When sales are down and times are tough, sometimes you need to regroup and invest in what you have.

That’s what founder and CEO of Intracoastal Realty Corp. Jim Wallace said he is doing. On Sept. 8 he chartered a Daniels Tours bus and took about 70 of his real estate agents to a motivational business seminar in Raleigh, where notable speakers such as former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and CEO and editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, Steve Forbes, addressed a full-house at the RBC Center.

“Now more than ever with all of the negative news, you can’t turn on the television or pick up a newspaper and there’s another negative article about the economy, but the bottom line is there are still a lot of positive things,” Wallace said.

“When you go up and go to a conference like this, you’re listening to people who have been successful.”

Building camaraderie and boosting morale is part of his business strategy, which is why the company hosted a cookout for agents, staff and family members a few months ago and has an annual awards banquet with a national speaker.

“Certainly there are days that are trying,” said Vance Young, an agent who has worked with Intracoastal Realty since 2000. After seeing the line-up of speakers for the “Get Motivated!” Business Seminar, which included former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the Rev. Robert Schuller, he decided to go.

“It recharged my batteries and made me more determined to stick to it.”

In mid-2006, Wallace said he saw the writing on the wall. First, sales slowed. Then, prices began to drop drastically. That’s when he invited national residential real estate expert Steve Harney to speak to his agents about the economy and how it affects pricing.

Since then, he has brought Harney back in 2008 and 2009.

Harney predicts the housing market will hit bottom in May 2011 and we will not see today’s prices until November 2013.

“You have to have the expertise today to get through this market if you’re going to be successful. It’s not like anything we’ve seen before,” Wallace said.

Pricing is number one. It’s the most important equation in today’s market, he said. One tactic his agents advise sellers is to look at the market through the buyer’s eyes, visit comparable houses and see what is being offered. If you are trying to sell your house at a price higher than similar houses on the market, buyers will pass you by.

“It’s the reality of the market. It’s a tough story to tell. But you’re not a professional if you don’t do this. If you don’t help them out by letting them know the reality,” he said.

Because of the quantity of inventory on the market, sellers can’t afford to have a bathroom with broken tile, a damaged door or carpet that needs replacing.

“In a buyer’s market, they will quickly move to something else if it’s not right because there are a lot of other things to look at.”

Yet, Wallace remains an optimist. “This is the greatest time to buy a house. I’ve been in this business since 1976, I think this is the greatest opportunity right now I’ve ever seen,” he said. Low-interest loans coupled with lowered prices makes it a buyer’s market.

The challenge is getting potential buyers off the fence. To do so, agents at Intracoastal Realty are putting their heads together and pooling their resources at weekly meetings and workshops that include sessions on social networking, pricing and short sales.

He likens the job of a real estate agent to a counselor, who helps people with what may be the largest purchase of their lives.