Housing as a commodity???I doubt the concept of fix and flip and investment Real Estate was foremost in the minds of those WWII veterans when they were looking at homes in Levittown PA.  They were looking for shelter, roof, warm in the winter and cool in the summer place to raise a family and enjoy life.Using homes and housing as shelter prevailed for a long time.  Recently the concept of making money with Real Estate has become a buzz word along with a way of life for some people.  Not to say that in the past there have been wise investors that viewed Real Estate as a highway to wealth.  Consider the golf course and subdivision developer; they have  seen the lighted pathway to riches.   The average Joe has recently joined the crowd in trying to make Real Estate a second or in some circumstances a primary vocation.  Well does it work?  In most cases it does not and has this movement led to or contributed the current situation in the housing market?  For the novice fix and flipper or even the developer, as with most vocations hard work, planning and focus are required to be successful, oh yes, don’t forget money.What I wanted to get across is that housing is just that, a home for you and your family and was primarily developed to keep you warm in the winter, cool in the summer and have a place to invite friends and family over for Sunday dinner.  Yes you can make money in Real Estate and you can also lose money.  For the most part most folks break even after some good investments and then some bad ones.  So when your friend of neighbor brags that he made a killing on selling his home, take it with a grain of salt, he may very well lost his shirt on his last deal.

National and Regional Real Estate, there is a big difference!!Yet another day with Real Estate in the news and the news is typically not too glowing.  You have to wonder when the concept of what a home sells for or how many homes sell, becomes a national news topic.  So it may be a slow news year,  or Real Estate is, or has become, a major business.  I hope when listing to the news you don’t compare your local market to those markets all over the country.  Get a map out and pinpoint your community and then pinpoint the community that was on the news this morning.  If there is a difference of several hundred or a couple hundred miles between them, then the news probably doesn’t apply to your community.  Sounds simple and it is simple.I get cornered several times a day by friends, family and sometime strangers asking me how the Real Estate market is doing in Montrose.  Well it is doing great I tell them.  We have had a great November, 6 closings and more importantly 6 families are going to have a new home for the Christmas holidays.  Yesterday we had two offers on the same home.  People are coming to Montrose, why?  Because it is great place to live, work and play.Don’t let the national news frighten you; focus on your local Real Estate goals.