“The Real Estate Sky is Falling!!!”
September 18th, 2007 by Rich JacobsonWe hear it on the news as we’re getting dressed. We read it in our morning paper. We hear it being discussed while standing in line at Starbucks, or around conversations at work. The dark clouds of Doom have been spreading across the country, hitting us from all sides….
“The Real Estate Sky is Falling!” “The Real Estate Sky is Falling!”
You hear something over and over long enough, it’s hard not to start believing it yourself. As a licensed real estate professional, I don’t buy into the seemingly dismal market heresay and all the water cooler speculations. But there are times when I find myself being affected in small, subtle ways. The ever-positive ‘Can-Do’ attitude begins to weaken slightly and wane. Suddenly you find yourself beginning to cringe whenever one of your Sellers call. Your usual air of confidence isn’t as convincing as it usually is. Your historically effective flurry of marketing efforts bears no fruit. Your Listings languish. Days on market becomes a curse, rather than a testimony.
Welcome to a Slow Market.
“Is the Sky truly Falling?” No, of course it isn’t. It’s the proverbial ‘Ying & Yang’ of the real estate business. The perpetual cycle of peaks and valleys. A continuum of self-correction and balancing. How long will it last? No one knows. Will it get any worse? Again, no one really knows for certain.
However, one thing IS certain. One of the most predictable constants in the wild world of real estate is that people will need to move. There will always be Buyers and Sellers. Regardless of rates, regardless of prices, regardless of market variables, people will need to move.
In the majority of residential transactions, someone will represent the Seller, and someone will represent the Buyer. Who do YOU want to represent you? Someone who is standing under a dark cloud crying “Wolf!” Or someone who is optimistic and positive? Someone who understands the dynamics of a slow market and embraces the challenge?
Success begins with the proper attitude. Don’t allow Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and any other doom-sayers to negatively influence your perception of the market.
The sky ISN’T falling. It’s simply filled with opportunities!
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buyer first home massachusetts time…
I found your post comments while searching Google. Very relevant especially as this is not an issue which a lot of peaople are conversant with….
You’re right, Rich. We can’t change the world around us, but we can change how we react to it. I’d choose an agent who’s constantly trying one more thing to get my home sold.
It’s just the media…. you know “if it bleeds it leads”
In my opinion there has been far too much attention given to how BAD real estate is, and that’s why it is slow…media scare.
Oh and by the way there’s going to be a Hurricane wipe out Missouri and Kansas tomorrow.
Keep up the good work!
Rich, I came across this shortly after reading your article:
Pacific Northwest One of the Best Markets in the Nation
By Alton Gary Simpson
LOS ANGELES — While once supercharged housing markets such as those in California, Nevada and Florida have witnessed declines in both housing sales and prices, and now rank in the top 10 markets for foreclosure activity according to the latest statistics from RealtyTrac, the Pacific Northwest housing market has been declared among the most robust in the nation. Both Washington Sate and Oregon rank 27th and 29th respectively on the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Statistics for August 2007. And according to the report, “The Pacific Northwest is Among the Healthiest Housing Markets in the Nation,” by Union Bank of California Economist Keitaro Matsuda, the Pacific Northwest region’s residential markets have greater momentum than the rest of the country.
The Office of Federal Housing Oversight recently announced that home prices fell in 15 states during the second quarter of this year. Nationwide, home prices were up only a scant 0.1% during the second quarter. The Union Bank of California report pointed out that in five states, prices were down on a year-over-year basis — California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island all saw home price declines. “The last time that home prices dropped in so many states was in the first quarter of 1997, when 10 states and Washington, D.C. experienced year-over-year price declines,” noted the report. “By comparison, the Pacific Northwest region looks quite healthy.”
Me too!
What a great article. You are on you game today Sparky. Thanks for a perfectly timed pick-me-up view of the current market.
If I were a seller, I would want to hire the person who believes they can sell my house – no matter what the market!