Tucson Real Estate Agents Not Even Coming To The Office
August 29, 2007
Post Tags: arizona_daily_star , buy_a_home , market_slowdown , sell_a_home , Tucson_real_estate_agents
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There was an article in the “Arizona Daily Star” yesterday August 28, 2007. The title of the article (remember titles are to be catchy, not a reflection of truth or reality) read:
Even in ’scary’ era, some home buyers can still get loans
Don’t cha just love that title. SOME HOME BUYERS CAN STILL GET LOANS. Jeez, I thought nobody could get a loan anymore, at least according to what I read in the papers.
If no one can get a loan, then almost nobody can buy a home, and if no one can buy a home what good does it do to sell a home, because if you sell your home you can’t get a loan to buy another one. YIKES! It really is scary out there.
Since no one can buy or sell a home it isn’t any wonder real estate agents have stopped coming to the office. What are they going to do at the office? No one can get a loan.
Now we find out we probably could go back to the office and see who is still in the business, because SOME HOME BUYERS CAN STILL GET LOANS. What a huge relief.
Here is how the article started:
“Looking on the bright side of the market slowdown is getting tougher for local real estate agents.
As financial problems increase for mortgage lenders across the country and lending standards tighten, several Tucson agents said they expect the number of buyers probably will shrink too.
“The market’s really scary right now,” said Pamela Young, an agent who has worked with Long Realty Co. for the past 10 years. “There’s a lot of agents who don’t even come to the office anymore.“
I have to stop here and let everyone reading this know just how much this quote from Pamela Young made my day. I mean it. The stock market dropped over 280 point yesterday and Monday wasn’t a fun day on Wall Street either. Then I read this statement about agents not even coming to the office anymore and I laughed out loud on a very Dark Day on Wall Street.
It makes me question the opening sentence as to which market might be referred to here. “Looking on the bright side of the market slowdown is getting tougher for local real estate agents.” This is probably true, after all didn’t all the real estate agents make a killing over the past 4 years. Didn’t they take all this loot and invest it in the stockmarket, all the real estate agents knew it was a “bubble” waiting to burst so why would they invest in real estate?
Reading to the end of the article I can’t find that it ever gets to who these SOME HOME BUYERS are that can still get loans. There is a quote at the end of the article, but it isn’t by a Mortgage source it is a Real Estate source.
Here is the setup paragraph:
“With lending standards tightening, buyers will have to be better-qualified to buy houses. And better-qualified buyers will be less likely to end up getting stuck with adjustable interest rates or falling into default or foreclosure. “
“They have to have a good job, good credit and cash,”
Oh my gosh, the SOME BUYERS are the ones that can and will pay back the loan.
I wonder how many of these “SOME BUYERS” there are?
August 29th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Yeah, that was a bit up there on the usual BS scale.;-) Some truth makes its way in the paper occasionally, too, though. Not that many would notice it…
August 29th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Concerned,
Well Put : )
August 29th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I am planning to sell my Tucson home in the future. I am not a real estate agent, but I and many others do read these blogs. I must say that realtors are contributing to the doom and gloom. Real estate markets are affected by emotional reactions as are the stock markets. I think the real estate market could use some focus on the positive aspects of the market movement. It would be best if blogs were not available to the general public if moaning and groaning is the focus. I know it is tough times for all of you, but really, it is real estate agents and mortgage lenders that will pull us out. So I say, Pull up your boots, get together, find ways to get people into homes that won’t bankrupt the buyer and the mortgage lender. Be creative, brainstorm!! How about buying 50% of home with an investor? Family lives in it. Appreciation occurs. Family wants to move up to better housing as income improves. Invester has first right to buy family’s half or it is sold with profit shared by family and investor after the market improves. There are many ideas to get the market moving. Some families could qualify for half the cost of a house. Realtors could find honest law abiding investors that would find this a worthwhile investment. Maybe this is pie in the sky, but I think brokers, realtors and mortgage lenders could come up with some inventive and legal methods to move houses that don’t bankrupt families and mortgage companies. Real estate agents win too. Wouldn’t it be nice to be getting those commisions again? I have always believed that there is a solution to every problem - you just have to find it - or design it!
