Despite National Gloom, Lansing Real Estate Shows Life.

If you did not get a chance to read the business section of the local paper today, it wasn't great news for the new construction housing industry. The Articles title was "New Home Sales Plunge." It is interesting to see that according to data collected by the Commerce Department, the Midwest saw a decline of 27.6 percent from October to November. I found this interesting since November this year was one of our busiest months. In our community Lakeside, we welcomed three new neighbors that are all in the process of building their homes. I find it interesting that the paper has a quote from Richard Yamarone a national economist that states "This is one sector of the economy that doesn't show any signs of life." It is interesting because the U.S. is still on pace to sell 647,000 new homes this year. It might not be the million homes that we topped a few years ago, and I am not saying that this is a healthy market. I just don't think that it is fair to say that here is no sign of life.
Locally, many of the bankers and Realtors that I have talked to have been very happy with the level of activity going on right now in our market. One builder we work with is putting in five more basements for customers before the end of January. I bring this up, because these are positive spots in our local area that you won't hear about in our main media streams. I know that homes aren't valued as high as they were a few years ago, and if you are a seller that sales are not as strong as they were. Even so, there is life in the real estate market and homes are still selling. The market will come back, and we will see real estate values rise in the future. What this region needs to focus on is job growth and stability. More jobs in the region mean a greater demand for housing helping marketing times and values.

More on Green in Lansing

If any of you have not had a chance to check out the new online Magazine for Lansing, Capital Gains, add this to your favorites. This company has had great success in other markets doing positivie news stories showing what is going good in cities across the U.S. They started this fall in Lansing and are off to a great start. I have linked to an article that they have put together on Green Building and LEED Certification. http://www.capitalgainsmedia.com/features/leed0109.aspx This gives a lot of information on what the different developers in Lansing are doing. There are also many other articles on different neighborhoods and other activities going on in the Greater Lansing area. I will put a link in my publications section on right side of this page.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from my family to yours. I hope the next couple of weeks are full of fun and joy. Please be safe while traveling and enjoy your time with loved ones. I am excited because we are heading down to the Capital One Bowl where my younger brother is going to be part of the half time show. I hope the Big Ten fairs well in the Bowl games this year.

Market hangover brings valuable lessons

Last night I was at a Christmas party at Dublin Square. I think out of the two hundred or so people there, 199 asked me, “so how’s the market right now? “ I respond with the same generic answer “slow in some segments, but steady in others.” Lately in Lakeside, I have been able to say we have three homes under construction for new neighbors out there. This really seems to open eyes when people hear that comment. They think housing is at a complete stop. The truth is, this market is not dead. We are seeing people still buying nice homes, the difference is, they are getting more value for the dollar. The party of the housing boom is over, and the United States housing market has finally awoken with a huge hangover. Unfortunately, some people got hurt when they fell victim to predatory lending. Others really thought the housing market would never crash and bought more than they could afford because they felt that the appreciation would bring them riches in the future. This is going to hurt for a little while nationally, but hopefully we can take a few lessons from this situation. I know I will be more careful on how little equity I leave in one of my properties so should I need to sell it fast I won’t be in a position to bring money to close. As goods become more expensive and gas prices raise again, this is a good time for all of us to readjust our budgets, and put together a program for a rainy day. A home is still a good investment if you need a place to live, but listening to a Rich Dad tape, Robert explains how a house is really a liability as a personal investment for our future. I did not understand this at first, especially being in the real estate profession. We are taught to show the tax advantages, appreciation values, and all of the other benefits that come on paper from owning a home. These are all true, but after watching the foreclosure rate, it all comes down to the simple fact of how much money is coming in the door versus what is going out. It is unfortunate that so many people are learning this at the expense of their homes.

Goal Setting

As the new year rapidly approaches many people begin to work on their New Years Resolutions, or goals. Goals are something that our office takes very seriously. Through out the year we are constantly reassessing our goals, both within the company and individual employees work and personal goals. A few years ago some of the other agents and myself attended a seminar by a gentleman names Brian Tracy. If you have not heard of him, he is probably one of the best motivational speakers I have ever heard. I have included a link to his website on this blog site, and I am also going to post the notes below that we took from the seminar on goal setting. If you are looking for some direction on self actualization and goal setting, I highly suggest looking through Brian Tracy’s materials. We also have some goal templates that we use in the office, if you are interested in receiving a copy, please email me at brent@lansingrealestate.com, and I will be more than happy to send you one. If you have any tips regarding goal setting please feel free to post them here.
12 Steps:

