Actually, they’re not slinking. They’ll be rolling in on perhaps the world’s first bona-fide promotional blogmobile. After 24 cities and a month on the road in an ever-ripening, man-cave-on-wheels, they’ve gotta love what we’ve got in store for them here in the Biggest Little City in the World. (Like, bathrooms with flush toilets.)
Hey Joe, Rudy… did you see the picture? That’s pretty much the style of room you’ll be getting at our luscious new Grand Sierra Resort, a pioneering property contributing to the new face of Reno. (Complete with air conditioning and showers, BTW.)
Since our little city is the grand finale on their cross-country tour, Guy and I thought we’d treat them to a little luxury and decadence before sending them on their way to the Inman Conference in San Francisco, where I’m sure they’ll have to get serious and tell the world how great we are. (Because, hey, we’re the last stop, and seriously, we need to prop up our declining home values because as Reno Ignoramus and Lindie remind me every time I forget, everybody wants to live here and pay more to do it. See? I’m doing my part…)
For those of you wondering what the heck I’m talking about, Blog Tour USA is the story of two national real estate bloggers driving across the country, meeting the people, gathering stories and spreading the word about the value of blogging in real estate.
They’ll be arriving in town on Friday, July 27, sometime in the late afternoon. In an effort to appear truly sophisticated or whatever, we’ll be taking them out to dinner at Dolce around 6 pm and then to Nikki Beach for a little after hours fun. Anyone out there who reads the blog, contributes to the blog, lurks on the blog, is a blogger, wants to learn more about blogging or has nothing better to do on Friday night but can carry a conversation is welcome to join us. Realtors, especially, are invited to attend to learn more about the mysterious world of blogging.
On Saturday, after a tour of the Grand Sierra, we’ll be whisking the boyz downtown to see what’s happening with redevelopment. Hopefully led by one of our local celebrity bloggers who can’t be named until he commits, we’ll check out Artown, take in the sights, and enjoy lunch outside at Silver Peak. Again, anyone out there who reads, comments, lurks or has nothing better to do is welcome to join us for lunch.
Now what Sellsius decides to do next is a mystery. Rudy and Joe are welcome to stay another night, if they choose, in which case we’ll do a blogger dinner-fest up at the Lone Eagle Grill on beautiful, worth-the-extra-mega-bucks Lake Tahoe at sunset, a sight not to be missed. Or they may decide to hide out for a couple of days to catch up on posting all the events they’ve attended these past weeks. Whatever happens, we’ll keep you informed (if we, in fact, happen to know what’s going on).
And we promise better leg photos than Phil Hoover’s.
If anyone out there wants to join us, you are cordially invited, so please email me or Guy. We’d love to meet you, and we’d love to have your help welcoming Joe and Rudy and promoting the World’s Biggest-Little-City and Lake Tahoe in style.
17 comments
Diane posted:
“…Because, hey, we’re the last stop, and seriously, we need to prop up our declining home values…”
Geez Diane, you’ve got a bad Kool Aid habit. Surely you’re smart enough to realize by now that lower prices are better for the market, and the community as a whole. There is but one reason for the sky high inventories; it’s the prices! Until they come down, your paychecks aren’t going to be as frequent.
But, realtors like you find themselves in a precarious position. You spewed the nauseating catch phrases “buy now or be priced out forever”, and “real estate only goes up” until you were blue in the face, and now it’s coming back to bite you in the ass. A lot of those fools who drank your “Jonestown Juice” and rushed to buy a house were the future buyers of today and tomorrow. Not only did they buy sooner than they had intended, but they’re now angry because their “investment” is now a depreciating asset.
So, now you intend to try to “prop up” prices. You can’t do it Diane. The prices paid due to the artificially inflated demand over the last several years aren’t real. What is real, is the average person going to work Monday through Friday and earning an honest living, and affording a house on those honest wages. We got away from that for a while, but that’s where we’re going. Stop trying to fight it, and embrace it. Work with sellers to lower their expectations. They’re not enjoying their multi year mls ride anyway. Spend some time educating them on why yesterdays prices are a facade. It’s people like you who can have a positive impact on the market, but only if you’re honest with yourself and your clients.
From the front page of today’s New York Times:
Top Lender Sees Mortgage Woes for ‘Good’ Risks
By VIKAS BAJAJ
Published: July 25, 2007
Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said yesterday that more borrowers with good credit were falling behind on their loans and that the housing market might not begin recovering until 2009 because of a decline in house prices that goes beyond anything experienced in decades.
The news from Countrywide, widely seen as a bellwether for the mortgage market, initiated a sell-off in the stock market, which is at its most volatile in more than a year. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 30.53 points, or 2 percent, to 1,511.04, its biggest one-day drop in nearly five months. The dollar dropped to a new low against the euro, edging closer to $1.40 to 1 euro. Stocks opened sharply lower in Japan this morning.
The slumping housing market has become the biggest worry for the stock market, which just four days ago set records, because of its potential impact on the broader economy and financial system.
