Food for thought, January 31, 2015

I remember hearing the interview with an economist just as it was evident that we as a country were in the slide to a great depression, now named The Great Recession. He remarked that he could see more people renting (this as the foreclosures swelled and seemed to be the harbinger of what was to unfold), because if a person lost their job, had a new job offer in hand somewhere else, yadda, yadda, they could just pick up and go.

And in a way that made sense except what about our perceived notion that real estate holdings can yield personal wealth  and more?( I thought at the time, ”Well that makes sense to the investor who can have someone else pay for the investment even considering that the capitol built the place and maybe that was risky, okay it is/was risky but certain risks can also be tax breaks) So here come the Millennia's who it is reported do not leap to buy cars, run to purchase homes and condos, prefer walking, bicycling, sharing rides, well, yes, even sharing apartments, renting out a room in their apartment, being big buyers in consignment shops. Yeah! ( I am no stranger to GW.)
So as Charlotte, N.C. is poised to host thousands and thousands and thousands of renters, who have no investment in the city, have no need for maintenance and repair and remodel, can just pick up and leave at any time that suits their plans, this sounds pretty attractive. But what about those of us who bought into home and hearth? Paint and planting pansies? Maintaining the streets, the public areas, the schools (though we don't do this well, nor do we take care of our teachers)

Charlotte is on the brink of being the Queen City of Apartments.
Why should this concern us as brokers? We help folks buy and sell. What should we care?
Let's listen to all the developers and builders with their charts and graphs and projections and not even look at our own infrastructure. Seem silly? That is what I feel we are doing. I am going off here on maybe a deep end, but I feel that the people tending the store have Gone Fishing.

My gut tells me we indeed are entering a phase that will be akin to the frog in water. By the time we think we should jump out it will be too late. Money is not bad, only in the hands of those who have nothing else but money and power and that is addictive. They want it all. You know, someone is off track when they say, “Now I can have it all.” And because you have been there and came to your senses through a rude awakening or a wiser voice, you got out and realize “Less is more.”

Maybe it is about stuff. All the stuff we gather and collect and buy for ourselves, maybe others. Our economy is based on consumer spending. Hello! And why do we do that? Because we can. Many can.

to be continued