I have two websites www.mcnabs.com and www.homesinsouthernaz.com Both are not doing well at all in google fror my keywords. They are real estate related sites in Sierra Vista Arizona. My competition has almost no links but they have been around a while. My sites have lots of links but suck in the rankings. I guess Google rates longevity pretty heavy.
yeah well realestate probably pays extremely high for certain keywords so I can imagine you are competing with some powerful companies. Also make sure your keywords are targeted to your state/county/town etc.
(off topic) hehe.. a good friend of mine just sold his home here in So.Cal and moved to Sierra Vista..
Website age is VERY important. The "age" factor is the whole basis of the "sandbox theory". They do this (obviously) to prevent spam sites from manipulating their algorithms and getting top positions overnight. Age will help your site (age is from the time Google first spider-ed your site, not domain registration). Patience is a virtue, and you will get a Google cookie if you possess it .
From my experience with 30-40 websites launched since the Sandbox effect was noticed I can say that it's not so much of an age thing anymore. There are certain factors that trump age, some of which also are needed to rank regardless of age. Probably the most basic thing I can say is either pay for really great links (that are not part of a link network) or go out and hunt one way links that if you actually got you would think "holy #%$# I can't believe I didn't have pay for that link!".