It’s hard to imagine that we’re turning the page on August and soaring into September! But it’s so fitting as we prepare to celebrate Labor Day – a tribute to all of the contributions made by the people who get up every day and make it happen!
And that’s YOU! This Labor Day will be especially inspiring for me as I reflect on all of the hard work, determination, persistence, resilience, preparation, flexibility, selfless service, and love that you’ve demonstrated this year!
You started the year on a red-hot pace, remember the incredible volumes produced in the first quarter before COVID? And then quickly pivoting to focus on your communities as the shut-downs commenced, and then the patience you showed as many parts of the world put a complete halt to real estate activities, and the adaptability you displayed by completely changing the way you worked with clients, prepared to market homes, and facilitated closings, and most especially how you all leaned-in together to help share best practices, encourage and uplift one another! There are literally thousands of examples of the HARD WORK that you all have demonstrated throughout the year and particularly since March!
And, the industry has benefitted greatly as a result! Your clients are reinforcing their trust and appreciation for the HARD WORK you’ve put in this year and the results speak for themselves! Pending homes sales rose again in July, the third consecutive month of gains and the revised forecasts of existing home sales suggests that 2020 may actually see more homes sold than 2019! That was something we couldn’t imagine as we settled into the spring shutdowns. Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors was quoted as saying, “Home sellers are seeing their homes go under contract in record time, with nine new contracts for every 10 new listings.” YOU ARE THE REASON FOR THESE RESULTS – YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD!
Next week on the Forever Forum, you won’t want to miss my interview with Johnnie Johnson, Founder and CEO of Moving Families Initiative. Johnnie is a former All-American with the University of Texas and All-Pro defensive back with the Los Angeles Rams. Johnnie very successfully transitioned his discipline, focus, and mindset into the real estate industry. Johnnie was a top-producing, #1 within his national network, real estate agent and founded Moving Families Initiative and World Class Coaches with a mission to, “assist children in dealing with the physical and emotional challenges of moving while providing protection to the children’s entire family during periods of transition and change in their lives.” Johnnie will share his observations, experiences, and insights, as to the various issues facing families who are moving with children. My Facebook live-cast with Johnnie can be seen directly on my business page @HSFChrisStuart. Please like and follow the page to be instantly alerted to this session and all sessions and please tell your colleagues about this episode. You will walk away from this session better prepare to understand and add-value to your real estate clients who are moving with children! The session will be live-cast Wednesday September 2, at 10:30 a.m. Pacific.
Also, next week, please don’t miss another “Women Who Lead” live-cast hosted by Teresa Palacios Smith. Next week Teresa will be joined by guests Shannon Malone, Director of Operations at the Sunshine Kids, Jill Petersen, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, and Jerrie Short, Co-Founder, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties in Torrance, CA.
I hope that each of you has a moment to reflect on your individual contribution to this unprecedented real estate market that you’ve helped create. Whether it was your preparation during the downtime, a call you made to a colleague to uplift them, a shared best-practice, a call to a past client that provided confidence, the pivot in your marketing methods, or any number of ways that you’ve exhibited your professionalism, you all are to credit for the great results that the industry is producing. I’m inspired and humbled and I appreciate you very much! Have a great week!
