May You Live in Interesting Times

We’ve all heard these three phrases at some point in time.

May you live in interesting times.

May you be recognized by powerful people.

May you get what you wish for.

How much attention have we paid to what they really mean? Are these Chinese proverbs a blessing or a curse?

“May you live in interesting times”

The first of the blessings curses is the most recognized and, for an optimist, this hardly seems to be curse worthy. After-all, who wants to live in boring times? The massive advances in technology and lightning speed of the real estate market as a result of technology has made the real estate market very interesting indeed.

The Blessing: Consumers now have access to massive amounts of real estate information, and are now some of the most knowledgeable consumers in the world. The role of Realtor has evolved to become trusted advisor, rather than gatekeeper of all the information. The information to make educated decisions is at everyone’s fingertips and has levelled the real estate playing field.

The Curse: What defines interesting times? Covid, high interest rates (relatively speaking), multiple offers, and low inventory rates are all interesting aspects of the real estate market, but not what I would define in positive, or even fun, terms.

Nobody likes being bored, but I think you’ll agree with me that a stable and boring real estate market is far more appealing than one that is unpredictable and prone to dramatic changes.

“May you be recognized by powerful people”

The Blessing: We all have a need for recognition and to feel important. Being recognized by powerful people can make it easier to do business and opens up opportunities. It’s easier to network, put deals together, and drives even more business. Most people would prefer to deal with a known entity over an unknown.

The Curse: Being recognized by powerful people usually means the government - and that puts a big target on your back. There’s no question that the real estate market and industry are clearly in the focus of powerful people. All levels of government had determined that intervention in the market place is needed. The industry is being targeted yet again over the “cooperative” nature of our competitive industry. You might have heard about the massive lawsuits in the US around buyer agents being compensated by sellers. Similar class action lawsuits are starting to surface in Canada now as well.

Powerful people, interesting times, and huge sums of money for lawyers to squabble over makes this sometimes feel more like a curse than blessing.

“May you get what you wish for”

The most insightful of the three blessings, curses by far.

The Blessing: Getting what you want! I mean, who would complain? It’s the hands down definition of a blessing!

The Curse: Do we really know what we want? The superficial answer is that we want a busy market, top dollar for our homes, and lots of buyers for those homes. That being said, have we really considered what we want out of the market?

The interesting times over the past 4 years have driven prices through the roof, and the market hasn’t kept up with the growth of the market and the population. The incredible speed of the market, coupled with interest rate increases, have helped stoke fear and apprehension leading to both buyers and sellers sitting on the sidelines trying to figure out what move to make. All the while, the “powerful” people have turned their focus to the market and the industry.

If we were really focused on what is best for the market and for our people, we might not have wished for the results we’ve been experiencing.

As we approach our 400th weekly edition we’ve covered a lot of territory and topics. Today’s post has resonated deeply with me. My time in this industry has allowed me to witness massive amounts of change and growth within the Guelph and regional real estate market. People, companies, and issues have come and gone over those years. I’ve lived both sides of these three phrases. The blessing and thrill of a well executed offer and negotiation that leaves everyone happy with the outcome, to the curse of feeling the wrath of everyone because of brutal market conditions. Praying for a strong growing market and then praying for it to slow down a bit so everyone can take a breath and make a responsible decision.

This year has brought government intervention, bad actors, new legislation, more regulation - some a blessing, some a curse.

It hasn’t been boring to say the least.

A blessing or a curse. The one consistent thing in the real estate market is that change has been constant, and it certainly hasn’t been boring.

This February ushers in the Chinese New Year, the year of the dragon. The dragon is regarded as being a symbol of bravery, strength, and luck - will this ring true for what this year will bring?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Bring it on….and let's see what we can accomplish.

Enjoy the weekend & an early Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating!

Paul Fitzpatrick

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