Congratulations to all real estate practitioners on being survivors of the perfect storm which has raised havoc within the industry the last few years. It seems every time we pick up a newspaper, turn on the TV, or listen to the radio, there is nothing but bad news and consumer confidence is at an all time low. To make things even more difficult it seems like every time a group of industry members get together we all commiserate as how bad things are business is terrible and such.
2012 can be the year of opportunity and to make it the way we need to change our attitudes and look at our opportunities. Interest rates are the lower they have been in years. Yes there are foreclosures and short sales, however they are opportunities for our buyer clients to get some good deals. We all have horror stories about deals that fall apart because of appraisals, home inspections, lender problems, and such. We have had these problems in the past but business was so good we never put the emphasis on them. Now we hover around the water cooler or coffee maker, and complain about our problems with each other, myself included. There was a time of selling houses and getting mortgages at 15% to 18% interest rates. We lived through it and succeeded.
I have come to realize that mortgages are being made and houses are being sold and closed on in spite of the perfect storm. I encourage you as leaders and movers and shakers to join me in engaging in a positive conversation about the industry.
2012 presents us another great opportunity in the federal and state elections. This is our opportunity for change, our opportunity to put at the forefront of the ideas that home ownership matters and real estate recovery. We as leaders need to get the message out to our fellow members that they need to listen and do their homework to learn about the candidates and vote the REALTOR® party when they enter that voting booth.
Robert Kimball
