Wrong Attitude About Home Sales Increase

A news story in the San Antonio Express News was intended to be a positive reflection of the local Real Estate market. Finally. But talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth! The two key people quoted in this story cast more of a negative on it than enforcing it for the positive it should be.

And these two key people are supposed to be there to HELP get more homes sold. This turns into another example of how it is careless advertising and marketing which is hurting the real estate industry as much as anything else.

Please understand this is not a personal attack. It is to make an important point to realty agents and to those in the industry about how much they can hurt their own cause.

The Express News story quotes the Chairman of the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) about the 25th consecutive month of a local rise in home sales. Instead of using this opportunity to point out how wonderful it is that this is now a 2-year trend, he is quoted as saying "Even with things not being as big of an increase, it's still an increase".

Say what? The head honcho of the realty association gets quoted in the major local newspaper as saying this increase in home sales is not a big deal. Sheesh.

But there is more. He also claims, in this story, that housing inventory remains limited, as he sees it, with an average of more than four months to sell a listing. Four months? To make it worse, he is quoted as saying that "Anything less than six months is a seller's market".

Sorry, but this is a horrible quote for a potential buyer to read. If you are looking at homes for sale in an area of San Antonio, and see that most of the homes you are looking at have been listed for more than FOUR months, wouldn't you think there must be reasons why these homes are NOT selling?

Then, later in the story, an agent from a prominent local realty firm is quoted as being concerned that appraisers have to "go back as much as six months" for comparable sales figures. As if what most appraisers, who have contributed a ton of harm to the real estate market by including distressed property sale prices within their valuations, need to do is of concern to a potential buyer and seller.

Here is what could and SHOULD be a very positive story about the local home market being turned into a "Gee, we don't know" mood. All both people quoted had to do was comment about how "This trend is helping all concerned since more homes are being sold each month".

A sorry "half empty" approach when the cup is finally more than half full.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/San-Antonio-home-sales-hit-six-year-high-5060098.php