Time to get serious... In yet another timely post by Poinciana's finest, Broker Bryant clues us in to what some of his readers are saying regarding NAR's "It's a great time to buy" campaign. If you haven't read his blog click on over and have a gander. TLW has issued a challenge of sorts to counter NAR"s sunshine-pushing position with a dose of reality. Well, here it is.
While I realize the importance of a positive attitude I believe it's critical to not let hype override reality. Take NAR's campaign, for example. It may very well be a good time for some people in some markets to buy. In other markets, perhaps not so much. Beyond and paramount to local market performance there are the individual sellers and buyers circumstances to consider.
The problem with such blanket generalizations such as “It’s a great time to buy” is they reduce us in the eyes of the public from consummate professionals to simply market cheerleaders. That's not our role. Or role is to provide timely, accurate and pertinent information, whether good news or not so good news, so sellers and buyers can make informed decisions regarding the purchase and sale of real estate.
Consumers are not uneducated. They have access to the same general market information we do. They read the same newspapers, they listen to the same radio, they read the same internet news sites. Their power of reasoning and common sense is equal to ours. They have fears and concerns we might be able to allay but we should never, ever stoop to espousing propaganda simply to stimulate the market or motivate sellers and buyers.
Rather than pick up our pom-poms head to the field to chant BUY, BUY, BUY perhaps we should honestly evaluate our individual markets and tailor any recommendations to those individual sellers and buyers needs. Where market conditions are experiencing a downturn, roll with it. Be honest with consumers about what the market is truly doing and the risks involved with their decisions. Anything less than a no holes barred honest assessment is doing our clients a disservice. We also run the risk of damaging them financially, which is something the professionals I know would just about crawl buck naked and blind folded on broken glass across the state of Texas to avoid.
Over the years we've told more than a few clients that, for their situation, the timing didn't appear to be right and perhaps they should hold off on their decision to sell or buy. The advice we’ve offered, which I think the majority of REALTORS® would offer, is advice that is tailored to the best interests of our client, not our wallet.
As REALTORS®, we must to work to overcome the public perception of the real estate agent as lazy, unethical and self-serving. The truth is our membership is made up of an incredible group of talented, hardworking, consumer focused men and women. Rather than shove NAR's propaganda down the throat of Mr. & Mrs. Consumer, we should use our position in the community to show that we really do have the consumers best interests at heart. We are the consumers advocate in a real estate transaction. Promote that position and shove the propaganda back in the closet. Our clients expect and deserve that level of care.
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