The real estate market continues to be extremely challenging. If you want to get the greatest return for the work that you do, an excellent strategy is to watch for patterns in the MLS statistics.

Here are the two primary trends to track:

• Note any area where there is a lot of turnover coupled with an increased in the number of sales. When you spot that one area in your market area is significantly more active than others, prospect for listings and hold open houses in that area, even if they aren’t your listings.
• Take special note of any areas that you work regularly. If you see that those markets have slowed down substantially as compared to other areas, stop focusing your efforts there and spend time where the market IS active.

As the saying goes, if you want to catch fish, fish where the fish are.