Plenty of ink and air time about the economy is given to consumer confidence as if confidence will come charging over the hill to save us from recession or depression. Highly skilled athletes, I think, are some of the most confident people. Still, their confidence doesn't keep them from running head first into disaster from time to time. I wonder if patience might be useful as a necessary virtue and confidence could use its help. Confidence, we could say, was driving the bus when the bubble burst.
Patience allows a home buyer to rise with the tide and roll with the flow of buying a distressed sale (short sale or foreclosure) property. Patience helps the Realtor listen and learn the deepest concerns of their selling clients. Patience keeps home sellers from quitting before the miracle.
As we end 2010, we can say confidently that patience has already served us well. We've patiently weathered the first volleys of the economic storm (their may be more to come) and we've learned and adjusted to the new normal. We let go of what was not realistic (lending practices and double digit appreciation) and accepted the more prudent conservative norms.
Confidence supported by evidence is different than the confidence of wishful or grandiose thinking. Evidence based confidence is powerful when combined with patience. We now know the fundamentals of real estate sales (recent comparable sales, documented evidence of value, top condition, documented income, pre-approval in hand) have to be adheared to in order to achieve positive results. When we employ the fundamentals, we can confidently and patiently navigate the real estate economy. Try to do it with one without the other, and the journey is vicious with uncertainty.
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