Getting pumped up...

“Enthusiasm, like measles, mumps and the common cold, is highly contagious.” (Emory Ward) – from a recent Jack’s Winning Words Blog post. Enthusiasm and energy are what our office manager Vicki brings with her to our weekly meetings. Sometimes that’s a tough assignment, especially if one isn’t feel well themselves; but, somehow, she pulls it off consistently.

I have to work at it to stay enthused about the day-today grind. Sometimes my wife let’s me know when I’m acting down by calling me Eeyore, the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. I suppose I can be a bit of an ass every now and then, but I’m trying to get better at staying positive and up. Vicki calls me Mr. Grumpy when she sees that I’m down. It’s probably a good thing that they keep an eye on me, so that I don’t get down and wallow around in self-pity or doubt.

It’s especially hard sometimes to summon up enthusiasm when answering oft asked question, “How real estate these days?” Obviously, it’s not where any of us would like it to be, especially those trying to sell a home. But, I always answer the same – “It’s OK. We’re selling more homes this year than we’ve ever sold before and it’s a great time to be a buyer.” That’s all true. What goes unsaid and can remain unsaid as far as I’m concerned is that about half of the homes that we’re selling are foreclosed homes that are selling for about ¼ to ½ of what they would have gone for 2-3 years ago. That’s sad, but it does help sales.

What I do find it easy to get enthused about is working with the many first-time buyers that are out looking right now. Some of these buyers are about the ages of my kids and many are much younger. It’s fun to see how excited they get about finding the perfect house or at lease one that they can work on together to make perfect. I’ve had that pleasure several times this year and have 4-5 more couples that I’m working with right now, trying to find just the right house.

So, excuse me for now, I’ve got to run off and show houses to a young couple. All this fun and I get paid for it, too. How great is that!