The Old Rules Don't Apply

A look back... September 29, 2007. The following is a segment on the Today Show. Jim Cramer and the President-Elect of NAR Charles McMillan "spar" on whether to buy a house. Mr. McMillan was KO-d.




The "new conventional wisdom" was that, as Matt Lauer says at the beginning of this clip: "Whatever happened to that pot of gold that not too long ago if you put cash into the real estate market it was pretty easy money." We can debate at a different time whether the consumer's perception of the real estate industry is shaped by segments like these or whether these segments reflect the perceptions of the marketplace.

What I believe needs to be addressed is how real estate professionals responded then (and respond now) to the "real estate market collapse". Mr. McMillan didn't really address the fundamental issue here: Real Estate was NEVER supposed to be an "investment vehicle"! The unprecedented property value increases were aberrations, NOT the norm. This type of response, as well as the availability of property data from a variety of sources has created a wary and demanding consumer that professionals in the real estate industry must address. And address them on the consumers' terms.

The old rules don't apply.