KELLER WILLIAMS REALTORS MEET - And World of Real Estate Gets a Bit Scarier!
FEARS SURROUNDING DEEPENING RECESSION, ESCALATING UNEMPLOYMENT, NATIONALIZED BANKING, MORE FORECLOSURES, AND PLUMMETING STOCKS AS FOURTH-LARGEST REAL ESTATE COMPANY CONVENES IN FL!
Just over two years ago, our little Real Estate Team - Dean's Team Chicago - moved its company affiliation to Texas-based Keller Williams. We came for the top training, an incredible Realtor Affiliate Network, and a "You Get By Giving" Culture that matches our own.
Times were very optimistic those two short years ago. But, oh, how those times have changed. The U.S. Real Estate market has "Shifted," as KW Founder, 51-year-old Gary Keller says.
Indeed, the numbers, both nationally and in Chicago, paint a bleak picture. The story was reported in the Wall Street Journal, by reporters Kerry E. Grace and Matthew Cowley. In the Chicago Metro Area, the S & P/Case-Shiller Price Index tumbled 14.3% between December, 2007 and December of last year. Nationally, the U.S. National Home Price Index fell 18.3% during the same one year period.
Average Market Times are high. House-for-Sale Inventories and Homes in Foreclosures have skyrocketed. Consumer Confidence, according to the Conference Board, fell to its lowest level in history in January - a reading of 25.0, versus the December Consumer Confidence figure of 37.7.
Across the U.S., unemployment is expected to continue to surge - exceeding 10% in the hardest hit areas - perhaps far more. Within Dean's Team Chicago we have a little saying - "If, on Friday, a worker feels he might be losing his job next Monday - he's not going to buy a new house over the weekend!"
Bleak, Indeed!
But there is some hope for optimism!
In areas of the country beaten down the hardest during the housing crisis - California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada - multiple, competing bids are common - albeit at fire sale prices! Today, a buyer with adequate funds can buy far more house than he ever thought possible. And the smart, "Buy and Hold" buyer is on track to earn incredible appreciation on his new-found, discounted home in years to come.
The whirlwind first month of the Obama Administration? Agree or disagree with Mr. Obama's policies, it is clear he is not being a shrinking violet when it comes to trying to turn things around. Infrastructure programs, Initiatives to lower mortgage interest rates, or stem the rising tide of home foreclosure. Obama would be the first to admit, however, that such a turnaround would not be fast, or pain free.
Houses CAN sell, you know! It's just a matter about being aggressive on price. Unfortunately, overpriced houses simply drive the fewer buyers in the market today to even cheaper, and plentiful, distressed-sale properties. If the seller is motivated to sell, and prices their home below current market from the start - that house will sell. Likely, sooner rather than later!
Keller Williams is a cutting edge Real Estate Company. A profitable company still! Great employee and co-worker attitude and morale. Dollar volume production goals up. The famous KW Profit Share Program for participating agent-partners.
But the nearly 7,000 Keller Williams agents and brokers who gathered this year in Orlando FL remain concerned about the state of the real estate market today. But every one of us is committed to getting our clients through this Shifting Market.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
