Today's Headlines..."Mortgage Applications are Off By 19%" places fear in the hearts of many. I confess, it is beyound scary even if the news shrugs it off and the stock markets climb higher. That is not where I want to place my money. I think it is safe in real estate...at least at the end of the day at least I own something.
The question is are you really surprised at any of today's news, even if in your hearts you already know the answers to the stories may be hald truths or just totally wrong. Each day bad news is released and we are inundated with senseless news stories do not include the reason why this is all happening. YOu could learn more from reading a lable on a can of soup than reading the spin.
First of all rates are rising when they should be dropping to absorb the excess inventory. But hey...it is political payback time for the politicians to reward all their supporters with your tax dollars. Second. Buyers are going to remain cautious with spending in this current economy. The words 'frugal' and 'cautious' come to mind.
Consumers are like "Deer in headlights" at this moment in time. They are worried about their jobs, finances, 401K's, their retirement and stocks. Can they make their next car payment, keep the utilities on and put food on the table is their primary concern right now. We cannot help it if the news doesn't think that 473,000 more persons laid off is a good thing, nor do we have the stomach to spin it good news. We must make allowances for our clients, and share some local good news to counteract the national headlines and offer solutions not commiseration.
Todays Business Headlines:
- Mortgage Applications are Off By 19%
- U.S. Companies Cut Payrolls by 473,000
- Pending Home Sales rise by .01%
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473,000 more people out of a job is not a good thing. I always go back to Geroge Bush saying the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
Jim - You are right ... there is not much of a silver lining out there. We seem to be in that in between stage in the financial markets. I would think the 2nd quarter earnings are not going to be strong enough to sustain the strong rally off the bottom. And the housing market will be a slow slow recovery getting worse before it gets better. Nonetheless, many local markets probably have much to be positive about... in Philadelphia, things are really not that bad.
I try to stay away from the media. They push too much doom and gloom. We've got to be positive-- I would say that half our battle in recovery is the damn media.
Heck, come on congress print more money and let's get this economy cranked up. Don't worry about future generations, their mostly strung out shoot they can't even keep their pants from falling down.
Russ Ravary - Michigan Homes for sale - Michigan Real estate & Mortgage info (Remerica Hometown One) Boy was he wrong!
Christopher and Stephanie Somers - Realtors - Philadelphia Real Estate (Owner - RE/MAX Affiliates) I think the northeast is doing better, and the southeast is worse than stories let on. We must look for silver lining in our own markets and share them with our clients.
Joseph Harrison (Avalon Properties Group) I need to be informed, but I also feel the media has laid off a lot of the bad news. We need to do our own research so we can assist our clients.
Charles Stallions Real Estate 800-309-3414 Pensacola, Fl. Lol! What is up with that? LOL!
We still cant' determine if the improvement some are seeing is that light at the end of the tunnel or a massive freight train coming towards us. I am still a bit scared to jump in until I see unemployment numbers make a turn. We are staying with cautious optimism and are hanging firm on the reins.
Tim Moncrief, Co-Owner-Bartlett RE Group (Keller Williams Realty ) Tim you are not alone. I know many brokers and agents that feel the same. Many times I am contacted off line so they can share what they are going through. Real estate agents are for the most part true professionals - they want to have the image of confidence and not want to scare the public.
I don't know how people can watch the (bad) news every day and not get completely depressed! Last week I de-staged three houses that have sold (one got an offer in 3 days, another within 2 weeks of being staged). I think there are a lot of positive stories out there, but the media chooses not to cover them... good news doesn't sell.
Russ... Russ... pssst! Russ... you are going back a little too far. It was John McCain who said the fundamentals of the economy are still strong.... ;o)
Michelle Yackel, ASP, IAHSP (Divine Redesigns) You are right. Yellow Journalism, sensationalism does sell.
Shirley Parks, North San Antonio TX Real Estate 210.414.0966 (Realty Executives Alamo) Thank you.
I think that this is how you build trust, "offer solutions not commiseration."
You can't build trust when you don't acknowledge your clients fears and concerns about the economy and housing market.
Jim-
you are right, these numbers are numbing!
The scariest phrase out there is "The new Normal".
That is what we are looking at. A greatly reduced economy with more winners than losers , but a very large group of losers struggling to come up for air.
Our Real Estate business is currently all about the people who are losing. They've lost jobs, home equity etc. and their homes are for sale in a market where almost no one in their right mind would want to liquidate an asset.
But remember, the stock broker makes money when you buy a stock AND when you sell a stock, even if you lost money on that stock.
Thanks agaian for your thought provoking post.
Mark MacKenzie Real Estate Planning I agree.
Jim Wood (Crye-Leike Realtors, Inc.) Jim you are so right. There term "New normal" is chilling to the bone. Very scary. Many in our industry would like to act like an ostrich placing their heads in the sand and trying to avoid the headlines, but we cannot avoid the facts. This market is not returning to the way we knew it. The secret is balance. We cannot be paralized by the current events we must move cautiously forward.