Today, the Associated Press released the results of their AP-AOL Money & Finance poll (conducted from March 24-April 3, 2008) in which consumers expressed their fears of shrinking home values, missed mortgage payments, rising gas prices, higher jobless rates and the overall slowing of the US economy.

So where does this poll say about the US housing market and real estate in your area?

Interestingly, while 60% of those polled said they definitely won’t buy a home in the next 2 years, the same poll found that 59% think that now is a good time to buy.

The results of the interviewing process of the AP poll also supported what real estate agents across the country already know — the national housing market trends do not always apply to your area. In fact, statistics show that some regions are holding steady in home value while others are experiencing an upsurge in pricing and demand.

This means that the perception created by national headlines about the fading housing market and declining values, something that your clients and potential clients are no doubt mentioning to you in listing presentations and negotiations,  may not accurately reflect what is actually happening regionally or even at the neighborhood level. Real estate agents with local knowledge have a great opportunity to position themselves for success. Realtors need to focus on educating their buyers and sellers on what is happening in their specific market.

Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics for Moody’s Economy.com, a consulting firm also noted, that many people bought their homes before the run-up in values that started around 2001 and remain in good shape. "So the value of your house goes down temporarily," he said. Unless the homeowner must sell now or can’t afford the payments, "that doesn’t have that much of an impact."  (Yahoo, AP article, Alan Fram, 4/14/08)

How do you take this information and create opportunities in today’s changing and challenging market? Successful Realtors like Rick Geha, who spoke to the Monterey County Association of Realtors in mid-March noted,  whether the news is good or bad isn’t the most important factor, it’s your what you do with that information when you communicate with your clients that makes all the difference.

With so much negative information in the news today, how does a Realtor in this  constantly changing market effectively communicate with his or her clients?  Is it a buyer’s market? Is it a good time to sell? Is it bad time to buy? Who can tell? Just take a look at today’s poll — in the AP survey virtually the same percentage of people said they wouldn’t buy right now (60%) but thought that it was a good time to buy (59%)! How you communicate this information to your clients is what matters.

Rick, a successful Keller Williams Realty agent and educator, with 28 years in the real estate industry, believes that real estate agents need to know their market. And as the AP poll illustrates, it can make a difference if you, as the Realtor, provide some context for the consumer public. Remember that often the information they are receiving from the media is not current.  In fact, it can be as much as 2-3 months old by the time data has been collected, analyzed and released to the press. So by educating the public, a real estate agent can alter the consumers’ mindset, while increasing the credibility of his or her own brand and message.

How’s the real estate market treating you? If the answer isn’t what you would have hoped, then this is the perfect time to develop habits and implement systems to help you maintain and increase your real estate business, making it all the more likely that you will be able to ride out fluctuations in the market.

For more information about Rich Geha and his company, The Rick Geha & Coco Lewis Real Estate Group, or his seminars, please visit his website at www.rickandcoco.com.
 

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