Keith Strawn

In 2007, including the two rounds of the National League playoffs, the COLORADO ROCKIES won 21 of 22 games to earn their first-ever trip to the WORLD SERIES.

Unfortunately, for the blistering, white-hot Rockies, the American League playoffs did not end for another few days, which created an 11-day gap between the last of Colorado's National League playoff games and the first game of the World Series, against the BOSTON RED SOX. During their layoff, the Rockies cooled, lost their momentum, and were themselves swept by the Red Sox, who carried their own momentum into the World Series. We can't say for sure the Rockies would have won the World Series that year, but I feel confident saying that without the long layoff, the Rockies would certainly have made a better account of themselves had the Series begun more quickly. It didn't, though, and they lost their momentum.

It's so easy to see how a layoff can affect an athlete, or a team, and cause them to lose momentum. What about a Realtor? How does a layoff affect us?

A couple of years ago, when buyers were jumping out from behind trees, and chasing our cars down the street, many agents had ROUND-THE-CLOCK MOMENTUM. We were in real estate overdrive. In a single day, we might go on a listing appointment, show some property, and have a closing.....or two.....or three!!! We had momentum, which put springs in our steps, and enthusiasm in our voices. We were HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!

When the phone calls and closings slow down, though, and the emails are reduced to a trickle, what can we do to stay at the top of our games? How do we keep or regain our real estate momentum, so that when that call does come in, we are our normal upbeat, razor-sharp selves?

I have found that blogging on Active Rain is a tremendous way to maintain or create real estate momentum. On Active Rain, not only are we immersed in real estate, I have found that gathering thoughts for a post can really stimulate the old noodle. And, of course, brainstorming leads to new ideas, which helps us continue to evolve professionally.

Also, I have found the rush from receiving positive feedback from other Active Rain users can really motivate, and create a natural high. So, let's keep blogging, keep communicating, and keep our momentum!!!

received a mortgage rate update via email yesterday from a local lender. The rates were as good as I've ever seen. Since I'm not in the business of originating loans, we won't get into the specifics here.

Please we aware that loan rates are always subject to an applicant's credit worthiness, and that rates are always subject to change, at any moment, without notice. And, obviously, no rate applies to all lenders. There are a lot of dynamic forces here, folks. Consult your lender for your specific loan scenario.


With the disclaimers out of the way....

A lot of times, we focus so much on price, that we don't give adequate attention to interest rates. A rising interest rate can easily offset any potential advantage a buyer hopes to see via declining prices.

For example, again speaking in the most general terms, let's take a 4.875 percent interest rate, and apply it to a generic home currently listed for $300,000. Visiting one my favorite sites, DinkyTown, I am able to utilize that 4.875 rate and get an estimated principal and interest payment of $1587 per month. That would not include insurance or taxes. That's just P&I, but it gives us general numbers and allows us to make our illustration.

Let's say that $270,000 is your "magic number" to buy that house. So, you wait a couple of weeks, to see if the seller will move any more on the price. In the meantime, the interest rate which might apply to you, Mr. and Mrs. Generic No-Name Buyer, rises to 5.875 percent, still a very good rate by historic standards. And trust me when I say we have seen some dramatic rate swings in recent weeks, along with the roiling of the economy.

In the meantime, the price of the home is lowered 10 percent (not an insignificant reduction, by the way) to $270,000. You call your Realtor, and make your move. You purchase for $270,000. You lock in your rate at 5.875 percent. What did you gain by waiting? it may seem that you gained $30,000, but you actually saved nothing. You actually lost $10 per month with the increased rate, and in this generic scenario would be paying an estimated $1,597 per month in principal and interest, because of the new rate.

Your better case scenario might have been, working very closely with your Realtor, to offer your "magic number" a couple of weeks earlier. Maybe the seller was ready to deal at that point. Maybe you could have bought the house at $270,000, with a 4.875 percent rate, which would have been an estimated $1,428 in principal and interest. In this scenario, you're looking at saving $160 a month.

This is where your Realtor comes into play. Communicate with him or her. Formulate a strategy. Make sure he or she knows what you're thinking. Be on the same page. There is legitimate value and money to be made and saved by working closely with your Realtor.

