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Yesterday was a political junkie’s dream come true. We had massive chatter about what to do about
Michigan and Florida’s mishandled primaries; we had Eliot Spitzer get caught with his pants down
(sorry, I couldn’t resist), and Silda Spitzer singing “Stand By Your Man” (she must have taken lessons
from Hilary Clinton). Of course, we also had the spectacle of what happens when the geeky brainiac
girl thinks the hot jock will actually go to the prom with her, as demonstrated by Barack Obama’s
emphatic statement to the world at large, and particularly, Hilary Clinton: “I am not running for Vice-
President!”
As a Pennsylvania resident, it is both amusing and bemusing to find out that after a 30+ year hiatus, my state will ‘count’ again. And, as I look at the mess in Michigan and Florida, caused by the Democratic National Committee and Howard Dean, I’m reminded of Will Roger’s quote: “I don’t belong to an organized political party; I’m a Democrat.” This is to the backdrop of Al Sharpton singing his theme song of “It’s Not Fair”. The idea that the voters in these two states should shoulder the cost of another primary is absurd. For whatever reason, the Democratic leaders thought Iowa and New Hampshire were sacred cows when it came to early primaries and no other state should mess with that. I guess they missed the day in Civics class when the teacher covered states’ rights. All of these demonstrate the strong need for one national primary day, get it counted, get it over with, and let us move on.
However, as a REALTOR®, many thanks to the Democrats, the primary process and Mr. Spitzer—you have kept the media’s attention away from real estate. This is a true blessing, because when the talking heads start to chatter and bobble, they can talk themselves into just about anything.
I just did an ePRO seminar yesterday in Westchester County, New York. I asked the students: “How’s your market?” Remember, kids, real estate is LOCAL, despite what those folks on TV would have you believe. One student said her company sold more in 2007 than in 2006, and she is ‘very busy’. Another student said it was ‘slow, but not as bad as some times’. Yes, there are pockets of the country that are hurting—the overbuilt places, the ones where they took double digit property inflation as a given, and the pockets where the local economy is bad. And, it isn’t over yet. But—there are some real bargains out there in real estate land, and some buyers are beginning to wake up to that.
In the meantime, I have fervent hopes that politics and sex will continue to distract the media from our business, real estate.
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
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