The three opportunities in today’s market are first-time buyers, move-up clients and investors: 

• First-time buyers. Many people have a desire to buy a home almost as a rite of passage or that fulfilling sensation of having a place to call your own. No matter what the market conditions, first-time buyers are always going to try to break in to home ownership.

• Move-up clients own a house but it either doesn’t fulfill their current needs, or it’s not the house or neighborhood they want.

• Investors who are looking for a long-term play in real estate are enthusiastically looking for properties right now because it has a built-in discount and an investor who’s smart enough to hold onto a property will have a nice piece of built-in equity.

My hope for people in the real estate community is not only will they help their clients skillfully through the transaction process, but they ultimately get to participate in real estate as an investor themselves. Become your own best client…and your fortune is assured. 

It’s a good life! 

Brian 

In 1974, Morris Albert recorded this Grammy award winning song. At that time, it was considered one of the most strongly emotive and moving melodies. As time has gone by, when viewed in hindsight, the same lyrics that won a Grammy have often been lampooned as the sappiest song ever written.

Whether you like the song or not, feelings can be very dangerous for your business. In today’s market, there are lot of emotions; fear, anxiety, frustration and regret. Maybe you don’t know where your next commission check is coming from. Maybe you’re consumed with fear about where the economy and this market are going. Maybe you’re dealing with frustrated sellers who constantly focus on how much their home used to be worth as opposed to what’s it’s worth today. Perhaps you even have a ready, willing and able buyer who’s just afraid to pull the trigger because they don’t want to pay too much for a house.

The answer for a professional is to manage their emotions by keeping perspective. You need to know the historical trends of this business, how good of an investment real estate is (check out www.housingmarketfacts.com), and keep track of your own daily activities so you know you’re doing your best each day.

Feelings are great things. They let you know you’re alive. Personally they deliver the highs and the lows of the human experience. When it comes to your business, feelings don’t help at all. Manage your emotions, manage your business and manage your success.

How many calls, notes, Pop-Bys and business to business meetings are you having?

It's a good life!

Brian

When Samuel Clemens uttered these immortal words under his pseudonym Mark Twain, it encapsulated what economists had been trying to say for years…that the fundamental law of economics is supply and demand. Outside of volcanic activity on the Hawaiian Islands, no new land is being created. Therefore, supply is limited.  

The world population grows by approximately 90 million people a year increasing demand year over year. Human beings have three basic needs for survival; food, shelter and clothing. And I don’t see that changing any time soon. On occasion, the market goes through cycles of having too much resale inventory and too much new product followed by a housing shortage and price increases.  

And even in the midst of surpluses like today, there is certain built in demand. For example, there’s a tremendous shortage of apartment buildings in many cities. Many markets are experiencing a surge in rental prices of single family homes. This creates pressure for the first time buyer to own and investor clients to buy. 

So buy land; preferably with a house or apartment building on it. They’ve stopped making it! 

It’s a good life, 

Brian

I think it was Mark Twain who said, “On St. Patrick’s day there are only two types of people in the world; those who are Irish and those who want to be.” I always liked that guy! 

One of the things St. Patrick is known for is driving the snakes out of Ireland. If St. Pat were alive today, however, he would say that this market adjustment has driven the snakes out of the real estate market. There were a small number of sub-prime lenders who made promises to their clients that couldn’t be kept and speculators who wanted to buy and flip real estate to double their money overnight.  

Real estate is the single greatest investment in history. It meets financial and investment needs while providing emotional comfort and physical security. For those of us who love this business, believe in the value of real estate and get a thrill from helping someone who never thought they could afford to buy a home, this market is like St. Patrick’s Day every day. 

Dia dhuit agus choladh saibh! (God be with you and sleep well!) 

Brian