WednesdayWrap.2

The Wednesday Wrap--a little compendium of opinions and analyses of all matters, especially economics, related to real estate--came into existing in January, 1981. It was a 4-page report, typed up on an IBM Selectric typewriter, printed, stapled together, and delivered by hand to real estate and mortgage professionals in Southern California. I offered subscriptions to real estate agents, but they were used to getting things for free. So I soon was underwritten by a massive title insurance company.

What was truly great about this experience was that I got to know thousands of people in the business. I was in the business myself when I began writing the Wrap. I owned a medium-sized office in San Juan Capistrano, and tried out all the marketing and business techniques I wrote about in the Wrap. I also found out firsthand how the then-new Adjustable Rate Mortgage programs worked and gave seminars on the subject all over the state.

I met wonderful people in Santa Rosa, Mt. Shasta City, San Jose, Santa Clara, Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield, and all over Southern California. And the Wrap soon went to a growing audience in other states as well.

Then the California Department of Insurance, in an attempt to squash every way that some title companies were apparently buying business, made it illegal for title reps to hand out the Wrap, even though it helped its readers provide their clients with better service. With this boulder tied around its neck, the Wednesday Wrap sank into the sea of oblivion.

But many people, as I am discovering, still remember the Wednesday Wrap and its mildly sarcastic, fun-loving, truth-telling researcher and writer, the "Wrapman." And so I'm back--with WednesdayWrap.2.

Let me say that there is a good reason for WednesdayWrap.2 to exist. The last time the Wrap looked like it would disappear, a lot of my favorite people in real estate were convinced that the Internet would eliminate real estate professionals completely. It was clear to me, however, that the Internet would enhance the public's awareness of the many reasons they would benefit from the assistance provided by a seasoned, caring real estate agent. So I started writing again.

This time, a lot of real estate and mortgage professionals, along with pesssimistic analysts, are certain that we're heading into another recession, and thinking they should find new careers. Once again, I disagree. We're not heading into a recession; we're in the midst of massive change in the industry. Indeed, the changes have just begun.

What I hope to do in the coming week as the WednesdayWrap.2 gets underway is (1) to point out the indicators that are telling us the markets (both the real estate sector and the overall economy) are indeed improving--though in unusual ways--and (2) to keep an eye on the best ways to involve ourselves in and profit from the changes now progressing in the industry. Most of us, perhaps understandably, have our eyes fixed on our rear view mirrors--where the landscape, though passing, is more recognizable. It's time, though, to learn to see the new world that is shaping itself before us.

A simple example: New home builders, who find it very difficult to compete with discounted foreclosure properties, are developing the various versions of the home of the future--smaller, energy-efficient, easily-kept up, inexpensively elegant, with every square inch used wisely. The effect that the success of these houses will have is impossible to overestimate, especially in a market so greatly defined by first-time buyers and Baby Boomers in their new, active retirements.

The new homes will persuade owners of existing homes to remodel so that they can compete with the increasingly popular styles.

This is exciting stuff, as are the coming changes in mortgage financing, the more effective ways of marketing homes, the expanded roles of real estate and mortgage professionals in every aspect of real estate transactions.

Welcome back to the WedWrap! Please bookmark this blog. I'll write you more at least once a week, and I'll look forward to your responses.

Yours,
Dr. Bill Fisher