell for, and counsel you accordingly. Sales are strong but are always slower in the winter months, and there is less competition. However, with the supply so limited you can expect to see multiple offers on the lowest-priced homes.
It's not true that you are better served by contacting the seller's agent
directly. Any REO agent will tell you that their offer has no better shot of
being accepted than any other offer - unless it's the best offer. The banks
look at what a sale will net; the bank cares about the bottom line. There
will be other considerations, such as cash deals, that may result in a
bank taking an offer that doesn't net the highest amount. The likelihood
of a sale closing is also a consideration; banks like cash or large down
payments. The seller's agent does represent the bank, and the bank that is giving him or her the listings is likely the agent's largest client; be aware of this when you are asking the selling agent to write your offer. Many buyers prefer to have an agent that represents only their interests.
I think I've been so richly rewarded because my buyer's needs come first and foremost. I generally lose money when I sell a $60,000 home; the commission doesn't come close to covering the cost of my time. However, I think that these can be great cash-flow properties, so I market these properties and encourage my clients to buy these. (Buy 2, they're small!) Any agent that is thinking about his or her commission rather than what's best
for the buyer should not be selling homes for a living.
I'm afraid I don't understand the last question. If you'll shoot me over
an email, I'll answer that question directly.

Exactly! The banks give their agents a lot of listings. I've had a selling
agent tell me in no uncertain terms which client relationship he valued
most. I'm a little disappointed you didn't call me! :)

Why thank you, Ray!