Working in Shelby county real estate reminds me of walking into the surf along Alabama's Gulf Coast. Stand only a few feet from shore, and the incoming waves gently surround your feet. You feel the almost tickling sensation of sand washing away as the water recedes. Take a few more steps out, and those incoming waves rise to around your knees. Walk out further, and you start to appreciate the power of nature. Just standing your ground becomes a lot more of a challenge. It's as if the waves are reminding you who's really in control.
As you look further out and see a really big wave forming, you get a new sense of what it means to be vulnerable. Something daunting is heading your way. You know you'll be facing it. The question is, will you still be standing after it passes? And then there's what smart beach veterans know to be wary of afterward: the undertow, a silent and deadly menace that claims many lives every year.
The real estate market seems to be sending a lot of waves and undertows toward us these days. Some sellers are scared of selling. Potential buyers sometimes seem surprised to hear that it's such a great time to buy, almost as if they had expected a very pessimistic answer after asking their agent if the Birmingham area market has any life left, at all. This isn't really surprising, given the 24-hour doom and gloom news cycles saturating us from more sources and directions than ever.
While the economy certainly faces major challenges, my sense is that people are not getting a very balanced perspective about many of the topics getting coverage. Talk with most experts and they'll tell you that the economy runs in cycles, making it a matter of time before certain industries (including real estate) begin a swing back to more normal conditions. Whether you're an agent, or whether you work in a field related to real estate, we have to be able to withstand the pounding waves of negative news and not get caught in the undertow. We need to map a strategy for how to be productive and successful in what we do, even when it's more difficult.
One thing that really helps is enjoying what you do for a living, even when times are tough. It's awfully easy, these days, to forget that we could all be in much worse situations. I make it a point to always try to remember that. Do you ever think of all the blessings around you?
These days, one of the more valuable weapons in my real estate arsenal is information. We're also lucky to have a great Team Leader/Broker, who goes to a lot of effort to be supportive of the agents in our office. Our local MLS has been a good source of data that agents will find helpful in reassuring clients and customers that the Birmingham and Shelby county real estate market is still in pretty healthy shape, all things considered.
We also feel encouraged by what we've seen the past few weeks. Activity has picked up. Prospective buyers have been calling. There's a long way to go, in terms of the activity levels we'd like to see, but the trends are definitely heading in the right direction.
Showing your clients that you are knowledgeable about matters such as trends, pricing and time on market may help to reassure them if they have a big decision of their own to make about buying or selling.
When the big storm passes--as it will--the waves will drop down to a more manageable size. Better times will return. And, hopefully, we'll still be standing.
This is my first post on ActiveRain ... here's hoping it flies!
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