Real Estate in the 21st Century

You would think that with the economy in shambles, with jobs being lost, companies going under and the demand for mortgage money going down, interest rates would follow the same rules as supply and demand.  With the lack of demand, banks should be lowering rates to create demand.  But this is not the case.  Rates are actually going up.  The banks have something that the normal business doesn't have. That is a monoply on the money that is loaned in America.   Of course, many people and for sure banks would say that there is great diversity in lending, but since we as individuals can't go to the Fannie Mae lending window, we are shut out of low interest money.  

It is a shame that the banks couldn't see that lowering rates would at least make them look less greedy, considering they are borrowing money from the taxpayer at little or no cost.

Where is the outrage?  Where is congress?  Where is the NAR?

For real estate in the Yadkin Valley,  http://www.yadkincountyrealestate.com

For new construction, http://www.whiteoakcustomhomes.com

And for the best in the Yadkin Valley,   http://www.yadkinvalleynow.com

We had our first winter weather mix yesterday with this photo showing the dark skies over Yadkinville at the Unifi and Hwy 421 exit.  In the distance you can see the clear skies that prove that good weather is just a minute or two away.

For more pictures of the Yadkin Valley, go to http://www.yadkinvalleynow.com and look at the photo galleries.  For real estate in Yadkin County or the surrounding area, http://www.hrgproperties.com .   For new construction, http://www.whiteoakcustomhomes.com

I thought I would be one of the first to start the long tradition of making predictions for the upcoming year.  And if you are looking for something humourous, this isn't the place.  My predictions are not only negative, they are down right scary if they come to fruition.

1.  House prices continue to fall as more Americans fall behind on their payments due to job losses and a slowing economy.  Thousands of homes go on the market because Realtors will not tell anybody that their home not only will not sale at list price, they lead sellers and buyers on with comments like "market has bottomed or prices can't get much lower"

2.  After much denial, hundreds of thousands of Realtors decide to become teachers or at least tell friends that they want to do charity work, something they are highly trained in.

3.  Americans continue to see their 401-ks drop in value, while all along, their brokers or fund managers have pushed for "staying the course"

4.  Hundreds of thousands of small businesses go under, none have access to the government bail out money, none have high priced lawyers working for them in Washington or their home capitals.  They let more than 1 million employees go.

5. Banks use their billions to fund their special interest lawyers and get Congress to finally understand that Realtors are not capable of handling complex real estate transactions, especially since they were part of the millions of loans that went bad.  Congress lets them sell Real Estate.

6.  The banks need the built in infrastructure of the nation's largest real estate firms.  The top 5 firms are acquired by banks.  Thousands more Realtors find new jobs in the service industry.

There is only so much I can predict now,  Let me think some more and I am sure I can come up with more

When will the general public wake up?  The big issue today is not the economy, not terrorism, not the housing crisis.  No, the press wants you to think the big thing going on now is the dilemma that Barack and Michelle Obama have-where to send their kids to school!

This is the problem that our next President has.  He has also denied the same opportunity for millions of people that have children and would like to send them to better schools than their local public schools.  He  gets to send his children to the best schools, we get the worse.

For those that think I am dissing Obama, not at all.  The current and past crops of elected officials have created lives that are the envy of the normal American.  They have salaries that have not in any way faced pressures of outsourcing or globalization.  Their perks are a health system that is way above the best plans available for us.   They take "fact finding" trips around the world at our expense.  No, I dislike all politicians, and only wonder what it is going to take to end this feeding at the public trough.

And where is the NAR?  I'm sure there are many Realtors that are having great years.  But I dare say that if you think that I am wrong, just look at the membership of the national organization or your local one come January.  If just 20% of all Realtors decide to exit the business, wouldn't that number alone be close to the number of jobs lost that the big three auto makers would have if they go bankrupt?  What bout the appraisers, mortgage brokers, inspectors, etc. that are part of our down channels?  The numbers become staggering.   Why shouldn't we get some help?  I don't have a plan, just send me about 50K!  I'll pay taxes on it and spend some on the basics and maybe even buy a few Christmas gifts.

Folks, the basic make up of our country and definitely the way we make our living is under assault.  I don't want the same people saying the same thing.  We need new ideas that will help small business people like ourselves, not big business. 

If you think that you have the plan, get it on record,  Let's try to change things from our level, not big government.

Right now, there is a burglar in your house!  If you knew where to look, you would see him.  Is is laughing at you, and will take your savings and your wealth.  His partners are in on it, one is keeping watch, making sure that the burglar is not bothered.  The police are in on it too,  They are looking the other way whilel you are robbed.

What am I talking about.  YOUR LIFE SAVINGS, YOUR HOME, AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.

