Pollyanna Never Sold Real Estate: How Americans Lost Their Optimism & Trust

There is definitely something about Broker Bryant's posts that always get me on my soapbox. His most recent feature includes some fascinating responses to the often heard Pollyanna statement: "NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE".

Well, it isn't a good time for everyone. 

This is like saying "Now is a great time to fall in love". Everyone wants to fall in love, and everyone wants to own real estate. But who are we to say the timing is right for ANYONE to do ANYTHING?

I bet there are few of us who have found love at the wrong time in our lives, had to admit it, and just move on. I'll bet that there are a few of us who found love at the RIGHT TIME, but were too afraid to take advantage of it.

Just because prices are low, rates are low, and inventory is high, is it a good time for everyone to buy real estate? Well, NO. In fact buying real estate right now can range from questionable to downright impossible.

Please remember when the market was at its wildest, and appreciation was soaring, the real estate industry was STILL saying "NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE".

So Americans bought in. They believed in us. They trusted us. It was all so easy.

Then, the world came crashing down. The clock struck midnight, the ball was over, and the glass slipper was lost.

So far, no prince charming has shown up. And buyers are smart enough to understand that anyone who tells them 'NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE" doesn't have a glass slipper....they have a plastic shoe and a Pollyanna mentality. Neither one fits.

The truth is huge numbers no longer have THE ABILITY to buy real estate.

They do not have the equity to sell the house they bought. They cannot qualify for a house due to tighter lending guidelines. They have ruined their credit when they "let their house go" (back to the bank).

Huge numbers no longer have the DESIRE to buy real estate.

They have watched their their net worth plummet as prices have declined. They open the paper every single day and read about the high rate of foreclosures, and the record breaking slump in the housing market. They are afraid of more turmoil, and further price drops.

You can have DESIRE, but without ABILITY, it won't matter. You can have ABILITY, but without DESIRE, it won't matter.

For it to be a "GREAT TIME" to do ANYTHING, both ABILITY and DESIRE must intersect. Although not justified, the American consumer has been quick to blame the real estate industry for all the housing woes that exist. Some openly, some secretly.

Still, this is the market mentality, which is separate from market reality.

This means it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for everyone in the industry to understand that real estate buyers will need to be handled differently from this time forward.

It may not be justified, but let's face it, they feel betrayed. We are all in a position of re-gaining their trust and re-building their confidence. A sunny outlook just seems false when President Bush is taking emergency measures to save the housing industry.

It is time to come clean and tell it like it is.

Lose the Pollyanna approach and go find the glass slipper your client lost somewhere along the line. Straightforward talk and  strategic guidance will go much further with bewildered, beleaguered home buyers.