There is a lot of planning going on this year and that is good, but I have seen many people plan in one direction and drive off in another. Or make unrealistic plans for this market..."I am going to do more volume on less units by raising my average sales price 35%"...great goal but talk about paddling up stream!
2009 will prove to be the most challenging year yet for the real estate community due to the changing rules affecting our buyers and sellers every day. We thought that 2008 was a year of change in the mortgage arena (and it was) this year will be more taxing on mortgage lenders as they try to keep up with changes to the rules and changes to the industry.
A fairly large broker contacted in January to assist with their strategic planning for 2009/2010. How would the new administration change things, what were the benefits and how, by being smart, could we can a competitive advantage in today's market? The obvious was the Tax Credit.
First time buyers make a lot of sense in todays market:
1. The tax credit is a great incentive (great job DC).
2. When the market turns these first time buyers should benefit from increased values and be ready to move up as the family and income grows.
3. They don't have a home to sell.
4. FHA financing was the easiest to get.
How does a company change direction from the old school theory..."you got to list to last" in the days of listings do last! Clear concise message, easy to access tools for buyers, a solid working relationship with a mortgage lender, credit repair plans and pipelines, easy pre-approvals, broker driven farming, role playing...
This is a culture shift in 97% of all offices.
The way we have been successful with this was by sitting down with the middle teir agents. The agents that were selling 25 deals a year when the phone was ringing and are now selling 10, and creating a relationship that both parties find rewarding and work as one large unit, not 20 individual units. Sales meetings have turned from a coffee clutch to a time of sharing, what is happening in this neighborhood, "home is a rat trap", "A borrower working with my lender just went through that....."...great stuff. Great consumer driven conversations by a GROUP pushing in the right direction.
That is what it will take move the market.
(Last week the government made that a little tougher by implementing minimum credit scores on FHA loans. This will take, in my opinion, another 13% of transactions off the boards. I can not quantify that but from talking to a lot of lenders and brokers across the country that is the word.)
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