Valerie Torelli

Talk about thorough. When now semi-retired Chicago-area agent Hank Roeters was showing a house some years back to potential home buyers, the couple climbed into the bathtub together to make sure it fit two. Most would-be home buyers aren't nearly as detailed, even in today's buyer's market when they have plenty of time to make informed decisions. In fact, real estate agents think buyers are not exhaustive enough. According to realty agents, folks tend to pay far too much mind to the wallpaper, paint colors, carpet, greasy appliances and even the seller's furniture, and not nearly enough attention to water stains in the basement, corroded electric boxes, windows that refuse to open, rotted floor joists and cracks in the foundation.

Talk about thorough. When now semi-retired Chicago-area agent Hank Roeters was showing a house some years back to potential home buyers, the couple climbed into the bathtub together to make sure it fit two. Most would-be home buyers aren't nearly as detailed, even in today's buyer's market when they have plenty of time to make informed decisions. In fact, real estate agents think buyers are not exhaustive enough. According to realty agents, folks tend to pay far too much mind to the wallpaper, paint colors, carpet, greasy appliances and even the seller's furniture, and not nearly enough attention to water stains in the basement, corroded electric boxes, windows that refuse to open, rotted floor joists and cracks in the foundation.

Real estate is the No. 1 game in Orange County, and the player ranks are filled with those drawn by the myth of easy money. An average home resale price of about $250,000--second highest in the nation behind San Francisco--drives a furious market. So far, the number of homes listed for sale in Orange County is running at least 15% ahead of last year, according to Tarbell Realtors.

Real estate is the No. 1 game in Orange County, and the player ranks are filled with those drawn by the myth of easy money. An average home resale price of about $250,000--second highest in the nation behind San Francisco--drives a furious market. So far, the number of homes listed for sale in Orange County is running at least 15% ahead of last year, according to Tarbell Realtors.

Confident home buyers in Orange and Los Angeles counties shrugged off rising interest rates and signs of slowing sales nationwide to create one of the busiest sales periods ever last month, pushing prices to record levels. The typical price for an Orange County home rose 13% from a year earlier to $273,000, the eighth time in 13 months that prices have set a record, according to a monthly report released Monday by DataQuick Information Systems Inc., a La Jolla research firm.

Among those working this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will be some hardy real estate agents. The struggling economy and uncertainty about jobs have changed the home selling scene, shifting more house hunting to hours and days off. The long weekend is a time when buyers are likely to have free time — an opportunity that agents feel is too good to pass up. "I'm showing houses at 8 a.m and 6:30 in the evening," said Shelly Palmer, an 11-year...