This is not a “fast” lens, and as you zoom in you lose more light and thus shutter speed (F4.5 is only possible at 10mm, and is not fast anyway).

But with a lens this wide you can already shoot pretty slow shutters and not have an issue.

This is not the case, only a faster shutter speed can do that.

The IS works like a charm, lets me take indoor real estate photos in the evening with slower shutter speeds hand-held

If you need to use it handheld in low light, the IS should more than make up for the slower shutter speed

While I may need to use a flash in limited light situations, the IS allows you to balance slower shutter speeds with higher aperture for great pictures in the majority of situations.

The Image Quality is excellent and with the IS built in, I can take pretty good hand-held pictures even in low light because with IS I can shoot at a slower shutter speed.

Having only f/4.5 wide open at 10mm indoors (with indoor lighting) means slower shutter speeds or bumping up the ISO to 400, 800, or 1600, which is less than ideal, or even worse, having to use flash.

I just wish I could afford the better lens(s)

I love h the wide angle though.