S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

Welcome to the 2009 winter issue of the S.E.C. Observer. Tom Langel, S.E.C. President, chose leadership as the theme for his article, and he opens it with a quote by Augustine — “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the long course of the rivers, the […]

For many, many (perhaps too many) months, we watched the presidential campaign unfold into an election that will secure its place in the history books. In perspective, my appointment as President of the Society of Exchange Counselors seems totally unremarkable. However, this year we will be swimming in uncharted waters. The economic climate and multifaceted challenges that our industry will face during this year of unrest may elude even the savviest of financial forecast analysts. Any great explorer will tell us that the unmarked territory has the greatest potential to harvest tremendous yields.

Over the last several months, we have seen some of the most dramatic economic changes in many years. First the housing market fell apart. Then the big Wall Street firms started to drop like flies. The lenders, banks, and insurance companies all started having trouble. Now the auto manufacturers are going under. What’s next? I certainly don’t claim to know, but looking at our history might give us some direction — and some reason for optimism.

With the recent dislocations in the financial marketplace of our country, it seems appropriate to consider how to market real estate during this period of economic uncertainty. One of the important goals for either an owner wishing to sell or exchange, or for a broker seeking to perform brokerage services for a client is to clearly establish what a client’s true needs are versus what they say they want. Often the wants are quite different from the needs. For example, a client who will only accept all cash for his property is going to be at a severe disadvantage in trying to sell his real property.

When you open a newspaper or any type of magazine, what do you see or read about? The key words today are Global Markets, Credits Crisis, Recession, Depression, Bail Out, The Big Three, Car Czar, Oversight, Failure, Housing Crisis, Obama’s Plan, and Fraud. Based on what we read, a normal person would dig a hole, crawl in, and wait for the sunshine of a new beginning…the decision of indecision.

Our goal for 2009 is to maximize the benefits that the S.E.C Education Foundation brings to the industry, and to fulfill our mission statement. The mission of the Education Foundation of the Society of Exchanges Counselors is to establish a fund to encourage and financially support educational programs related to real estate, particularly in the area of creative transactions and professionally structured equity marketing techniques.

The S.E.C. National Invitational Marketing Session will be held in Carefree, Arizona, at the Carefree Resort & Villas, 37220 Mule Train Road, Carefree, Arizona, 85377.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation is pleased to announce that “Trade Tracker: How Much is Your Time Worth?” will be presented by Tom Langel, S.E.C., in Carefree, Arizona, January 25, 2009.

The S.E.C. National Invitational Marketing Session will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel, 6808 South 107th East Avenue, Tulsa, OK, 74133.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation is pleased to announce that “How to Market a Difficult Investment Listing in any Economy!” will be presented by Stephen R. England, S.E.C., in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 22, 2009.