April 5, 2008
The chart to the left comes from Zillow.com as of today. It shows the change in real estate values for the last 12 months in the USA. Until we bottom out our economy is generally going to be down also.
I am amazed at how far the effects of the real estate downturn is spreading. I visited an antique shop recently and he told me that his sales are down 50% from last year. I asked why and he explained that because condos are not selling here in Panama City, FL that people don't need to buy antiques if they have no place to put them. I am hearing this from many owners of many different occupations that did not seem at first to be related to the real estate industry.
What can be done about this? You have to be very aggressive during this time to seek new customers. Even myself, I have felt the effects. Normally it is easy for me to get new clients when I visit prospects. But now, even though they want my service, their sales are down so much that they many times cannot afford my fees. I have to see more prospects to get the same customer count. It does work as I have more clients then ever before, but it is literally twice as hard to get them. So don't give up trying to grow your business. You will need to be more creative.
I will keep watching the internet to see when the real estate market finally bottoms out. Then we can look forward to better times. I'll keep you posted. Henry (CEO)