1) Desire/Need – The force that compels us toward our goal. It is always personal or selfish.
2) Belief – Most important element. You must believe you can achieve. Make your goals challenging so they cause you to stretch yourself (gets you out of your comfort zone).
3) Write it down – This is a way to program it into your subconscious. Write in complete details exactly as you wish to have it. Have a very clear representation.
4) Determine benefit – How will you benefit from achieving your goal? This will help you see more reasons to achieve your goal.
5) Analyze your position – See where you’re at. Where you’re beginning.
6) Set a deadline – What is the latest outside date to achieve goal. You should be able to measure how long it will take to accomplish and measure your success. You should see progress along the way and get a feeling of being a winner.
7) Identify Obstacles – What will you have to overcome? There are always obstacles. Write down what these are.
8) Identify knowledge required – What knowledge do you need to obtain your goal?
9) Clearly identify people needed – THREE LAWS OF RETURN:
1. Law of Return: Sewing & Reaping – more you put in/more you get out.
2. Law of Compensation – Every action gets an equal reaction (get what you give).
3. Law of Service – Can only get success by serving others (go extra mile). More Blessed to give then to receive. More profitable to give then to receive.
10) Take all steps – Make a plan and write down all activities. Prioritize your time – 1st, 2nd, etc. Continually go back and re-prioritize.
11) Clear mental image – Should already have obtained this and should already be in existence. Play the mental picture in your mind daily!!
12) Back plan with determination & persistence – Don’t give up!! Know that there will be setbacks. Winners pick themselves up. Self-discipline is persistence in action.

Market report on Lansing housing supply

I apologize for not getting the investor interview posted, I have had some scheduling conflicts with getting the interview done. I am hoping to record it this week. I have just run a market report for my company using the Realtor multiple list data. I do this every couple of months to try and keep a pulse on our local market. When I ran these numbers in July we had seen a constant rise in the amount of homes available on the market of both existing homes and new homes. This has been right in line with the national numbers that we have all seen on T.V. and in the papers. As of the end of November there were currently 4978 residential properties listed in the MLS. Looking at the amount of homes sold year to date, this means there is currently just over 14 months worth of housing stock available in the greater Lansing area. This is about a month more of supply than was available earlier this year. We are starting to see the market stabilize especially in new construction where permits pulled for new homes have declined more than 40% year over year for two years in a row. For the first time since the early 1980’s we may see less than 600 new homes built in this area. If you are interested in buying a home, it has been over twenty years since we have had this strong of a buyers market. I have many homes that come across my desk daily that would be a good buy, and there have been several that are almost steals. Whether you are looking for a home to live in, or for an investment, now is the time to really start doing your homework and seeing what’s out there. It might not be the best time to flip properties, but if you can buy and hold, it will be worth it in the future. You can start looking at properties by going to www.lansingrealestate.com and clicking on the home search function. If you are interested in learning more about investing I have a few good links on the side of this page you should check out. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at brent@lansingrealestate.com or call my office at (517) 349-9330 ext. 206. Have a great day.

Local Shops offer relief from busy commercial centers

Thursday morning I had my Monthly Mason Economic Development Committee meeting. It was very interesting looking at the goals and objectives for the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce for 2008. As could be expected, one of the topics discussed was new businesses being drawn to the area. No Surprise here, as Michigan’s economy tightens more and more municipalities are fighting for smaller pieces of the economic growth. Mason has really separated itself with its hometown values and buy local campaign. In fact, it is one of the few communities in the area that have more people that work in the community than live in it.
If you haven’t been to downtown Mason in a while, it’s worth the drive. Especially with all of the lights up around the courthouse, you truly feel the hometown spirit when you walk through the downtown. Kean’s store, small restaurants, and quaint bookstore and coffee shop all make this a great destination to spend some time. All of these shops and the others downtown really work hard to show the value of what shopping in a small community has. It is nice to get out of the crowded big boxes for a few hours and enjoy what these types of communities have to offer.
I know this blog doesn’t exactly fit into a real estate website, but in a round about way it does. Keeping our money in local companies helps our communities grow. It will bring more businesses and growth, which directly effects commercial and residential property values. I am not naïve enough to say that shopping at local businesses for everything is even possible. There are many conveniences that come with going to large commercial districts for shopping and some items are now only available through large retailers. Even so, at the malls and other large commercial districts there are still local shops selling many items that the large retailers have. These shop owners are our neighbors and do a lot to support our local community. In Meridian Township the Meridian Area Business Association is a major supporter of the fireworks every year. In every town in this area, small businesses and local community members are investing a lot of time and money into our quality of life. In Mason, a community member and business owner is donating the money to build a long walking trail through out the city, and many charities are supported by individuals who own businesses around town.
As we go into the holiday season, take a few minutes to stop into a local shop and see what they have to offer. There are many unique goods and services that you won’t find in the large commercial districts. It also can make for a great afternoon as it did for my wife and I as we enjoyed a great cup of coffee, wonderful scenery of a small town and the relaxed atmosphere outside of the large malls.