Necessity is the mother of invention was quoted by my mother and her mother and her mother before her. That maxim really applies when money gets tight and one has to "make do". I've been thinking about this lately in regards to our slowing market. The same people still have to make money and many of them are still trying to make money in the field of real estate even though they may have quit being agents.
Our slowing market has created or added strength to several industries:
- Staging - This term is used to describe the process of preparing a home for sale. The stager dresses the house in its Sunday best to encourage the highest price and least amount of time on the market. Five years ago very few had heard of "staging".
- Home tending or house sitting - Despite the lack of buyers in the market, sellers still have to sell and still have to move. Too often in today's market the move is made before the sale leaving a vacant house vulnerable to burglary, vandalism, lack of maintenance, and possible damage from untended utilities. Home tenders live in these homes for lower rent, but keep the properties in good showing condition.
- Actors being used as pretend sellers to show the comfort of the home for the target buyer.
- Credit counseling companies to help buyers improve their credit scores and qualify for a mortgage.
- Rent to own options in purchasing.
Without the desperation of not being able to sell, some of the cottage industries and options above might not have been created. Necessity is still the "mother of invention".
(c) Bonnie Erickson 2006
July 13, 2006
Bonnie,
I kind of wrote about the same thing on my blog but from a different angle, see: Help unwanted at: www.StPaulRealEstateBlog.com
Posted by: Teresa Boardman | March 23, 2007 at 12:28 AM