Actually I feel much better now

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Years of sluggish sales and few buyers have removed many hundreds of Realtors from the Santa Fe real estate market. We are in the 700 count range these days compared to about 1200 back in the heyday of 2007. We used to see 20 or 30 newly licensed agents enter the fray every month. Now its more like one or two, although it is picking up.

One of my former students, of whom I am quite proud, now runs a small new agent division at her company. It is starting small, but eventually should grow as our market and industry recovers. Another of my former students showed up in the top 10 for sales results recently, for which I am equally proud.

I can’t take much credit for either one’s success, but I can secretly gloat and quietly smile. They were special people way before they participated in my real estate training sessions. There have been many other former students over the years that have found great success. I don’t get royalties from them at this late date, although I do get plenty of praise and numerous thanks. That is priceless!

Personally I love to see agents succeed. It is not as easy as it looks. There is a great deal of hard work with a constant need to stay focused. There are long hours and often 7 days a week is not really enough time. There is a need to hustle yet stay flexible enough to change your schedule several times a day. You need to be gracious and yet brutally honest. The financial rewards can take forever to arrive and sometimes, when deals crash, you better have saved money because nothing is coming in for months. The personal rewards can be boundless; becoming good friends with customers, helping them get into their dream home, assisting them with major life changes and completely new scenery. News flash! Santa Fe is a wonderful place to live. They figured that out. It is also full of nice folks that smile and are friendly to strangers. We were all strangers here once, beginning hundreds (thousands?) of years ago as cultures and small groups moved around the high desert looking for a good place to live, raise crops and successfully hunt for their dinner.

A former Mayor of Santa Fe made lots of eyebrows go up when she said something like “all you newcomers should get back on the bus and leave town”. I heard she was born in Raton. I was born in Grand Island Nebraska, the Platte River valley where many a populated wagon train passed thru in search of a new life and new opportunities. I personally did not steal any land from anyone but likely my ancestors did. All of us have ancestors that we wish were not ours. And we have others we are proud to claim relations with. How many of our previous world residents fought over fertile territory or water or diamonds and gold or strategic mountain passes? Being at peace is a rarity. We are now fighting again in Iraq and Syria and actually many other places. Would the people of Somalia say they are in a war zone? How about the ebola consequences spreading around African countries and maybe someday spreading further? To be able to forget about the troubled times and suffering people would be foolish. We have to feed our families. Real estate is a great way to do that, but also we must find a way to help keep mankind healthy with shelter, regular food and clean water. Today we might have the money and resources. What if someday we don’t and we have to rely on others to be kind and generous? Where will those others come from?

I appreciate your time and would love to hear from you. Comments always welcome on this site…

Posted in Posts & Updates, Real estate career, Santa Fe and tagged , , , , , , .

The writer is a 68 year-old young man engaged as an active REALTOR (associate broker) with Keller Williams, in real estate sales and management in the Santa Fe NM market area. My career has been in and around the real estate industry for more than 35 years, ranging from mortgage lending (interim, commercial, residential); residential property management and leasing; shopping center development and leasing; real estate sales; sales training; title insurance as an executive and an escrow officer; various management positions; consulting and other related activities. That plus a bunch of banking experience including our family-owned Bank of Santa Fe in the 1980s. Where has the time gone?
My background means you have my working knowledge of the entire transaction process at your disposal. That comes with honesty and no bullshit.