The depreciating price situation is well-documented. Just about every market in the country has taken a hit over the past year or so.

If Congress acts, and rates on 30-year fixed mortgages do dip below 5 percent, this could truly be an historic, Perfect Storm of opportunity for buyers.

The New York Times recently ran an article referring to this as a porential Golden Age of real estate for first-time buyers.

If this is your time to buy a home, make sure you are lined up, prepared, and ready to go when the time comes.

Have a great day!!!

A Realtor/friend of mine told me today about the excitement regarding a recent showing. She was so excited, because it had been quite a while since she last had a buyer in the car.

So, she pulls up to the house, hops out of the car............and forgets her lock box code. Oooops. She had to call the Board of Realtors to retrieve it.

One of the dangers of a slower market is that we can slip out of real estate "mode."

For me, Active Rain helps keep me in real estate "gear," even if there is nothing particularly going on at that moment.

That's a testament to all of you excellent bloggers. Keep up the good work.

Ron Lieber, the YOUR MONEY writer for the New York Times, did a NICE PIECE Dec. 5 regarding the opportunities available for first-time buyers. In fact, Mr. Lieber went so far as to say we will one day regard this as a GOLDEN AGE for these young and first-time purchasers.

It's nice to hear this from an objective source. Let's be honest, a lot of us visiting Active Rain today are in the business of selling homes, so when we start talking about "historic" opportunities or "Golden Ages" of real estate, a lot of skeptics are just going to roll their eyes.

"Golden Age? Sure," they might say, "You're a Realtor looking for the next sale."

I will let you read the ARTICLE yourselves, but the gist is that buyers who aren't also sellers are in a great position. He calls current real estate conditions the BUYING OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME. Good stuff.

And, thank you Ron Lieber, for your non-licensed status! It would not have packed nearly the punch coming from a Realtor. You Da Man!!

I hope everybody in the Active Rain community has a great night.

AND, FOR THOSE WITH KIDS........CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS IS ON TONIGHT!!!

Sometimes, with the game on the line in the bottom of the 9th, the pitcher gives you a perfect pitch to hit. I mean, he throws a fat, lifeless tater over the heart of the plate. It's like the All-Star Game home run derby, and you should be able to park that ball in the upper decks. Instead, you whiff!!! Nothin' but air.

A buyer gave me a big, juicy pitch to hit the other day, and I whiffed. Big-time.

This prospective buyer told me she had decided to work with another agent because of her mortgage lender's national tie-in with that Realtor's parent company, a franchise. She didn't specify, but there was some sort of incentive. Maybe there was some closing cost assistance involved somewhere, or some other "saving." Whatever the incentive, she said this affiliation between lender and preferred real estate franchise would mean more money in her pocket. That was the pitch I needed to knock out of the park.

It's like the FSBO who is trying to "save" $15,000 in commission and then underselling their home by $50,000.

But not only did I strike out, I didn't even take a swing. I was driving and talking (a subject for another blog), and wasn't focused enough on the conversation (yet ANOTHER blog topic), and that was pretty much the end of the conversation. I wished her good luck, and that was that.

Of course, after we got off the phone, I immediately thought of several major flaws in her logic. Such as......

1) If her assigned Realtor is a lousy negotiator, she may pay $20,000 too much for the home.

2) What if the Realtor doesn't encourage her to request a home warranty? Two months after she moves in, the water heater or A/C may go, and whatever money was in her pocket is now out the window.

3) If the Realtor does not work with her to ensure certain home inspection items are addressed -- an aging roof, for instance, well, guess who's going to pay for that when the roof begins to leak?

I could go on, but -- as Larry King would say, what's the point? I had my chance, and I blew it.

The great thing about real estate, though, like baseball, is that you always get another at-bat. An old sales manager -- my first sales manager -- told me that mistakes are not a problem, but repeating the mistakes is.

So next time this issue comes up, we won't be blogging about a strikeout, we'll be blogging about the high fives we got as we rounded the bases. Have a terrific day.