Countrywide’s stark assessment signaled a critical change in the substance and tenor of how housing executives are publicly describing the market. Just a couple of months ago, some executives were predicting a relatively quick recovery and saying that most home loans would be fine with the exception of those made to borrowers with weak credit who stretched too far financially.
Executives at Countrywide had for some time been more skeptical than others but the bluntness of their comments yesterday surprised many on Wall Street. In a conference call with analysts that lasted three hours, Countrywide’s chairman and chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo, said home prices were falling “almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression.”
Nationally, home prices have not fallen in the 35 years or so that the government and private services have tracked them. Some researchers like Robert J. Shiller of Yale have compiled data that goes as far back as 1890 and shows that home prices fell for several years during the 1930s.
Mr. Mozilo said that because of a large number of homes on the market, the housing sector would continue to suffer until sometime in 2008 and not begin recovering until 2009.
Two observations.
First Bantering Bear’s: “not only did they buy sooner than they had intended, but they’re now angry because their ‘investment’ is now a depreciating asset.”
If I’ve learned anything in over 35 years of real estate investing, it’s that time heals all wounds. Although the buyers Bantering Bear refers to may be angry now, 10, 15, 30 or more years from now, they likely will have lost their anger. If you’re an owner-occupant; here for the long haul; and need a place to live anyway; does it really matter if the fmv of your home has increased or decreased? Until you actually pull the “sales” trigger, comparative market analysis figures are nothing more than could’ves, would’ves, should’ves may should not’ves.
Second, have you been to the West Shore Cafe in Homewood? If you’re taking your bloggers to Tahoe’s Northshore, I would recommend continuing your commute to Homewood. The “cafe” has built a deck over the beach; you’re actually eating over the Lake; the views are absolutely world class; the food is pretty good too [the presentation is world class if you’re into that sort of thing]; and, there’s even a piano player trying to make your outdoor experience “refined.”
I must warn you though, the prices are through the roof [maybe $100 a head including some wine]. But heck, with all you realtors have been making on overpriced Reno real estate; and bloggers like Derrick who have saved $250K or more on California income taxes; you guys should be able to afford it.
Good luck and hope you make it over to Homewood - I think it will be a very fitting conclusion to your guest tour.
Um, BB, that was supposed to read as sarcasm. Do you really think that I think I can prop up anything in this market? It’s a market. It’s going to do whatever it’s going to do. People need to make their own informed decisions based on their unique circumstances that take advantage of the current situation in the best possible way.
Smarten, thanks for the West Shore Cafe suggestion. I do love that place, and you’re right, the views are spectacular. As for footing the bill? I thought I’d start using the HELOC on my house to pay for it because that’s what everyone does, right? (BB: please read as sarcasm.)
Diane:
Hey, forgive me! Perhaps I misunderstood your post a little bit. I know you to be sarcastic, I enjoy it, and I should have realized that was your intention. When I read your post, I was reminded of a guest post several months ago by the mortgage “professional”. She was doing her best to “prop up” prices by pushing the sellers to cover closing costs and god knows what else in order to “protect values”. For a brief moment, I thought you were drinking some of her Kool Aid! But seriously, I think Realtors need to do a better job of pricing their listings. There are simply way too many fantasy prices out there, and I think Realtors shoulder a lot of the blame. $800k barn anyone? ;-P
BanteringBear, please. It’s not a barn. Well, ok, it is a barn. But, it’s more. It’s a “preservation opportunity”.
Surely nobody would have the gumption to ask $800K for a barn. But for an opportunity, and not just any unremarkable opportunity, but a “preservation opportunity”, well, surely you can see the opportunity. Barns are a dime a dozen, but preservation opportunities don’t come around that often. You might want to jump on this one, before, you know, you get priced out forever. They aern’t making any more preservation opportunities you know.
Okay, so get over the leg shot, will ya?
Guess I shudda cropped that shot before posting it, but I didn’t think of it.
Bantering Bear:
You need to walk a mile in the shoes of a Realtor before accusing us of driving up the market.
In 2005, it was all we could do to fend off the slobbering flippers and “investors” who were eagerly feeding at the trough, thinking everything would continue to appreciate 24% a year.
I suspect you were either one of them, or wish you had been (then).
Everyone needs to figure out that you buy a home to live in, not to be your own personal ATM.
Thanks to the greed of wall street and mortgage-backed securities, we had a five-year party where everyone who could fog a mirror could buy a home with nothing down (including the flippers/speculators).
Now, we have the hangover.
This is NOT the bottom; the fun is just starting.
Great idea for the final night of the tour - let’s put on a knee slappin’ barn dance on Aspen Glen! Do-si-do, all-a-man left and all that stuff. We are a world class destination, after all. I’ll bring the backyard hootch!
