Once again, I am going to zip off on a tangent, and then bring it back to real estate and allow something that is seemingly unrelated teach me a lesson about real estate.
The other night, after watching Christina Applegate in Samantha Who?, The Bachelor came on. I didn't watch all of it, but I did watch enough to be struck by something. Actually several things:
- Some reality TV is just plain stupid... but has a following. This is one of those shows.
- Some women (and men, but they aren't on this show) are gold diggers.
- If they had a guy with the personality of a cinder block and the looks of Homer Simpson, 8 women would be "in love" with him in a few weeks, with the atmosphere that they put them in.
- There is an amazing parallel to real estate markets.
"Lane, are you daft... again?"
Of course not, and here it is. And it involves the last two points. My wife likes reality TV, and therefore I get to "enjoy" watching several shows. The Bachelor has not been on her radar for a while, but I will admit I have seen larger chunks of previous seasons. The thing I have noticed with a few of the "relationship" based shows is that the "hero" or "heroine" is not always a nice person. They are generally attractive (Adam the Average Joe would be the notable exception), but that is only skin deep. They have flaws (Adam, too).
But, the relation between the last two points is this. There is one "hero" (or heroine) and EVERYBODY falls "in love" with them. They overlook a lack of personality... or even an outright rectal-cranial disorder (their head being up their butt). But, over a few episodes, one will invariably hear "I'm developing some serious feelings."
"Real estate, Lane... you said real estate."
First, let's make the hero (or heroine) into a house. There are 16 buyers, but only one will get the house. They all want to win. After putting in all of the work, they want to win more. Some of the buyers are cut, and those that are left now start to get emotionally invested. It is a seller's market. There is one house and a bunch of buyers that want to "win" the house. They will get to the point that they will do whatever it takes to get that house. Nevermind that the house might have some serious livability issues that they can see... they can be ignored... it's about winning.
Now, let's flip it around. The hero (or heroine... again) is now the buyer. There are a bunch of sellers. They all look pretty good. How can the poor buyer be forced to make a choice? And, as our intrepid buyer eliminates some, the remaining ones look even better. While the buyer might have a few favorites, actually eliminating a choice is very difficult. Now it becomes about perfection. Incredible homes get discarded because they don't look as good in a bikini... I mean their front yard isn't as big. Nevermind the great floorplan, nor the long walks during "private time" where there was a deep connection. It is a buyer's market, and the buyer gets to call the shots. The sellers put up with it because that is what they have to do in order to win.
Let's look at our own buyers and sellers during the last couple of years. When the houses are plentiful, they just have trouble making a choice. There are soooo many options, and there isn't a time limit (one striking difference that the reality show does have). When there are few homes, choices are made quickly, and often the criteria is winning, not getting the best home for their needs.
So, when you are having a rough day dealing with tough market, think of real estate as reality TV.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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