The federal government is bailing out banks, insurances companies, bank holding companies that used to be just credit card companies or finance companies.  They are using your money.  The loss of wealth in the country is affecting the guy on main st.  That means you.  The folks that are supposed to be watching for this type of theft, the Security and Exchange Commission has watched as the bandits have taken billions from unsuspecting citizens, not for the first time, but for the 2nd time in 8 years.  The fall of the stock market is directly attributable SEC looking out for the big investor instead of the millions of people that have invested their savings in 401-ks and mutual funds.

But the biggest crime is being committed by our elected officials.   They have no clue and no right to bail out private companies and repay old debts with our money. 

Where is the outrage?  We just elected a President that is calling for more bailouts,   Not that McCain wouldn't have done the same, but where does it end? 

Thank you for your heroic service to your country.
Thank you for protecting the rights and priviledges we enjoy.
Thank you for allowing us to disagree and live to tell about it.
Thank you for giving others the same chances.
Thank you for your brave deeds, kind actions and infinite patience with mere civilians.
Thank you for not being bitter at a country that sometimes doesn't appreciate you.

Thank you for being the protectors of the land of the free and most certainly the home of the brave.

There are some things that will make you think that growing up just isn't all it is cracked up to be.  The economy, taxes, wars and all things bad take a back seat to something as simple as a rope swing over a slow moving river.  Time slows down to a crawl, and the world looks a lot more beautiful.  Can I get any takers?

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Winston Salem and I didn't have any work scheduled, so I loaded up the crew and went to Tanglewood Park.  The local city owned park is nationally known for its beautiful and challenging golf courses, but it is much more than just a golfer's paradise.  The park has hosted many professional tournaments over the years and the citizens of Forsyth County are lucky to have such a great facility.  One of our first stops was the Duck Pond.  In season, the pond has fishing available, watercraft for a lazy ride across the pond, basketball courts and just nicely mowed banks to rest and relax.  We spent a little time there and then when over to one of the many trails and walked for a couple of miles.   The Yadkin River is right beside the park and offers a relaxing and comfortable sense of peace for your walks.  We were fortunate to come across the Appalachian State Cross Country Team resting from one of their runs.  The Park hosts many events yearly for the area's local colleges and universities.  The ASU team sure looked young, fit, and full of life! 

A short walk from the trail area is the horse riding area. We walked around and were able to enjoy the scenery such as horse training, train riding and feeding the horses.    The park is currently preparing for the Festival of Lights, an annual Chrismas season event that draws thousands to tour the park and see fantastic Christmas decorations.

The day had to end sometime, so we said farewell to one of the good places to enjoy and be alive.

More pictures of the park can be found on our website http://www.yadkinvalleynow.com  and on http://www.localism.com

For real estate in the Yadkin Valley, http://www.yadkincountyrealestate.com

Now that the election is over, maybe we can get on the doing other things-like selling real estate!

Maybe not so fast.  The economic chaos w e currently have isn't going away anytime soon and that will continue to feed the negativity surrounding real estate.  Recent comments from Mr Bubble, Alan Greenspan, support views of a continueing decline in real estate values.  He stated that 10-15% may be the number needed to get to the bottom. 

I would like to throw out the possibility that it is not the value of real estate that is the problem, but the fact that all assets in the world are being revalued.  If he is correct in the drop in values of real estate, then the stock market would drop at least 10-15% more.  The commercial market is not talked about at present, but it is my opinion it is the next area to fail.  With businesses unable to get the requi.red amount of sales to maintain their existence and growth, many will fail.  Overbuilding in the retail area the past few years is part of the problem, but the real issue is the rents that were signed years ago will no longer apply nor be able to be paid due to lack of sales.  Expect empty buildings and spaces coming to the mall near you.

Job loss fears will force the consumer-our customer to retrench. expect the housing sales numbers for the next couple of quarters to be negative.  And as the data keeps coming in, the smart consumer will continue to look for bargains, except you can't be sure if it is really a bargain or not.

Banks are looking at losses on consumer credit such as credit cards and continued mortgage defaults.  They will not loan money to unqualified people.  The problem is they don't have a clue as to what constitutes unqualified customers.  The dynamics are changing as we speak.  Is 20% down enough?  Will the loan have as collateral a home that could depreciate 10% before the first year is out?  These are problems that the banks face.

For Realtors, we need to rethink our industry.  Is the big brokerage model over?  Do we go independent?  The current  model is not keeping with reality.  The public is demanding more and we literally are receiving less for our worki.  That is the part that is broken.

The National Association of Realtors announced today that 2 billion dollars has been earmarked to help the struggling Realtor base in the country.  The NAR spokesman said " we have an unprecented number of Realtors that are faced with not making any income and many will be left homeless, penniless and broke unless we get a bailout from Washington."  The spokesmans also said, "We care about our members, they are just as important to us as the employees are to GM or Chrsyler." 

Look for your check in the mail soon.