You can read the transcript of yesterday’s press conference at : Press Conference. Having a way to read for myself what I heard is so useful. You know how it is. Something that is said strikes you as important, but then something else is said immediately following that remark… and you lose the essence of the first remark, and so forth. Having the transcript allows me to go back and find stuff, and read it more closely. I like being able to read, instead of just hear.
Having the transcript also allows me to avoid the adjectives and adverbs of the talking heads on the media, who are quick to assign meaning and interpretations to the president’s words. I like to assign my own understanding. It is hard, however, to avoid hearing the spin and interpretations that other people are so quick to assign to Obama’s words. For us in real estate there were these words:
The second step we took was to launch a plan to stabilize the housing market and help responsible homeowners stay in their homes. This plan’s one reason that mortgage interest rates are now at near historic lows.
We’ve already seen a jump in refinancing of some mortgages, as homeowners take advantage of lower rates. And every American should know that up to 40 percent of all mortgages are now eligible for refinancing.
This is the equivalent of another tax cut, and we’re also beginning to see signs of increased sales and stabilizing home prices for the first time in a very long time.
What I know from working in our office is that we are really noticing an increase in customers coming in and/or calling. The positive news about mortgages and housing is having an impact, if our experience is anything to go by. I’d love to hear if you are having that same experience of increased activity. As an individual I’ve shown three properties, and made an offer on one in the last 5 days.
My one offer is one of these multiple offer situations, however, so I don’t know how far my clients will get in their bid to purchase the home. It sits on this gorgeous waterfront on Hood Canal.
The ending was striking. I really believe that the president has the right philosophy and approach for today’s issues and problems.
And what that tells me is that, if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then, then these problems can be dealt with.
That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I’m going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I’m in this office. I’m a big believer in persistence.
I think that when it comes to domestic affairs, if we keep on working at it, if we acknowledge that we make mistakes sometimes, and that we don’t always have the right answer, and we’re inheriting very knotty problems, that we can pass health care, we can find better solutions to our energy challenges, we can teach our children more effectively, we can deal with a very real budget crisis that is not fully dealt with in my, in my budget at this point, but makes progress.
and….
What I am confident about is that we’re moving in the right direction and that the decisions we’re making are based on, how are we going to get this economy moving? How are we going to put Americans back to work? How are we going to make sure that our people are safe? And how are we going to create not just prosperity here, but work with other countries for global peace and prosperity?
And we are going to stay with it as long as I’m in this office, and I think that — you look back four years from now, I think, hopefully, people will judge that body of work and say, this is a big ocean liner. It’s not a speedboat. It doesn’t turn around immediately. But we’re in a better, better place because of the decisions that we made.
Persistence and patience are the virtues all of us need in these days, and that very much includes all of us in the real estate business. Real estate professionals tend to be optimistic people, or they are soon winnowed out of the business. We understand persistence and patience.
Tags: housing, obama, patience, persistence, press conference, real estate professionals
