In search of a motto…

The new year has begun, and real estate agents have started blogging about their unfettered optimism for the coming new year.  I was, in fact, brainstorming ideas for a new and improved motto for 2011 on my Facebook business page.

was only partially crummy.

I know, I know…it needs work.  Pollyanna wasn’t my BFF growing up, clearly.  You’d think with only getting my 250 characters in the MLS description, I’d learn to be succinct at this point in my career, but alas…not so.  I rock those abbreviations though…3B/2Ba, WI closet, W/D included.  Killer description, don’t you think?

Maybe that’s my problem, I need to abbreviate the 2011 real estate year.

2011..the yr RE was abmnbl.   (A $10 gift card to French Press to the first person that guesses that abbreviation in the comment section)

Okay, so that idea is utter garbage too.  I’m sure I’ll be given some mantra that I’m supposed to chant in unison with the millions of other agents across the country.  “Buy now, people!  Don’t you realize I need to get my hair highlighted to cover my gray and I need that commission check?”  That’s not it, you say?  Granted, it is a wee bit verbose.  I’m moving onto plan B: hypnosis.

Stare into this Archimedean spiral…buy, now…interest rates are low…Milk chocolate?  Chocolate pudding?   No…No…houses!  Focus home buyers, focus.”

Yeah, I know.  I’m hopeless with these real estate mottos.  I think I fell off the bandwagon and hit my head on a rock or something.

You don’t have to be a genius to know that rates are low, but the fact is that real estate is still a risky proposition these days. Some people can’t stomach the thought of risk, and others are fine taking the risk and are diving right into the market.  I’m optimistic about the new year, but not because of some group chant meant to induce buyers to hop off the fence and dive in.  I’m optimistic because the market will still be crummy in 2011, but people have started to adjust to the malaise.  That makes my job easier.  I don’t get asked “How’s the market?” anymore.  We all know it isn’t great.

We have a long way to go to deal with our economic issues and the real estate sector is just one portion of the overall economic picture.   We aren’t going anywhere fast, but you all knew that already. The next several posts will be year-end real estate summaries for the cities in the Salem metro area.  It won’t be pretty, but it won’t be horrible either.

Maybe the motto for 2011 is “Close enough.”