{"id":276,"date":"2008-08-28T16:57:50","date_gmt":"2008-08-28T16:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bhgrealestateblog.com\/?p=276"},"modified":"2024-12-30T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T19:53:45","slug":"308-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bhgrecareer.com\/bebetterblog\/308-days\/","title":{"rendered":"308 Days and Counting?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by Nicolai Kolding<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money<\/a> “called” the\u00a0housing bottom<\/a> as coming in July of 2009.\u00a0 Whether or not you agree with his analysis and prediction, I’m sure\u00a0there are many (including some who see him as no friend of housing) who will embrace this\u00a0as welcome news to an industry that so badly needs it.<\/p>\n

I view this with muted optimism.\u00a0 On the one hand (whether I like it or not), people like him wield some influence on the market and I can’t help but smell a self-fulfilling prophecy taking shape if more predictions like this make news.\u00a0 On the other hand (and here’s where I’m focused specifically on professionals in the industry), headlines like this can have a way of getting people to lose focus on the pain that could still lie ahead.<\/p>\n

Even if this prediction is right (and it’s towards the more positive end of the spectrum of what’s out there<\/a>), the industry still has to get through yet another winter in\u00a0a bear market.\u00a0\u00a0And, as we all know, winter is a time of year when in even the best of times cash is tight.\u00a0 Things may start looking brighter 308 days from now, but there could very well be many dark and cold days between now and then.<\/p>\n

If I owned a brokerage company, I would go on the offensive.\u00a0 I wouldn’t wait and react<\/span>, I would act now<\/span> so that, if Cramer was right, I’d be better positioned than the rest to grow when the market does.\u00a0 But I’d presume Cramer was dead-wrong and that the worst is yet to come.\u00a0 I’d look at all of my leases and see if I could get ever leaner and meaner.\u00a0 I would challenge every last square foot of space, not only because it cuts back on a big line-item but because\u00a0having a 4,000 square-foot cube-farm<\/a> isn’t how I’d want to position myself for the future.\u00a0 At the same time, I’d be looking around my market to see who was not in a position to survive the winter and look to acquire.\u00a0 My goal wouldn’t be to stretch myself into a new market, but to strengthen my operations with good, productive, reputable agents.<\/p>\n

Maybe he’s right and we have less than a year to go.\u00a0 But what if July 1, 2009 isn’t the day the sun starts shining again?\u00a0 What if it’s 2010?\u00a0 2011?\u00a0 Worse?!?\u00a0 What will you do then?<\/p>\n

Wherever you may stand, don’t lose sight of the difficult decisions that still lie ahead over the cold winter months (I’m writing figuratively, so you warm-weather brokers aren’t off the hook).\u00a0 I believe the worst you can get from proactively cutting unneeded expenses while looking at possible “roll-in” acquisitions is better positioning for when your market improves, whenever that day\u00a0may come.<\/p>\n

Now is not the time for day-dreaming about a return to the good ol’ days.\u00a0 Assume Cramer couldn’t be farther from right and act accordingly.\u00a0 No matter how the market winds may blow, you’ll be stronger for it.<\/p>\n

On a completely different topic, today marks the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream<\/a>” speech in Washington, D.C.\u00a0 I think these\u00a0extraordinary and moving words are worth reading or listening to at least once a year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’d look at all of my leases and see if I could get ever leaner and meaner. I would challenge every last square foot of space, not only because it cuts back on a big line-item but because having a 4,000 square-foot cube-farm isn’t how I’d want to position myself for the future. At the same time, I’d be looking around my market to see who was not in a position to survive the winter and look to acquire. My goal wouldn’t be to stretch myself into a new market, but to strengthen my operations with good, productive, reputable agents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[3961,8381,22231,25191,34151,35301],"class_list":["post-276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-real-estate","tag-better-homes-and-gardens-real-estate","tag-cnbc","tag-jim-cramer","tag-mad-money","tag-real-estate-bottom","tag-real-estate-turn-around"],"yoast_head":"\nJim Cramer Calls the Bottom of the Housing Market<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jim Cramer calls the bottom of the housing market, but real estate brokers should still be positioning their companies to be more efficient\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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