Markets back to normal, Agent CEOs shrug

We've been reading for the past few months about a slowdown in the real estate market across the country, and like me you've probably noticed the same thing in your market. Listings staying on the MLS longer, buyers harder to find - especially at the prices we expected just 6-8 months ago.

Today NAR released new data indicating a further slowdown in home sales, which will likely spark a fresh (and larger) round of stories about the real estate bubble bursting,

As I meet agents across the country over the past few weeks, I notice two reactions to this trend. Newer agents are quite worried about this market movement, as they've only operated in a real estate market at its peak. Veteran real estate agents are less nervous, realizing that this simply represents a red-hot market returning to normal.

But then there's a third reaction, shared by agents of all types that think of what they do as a business, and have been preparing for this moment for months, if not years.

Those are the Agent CEOs, the real estate professionals who know they need to cultivate a long-term pipeline of prospective customers that, no matter what the market looks like, will eventually buy or sell a home. Agent CEOs read headlines like this and shrug, knowing that their business practices keep them largely insulated from the day-to-day worry of market trends.

While many agents now scramble for their next commission check, Agent CEOs are staying busy with a flock of current customers, and have a pipeline of hundreds if not thousands of prospective customers waiting for them in the weeks, months and even years to come.

If you aren't yet an Agent CEO, it's not too late to become one. If you're new to this blog, read this post for a primer on what it means to be an Agent CEO, and spend some time reading through the stories of Agent CEOs on this blog for examples and best practices that you can implement in your business, starting TODAY, that will help you also look at headlines like this, and simply shrug.