It's a mile marker post...hitting 200,000 points. Makes you feel like you should say something of importance.
The most important thing I have to say about real estate today is that we clearly are not "at bottom" as to the price of real estate. No matter where you are, financing changes will have to be reckoned with by the free market. That means prices will be going down further, to compensate for the reduced means to finance a purchase.
I do think we ARE "at bottom" as to volume of sales. I do think that we will stay "at bottom" as to volume of sales for the forseeable future. So we at least have something to plan around.
The most important thing an agent can do as a result, is to re-do their business plan and enlarge their service area to capture a larger audience, based on reduced volume. If you do 20 sales a year in X area, and volume is down 40%, then expand you geographic area by 40%. That will at least bring you up to an even playing field.
ALSO, given the diminished number of sales, look for the areas that are only down 15% vs. 40%, and work harder to get listings in areas that have the higher level of demand and lower level of supply. Supply and Demand are key. You don't want to have the 20th listing on market in an area that only sells 5 a year! You want to have the 5th listing in an area that sells 8 a year.
Don't sit home and wait for your check. If you have a pending sale, stick to it like glue! More and more sales are not making it to the end. Buyers will jump ship at the drop of a hat...don't let the hat that drops be YOUR hat. Stay in touch with all aspects of the transaction. With volume of sales down, you can't afford to have a high ratio of failed sales. Take better care of that bird in the hand.
Last but not least, watch your Karma. A market like this can make you lean and mean, the competition will get fiercer and fiercer as we move into "off season". Protect your relationships with the industry professionals around you. Clients come and go...but your Broker, your Company, your peers, your staff, your support services, your mentors and your apprentices...are the relationships that will endure.
Don't claw your way through this market, or it surely will come back to bite you in the ass one day.
Count your blessings, and applaud the blessings of those around you ALL at the same time. A tough message to put into practice. Be happy when the guy next to you enjoys a successful, closed transaction. Be as happy about that as you would your own sale. Watch your Karma.
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