All Real Estate Is Local?

The National Association of Realtors has been working diligently through national ads for several years to educate consumers that all real estate is local. They don’t think what is happening in one area of the country is happening everywhere. I absolutely agree but it is like second hand smoke, everyone is affected to one degree or another.

With the ever deepening economic crisis crawling into every aspect of our lives and the reality that this is a global crisis of unprecedented proportion, I would rephrase the slogan and say all real estate is the same, but different.

I was reading an article about the effects of what is now an epidemic real estate crisis in the UK, effecting one of the wealthiest resort areas in the world. Fortunes have been lost and high rollers living in $7,000,000 homes are now living in apartments above retail shops. Playgrounds around the world are all affected by the hubris that brought the market down, from Hollywood to Dubai and Monte Carlo.

I am going to paraphrase part of a commentary that expresses a sentiment that rang a bell for me with regard to Martha’s Vineyard. However, it was written about a seaside luxury resort area in the UK. I will leave out the location specific parts so you can fill in the blanks.

“I’M not surprised the credit crunch has hit (blank). … Why should it be immune?”

“(Blank) is a very, very beautiful place. If prices coming down makes it more accessible to ordinary people, that is a good thing.”

“Locals were becoming very concerned about the way the place was changing.”

“(Blank) is a quintessentially English place and should remain so.”

“Prices … were way too high. The fact they are coming down is good.”

“It makes (blank) more affordable and attracts the right kind of person for the area.”

“Hopefully more local people will be able to afford to move there and it will remain as beautiful as it is.”

All those who feel this way about Martha’s Vineyard raise your hands.