I’ve lost count of how many times someone has said something along these lines to me in the past few weeks and months. Have you heard the same thing lately?

What with the daily news of the economy, devastating media reports about the real estate market, foreclosures, prices taking nosedives, etc. — what should people be thinking?

“You must have a lot of time on your hands these days.”

“Have you thought about a back-up plan or a part-time job?”

Is the real estate market really that bad? The market presents challenges, for sure, but there are also opportunities. It is not a bad market, but a changed one here in Northern Virginia and D.C.

After my $970,000 settlement on a luxury townhouse in Arlington on November 7th, I’ve had a new answer to this barrage of questioning for the last 10 days:

“Actually I just closed my biggest sale about a week ago — almost $1 million.”

Jaws drop. Bewilderment ensues. Misperceptions are shattered. Maybe the market really ain’t that bad.

Or maybe this guy Brian Block is doing something right.

While some other REALTORS spend their last days hanging on in the business complaining about the market around the water cooler waiting for their phone to ring, the strong agents and brokers are surviving, even thriving.

Action and attitude win out every day over media hype and complaining whining.

And while I continue to enjoy the afterglow of a big sale, I’m not bragging about it around a water cooler… I’m too busy this week with 3 new buyers.

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that I never got that part-time job…

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“Go Beyond” with zipLogix, creators of zipForm® real estate forms software. Also part of the zipLogix software suite is zipForm Mobile, zipLogix Digital Ink® Digital Signatures, zipVault® document storage, and relay® transaction management tool. Broker solutions also available. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

One of my martial arts instructors sent me the following quote a while back:

“Fear is your friend, panic is your enemy. Fear will help you get to your goal faster.  Panic will either shut you down or send you down an inappropriate course of action for the situation.  Unfortunately ‘fear’ has a bad rap.  It has been confused with panic in many self-defense programs, and the resulting goal is to train for ‘no fear’, this is a mistake! Fear is a motivational message.  Even under frightening conditions, a person with enough experience and the proper training can act and accomplish complex processes.“

There’s a lot of fear out there right now among homebuyers, homesellers, and people sitting on the fence deciding what to do in the current real estate market. Some REALTORS are panicking too.  It is not a time for panic.  It’s a time for REALTORS to learn all they can, digest and analyze that information, and present it in a calm and counseling way to their clients.  Mortgage meltdown, liquidity crisis, Bear Stearns collapse, emergency interest rate drops, foreclosures, short sales, media reports, stock market roller coaster, Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, AIG, Fannie/Freddie, $700 Billion bailout — all these things weigh on the psyche of those pondering the real estate market.

Don’t let your fear turn into panic! Fear is healthy.  It forces you to get educated.  Fear motivates you to find knowledgeable advisors, trusted friends, and to avoid scary situations like walking down a dark alley alone.  Fear puts you on guard and may entice you to learn a new skill.  Fear prevents you from doing stupid things.

We do live in a sometimes scary world. My wife Deborah motivated, encouraged, begged and pleaded with me to learn martial arts to increase our combined confidence when walking down the streets.  Almost 3 years of study has made me aware of my environment, confident that I can protect both of us should any compromising situation arise.  We are both more secure because I have diligently studied martial arts (in my case Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).  Recently, I even got Deborah to sign up and she now attends martial arts with me.

Fear prevents panic.  Fear prevents irrational thought and actions.  As the quote cautions, don’t confuse fear with panic.

Explain to your clients that it is not necessary to go it alone when navigating the sometimes scary and confusing complex world of real estate. Real estate contracts in Virginia are legal documents with 20 or more pages of small and detailed legal wording.  Buying or selling a home requires knowledge of a whole new vocabulary of jargon — from appraisals and ARMs to warranties, zoning ordinances, and everything in between.

Your clients work full-time jobs.  They don’t need the added job of struggling on their own to buy or sell a home and learn about the market.  THAT’S OUR JOB! To prevent panic, we need to get out their and do our jobs.

Don’t let fear turn into panic for you or your clients.  Protect yourself.  Now’s the time for REALTORS to really enter the ring and prove their worth with calm & cool reasoning and analysis.

Next time you see me, remember to ask, and I’ll even show you how to throw a mean right hook.

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“Go Beyond” with zipLogix, creators of zipForm® real estate forms software. Also part of the zipLogix software suite is zipForm Mobile, zipLogix Digital Ink® Digital Signatures, zipVault® document storage, and relay® transaction management tool. Broker solutions also available. ---------------------------------------------------------------------