The downtime the past few days has given me an opportunity catch up on my reading of the blogs of real estate agents across the country. Here’s some of topics and thoughts:
BUYERS: A number of agents were reporting that they were showing homes last week and putting offers in for those buyers. It seemed that many of those buyers were 1st Timers wanting to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. Except for agents in the WARM states, I didn’t read much about move-up buyers, but perhaps, that segment will increase once the 1st Timers get through the inspection phase of their purchase. If this occurs, then we should see the current homeowner market begin to shop for homes. We really need the “trickle-up” effect to take place to get the more expensive homes moved off the market.
OPEN HOUSES: For some reason, there were several bloggers discussing the benefits of holding open houses in today’s world. It’s pretty much equally divided. Most say it depends on the home, the price, and the location. The security risk to both the home and to the agent are being cited more and more as a reason to not have an open house, especially given all the photos that can be posted on the Internet for serious buyers to view. Almost all agree that an open house seldom sells the home being held open, but rather provides a new source of clients for the agent. No surprise there!
POLITICS: Because the real estate business is so closely tied to the economy, agents seem to be stepping up their political commentary. Agents are also self-employed so all the heath care issues are a hot topic as well. Generally the commentary is of the ilk to “throw the bums out” for those who vote without having read a bill.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Real estate bloggers LOVE their techie toys because often our cars are our offices and our smart phones are our lifelines. Bloggers tend to be the “early-adaptors” so being quick to try new techie advances is not surprising. Lots of discussions on the pros & cons of the I-Phone, Blackberries and Droids, plus, actual reports of the Verizon vs AT&T service. My summary of the conversations: IPhone is cool but glass breaks; AT&T drops lots of calls; Blackberry is better for business but less-cool; Verizon is best for service & coverage; Droid is still too new for many opinions.
2010 BUSINESS PLANS: Many agents are working on their plans, trying to sort out what’s going to happen with (1) jobs, (2) inflation vs interest rates, (3) banks, TARP funds and tighter/looser lending restrictions, (4) home buyer Tax Credit impact, especially after the credits expire Apr 30, (5) whether the final language in Cap & Trade will penalize home sellers, and (6) increased government spending and regulation.
Now wasn’t that exciting? Not sure I have anymore answers for my 2010 Business Plan than when I started reading. Let’s see …. where did I put that crystal ball?
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