Strong wind warning!

The winds are blowing, and the seas of selling real estate have become quite choppy.

When I was in college my family had a trailer and a boat that we parked in Blythe, CA on the Colorado River. We had several different boats growing up, but this boat was soooo sweet. It was called a Stoker Sport Tunnel.

It was incredibly light, with a giant outboard motor on it. It was a race car on the water. What gave it the extra sportiness was...the tunnels.

There were two tunnels that ran under the hull, so when you got to a certain speed it literally ran on top of the water. In calmer waters, you could literally turn on a dime. It was so cool.

One weekend I went out to Bythe with my cousins. We were out on the river water skiing, and I could see some thunderstorms coming in. Pretty soon the wind whipped up and the entire river was white caps. I told them we needed to hurry back to the campsite, and off we went. Because of the boat design, we were hauling - doing 40-50 mph, on top of the white caps. Everyone else on the river was crawling along, bouncing up and down like a rubber duck in an ocean storm. We flew right past all of them.

We jammed back into the cove, I ran up to get the truck and trailer, backed it back down, and pulled the boat out of the water. Then we grabbed our chairs from our camper and planted them at the top of the cove and watched.

For the next 45 minutes, we watched the absolute chaos of people trying to get into the cove onto their trailers and out of the water. It was a mess. The wind was blowing boats everywhere. It started raining, so the ramp became wet. Not everyone is an especially skilled boat owner - both in driving their boat and backing their trailers down the ramp. Needless to say, we were entertained at everyone else’s misfortune.

For most of the last decade-plus, the wind had been at our backs. I think that many people didn’t even realize we had such a great tailwind.

But when the wind shifts - or picks up - people can get caught off guard. Even if they know better.

I might be repeating myself, but the headlines are not good:

1. There are 50% more realtors than 10 years ago.

2. There are 30% fewer transactions from the peak in 2021.

3. The odds of interest rate reductions ‘coming to save the day’ - almost zero.

4. The news and social media headlines regarding commissions make it seem like we will never get paid again.

On top of all that - we have never seen such a gridlock on people moving. The market dynamics seem like people will continue to be in their homes for much longer than the historical average.

To sum up the situation with a technical term: it sucks.

Said another way, “It is very choppy out here!”

Yet the opportunity has never been better! Of course that depends on your outlook, your activity, and your skill level. By the way: all of those things are in your control!

Also in your control, building trusted relationships. Not the fake stuff that ends with “Who do you know that is thinking of buying or selling.” Instead, do your people take you seriously as a real estate professional - the same way they think of a cardiac surgeon if they had a life-threatening heart problem?

Or, are you simply one more person blabbing away, but totally tone-deaf to the challenges they are facing? Remember, our clients couldn’t care less about what we are dealing with - they only care about their problems, and they have quite a few too.

Our clients need professionals they can absolutely count on.

When you are being a trusted advisor - you have nothing to worry about. Your clients will always need you and they will always make sure you get paid. Always.

Those tunnels on my boat - that was the secret that allowed us to easily get back to safety. In real estate, being a trusted advisor is a secret weapon. Most people don’t have the skills to ride the top of the waves - and avoid getting bounced around. The key to this market is being someone who can be trusted. You can’t “do it” - you have to be it.