If you live in Memphis of follow the headlines of real estate news, then you may be as surprised as I am to find every news story written about the real estate market coming from the view point of doom and gloom. Sales are down, prices are down, values are down, buyers are down, my dog is down, my girlfriend left me, my car broke down, my wallet is empty...sorry, I seemed to have gotten caught up in my 'Country Music' moment!
I have a theory on why all the news is negative right now and much of it has to do with where the news reporters traditionally turn to when they need a story. They turn to the traditional real estate news makers from realtors to builders and right now, in this real estate environment anyway, they are the wrong people to be talking to in Memphis.
Here is a recent article I wrote on the trend and you will notice from the comments that the trend is not just in Memphis but around the country. Even bigger is the need for real estate investors to get the word out on what they are doing to turn around communities. When you are selling more homes than any other private company and pumping millions of dollars into local companies and the local economy, that story needs to be told!
Recent real estate stories in Memphis have been so bad that some have actually focused on the fact that the local association of realtor meetings and the local builders association meetings have devolved into birth and wedding announcement to find good news! This is a market where the reality is what you make of it and for those that are hustling, creating and taking advantage of what we have to work with, there is no shortage of opportunity. Here is a clip from a local story recently on the state of the real estate market in Memphis:
"My experience has shown that in presidential election years, where the outcome is perceived to be uncertain, companies take a wait-and-see approach; therefore, fewer goods manufactured and sold, and less investment in plant and equipment. The trickle-down effect is fewer people employed and fewer people transferred or moving where there is uncertainty."
I've always heard that negative news stories, whether on TV or in the paper, always sell better than the happy go lucky story, but that quote sure takes the negativity over the top! Considering this was a real estate story, that makes the quote even crazier as it says nothing about the fact that in Memphis, the economy is actually picking up steam! The trend seems to be true recently as I have noticed nothing but negative news stories on the state of the real estate industry. With all the good things real estate investors are doing and providing a real opportunity for communities to revitalize, hopefully the negative trend will turn around soon.
