by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Many of you were probably worried when the National Association of Realtors announced that they were holding the annual convention in New Orleans.
But, Mike Dooley, the president of Florida Association of Realtors, said he has been there and it is good.
“When the decision was made, a lot of people said, ‘Not on your life, I’m not going to New Orleans.’,” said Dooley, who spoke before the Amelia Island/Nassau County Association of Realtors at their luncheon last month held at Walker’s Landing in Amelia Island Plantation. “Many presidents from other associations visited the area to see what was going on. I went out in March and it was an incredible example of human spirit and recovery.
“First and foremost, you have to remember that the French Quarter was the high ground. In fact, when Katrina went through and the levees broke after Katrina, the French Quarter did not flood. There was water in the streets and there was some flooding in the basements. But, the building themselves, the restaurants and hotels did not flood.”
He said there were some businesses that suffered some roof damage and flooding, but they’ve all been fixed.
“I spent three days visiting what you call Class A, Class B and Class C hotels to see the type of construction, any health issues and types of transportation,” he said. “I told Tom Stephens (NAR president) that I can’t go back to 150,000 Realtors and say, ‘Come on, it’s OK because Tom Stephens said so.’ If I could bring it down to a personal level of a state president and say, ‘I’ve been there and it’s good,’ there’s a little bit more credibility there. And I have been there and it is good. It’s better than good; it’s cleaner than it has ever been.”
He said the problems in the area are in the residential areas, not in the French Quarter where the convention will be.
“If you had a fear or concern about New Orleans, it’s dispelled, it’s not there,” said Dooley. “It’s going to be an incredible opportunity to have a really incredible time.”
Also during the meeting, Matthew Wilson, the FAR District One vice president, talked to the Realtors about Operation Home Delivery Program, a program where Realtor associations in the 50 states and four territories have been challenged to raise $75,000 to sponsor a Habitat for Humanity in the Gulf Region.
Each of the 54 entities would provide one home for New Orleans, but Wilson decided Florida needed to do more.
“We looked at the 150,000 members of the Florida association and decided just one more dollar each and we could build two additional homes in this recovery effort,” said Wilson. “A lot of people are still homeless a year later. If you want to build a house, come on out to New Orleans in November.”
If you come to the convention a couple of days early, said Wilson, you can help build a house.
“We will actually have hands-on work with Habitat if that’s of interest to you,” he said. “Either way, come to the convention to support the city of New Orleans in their recovery effort by staying in their hotels, eating in their restaurants and that sort of thing.”
Dooley discussed several items during the meeting including small business health plans and the changing market.
He said that they were hoping to have something happen with small business health plans this year, but so far it hasn’t.
“It just hasn’t happened and I’m not sure when it will,” said Dooley. “If there is a shot, we will do a Call to Action.”
Dooley said many Realtors do not respond to a Call to Action because they don’t think anyone reads their mail, and they are probably right.
But, he said the responses are needed for are the numbers.
“When you receive a Call to Action, you have two choices,” he said. “You can hit the delete button or you can respond. I can promise you that Sen. (Mel) Martinez or Sen. (Bill) Nelson will not read your e-mail. But, I can promise you that their staff is counting every single e-mail. So, when you think your response is not important, think again. It truly, truly matters.”
Dooley said the senators are most likely to pay more attention to issue they have received the most responses on.
“So when NAR or FAR does a Call to Action, do your part,” said Dooley.
The market was the last issue addressed by Dooley, who supported what everyone has been suspecting - the market is slowing down and it’s just an adjustment back to reality.
“Realtors always have a market,” he said. “I’ve been involved in real estate in Florida since 1977 so I’ve seen the market go up, go down, a buyer’s market and a seller’s market. But, I have always known that I have a market and so do you. Is there an adjustment going on? You bet. Are people pulling back? You bet. Are there certain things going on out there that are beyond our control. You bet.”
Even though the market is not as great as it was, Dooley said there are positive things to say focused on.
“This market will turn around,” he said. “We have 17.5 million people in Florida right now. In 20 to 25 years, they expect that to double to 30 to 35 million people. We’re out of land in South Florida. It’s the old supply/demand ratio. People are coming and they are going to want to buy. We are still affordable when you look at high impact residential areas in this country.”
Dooley said now is the time to go back to basics.
He said if you have been in this profession five years or less, you are not used to a buyer’s market or the basic concepts of what a Realtor has traditionally done.
Dooley said to look to your associations and brokers for more training. He said to be more open to cooperation with other brokers.
“Go back to basics,” he said. “Stay in touch with your customers. High touch, high technology and in a year from now when you see us again you will say thanks for the advice, we’re OK now.”