I’m a complete nut about real estate news and numbers. So who better to dive into the current market with than David Childers, President of Keeping Current Matters?
On this episode of The Byron Lazine Podcast, David shares how KCM educates agents through uncertain times, the state of the current housing market, and what he foresees happening in the future.
David was introduced to Steve Harney by a friend. When he heard Steve’s vision to create something to help agents, he was in. That something was Keeping Current Matters.
David spent his first years with KCM as a consultant, speaking to agents and brokers during the height of the 2008 housing crisis. Soon, they realized everyone wanted to buy the slides, and so they began selling the charts, graphs, and infographics that we see all over Instagram today.
When March 13, 2020 came along, CEO Bill Harney made the decision that KCM would once again do everything in its power to help the industry. In times of uncertainty, KCM shares the real data and information that allow agents to educate consumers.
KCM’s Education on Recession Numbers
Ever since the early stages of the pandemic, there has been mass panic about the housing market. Will there be a crash? When will home values drop? How high will interest rates go?
Everyone’s gut instinct is that during a recession, home values go down. But when KCM pulled the numbers of the country’s most recent recessions, they found in three of the recessions, home values appreciated. Of the two when home prices went down, one was 2008…and we all know what happened then. The other showed home prices dropping less than 2%.
“Agents – you need to have a relevant market opinion based upon fact.”
Will there be a Cold War in residential real estate?
The industry has been faced with low inventory for a few years, and now interest rates are on the rise. I asked David, if interest rates rise and stay, say at 6%, for an extended period of time, would we have what I’ve been coining a cold war in residential real estate?
David discusses two factors:
- We know mortgage rates are going to rise this year. However, they likely won’t rise as quickly as they did in the first quarter.
- Historically, when rates rise, home values and the volume of properties sold have also risen.
David also stated:
“We will not reach market potential this year, because we do not have the inventory.”
David’s Tips for Educating Consumers
At the end of the podcast, David gives some advice for handling objections and talking with consumers. Try out these lines in your conversations this week (just be sure you have information and data to educate):
“Typically, what we’ve seen….”
“Here’s what’s happened in the past…”
When you are armed with historical information, you can share with consumers what typically happens. This can ease a lot of fears in an uncertain market. As agents, our greatest asset is being able to inform the consumer as they make the life-altering transaction of buying or selling real estate.
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