I attended a Local Brokers Council Meeting several days ago and came away from that gathering in a sober mindset. In our State of Georgia which has 159 counties, only ONE county is not considered a declining market by the Georgia Association of Appraisers! A local broker of one of the largest real estate companies in our area shared that they had four transactions fall through just recently by the appraisals coming in too low to make the contract work. We also have other challenges to address such as:
- Higher credit scores needed to obtain a loan
- Anxiety of Sellers facing stiff competition with the plethora of inventory and not enough equity to sell at a profit
- Cautious Buyers who are hoping that prices will continue to be reduced and inundated with the number of homes on the market that meet their search criteria
- The frequent media coverage painting a picture of recession, gloom and doom
All that said, my personal preference has always been working with buyers and now is such a fantastic time for individuals or investors to benefit from today’s prices. We as REALTORS® must break out of our own paralysis and keep advertising, promoting and selling OURSELVES and our SERVICE. We cannot allow anxiety to get in the way of staying in the game and always striving for new and creative ways to be successful.
If there ever was a time in the last couple of decades to separate the “MEN from the BOYS” so to speak, I would say this may very well be it! The old saying “When times are tough, the tough get going” may be trite but definitely appropriate. | 
RSS Blog Feed
? Jul. 12, 2008 - RE: Fear can Truly Paralyze Agents and their Clients
Sally, you are so right!!!! This is a time that separates the "men from the boys" so to speak & you are way above the rest of the realtors when it comes to efficiency, timeliness & general knowledge of your subject matter. Buying a condo with you was such a breeze because you took care of so many details & either had the answers or found the answers to our many, many questions! We so enjoyed doing business with you- sometimes I still can't believe we bought a condo sight unseen! But the words you said were so true- we've never regretted doing it!!
We will be coming down on July 16th & look forward to seeing you. I absolutely love love love your updated webpage (I don't know how updated it actually is-i haven't been on it awhile). I'm so glad the snow prediction is zero but you need to do something about the thunderstorms expected every day next week:) Thanking you in advance--can;t wait to see you & Elizabeth (the 9 year old daughter) can't wait to ride the buggy around town! Take care!
Fondly, Irene Hatch
PS John & Elizabeth send their regards, also.