Realtors handing sellers pink slips

Better lower your home price or your Realtor might just fire you. Come again?

One of the hot topics of the just-concluded Orlando Realtors' convention was home sellers' inability to attract buyers. The biggest reason: Sellers set their prices unrealistically high, as if the boom never ended.

Here's Ted Jones The Economist talking to Realtors about homeowners who won't listen to the low-balling logic of the current market: "Lose them. There are times when it pays to fire a customer."

Here's his argument. If you divide the number of homes on the market by monthly home sales you can calculate what Realtors call "monthly supply." It's how long it would take, based on current sales, to exhaust the supply of homes on the market. Look at this chart:

More than a 12-month supply = Falling prices

Eight to 9 month-supply = Stable prices

Less than a 6-month supply = Rising prices

The Tampa Bay area's housing supply has been stuck well above 12 months. Draw your own conclusions.