A conversation about the Real Estate industry

By Alyssa Panduro Staff Writer

The real estate agency is an ever growing and changing market, according to Jerry Stapp, a licensed real estate professional since 2004 and a broker since 2013 in California. His experiences include being a certification of forms trainer, selling new homes, listing distressed properties, and working on the lending side of the business, which have helped him see the changes that are occurring in the real estate industry and some of the ways the market has influenced such changes.

Stapp has remained vigilant in this industry and also noted the way large nation and world events, such as the 2008 stock market crash and the Covid-19 pandemic have affected the market for home sales and the real estate industry as a whole.

Stapp stated that he believes the most difficult time for real estate agents was during the stock market crash in 2008, though his own experience was different from those of his constituents.

“Personally, I did well in this era because I sold REO properties which are bankowned properties taken from people that can no longer pay for their mortgages. Many other agents never had the opportunity, causing a struggle to find business,” said Stapp.

Stapp stated that the market had remained relatively balanced after it recovered, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“From 2015 to 2019 we had a healthy market. There’s always going to be more leverage between the buyers versus the sellers at any time, but in those years there was a balanced market,” said Stapp.

Stapp stated the Covid-19 pandemic influenced that balance negatively in the past few years.

“Since Covid hit, it’s been unbalanced, and now that we’re coming out of that Covid time and rates are peaking fast we’re unbalanced again,” said Stapp.