Change is hard but maybe it's time you left real estate - Tough Love Series Post #1

Jonathan - Many have come to this cross road ,and for some it really make sense to move on.  The existing market condition means as agents we have to work much harder and with more stress.  I  personally like a challenge and is positive I will be able to weather this storm.  I applaud anyone who will have to leave the industry if that is the sensible thing to do and I wouldn't consider such a decision a failure.

Good post, I think al lot of the agents that will be leaving the real estate field soon are not web savvy enough to be on ActiveRain. You might have to send a memo to their office. :)

Hi Jonathan, You nailed it. An awesome message. Tough Love Indeed. Change in our industry is only part of it. Our country and communities are changing and different values are surfacing. They are not always easy to embrace. Marching to your own drum beat while it exercises your uniqueness, doesn't leave you often at a place where you will find companions. We must also be clear what we are asking for, we may get it.

I could never go back.  Only one particularly rotten day in the last year I dreamed of bartending again because my problem customers are only a couple of hours vs a couple of months.

Otherwise, I could not live without the flexibility, the control, the satisfaction I get from working in this CHALLENGING career :)

Being honest with self is the most important part of being successful to begin with. We've had seasoned agents drop out this year only to have new agents come on board. Who knows what will happen from hereon. All I can account for is me. My business dropped about 30% but for years I've worked IN our office as well.  Keeps me motivated :) And it's worked.

You said it well...because all the wishing and hoping is not going to make IT happen.

I think life is too short to be in a career that you don't love.  If you love what you're doing, then I think you're doing the right thing.

You are right.  However, RE is like gambling... just one more try, just one more sale.... However, I do think that you will see a departure in the number of agents.  Yes, I would take a full time job with decent pay and benefits. After a lot of soul searching, I am even ready to re-enter the IT market.  The factor with this becomes childcare - but that is becoming less of an issue.  My initial plan was to get through summer with RE (doable) but I am looking for other opportunities along the way.

I did see a generic article/ad for new agents in our RE section of the local news. I thought that was kind of interesting.   The schools must be starting to feel the pinch (now that the crunch for CE is almost over.)

Jon... Nice to see a realistic opinion to a common scenario.  Over the past year as more an more agents were faced with the decision to leave the business I have given similar advice while all the bouncy bubbly types were advising friends to stick it out....   Makes no sense to drive yourself deeper into debt while holding onto a pipe dream of better days to come....

Jonathan, It's nice to see you "voice your thoughts". Personally, if I had to leave Real Estate it would break my heart. I haven't been in the business long enough to have known the "good times". All I know is that it is hard, never ending work to make a living, yet I love it! Yes, these times are hard, not only in Real Estate but in many careers. The price of everything has shot up and we have to work twice as hard just to exist. Real Estate is my passion and I will make it work!

Jonathan -  I love this market. It's a lot of fun knowing that people really have to work to get listings sold. Now when I go on listing presentations, I don't get the comment about cutting commissions because it will sell in a week. I can actually decide if I want to list the house or not, usually based on how they want to price it. It's also easy working with buyers , now that homes aren't in a constant bidding war.

Yes. This is much better.

jw - i suppose the message is there. i had a sour 2006 and made extra effort to fill the pipeline and 2007 showed a healthy 43% increase. 2008 is already damn near half done (i don't count july, august or december as actual months...anything done then is gravy). i figured that i could accomplish more by reaching out to a talented agent that was floundering. together we are moving quite nicely. rather than boot the agent out the door, i found another piece of my personal success.

i am not fond of bath water but i sure love babies.

Recently, an ActiveRainer commented on one of my posts that "you old-timers have your head in the clouds and just don't know how tough it is out there for most agents."  I had to laugh at that because my husband and I started something in the 80's (when we still had young children) to help us cope with a tough real estate market, and we've continued for over 25 years:

Get up at 4 a.m., 365 days a year, to deliver 4 newspaper routes.  That extra $500/mo. helps us squeak through the tough markets and build a reserve fund during the good markets.  Is it "beneath" me?  Yes, but...  No matter how well real estate goes for me, we keep doing this because we know the bad times are part of the deal.  

Great post, Jonathan.  It may be hard for some people to hear, but it is so true.  Like you said ... tough love!  Us?  We wouldn't dream of throwing in the towel.  We love what we do and are continuing to get good results despite market challenges.

Hmmm. Mixed thoughts. At first I totally agreed with you, but upon further thought I feel that support and encouragement are extremely important. Some people simply give up too easily and they could've been great if only they stuck with it. I think the difference is what they are doing to help themselves during this tough time. Are they sitting around, complaining, waiting for the phone to ring? Or are they out there working hard for new business? Maybe they just need a way to supplement their income to get by until the market turns. The best will never give up.

Is this a picture of you too?  hahaha just kidding. 

Thanks to ActiveRain my business is doing very well.  MAHALO PLENTY!

Real estate is not really just a profession,it is a passion and a lifestyle.  If you don't have the passion for real estate, in a market that is tougher than the past few previous years, than why would you stay in it?

And really, this should be the question for any profession.  You can tell when someone has settled for a lifestyle that is less-it is written all over their face and in the way they slump their shoulders.

Thing is,life was not meant to be that way.  Do what you can to do what you love.

Amen, Jonathan.  It's difficult to understand why some agents stick with real estate.  The don't seem to like it at all and it's shows in their productivity. 

Jonathan - in the current market many agents are doing just that!