Jim Kouns

Looking at my invoice for 2010 dues, I think we should reallocate the $35.00 public awareness charge. Let's keep $30.00 for the public awareness campaign and use the remaining $5.00 to buy everyone at NAR a Christmas gift. The gifts I have in mind are signs for every door and plaques for every desk that say, "All real estate markets are local." Perhaps if they all see this statement many times every day, they'll finally get the message that all the rest of us already know, "All real estate markets are local."

The statisticians and economists at NAR continue to release statements and figures showing national market activity. After a couple of years of declining results, now they're telling everyone that things are better and of course the media splashes these stories all over te country, once again misleading the public and making our jobs much more difficult. When sellers and buyers read this stuff in their local papers, hear it on the TV networks and on radio talk shows, they develop unrealistic expectations, good or bad, making it hard to get them to accept actual local market data. I totally agree with a recent Blog entitled "Tell the NAR to Shut Up." The national statistics they quote are kind of like the person who has one foot in a fire and one in a freezer. Based on median or average temps, that person should be comfortable but I'll bet they won't be.

The upcycle ended nationally in 2005 and it appears the down cycle ended in 2009, yet our market didn't fall until late 2007 and the trigger was more of a local tax issue than anything else. Our recovery began in the first quarter of 2009, at least 6 months before the national numbers stared turning upward, and likely, most of your markets didn't follow the national trends either. If they did, it was probably not to the same degree. If NAR wants to continue publishing statistics, they should have to do it by market, similar to the way they publish the annual reports of home improvement costs and values. It still won't be specific, but it will be a lot better than what they do now.

At the risk of being trite, here are some of the things for which I'm especially thankful.

I'm thankful that I can sit at my computer and write pretty much anything I wish without fear of sensorship or reprisal. The majority of the people of the world do not have the education, the means, or the freedom to do this. I appreciate the vision, work and sacrifice of Americans from the founding fathers to present day who have provided this opportunity.

I'm thankful that I can lose weight by choice rather than being forced to do so by lack of food. Many of the people of the earth live with constant hunger and the threat of starvation.

I'm thankful that I live in a country where the bombs have never fallen and where I can walk or travel as I will in peace. I've been watching WWII on the History Channel and the graphic scenes of death and destruction really bring this home. One of the opening shots of each segment shows an Asian girl of about 2 or 3, sitting in rubble, covered with dirt and physically trembling as a GI gives her a drink of water. Neither I, my children nor my grandchildren have ever experienced anything like that and I pray daily for the men and women in our military, past and present, that have provided our security.

I'm thankful that I have a home and that I work in a business that helps people meet their housing needs. Many of the world's people have no homes or shelter of any kind and many others live in sub-standard conditions. I appreciate the Buyers and Sellers who give me the opportunity to serve them.

I'm thankful that it a pleasure to go work each day and to work in the real estate business with a company where nearly all of my co-workers are positive, motivated, caring and self-reliant people. Many are leaders in our market and and are a constant source of inspiration. Our management and support staff are competent, dedicated people who provide a framework for success. Many, have no work or are forced to work in jobs they don't enjoy.

Finally, I'm thankful for my wife and family, especially our 11 grandchildren and for a year of health, financial stability and happiness. There are so many that experience none of these.

I was amazed by the number of comments on my Condition, Condition, Condition post. Most of you agreed that condition is very important in today's highly competitive market and I enjoyed reading some of the "war stories." There were a number of comments, however, that can be sumarized as follows. "The market is bad, many sellers are upside down and face short sales so there's no incentive to do anything."

Sorry, I don't buy that. I think Michael Ford says it best in his comment, "It's our job to show them how to get the best bang for their buck. Most homes can be whipped into shape for less than $500." Really, that's why they hire us and why the agents who use imagination, talent, training and hard work succeed. It's an old adage in poker that a good player will lose less with bad cards and win more with good cards. A good agent will get more regardless of the market. Sure the current market is challenging and many sellers are strapped, but as several of you said, it doesn't cost much to clean, declutter, stage and do minor repairs. Painting a room can still be done for less than $50. If it's a short sale, maybe the incentive for Sellers is to be "less short." For us, the incentive is to have a listing that will generate a pay check.

If "Location, Location, Location" are the three most important words in real estate, the three second most important have to be "Condition, Condition, Condition." I was reminded of this again last week when I was working with a relocation buyer and over the course of two days, looked at 25 upscale homes in the Muncie area. My client had been out of the U.S. for several years and was new to the Muncie area so we visited homes with a broad range of styles and ages.

The differences in condition really stood out. Several were vintage homes with lots of space and charm, but one had a damp, musty odor and some obviously leaky windows that completely obscured the many updates and the terrific location. Another was filled with busy, out-dated wallpaper and had a cedar-shake roof that appeared to have more moss than wood. Both screamed,"maintenance nightmare."

Many of the homes that were 12-20 years old had outdated plumbing fixtures, paint and carpet colors. Others had ceiling stains from current or previous leaks. Poorly maintained decks were also frequent. Even in great condition, it's hard for these properties to compete with newer ones in newer subdivisions. In poor or even mediocre condition it's impossible.

We looked at newer homes that were built in the last 5 yrs and even there some of the conditions were apalling. One in particular had great curb appeal, but walking up to the fron door we noticed the shrubbery was infested with bag worms, even to the extent of having bags on the railing and around the front door. Inside, the property had been beaten up. There were several holes in the drywall and lots of tape-joint cracks and nail pops. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time there.

It amazes me that some listing agents, even veterans, don't sit down and have an honest "heart to heart" with their sellers. In addition to the deficiencies noted above, many of the homes, regardless of age, were cluttered, filled with personal items and collectables and often just too much "stuff." People need to know what it takes to make their home competitive. After all that's what they hire us for. If done tactfully and authoritatively, sellers will not be offended and will thank us when the showing feedbacks come in.

The Muncie-Delaware Co, IN market has been stable through the first 3 quarters with average sale price up slightly and unit sales up about 1%. Looking forward, Pendings are up 46% at the end of Sept. vs a year ago and the DOM of Pendings is falling. I expect to end 2009 with about a 13% increase in units sold and a modest increase in average sale price. Inventory has dropped significantly adding to groundwork for a more active market in 2010.

We still have problems at the high end and condo-duplex sales have been disappointing, but 2010 has great possibilities for an active market.