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We have seen a big jump in prices this year here in the DC area. This has been great if you have been lucky enough to sell your house.

The problem is – we are having a jump in interest rates now too.  That does not bode well for the mortgage industry.

In fact, in the last few days Wells Fargo has been busy cutting nearly 3,000 jobs in their mortgage divisions.

J.P. Morgan will be cutting 19,000 jobs over the next two years in states like California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Florida because their income from mortgage banking has dropped 14% from a year ago.

Bank of America had it the worst of the big banks.  Their mortgage income declined nearly 22%, so they now have a plan to fire 2,100 people and close 16 offices by the end of next month.

An article posted yesterday at the Wall Street Journal lists a myriad of troubles for the mortgage industry in the year ahead.  $1.65 Trillion in mortgages this year – which is down from 1.75 last year.  But pay attention to this – They expect next year to drop and bottom out at $1.46 Trillion.

You can find the article posted at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324094704579064863415657936.html

You will often hear me make fun of myself for being a C student.  But these numbers combined with rosy home price forecasts are not adding up.  Strong housing markets are driven by a healthy mortgage industry.

I am buckling up for a tough year. I plan on being cautious with where I buy houses, and even more cautious with when I buy.  I think we are in for a period of time when prices will not be rocketing up, but will not be dropping like a stone either.  Quite frankly, I think we are in for a period of time when prices just stagnate and stabilize…..

Like the housing market in the 90’s.

And that my friends, is just fine by me.  A stable market is good for everyone because no one has the upper hand.  Buyers can negotiate a decent deal, and sellers can sell if they want to.

You can plainly see with these two charts – a very obvious period in the 90’s when prices stabilized for nearly a decade.

The first chart shows prices across the entire US market.

Now, since “all real estate is local” lets look at our DC market (where it’s pretty obvious our prices got a little carried away) during the same period of time.

After the whipsaw prices of the last 6 or 7 years, a nice relaxing period of price stability would be great.

So that is what I am hoping Santa brings me for Christmas this year – The 90’s.

I hope I see you on Monday night at our September WREIA meeting.  It’s going to be a great night discussing Real Estate Marketing.  We plan on showing some successes we have had over the last few months and a few of our colossal failures from earlier in the spring.

Register now and join us on Monday night.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson

As we all age, there is little doubt that some of our neighbors will go in for a little “tune-up” and get some minor work done in the quest to improve their appearance.  And for these doctors, business is booming.14.6 Million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2012, an increase of 5% over 2011.   Most of our neighbors are going in for minimally invasive facial rejuvenation procedures like injections and abrasions, though the trend for major surgeries are pretty stable as well.What is needed in our personal lives is sometimes needed in the corporate world as well. McDonalds, for instance, is spending a little over a Billion dollars this year to give 1,600 stores a facelift.  That is on top of the 2,400 they “rebooted” last year.

And they did it for good reason:  “McDonald’s said that the new interiors can increase sales by 6% to 7% in the year after they’re completed.”

The McDonalds article is posted at http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/06/20/mcdonalds-1-billion-store-makeover.aspx

Now, McDonalds knows they have to invest in their image to stay current.  My question to you is – “When was the last time you updated your business image?”

A few minutes ago I saw the outline for the next WREIA meeting next Monday.  One of the sections is going to be about re-branding and updating your small business image.  Most of these tips are for those of us operating on a shoestring budget, who do not want to hire “image consultants” and high brow designers to give our business a facelift.  I was quite frankly very surprised at how little some of this image work costs today.

There is simply no excuse for not having a professional image these days.  We are in the early stages of working on a corporate facelift at our office right now, and re-deploying some of our old stagnant websites.  We are trying to lasso it all in, and keep a tight cohesive look and feel to each property and marketing piece – both online and offline.

Monday is packed with great information that could save you a fortune, especially if design is not one of your strengths.  I always recommend hiring the people that can do the job better than you, as soon as your business makes it possible.

You are going to be in for a treat on Monday night.  There is a ton of great current

information. You will be happy to hear, other than showing you two huge failures we had in the spring, we will not be reporting any marketing results more than 90 days old. This is fresh material.  In fact, much of our marketing work from 2011 and 2012 has been shelved, but the results are being used as a spring board for what we are doing in the near future.

We are not only looking back, but also at what’s ahead for real estate marketing. To be quite frank with you – as I review the outline for Monday night and look ahead to 2014 we see our  marketing plans changing –  again.

Remember – We are gathering some feedback for the WREIA meeting on the 16th.  We posted a quick 10 question survey, and  last week we asked for your help.

If you didn’t already, will you take about 3 minutes and check a few boxes for me?  The survey is posted at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XV6WSGV

Just like last year, we will be sharing the results at the next WREIA meeting.

Thanks so much for helping.

One last time, you can find the survey posted at

John Peterson

“I have three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.”

That is a quote from Diana Nyad, the first person to swim from Cuba to Key West Florida, without the assistance of a shark cage.Ms. Nyad wasn’t on vacation in Cuba with a few too many umbrella drinks when you jumped and said “Let’s swim home!”  And she certainly didn’t make the swim alone – she had 35 support people who helped her train over the last 4 years.

Ms. Nyad has been at this for some time, and her Cuba to Key West quest didn’t begin 4 years ago.  No, she didn’t start this process at 60 years old.  Her first of 5 attempts was back in 1978, when she was 28 years old.

