Signs of life??

Based on the news reports this morning, we have reason to live again!!!  New Home sales rose 3.3% in April, what a great day for all of us in the Real Estate Business.  Well, we will take whatever we can get at this time.  For years I have told my staff, “one month does not make a trend”!  However, considering the past 10 months, we shall rejoice in the news we received this morning.  Take this news to your clients, take it to your local media, take it to whoever will listen to you…just tell as many people that you can that we have some good news for a change.  This news will not solve all of our problems in real estate, but it will give us something positive to talk about for a few days.  Take advantage of this while we have it, who knows what will be reported in the morning!!

 

New Radio Program

I am in the process of putting together a radio show for Central Arkansas, for and about Real Estate.  I believe the time is right for a forum to discuss the current state of the real estate market in Arkansas.  We as an industry, need to have a forum to discuss what the reality is in Arkansas.  We are experiencing a downturn in the the real estate market; however, we are not as bad as some parts of the country.  We need to tell OUR story of what the reality is in Arkansas.  If you have ideas about show content or guest, please let me know.  I will get more information to you as we progress on this project.

Benton Bryant Realtors Assoc. Golf Outing August 14th

Another chance for the golfers to have fun and support Special Olympics.  August 14th, 2008 at Hurricane Golf & Country Club in Bryant.  Individual players can enter for $100 or get a foursome together for $300.00.

Contact Lora Kay Woodliff at 501-766-5986 for more information or go to the website

http://www.golfdigestplanner.com/5420-BBRASpecialOlympicsArkansas/

Hard Work

Hard work does not insure success, but not working hard insures failure!  Whether you are a real estate agent, title officer, or loan officer…this statement should be embedded in your brain.  The market we have seen has been like manna from heaven!   Any one of us could make a living in the real estate business, even those who didn’t work at it.   Guess what?   Different day, different time, different market.  Some of you, like myself, can remember when a buyer actually had to save money for a down payment in order to buy a home, and at the same time interest rates were at 12% ( adjustable rates started at 8% ).  Realtors had to work hard and sharpen there selling skills in order to negotiate contracts.  Seems like we have now come full circle!!!   I hope all of us are taking time to “retrain” ourselves, so we can compete in this new market.

Hard work is what will separate you from your competitors.  Don’t let anyone out work you. 

 

Why are we in this business?

Based on the national news media, if  you are in any way associated with the Real Estate Business, you should run away as fast as humanly possible!   I disagree!  Owning real estate is STILL the backbone of the American Dream.  People still desire to own  their own home, and they still can.  Is it a more difficult market?  Yes, it is.  Are we in a middle of a credit crunch?  Yes, we are.  Are home prices falling?  Yes, in some markets.  However, we love this business!  Most of us in this business are in it to help our clients, and second to make some money.   We can still help our clients in this market, it may take more time, some hard work, and a little luck here and there; but, we can help them and ultimately make some money.

I have created this blog site for those of us in the Arkansas Real Estate market to allow an open forum for those in the business, and for anyone interested in the current state of the real estate market in Arkansas.  I look forward to bringing you my thoughts and ideas, along with those who are much smarter than I am, to the site.   

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!