I’ve never been busier! Most of my business now comes from referrals and past clients. Have a handful of listings that are nice properties and fairly priced by seller’s leaving the area or moving up/down. They are well prepared for what’s coming. The one’s leaving the area are going cheaper places and will do fine. The one’s staying will have well marketed properties that sell well in today’s market and I’ll make sure they buy even better. If your staying it doesnt much matter because what you have will rise or fall just like what you are buying. They know better than to try to time the market and are fine riding out whatever comes their way. I have several buyer’s I have been working with over a year that really want to be here but I’ve been encouraging them to wait until the tide shifts. They’ll probably be buying in Late Summer/Fall (when more sellers will have no choice but to get real) so they can beat the prospect of another brutal Winter. They are coming from other desirable places and can afford to live here (i.e. cash or mostly cash buyers). I also have some young highly paid professionals that are renting but really want to move on with their lives. We’ll take our time to find exactly what they want and will only buy if we can negotiate what I consider next years prices. BTW, I am not an elitist and my favorite clients (a public utlity worker and his waitress wife who bought an ocean view home 4 years ago from me for about $275,000 in what has become an up and coming area) are the ones who depended upon me most and who I have had the most profound impact upon. However, I’d have a hard time selling them a home today if the situation presented itself.
With alot of education I know better than most and carry the burden of knowing better. I pretty much have called every move of the market 3 to 6 months in advance over the last four years. I never have and never will knowingly sell someone into a situation that will destroy their life. It allows me to sleep well at nite (as long as the kids arent crying over the monitor).
As far as the mortgage goes, my wife left the work force 3 years ago from a well paying career. She recently went back to work 2 days a week and makes more than half what we need to survive. It also gives her a much needed break from being a full time mom.
Most of the people I work with have been around much longer than me and are well positioned to ride out yet another cycle. As for the newbies…..good riddance to most of them. I’ve met alot that I wouldnt trust to clean my house. I fully expect at least 1/3 of the realtors/mortage brokers etc. to be gone from the business by the end of 2007. The ones that remain will be the ones that understand how to get things done. People will allows want to move to SD and those that live here will need to move as their lives change. SD is more transient than most places in nature and will always be a relatively active real estate market.