Yesterday, Ms. Nyad completed a 110 mile swim – AT AGE 64!

This is an absolutely incredible story about human determination, and the NY Times has a great article posted at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/sports/nyad-completes-cuba-to-florida-swim.html

The quote of Ms. Nyad along with her determination got me thinking…..

“Don’t we sometimes give up at the last minute, just before we break through for a final victory?”

Ms. Nyad BEGAN her quest back in 1978, failed 5 times, and just met with success YESTERDAY.

She had to battle sharks, jellyfish, horrible Gulf storms, and her own isolation.   Makes me blush when I think that sometimes I have talked about real estate investing as a sometimes solitary business.   The solitary atmosphere is a big part of the reason I started WREIA, just so I could meet more people I could relate to.  But my work environment has NOTHING on what Ms. Nyad has put herself through over the last few years.

Diana Nyad finally finished her quest 36 year quest yesterday at age 64. No matter how old or young you are, keep stretching to reach your goals.  Keep reaching out for more help where you need it, and keep your eye on your prize, whatever that may be.

As we head into the fall months and the home stretch of 2013, I hope you keep going, adapt when needed and stay motivated. Don’t lose your enthusiasm.  There is no need to isolate yourself in the day to day grind.  Come out and join us at WREIA.  Our members are here to help you stay on track for the last half of 2013.

***Lastly, don’t forget September 16th.  Our next meeting is on the topic of Real Estate Marketing.  THIS IS ALWAYS A MEMBER FAVORITE TOPIC.  Come join us and add a little kick to the fall months ahead.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson

Most of my friends have failed, or encountered a setback somewhere along their life’s journey.  I am grateful that, as a group, we have been there for each other when the person next to us needed a shoulder to lean on.

One of the benefits of getting a little older is perspective.  Maturity gives you a chance to look back at what you did, the outcomes, and what you did to get through the difficult times.

I just finished reading a short article that had an interesting quote from Winston Churchill:

I’m excited about our guest at Washington REIA this month. He is a good friend of mine and I twisted his arm to share his life story as someone who started numerous businesses, including real estate projects.  You will enjoy listening to him as he talks about some of his ventures that have failed and some that reached great heights.

His story isn’t about a rich kid who had every advantage available to him.  He grew up on a farm in Southern Maryland and has worked hard his entire life.  He still lives here in the DC area with his wife and two kids.

Keep going, adapt when needed and stay motivated. Don’t lose your enthusiasm. Then get your ticket to WREIA for this Monday, July 15th.  We are here to help you stay on track for the last half of 2013.

***Lastly, don’t forget that every year we take the summer break in August.  Our next meeting after this Monday will be in September.  Come join us and add a little kick to your summer routine.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson

Now Which Way Do I Go?

Adaptability – It’s just one trait of successful people. Many people get into real estate and learn a technique that works.  Pretty soon, other people (their competition) implement the same strategy, and the next thing you know the first person has less success.  After a while, they say to themselves “This real estate thing doesn’t work”, and they are off to their next venture.

The reality is, if the same person had changed their plan, even just a little, they could have gotten back on track and gathered momentum again.  All they needed was to ADAPT to the  new competition or their changing market.  In my early years working in this business I quickly realized than no singled strategy worked all the time – I had to make changes to keep going.

Every July I like to take a little time to step back and analyze what is, and is not working in my business.  It gives me a chance to adapt to what the market may be telling me.  I have to admit that sometimes I get a little stubborn and stick to something that isn’t working.  I just keep telling myself that “It’s a numbers game” and I just need to do more of this or that….. but the evidence can show me something very different. This regular “pause” to analyze keeps my stubborn side in check.

For example:  We do various types of advertising and marketing throughout the year. We keep a close eye on what is working, and what isn’t.  When we do a review of the results, like we are doing again this month, we choose to stick with the best tactics, and give the rest a break.  We don’t shelve it completely, but we will scale waaayyy back – sometimes 90% or more of one particular tactic.

Our guest at Washington REIA this month is a good friend of mine – and he will share his tremendous story of someone who has started numerous business ventures, including real estate projects.  Some have failed and some have reached great heights.

His story isn’t about a rich kid who had every advantage available to him.  He grew up on a farm in Southern Maryland and has worked hard his entire life.  He still lives here in the DC area with his wife and two kids.

This month, take a pause, and reflect on what is working for you, and what isn’t.  Come join other investors and gather some information from them as well.  Many of our members are happy to share what they are doing.  This DC area is so huge that those of us with years of experience realize that there is PLENTY of opportunity to go around, and plenty of people that need our help.

Keep going, adapt when needed and stay motivated. Then get your ticket to WREIA for this Monday, July 15th.  We are going to help you stay on track for the last half of 2013.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson

Finally, Forbes is reporting broader details on just how many homes are being gobbled up by those “evil” institutional investors.

Your buyers financing options are going to change again on January 10th, 2014 – and you can be ready for it.

Keep going today, stay motivated and get your ticket to WREIA for this Monday, June 17th.  We are going to help you lay out a business road-map for the last half of 2013.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson

It may be getting a little easier for you if you are the right person the bank is looking for, but it’s getting tough when it comes to traditional financing for your buyers.

Your buyers financing options are going to change again on January 10th, 2014 – and you can be ready for it.

Keep going today, stay motivated and get your ticket to WREIA for this Monday, June 17th.  We are going to help you lay out a business roadmap for the last half of 2013.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your business,

John Peterson