Posted on 08/22/2007 5:32:12 AM PDT by Hydroshock
WASHINGTON - Plummeting stock prices. Mortgage lenders filing for bankruptcy or shutting down. Layoffs at homebuilders and banks. Soaring foreclosures and loan defaults.
Damage from the nation's slumping housing market is evident throughout the economy and permeates financial markets. Add real estate agents to the growing list of victims, although they know few tears will be shed for them.
The National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade. The group ended 2006 with nearly 1.4 million members — almost double the roughly 716,000 it had in 1997 — but expects 2007 to close with 1.3 million, a drop of more than 4 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
A year or 2 from now, the headline will be “As housing soars, people flock to Realty as a profession”
The cyclical process of weeding out fly by night mortgage brokers, Realtors, flippers and home builders
any time the 'rats have a better shot, expect pms-nbc to show numbers and "facts" that things are looking rosy for the economy.
As a Realtor, I feel it just clears the ranks of those who don’t have a committment to good service. Those weekend realtors (with a little r), the Carl’s tire shop and real estate services outfits, and the realtors who sit in the office all day expecting clients to walk through the door, are the ones who are dropping out.
REALTORS who make an honorable career, who take care of their customers and clients and who adhere to the ethical standards are still standing strong and doing well.
My two cents
Howza bout I flip this finger?? ;^)
I work admin for Century 21 here in New Hampshire, and agents who actually show up for floor time and push their marketing and stay on the ball, are the ones who seem to still sell houses. Those agents who complain the most and sit at home, usually end up staying there or move on.
I have noticed that. In boom times I have been bewildered at people I know who have hopped into it..There have been times where "house sellers and mortgage sellers" could do no wrong, because everyone made a killing. Then, when all the French Fries have been gleaned from the parking lot, they flew back to the City Dump, and returned to selling Used Cars and scrap metal...
No big deal. A lot of realtors are part timers who never sold anything.
Wait?! You mean this is cyclical and not the demise of America!??
I know a few realtors and mortgage brokers, and I’ve heard about business being really slow, but my thought was, when business was brisk...didn’t you anticipate a slowdown at some point. Reminds me of the fable of the grasshopper and the ant, in that no “food” was stored during the good times, and now the bad times have hit and there’s no cushion to fall back on.
It’s a theory of mine. Maybe I’m self-deluded.... /s
The cycle part of the housing market is tough enough to deal with without taxpayers having to bail out S&L’s gone bad like we did in the ninety’s.I hope we can avoid that part of the cycle this time !!!
“They move from flip that house to flip that burger.”
Both professions will be improved.
But, but...that means, uh, housing prices will come down, and, uh, really smart people will get really good deals!?? Is that bad?/s
In Hillary’s America, YES, that’s bad.
Yep. I have seen a great number of dishonest realty deals where there is little disclosure about the condition of houses.
Rentals are especially suspect. It is common practice to file small claims against tenants not for damage caused by tenants, but by the result of deferred repairs. A lot of them figure they can bully some poor renter into paying without going to court because they have lawyers.
Here in Southern Oregon, I have seen places that should honestly be condemned rented by unsuspecting or ignorant tenants who don't have the resources (or know the right people in the good ole boy network) to fight in court.
I am especially wary of the realtor/rental agencies who charge $35.00 for non-refudable credit checks all day long to large numbers of people and only pay $50.00 a year for the service.
The better realtors are not always the most successful in terms of dollars, but they are the most reputable and word does get around locally about who is the most reliable.
A buyer's agent is probably the best bet if you are pre-qualified for the loan or have the cash reserve to buy. The seller's agent is not looking out for the best interest of the buyer.
“You want fries with that?”
Good times and bad, slow or red hot, established realtor's will ALWAYS make money. Smarter ones buy up properties during good times that they rent out to help supplement their income during the slow times.
It's not a bad business to get into if you plan to be in it for the long haul. You can set your pace to be a busy as you want to be, and hire the quick buck dreamers during busy times, watch them dwindle during lean times. (your agency makes money from their sales regardless)
The realtor I use hardly ever goes out and shows homes, he just sits around running the office. He's sort of been retired for the past 20 years or so, taking life easy and doing a lot of fishing. Ask him if he worries about slow sales, bankruptcies, etc. He just smiles.
Yup, my old Barber will be back soon. He took off a couple of years ago to “get back into Real Estate”.
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