What’s In Your Stocking?
December 24th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Well, Christmas is finally here. On this Eve of what many consider our most celebrated, and certainly costliest holiday, what are you hoping to find in your stocking, or under your Christmas tree? According an associate of mine, for men at least, they’re looking for something electronic. She informed that men always seem to want the latest electronic gadget. Women, according to her, are much more practical. Hmmmm, interesting.
So, what is your latest Christmas wish? Somehow, I doubt that it’s A Christmas Story’s Red Ryder BB gun. But, who doesn’t look forward to opening what’s under the tree? For many, Christmas is a time of celebration and renewal. Both, spiritual and personal. A wonderful opportunity for family to get back in touch with one another. For cards from distant friends. And, for others, the focus of the holiday is on giving.
What if we all were more like George Bailey? You know, Jimmy Stewart’s role in the Christmas favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life. The movie’s main character, whose dream was to travel the world, but never quite got there. Instead, he was continually helping others less fortunate than he. With money, and time, and his tireless efforts. He certainly gave more than he got. Wouldn’t you agree? Of course, George Bailey was a movie character, not a “real” person. But, if he was, who would he be? Do you know someone who fits his description? What about you?
As this year draws to a close, I’m reminded during this Christmas season of giving, that whether fulfilling our duties as professionals, as Realtors, we have a responsibility to give more than we’ll get. And while there are those transactions that make us all wonder why we ever chose this profession, looking back, it’s easy to realize the benefits clearly outweigh the challenges faced. Let’s hope that the case for many of us.
Merry Christmas!
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Let It Snow
December 20th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Yes, if you haven’t heard yet, we’re snowed under! As you can see, the front yard is blanketed in almost two feet of snow, and the Northern Virginia area is struggling with a bit more of the stuff than they were ready for. Outside my front door this morning, it looked like this.
And, as I’ve said previously in this blog, when there’s any show on the ground in Northern Virginia, driving on our roads is akin to bumper cars lite! While that might be a bit of an exaggeration, it’s not far off. From what the local weather channel says, yesterday’s snowfall surpassed the record level that occurred in 1932.
Of course, for many of us, being house bound isn’t something we’re used to. Most Realtors, after all, are out with clients on the weekends. So, the forced confinement is probably what I needed! Life’s like that sometimes, don ‘t you think? Forcing us to do things we otherwise wouldn’t. Perhaps there is something to an overall design to this life. Hmmm, I wonder if….on second thought, perhaps we’d better not start down that road.
So, are you going to be lucky enough to have a white Christmas too? We’ll, while the snow’s here, I might as well head outside and have some fun!
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Our Economic Helter Skelter
November 26th, 2009 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News
“Sooner or later in life, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Is a Federal Housing Administration(FHA) crisis on the horizon? With FHA’s insurance reserve ratio falling to the lowest level in history, at 0.53 percent, there are some who believe the FHA is the next subprime crisis waiting to happen. One of those is homebuilder, Toll Brothers Inc., CEO, Robert Toll. Toll predicts that just like the failed bank bailouts, the FHA will be next in the handout line. And, with the reserve ratio as low as it is, he may be on to something. According to a Congressional mandate, the ratio should be no lower than 2.0
In addition to the alarming FHA news, this week’s Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 25 percent of all homeowners are upside down with their home mortgage. In other words, they owe more on the mortgage than their home is worth. Well, considering how values have fallen since ‘05, that isn’t too surprising.
While the recent encouraging national home sales figures provided us a glimmer of hope amidst the current economic downturn, today’s sobering news concerning the viability of FHA home loans, and the depressed values of properties, bring us back to reality. So, what are we to believe? Are things getting better? Is the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit frenzy skewing sales numbers, or, are increased home sales “genuine”? Are these numbers more akin to a mirage? Instead, are we stuck in an economic tailspin for months, or years to come?
In the competition to provide us the latest and greatest updates on where the economy is heading, we see indications that are both promising and discouraging. Where the housing market may be going, we don’t exactly know. But, fortunately, one thing is for sure, there will be homes both bought and sold. So, perhaps we’d best stick to the present, and as they say, the future will take care of itself. After all, as someone once said, “Predicting the future is easy. It’s trying to figure out what’s going on now that’s hard.”
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More Good News
November 23rd, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Invariably, in the course of conversations with friends, one of the topics that normally arises, is the subject of the homes. Usually, the mention comes in the form of, “How’s the housing market?”
Other than the dramatic shock to financial markets during the year following the height of the housing market and subsequent rapid fall in home prices, the sales market has been fairly predictable. Once lenders got a grip on the deluge of foreclosures and short sales, and this glut of properties began to be adequately handled by them (O.K…so, they’ve still got problems with Short Sales, but they’re getting there), the housing market has been relatively stable.
Today’s latest news on the surge in home sales isn’t news to those of us in the business. As one prospective home buyer in the latest USA Today article mentioned, the market is “insane….I’ve never seen a market like this before.”
That, after having finally securing a home following unsuccessful offers on 20 Las Vegas homes. And, while the rush to “get in” and take advantage before the First Time Home Buyers tax credit offer expired can partly be credited with the robust sales numbers, it doesn’t hurt that home prices, in many locations nationwide are 30-50% less than they were in 2005, or that interest rates are rock bottom.
Many believe that home prices have stabilized. But, with more foreclosures and Short Sale properties landing on the market weekly, we may not have seen the bottom quite yet. With extension of the tax credit, and mortgage rates in a low holding pattern, the surge in home sales numbers may, if we’re fortunate, become a trend instead.
