The Industry Still In Denial

It was just another day of reviewing real estate news looking for something other than the usual real estate professionals releasing negative statistics. Until I came upon a story from Springfield IL.

Of course, the story contains several negative statistics released by the local Association of Realtors. What makes this story so incredible is how the Association President blames "the weather and high gas and food prices" for the drop in home sales.

See for yourself:


http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1777816246/Weather-economy-cited-in-24-3-percent-home-sales-drop



It's time to blame the Assn. President for not giving this story a much needed positive twist. If I had read that during Feburary 165 home sales were completed in the Springfield IL area, I'd could have been impressed. That month included a severe blizzard, a substantial increase in gas prices, etc. Yet, during that time, an average of more than 3 homes were sold every day. Someone could have figured maybe there are reasons to buy in that area.

It can't be that so many agents are in such denial. At least, I hope not. This is perhaps the worst case of the "You wouldn't want to buy a home here, would you?" syndrome I have seen coming from industry members.

We should all be working on solving the current problem. It is getting more serious every day. Many of those who are not afraid to purchase and can afford to can't get a mortgage. Even more can't get rid of their current property to make their next purchase.

Yet, this guy wants us to believe that if there was not a snowstorm, if gas was still at $2.40 a gallon, and the food crop was better this winter, more homes would have sold.

Not exactly a solution.

Here is it a month later. The snow is all gone. I'm still putting gas in my car, and still eating my regular meals every day. But my house still hasn't sold after more than a year on the market.

I suppose that's because of the St. Patrick's Day parades? Guess we'll find out next month.