I was driving around town yesterday, listing to the radio, and the story was about people wanting to trade in their SUVs for hybrid cars.

The person being interviewed said that there was a very important question to ask before making the leap -- how much do you owe on the SUV?

If you owe too much, you're probably upside down, since most automotive dealerships are not giving much for trade-in SUVs these days. There are some dealerships that won't accept SUVs in trade. Period.

So if you owe too much, maybe you'd better just be happy driving your SUV and finding other ways to save money. I liked what the guy being interviewed said.

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Maybe there are a few lessons in there for real estate. Sounds awfully similar to me. Maybe this just isn't the time to test the market. If you don't HAVE to sell, maybe you should find happiness where you are and wait until the market turns itself around. This is not the time to dabble in selling. You have to be prepared to make your house the best in its market, and best includes price. You simply have to be able to demonstrate good value. And only you can decide how strong your "have to" is.

Car dealerships are saying there's no value in used SUVs. So SUV owners might just have to make the best out of what they've got.

Just for the record, I am an SUV owner and don't regret it for a minute (except when I'm actually at the pump!)

(C) 2008 Susan Pruden.