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Are We Being Led, Or Led On? (Part II)
October 11th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Many real estate agents have a tendency to voice their complaints. What do they complain about? Mostly, other agents.
It isn’t the lack of training, or the contract documents, or the difficulties with foreclosures or short sales (don’t get me wrong, everyone is frustrated with the lack of standardization and regulation of short sales), but by a wide margin the complaints are centered on the lack of professionalism in the business. I know, the phrase “lack of professionalism” can mean any number of things. But, for our purposes, let’s break it down into four areas, 1) Honesty; 2) Answering inquiries; 3) Lack of knowledge; 4) Poor customer service.
While each of these areas can examined a bit more closely, for the purposes of this short article, assuming these are true, why is this tolerated? What is it about the real estate profession or culture that encourages these? A good place to start might be with the barebones and inexpensive prerequisites required to get a license as an agent.
According to the Virginia Code, 60 hours of classroom (distance learning works as well) in the principles of real estate, and passing the state and national portions of the salesperson examination is what’s required for licensing as an agent. Do those 60 hours include any training in Ethics? Are prospective agents required to memorize the national Association of Realtors Code of Ethics? What about their Standards of Practice that practicing Realtors are bound by? Do aspiring Realtors have to be familiar with the Standards they are obligated to follow as practitioners? Or, are the Standards simply picked up piecemeal along the way? Apparently that’s the status quo. And, if that’s the case, what’s needed to change the way we do business?
Transformational Leader
The real estate profession needs leadership that will change the culture and the marginal “accepted” practices of its members. Changing the culture or accepted norms of any organization requires leadership that has vision, demands excellence, and is willing to make tough decisions. These hard choices demand more than the usual “care taker” type leaders we’ve come to accept. What’s necessary, is a new breed of leadership that models the professional disciplines of competence, quality performance, and moral courage. The new leadership needs to be nothing short of transformational, establishing a vision for a higher standard of performance, and demanding accountability.
Real estate has witnessed a number of changes over the past few years, many of those due to technological innovation, and the new business models that benefitted from them. And, in many ways, we’ve enhanced the product we provide our clients. But we’ve only touched the surface of what’s needed to improve our profession. It’s now time to work on skill sets and the character of the practitioners. And, to make that a reality, we need leadership that is more concerned with the quality of our business than the quantity.
Are our leaders ready to meet that challenge?
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Are We Being Led, or Led On?
September 23rd, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Leadership has been examined, discussed, practiced, criticized, admired, and mischaracterized for almost as long as humans have been around.
But, for real estate professionals, where does ”leadership” come into practice? Do we lead anything? Are we led by anyone? The obvious answer is, of course leadership is practiced. And, yes, there are indivduals leading us in our profession. But, if that’s the case, what kinds of leadership do we see? Are they leading us in the right direction? And, who is leading who, to do what?
What Does Leadership Look Like In the Practice of Real Estate?
As real estate agents, our job is advise, counsel, and, among other things, educate our clients. At the end of the day, we are paid to influence or persuade. Is that leading? Of course it is. As most of us would agree, leadership is the practice or art of persuasion. The ability to lead is based upon the faith or thrust that those being led have in their leader. Aren’t our clients trusting us when we advise them on market conditions or price? How about when we make recommendations to sellers on staging their home or preparation needed before placing it on the market?
What is their faith in our capabilities based upon? A positive history with us as a previous client? In the case of a new client, what leads them to place their trust in you as an agent? Was it your amazing marketing presentation? And, what about buyers with their new agent, what is the basis for the selection of agent? A recommendation from a friend? The agent’s track record? Good interpersonal skills? Does it really matter? When all is said and done, isn’t it the result that’s most important? While the result is certainly very important to the buyer or seller, how the agent leads is sometimes more important than what the result is.
Agents are considered to be ”independent contractors“. One of the benefits that comes with that capacity is freedom. Since independent contractors aren’t “employed” per se, but instead, work for themsleves, they are free to operate under their own set of rules. Within limits, of course. They are bound by the professional code or operating guidelines of their profession. For Realtors, these guidelines are the Realtor Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. And while Realtors are well aware of what they should or shouldn’t do, most of their clients aren’t. In other words, in most cases, they wouldn’t be aware of misconduct by their agents unless it hit them in the face. And to be honest, while Realtors take pride in what the Code stands for, sometimes their practice of it leaves something to be desired.
How are Realtors held accountable for the practice of their profession? Do owner/brokers hold their agents accountable for their lack of professionalism or malpractice? If so, how? Do these brokers consider it more important for those new agents to get out and sell houses as quickly as they can, or to be well grounded in their Code of Ethics?
More importantly, if the Code is the cornerstone or building block of the practice real estate, how familiar does an agent have to be with their Code of Ethics before they are given a license to practice? In other words, what are those in leadership positions in the real estate profession requiring of their community of agents? What example are they setting and what standard are they accepting from those they are leading?
In real estate, like other professions, there are those sitting in leadership roles that are simply placeholders. Normally they’re in the position for affirmation and little else. Certainly not to seek change, and God forbid, to make waves! I’m reminded of a former classmate of mine from a recent leadership program, who, when asked why he was there, responded, “To check the block”!
There are those who believe that our leadership challenges aren’t much different than those of other professions. But, instead of minimizing the difficulties we face, perhaps we need to be asking instead, how we can transform our profession to one that is second to none when it comes to the public’s trust, instead of one that’s on par with Used Car Salesmen, according to Donald Trump.
But, let’s not get the cart before the horse. Before we take a look at some sugggested avenues of improvement, let’s take a look at some anecdotal evidence on where the real estate ethical compass rests today. We’ll begin that examination in our next blog entry.
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