Pre-Election Jitters?
I would like to ask the question, "Do you think that if we see major changes in who is seated in our Congress and Senate...could that give a major psychological lift to the nation and boost confidence?"
Most everyone I know in real estate across the country are telling me that their market has slowed considerably since the credit stimulus has disappeared. I've been in real estate long enough to know that this is not business as usual now that the kiddies are back in school. Mortgage rates are absolutely incredible if your buyer can get a loan, and there has never been a better time to buy a home at the right price. But where are the buyers? They seem to be frozen in fear, and have postponed any big purchases for the time being. Consumer confidence is still dropping, unemployment remains high, and the promised stimulus and Tarp monies will be withdrawn from the economy shortly. No one really knows what is going to occur next. Historically, it is very similar to the Great Depression sentiment of 1937 when many persons in the country through out congress because they realized nothign was changing almost 8 years since the first crash. (The Forgotten Man)...so similar to the late 1930's we may not looking to Washington DC to solve this crisis.
So here are my thoughts. I 'm sure many other persons like myself are looking to see what really occurs this coming election day. Who'll be elected, and how they will vote will affect all our futures. Many Americans have learned a hard lesson that there is a major price to pay for being apathetic in the past. Who we elect does matter. My only hope is that Congress and the Senate on a national level would probably be better served by almost a complete overhaul. It is not their America, but our America. "We the People!" Unemployment cannot be lowered since we have exported almost all our manufacturing jobs, furniture making, textiles, and small appliances (NAFTA). A service sector economy is a pipe dream, when we have nothing to service other than fast food hamburgers and fries. We need viable jobs to turn this economy around again...not road projects on Bailout funds that pay subcontractors that will hire illegal aliens to work on paving roads at night to conceal the sham. The empty promise and failure of unemployment not going above 8% if we send a trillion dollars, and the grabbing of our health care system at over a trillion dollars to be handled by the same serving politicos that created the entire mess we are in is definitely sobering, painful and really irritating. What are your thoughts?
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Jim:
I think it is combination of the tax credit, unemployment and fear of an out of control federal government. There many buyers just kicking tires. They need a reason to move ahead.
Richard
Richard Stabile Bergen County New Homes Builder Realtor (REMAX real estate associates) Richard those are the things I am thinking of also!
Jim,
We knew there were going to be a few strong months followed by extreme lows. Right now in Colorado, we're in the "desert" months. We continue to work on marketing efforts, eliminating non-profitable business protocols, and we're changing some personal habits - basically trying to enjoy more time to ourselves. Nonetheless, I, like you, believe the Nov elections will have a great impact on what happens through the first and second quarters of next year...
Jim there are too many people that want the government to make life easy for them. Unless this attitude changes we are in trouble down the road.
If a politician says whoa, rein it in, the government is bloated, inefficient, wasteful..then folks that belt tighten the same way to get value will elect that person. The problem is say that to get elected, hired your second cousin as czar of pork belly spending. And land your no good brother in law that has bounced around from job to job every twenty minutes a $250,000 job doing not that much. But who did hand out campaign flyers and election buttons saying "Jimbo This Time" and help get you elected. Make him commissioner of spend, spend, spend.
Jim My only problem is I don't trust their commitment to substantial change
Jim,
We have proof that Elections Have Consequences, right here, right now, in the White House. He is having great success at destroying the country , and yes, he had help before he took office... We will have NO recovery until we have a change in the direction that the politicians are herding us... Right now, America is heading to serfdom. Turn things around politically, and we "might" have a chance at moving toward freedom... Washington DC vs America. Clash of the Titans. There Will Be Blood...
Colorado Springs Realtor - Cherise Selley (Selley Group Real Estate, LLC) I believe as you do also. It is slooow right now!
John Walters (Licensed in Slidell, Louisiana) (Slidell, Pearl River, Lacombe) I agree, and that is not good.
Andrew Mooers | Northern Maine Real Estate / Aroostook County Broker (MOOERS REALTY) Andrew I totally agree. Power corrupts. We need servants of the people and the nation ...not self serving politicians. In the old days we would say that... we need persons with integrity, good morals, and unyielding convictions!
Karen Kruschka - Prince William, Fairfax ,Stafford County VA Real Estate Service (RE/MAX Olympic Realty) We all have that fear, that why our vote should never be treated lightly. Voting is a serious thing with long lasting effects.
Patrick Harfst (Realty Executives - Gilbert AZ) I believe as many others that this massive ship heading in the wrong direction can be turned around and set a new course that is based on what this country was found on. The rights of each individual, individual freedoms, liberty, the rule of law and not a collective socialistic state that mouths one thing, but does another for self enrichment and usurps power to grow government even bigger. I am anxious as to which direction Americans will take this once great nation this coming election day.
Here is the contrarian view. It isn't President Obama's fault that the greed and fraud that were encouraged by the previous administrations policies sent us into a horrid recession. (It isn't President Bush's personal fault either). The current tea party thing is just a redo of the Ross Perot thing. There are valid points. What I see and I am way political is the populace getting real tired of the Demo/Repub infighting. I do see that this administration lacks understanding of business - Clinton understood it. But it takes solutions, not just "rushisms".
It kind of gets down to what we deal with everyday in our business. There has to be a basis of ethical behaviour. Just because you can exploit the American financial system by manipulating mortgages so that C minus paper looks like A paper doesn't mean that it's ok. It is truly that kind of activity that is the cause of this economic mess.
Kathy Judy (Remax Tri-Cities) Well said. It need to be about the nations needs, not political needs. I am in favor of voting out all incumbents. Let's start new!
Many thanks Jim for this post. I practice RE in the OKC Metro area and we've seen quite a slow down inspite of the fact that our economy hasn't been hit mega hard like a lot of the larger markets. What I think is going on is that buyers no longer really pay the majority of their attention to local news and are, instead, going to the internet and the major news sources - which give a more generalized, national viewpoint of the economy and those forces that influence it - and they're getting the daily doom and gloom. Also, they're inundated with the scary reports and listening to national radio pundits and they are confused about what's really going on in their market and scared to death of buying a home and finding out they're in a negative equity position in the next few years.
Buyers are uncertain, confused, scared and listening to all the wrong people. The challenge, and I haven't figured this one out yet, is how to get QUALITY, REALISTIC and BALANCED information - on a large scale - to the many out there who are just plain frozen stiff.
I'm just one realtor and don't have the resources for major news buletins and advertising to counter the unbalanced perspective of much of the media.
Anyone have any ideas?
Yes, I stopped watching and listening to the news! It is too gloomy!
Hello Jim, I've had at least one buyer hold off on buying as they were told by their boss to expect another home buyer tax credit, better than the previous one, to be implemented next year. I hope too many folks don't think that way as we need good capable buyers to step up and Buy! John
Alexander-Slocum REMAX Team - Vancouver WA Real Estate (RE/MAX equity group, inc. - Vancouver Washington) Buyers seem to be in very short supply right now. We had several buyer walk this week and want to rent. Uncertainty about hte economy, and job is not good for any of us.