Seriously, a bitch of a listing. Lot value based on the rest of Eagle Bend is $400,000 or so. Split domains between Reno and Washoe. Anyone else familiar with Aspen Glen? 2 Blocks of the most whacked out, artsy (Wildflower Village, but Wildflower Village is really cool - check it out), greedy (look at recent sales and lot splits) NIMBY’s ever assembled on a single street. And did I mention sewer problems, the occasional flooding to 20 feet or so (look up in the willows for the debris from the last one), low water pressure, and the don’t-touch historic constraints on the property?
But a kick-ass barn dance could sure up the profile of the listing!
Sorry, don’t know why that double posted.
Too bad the blog tour will miss out on our biggest events:
- Reno Rodeo
- Hot August Nights
- Street Rumble
- Rib Cook Off
- ABC Bowling Tournaments
- Safari Club kill-a-thon
Phil Hoover posted:
“You need to walk a mile in the shoes of a Realtor before accusing us of driving up the market…In 2005, it was all we could do to fend off the slobbering flippers and “investors” who were eagerly feeding at the trough, thinking everything would continue to appreciate 24% a year. I suspect you were either one of them, or wish you had been (then).”
Oh boy, cue the violin for poor Realtor Phil. Fend off the flippers and investors? You gotta be kidding me! Methinks that YOU were the one with more drool running down your face than my newborn nephew with the flu. Me, a flipper? Bahahahaha! Not on your life. I am repulsed by greed, and live my life accordingly.
OK, a link to the $800K barn please?
Here it is GW: http://www.idxcentral.com/snar/idxsearch.cfm?idxid=dcohn&pg=profileland&mls=70011884&start=26&list=36&from_price=0&to_price=999999999&comarea=161&lottype=any&rows=25&do=any&acmin=0&acmax=99999&horse=any&fl=any&lo=any&loid=any&la=any
Want to go in with me and build an Ashram?
Hey, the barn really is beautiful. I just can’t figure out any scenatio’s where the price is in this universe. Not Diane’s call.
Diane wrote: “do you really think that I think I can prop up anything in this market? It’s a market. It’s going to do whatever it’s going to do.”
This may come as a shock to you Diane, but NOT all realtors feel the way you do on this subject. Rather, they attempt to influence the supply of inventory which affects competition; especially when it competes with their listings.
Again I refer to my favorite Incline Village realtor, Don Kanare[www.insideincline.com]. When too many listings recently came on line in a particular condominium complex Don mines, he sent out an alert [over his web site] to all non-serious sellers/wannabes in that complex, that they SHOULDN’T list their properties unless serious because too many listings were putting downward price pressure on those few sellers who actually had to sell. In other words, he attempted to prop up this micro-segment of the market and in the process, stop the downward pressure on prices.
Even though I realize neither Don nor most others can control the market, the realtor’s job [in my view] is not to attempt to manipulate the market but rather, to do the best he/she can to represent his/her clients by reacting to the market at any given point in time.
My point is only that there ARE realtors who intentionally spin [through any vehicle available] notwithstanding the fact it benefits them to the detriment of their fiduciar[ies]. Just look at Don’s current market analysis: “buyers looking at Incline Village real estate are generally affluent. The supply and demand situation being what it is with the baby boomers retiring, prices may plateau for awhile but there is no big retreat on the horizon. If you think you can ‘buy on the dip’ when searching for property in Incline Village you will be sadly disappointed when there is no dip and you will wish you had bought during this plateau phase prior to the next round of price increases which I see starting in late 2007 or sometime in 2008.”
Few of us see Reno prices starting to increase from the present “plateau” in the next 3-4 months. Of course Reno’s not Incline Village where there’s only one Incline Village, constant demand, and everyone looking to buy has money - it’s “unique” [at least that’s one realtor’s view]!
Doofus posted:
“Lot value based on the rest of Eagle Bend is $400,000 or so.”
I’m not sure where you are getting this info, but this seems like quite a stretch. Land prices are plummeting.
http://tinyurl.com/2hchac
hi diane!
we’re on our way to meet you. can’t wait.
RE: “Although the buyers Bantering Bear refers to may be angry now, 10, 15, 30 or more years from now, they likely will have lost their anger.”
Assuming they still have the home.
We’re #1 IN THE NATION in foreclosures, and rising.
Lots of people who leaped into the market are now losing their homes - and in some cases, that’s everything they have left - in this correction.
I don’t know any renters losing their family’s life savings.
Hey Mike Z,
They are not losing their life’s savings. They didn’t have any savings to lose. They didn’t put anything down. Didn’t you see Jaded’s post on all the foreclosed properties going up for “auction” in Reno. They all bought with nothing down I/O Voodoo Specials. They have no skin in the game. ALL they did was bid up prices with their liar loans. So while renters had to come up first/last/cleaning deposit, these “homeowners” (more correctly described as debtowners) didn’t have to come up with squat. You know, finance 105% of the purchase price. So now these foreclosed former “homeowners” will actually have to display some financial integrity, that is, if they want to become renters.