August 29th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Beverly,
I’m with you. That is one of the reasons I wrote this post. The newpapers make it sound like it is all doom and gloom. Which is why I wrote this tongue in cheek post.
It is not as bad as it is being portrayed.
August 30th, 2007 at 4:09 am
Wow! So the paper is telling me that you can’t get a loan if you have a bad job, bad credit and no money? What a novel concept.
August 30th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Hi Linda,
Yeah, thats the way I read it. And that is called “SCARY” Lions and Tigers and Witches Oh My.
A Job and Good Credit and Money Oh My!
August 30th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Dave,
You need to march right down to a Long Realty office and read little Ms. Young the riot act.
She has quite the nerve to spook potential buyers the way she is.
Get Russel to fire her! Now, before she ruins the Tucson market.
watcher
August 30th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
watcher,
Good to hear from you. lol, it is good to see you have a nicely developed sense of humor. : )
That is quite the quote isn’t it. Wouldn’t you just love this to be your one and only quote in the papers.
“There’s a lot of agents that don’t even come to the office anymore”
Could this in some ways be a good thing. : )
August 30th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
watcher,
It does have the potential to spook buyers, I guess that is why they called it “scary” but compared to the media’s onslaught Ms Young’s quote is like dropping a tear in a flood.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Dave,
When I first discovered your blog, I mistakenly assumed it was for serious discussion of the local housing/mortgage market, along the lines of CalculatedRisk, Mish, etc.
Now I see that you are quite the jester, and this site is SUPPOSED to be taken whimsically.
I get it.
Carry on!
watcher
August 31st, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Watcher,
At times you have to step back at some of this garbage being reported as news and take a deep breath. Then it is back to the numbers.
Lately we’ve been hit with more and more non-news in the media. The best way to say “The Emperor has no clothes” is to laugh at him.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Hi David,
Actually I knew you were writing tongue in cheek. But have you seen other blogs on real estate? Gloomy. Even I, (not a Real Estate agent and living in California) know it’s not THAT bad. To read that a Professional (?) Real Estate agent would state that most realtors are not even coming to the office is shocking. I hope other realtors counter that article in the paper. I hope they’re not coming into their office because they are showing homes and having open houses. I love this website: insightful, intelligent upbeat responses. Keep it up guys. List the homes and they will come! (the buyers of course)
August 31st, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Beverly,
You just made my whole weekend. : )
You are right, it isn’t as gloomy as it is often made out to be. Todays article in the “Arizona Daily Star” is a great example of using statistics to paint a completely different picture than the number indicate themselves.
The good agents are out doing exactly what you say. The number of Pending Contracts for July show there are homes going under contract. In any market you can find what you are looking for.
I hope the agent’s not coming to the office are because they have moved on to the next get rich quick idea leaving qualified professionals that will attend to business in a business like manner.
I can tell you one reason agents stop going to the office. They can’t get any work done at the office for all the agents sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. It isn’t 2005 anymore.
Beverly, Have a Great Holiday Weekend
Watcher, you too. : )
August 31st, 2007 at 8:16 pm
they should not be in the office anyway. they should be out selling
August 31st, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I love it, thanks for the laugh…
September 5th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Teresa;
That was spot on IMO.
Newsflash–the Papers reported today that economists have predicted 37 of the last 4 recessions…grin..
If you compare this hysteria to the actual event, it makes you wonder what they could blow a simple fender bender into if they wanted.
Their coverage of this has been ridiculous.
Eric
November 5th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Enjoyed reading this article and reading the response to it.
Does anyone ever think POSITIVE anmore?
November 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Erik,
Not according to the media. But in reality, yes, there are a lot of positive people in the market both on the buyer and seller sides.