A State Of Mind

A State of Mind

By Karen Schlosser ........................................................................................................................................August 19, 2010 How we go through life is a state of mind. I haven’t always been a Jimmy Buffett fan, and wouldn’t call myself a parrothead, but I have gone to his concert in Cincinnati for the last two (2) years and have acquired a true appreciation for his lyrics and his attitude… escapism, relaxing and enjoying life, despite what is happening which is my prelude to this month’s State of the Market.

Last month we reported that sales continued to climb, closings were up, average sales price was up, and absorption rate remained on the low side. As you take a look at this month’s numbers you’ll say to yourself…wow, what a difference!

Keep in mind…the tax credit expired April 30, 2010; mandatory closing for the tax credit was to end June 30, 2010 and, at the very last moment, was extended to September 30, 2010…now look at the charts…

Sales are down by 31% from July 2009, absorption rate skyrocketed from 6.8 months to 11.5 months (up 41%), and average sales price remained the same. WOW…what a difference!

Keeping with the Jimmy Buffett theme, his song, Changes In Latitude, Changes In Attitude, comes to mind because when there are changes in latitudes (sales on the downside, absorption rate on the upside) there are changes in attitude.

When singing this song, Jimmy is conveying his message of escapism, whether you think of it as escapism or looking for the positive matters not, what matters is that you find the bright spots and concentrate on those.

The bright spots I see are, we continue to enjoy a wide choice of housing inventory, favorable pricing on homes, interest rates that continue to remain low and have even gone lower than a year ago and it continues to remain an incredible time to buy. If you’ve listened or read my other pieces about the market you’re going to say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, Karen, you keep saying the same thing”. You’re right, it is still true!

And yes, we have our challenges, too. We continue to have tightening of financing, challenging inspections, encumbered titles, short payoffs for sellers requiring them to bring money to the table or negotiate with the lender(s), increase of foreclosures, properties appraising below sales price, and yet people continue to buy and sell real estate.

And in the middle of all of this, we change company name, we’re now answering our phone, Comey & Shepherd, REALTORS. Last week I found myself saying, “Hi, this is Karen Schlosser, RE/MAX Unlimited…I mean, Comey & Shepherd…well, no matter what, I’m still Karen Schlosser, I haven’t changed”. We can all agree, “market conditions change, companies change, the trusted source of good advice does not”. A very important concept to convey to all we know.

In fact, in our current environment, now is the perfect time to reach out to our friends, family, past and current clients…let them know Although we have a new marketing identity, we’re still the same person they know and love; despite what they hear, people continue to buy and sell real estate, in fact, since January 1st there have been an average of 50 homes selling a day, the same average we’ve had for at least the last 3 years; market conditions couldn’t be better to buy real estate, and for those selling they should understand the benefit to them when they go and buy.

The state of our market is truly the state of your mind. And if your state of mind needs a little adjustment, heed Jimmy Copyright© Karen Schlosser August 2010 Buffett’s other philosophy…it’s five o’clock somewhere!