Incredibly, the demand for Las Vegas homes is still strong, even in traditionally-slow September. One of my clients just had an offer rejected at $60,000 over list. The winning cash offer trumped our 30%-down offer.

Dean and Jan have been looking for a home for at least a year. I don't know anyone who is better at getting offers accepted than I am, but we have been bested time and again. Initially, their offers were too low, against my advice. There were 2 good offers I was sure would be accepted last week, but weren't. Yet, I just had 5 of 7 cash offers submitted last week for another client accepted!

But Dean and Jan have very good taste, and there are a lot of cash buyers in the market who have the same good taste. Fortunately for this couple, we are entering the slow season. With less competition, we should be able to find something soon. I take it personally when they find a home they love and their offer is rejected. This time was like a punch in the stomach. We had a great offer. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...it's tough to compete with all cash right now.

I've noticed that some banks are pricing houses way too low in the past 2-3 weeks. That doesn't mean they can be had for that price, even for cash. I couldn't convince an investor 2 weeks ago to ignore the list price and go by the comps, so he missed by a long shot. I can't imagine why banks are listing homes at $110,000 when there are good, recent comps in the $165,000 range on the same street! Or why they are listing homes with $400,000 comps for $325,000. But be forewarned - my agents and I are seeing a lot of it this month. And while I actually can imagine why, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

I'm in the Bahamas, on a very sleepy island, enjoying some sand, sun and rum. Not enough sun, but that's the drawback of visiting Exuma, or any island, in hurricane season.

I usually travel to the Caribbean in the low season because no one else does. What a great time to get to know the owners of local establishments such as Dee, of Santana's Cafe, and her mom, a.k.a. Mom, of Mom's Bakery next door. Dee served up a tender lobster, just pulled from the ocean by her husband. And shared some great photos of the celebrities who manage to find her little corner of the world.

Exuma is a relatively undeveloped island of 6,000 inhabitants. It can't compare to Grand Cayman or even Turks and Caicos - but it's a great place if you're looking for rum punch and a good cigar from you-know-where!

I'd better go chase some sun before the rain returns. Oh, wow, I just saw a fight between the former hotel owners and the guy who is managing it for the new owners. That's probably the most excitement this island has ever seen. Now, back to sun and a rum punch.

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