Comments on: Lake Norman Real Estate Predictions for 2010

By: Diane Aurit

Diane Aurit — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:40:34 +0000

Priscilla, Interesting that you turn the focus to Realtors. You are exposed to our local Realtors probably more than most anyone else. I couldn’t agree with you more. We are seeing so many agents leave the business that flourished during the good times but don’t have the basic skills or knowledge to succeed. You and I have been through recessions and still embrace the old school values and ethics that so many agents simply don’t get. For me, my focus has always been and always will be entirely on my clients best interests. I hope, as you do, that what comes out of this is a significant raising of the bar for Realtors in our Lake Norman area! We should have coffee again soon!

By: Diane Aurit

Diane Aurit — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:29:40 +0000

Mason, I agree with you for the most part. All of my bullet points could have a very negative impact on our Lake Norman housing market as well as the national housing market. And, jobs are going to play a huge role in 2010. While I predicted that 2010 will be a year of stablization, as I said, our market will be driven by foreclosures and shortsales. The more distressed properties that are taken out of our inventory, the better for our overall stability. What I have been experiencing for the past 6 months, is an uptick in sales because buyers are now willing to step in and buy great bargains rather than wait for the entire market to swing. In my opinion this is an important shift. If buyers continue to step forward when they see really good properties at bargain prices our local inventory declines. It is almost as if our Lake Norman market must be assessed on a property by property basis. Overall, our market is struggling and will continue to do so for years. However, more buyers are taking advantage of opportunities that arise now that our distressed properties prices have gotten so low. I sold several great waterfront properties this past several months in the mid $600,000s that were originally purchased for over $1 million. I guess its baby steps and progress but not a big picture recovery. Thank you for your comment!

By: Mason Boswell

Mason Boswell — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:39:07 +0000

I will take the flip side and note that almost every one of your “Big Picture” bullets is very negative for home prices. Thus, the conclusion I come to right now is that 2010 will be a year of continued decline, and we will not see a recovery take hold yet. I also don’t think unemployment is done climbing, and we may well see double current levels (i.e., 20%). The consumer is simply pushed to the wall on debt and we are still running on the fumes of a series of government plans to make things appear as usual. However, once the government plans run out of steam, if consumer spending hasn’t turned around we will be in real trouble. Note that during the Great Depression the first year showed the biggest decline, but a 10 year steady decline followed. I have yet to see any reason for optimism that a recovery is near.

By: Duane Johns

Duane Johns — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:08:21 +0000

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. “Cautious Optimism” seems to be the term for this new year. I think it will be a slow turn and will depend a great deal on the employment picture. Good luck in 2010

By: Priscilla

Priscilla — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:35:17 +0000

Diane – Your blog started me thinking about the future of real estate.
Personally I think we licensees need to change our vocabulary. Recovery means to get back to where you were. We will not see 2004, 2005 or 2006 ever again. So what will the new normal look like? That is the million dollar question. Perhaps 2002-2003 sales, prices, number of licensees, etc., but we don’t know what this crash has done to our psyche, and therefore to the willingness of the people to get back into the home ownership game. With savings gone, job growth almost non-existent and no rosy glow on the horizon, where will the brave buyers come from to buy the huge inventory of homes on the market?
I know we all want the public to start believing and start buying, and therefore our positive note on what’s coming in the near future. But I think we need to be focusing on ourselves and our part in this buy/sell process. We have to go back 10 to 15 years as real estate agents to get to what we have to be now. We need to change what a real estate agent is. We have to develop relationships, prove our worth as an advisor and learn to always put the consumer first. We lost a lot of that in the glitter of quick sales, and the public doesn’t think much of us because of our actions. So, what is my point? We need to stop telling buyers to buy and sellers to sell. We need to stop thinking about how much money we’re not making now. We need to improve our knowledge of laws, contracts, economics, agency and personal relationships. And we need to start asking the public, “How can I help you?” and start assuring them that we are here to serve them and protect them. We will never “recover”; we will be forever changed. Hopefully, for real estate licensees, it will be to a more caring, more service oriented business of helping people successfully accomplish the largest transaction of their lives.
Priscilla Senecal