No I don't mean 2007 compared to 2006, 2005 or 2004. But was it really so bad?
About a month ago I saw a statistic that said we are near 1995 real estate sales levels. That seems dismal to many. This is especially true if you have only been in the business for 3-6 years.
I relocated to Orlando in 1995 from Atlanta. First Franklin moved me here to open the mortgage wholesale production office for the southeast. I remember at the end of that year thinking what a great year it had been. Our production numbers were up. The coming year looked even better.
Are we setting the expectation bar so high that it cannot happen (again)? I think so.
We need take out of the equation the mega boom years when we think about sales and production figures. Compared to 2003, 2004, and 2005, 1995 looks bad. But It was not a bad year, either was 1996, and 1997. In the late 90's the hedge fund market crashed and sent the real estate markets into a tail spin. When we look back at that time now I think we would gladly settle for that level of damage.
The huge almost monthly equity gains everyone experienced are gone, some of that equity gained has disappeared.
You will no longer be able to make a living off of 4 or 5 investors; did anyone really believe that type of business would last? Get over it. Now what are you going to do?
It's time to take a reality check. (Anyone remember Zig Ziglar's saying "do a check up from the neck up'?)
Have the number of prospective borrowers / buyers disappeared? Not by much.
Are there fewer competitors around today compared to 18 months ago? Yes - a lot less. If you started in this career during those boom years you might have missed learning some of the basics of networking, cold calling, prospecting and presenting.
If your start predates the boom period you already have mastered those skills. You just need to go through a refresher course.
I believe that we create our own future; if we think that it will get worse and act accordingly we will create a self fulfilling prophecy.
If we believe that we can succeed by giving our selves the opportunity to succeed we are also creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
2008 will either be a great year or a bad year; it's up to you and me.
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