Things I Learned in School Today

There are always brilliant tidbits one can glean from continuing education.  The symposium today especially interested me because it was supposed to include the announcement of the most current market figures and provide an analysis of those figures by greater and more experienced agents than myself.  The analysis of the figures was particularly attractive.  Regrettably, the sales figures were announced somewhere else, because I only heard a few.

But, there were some amusing quips and not so amusing facts I carried away which hint at the latest market trends.

• Business is "different" but still happening.  (Now that's enlightening!)
• Sellers may lose in the sale of their current home but have a stronger position (will make out like bandits) in the purchase of their new home (especially if they are move up buyers).
• The resurface of investor buyers in the market is a good sign.  Investor buyers usually indicate the market is at or near the bottom.
• Affordability is the key to sales success.
• Whereas there has been a decrease in the overall number of agents in the business and consolidation of satellite offices of big companies, the number of small brokerages has increased.  (Agents being independent sorts are getting their broker licenses and going out on their own.)
• Business models are changing.  "Shift" happens.  The new business models must embrace web 2.0 and social networking.  (No!  Really?)
• "We (agents) work for free a lot!"  (That's for sure!)
• In the 13 county metro area which includes St. Paul, only 40,055 transactions closed in 2007.  That was a 16.4% drop from the previous year.  The median price in the metro area dropped by 2.2%. 
• Obtaining a listing no longer guarantees a sale. (That was enlightening.)
• The REALTORS'® Association has press releases available for agent use to convince buyers to buy!   (Now why would I want to parrot someone else's words when working with my client?  Besides, I'm not about to "convince" one of my clients to buy until they are ready!)
• In a room of 450 or more agents, only two admitted to  "Twittering".
• My two favorite lines were from a realistic developer with a family owned business.  He stated he will be spending more time golfing this summer (at miniature golf courses instead of the big ones) and more time fishing (from the Cedar Ave. bridge at Lake Calhoun instead of from a yacht on Lake Minnetonka)!
• Buyers in today's market need compelling reasons to buy a home.
• The new construction developers are no longer dictating to the market telling buyers what they should have.  Instead, buyers are defining what they will buy, where, and for what price.  The old adage, "Build it and they will come" no longer applies!

As always there was much, much more, but these little vignettes are a great beginning.

Comments

[Bonnie Erickson]

Twitter, twitter, peep, peep!

[Carole Cohen]

Bonnie, I bet not many more admitted to blogging? At least that is how it would have been at a Cleve gathering of 450-ish. I await your Twitters!