Chris Recktenwald has been trying to sell this home on Lake Lansing for months, but he hasn't had much luck.

"I did buy the house in a very different market, thinking hopefully the price would go up or maybe stay the same," Recktenwald said. "Of course, I didn't see this coming."

What Recktenwald didn't foresee, was the wave of falling home values. He's now pricing his house, $65,000 less than it was appraised for just three years ago.

Location, location, location. Recktenwald had hoped he would have sold his lakefront home by now, but that wasn't the case, so that's why he got a little creative.

"I found Craig's list," he said. "Perhaps I could find someone to trade houses with me."

What was first a site used for buying and selling old furniture... is now a site to barter too, including your home.

"People are doing about anything they can to sell their home," Bill MacLeod, president of Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood, said. "It's a sign of the times."

But MacLeod said a trade could get tricky.

"No two homes will be the same price, so someone needs to come up with some cash, or figure out a financial transaction of some sort," MacLeod said.

But, he said, in a market like this one, it's not a bad idea.

"Economically, it could be the way to go," he said.

But like any Internet connection site, make sure you're picky.

"I've had some interesting calls, but I haven't found a perfect match yet," Recktenwald said.

MacLeod suggests getting an expert in involved in any kind of home trade or barter to make sure you're getting the best deal.

To contact Recktenwald, just go to Lansing Craig's list "house swap."