When Someone Sells A Lot

Carol Billups

My good friend and frequent collaborator Sabrina Lear often says “Real estate is the engine that drives the boat”. But have you ever considered how big that boat is? The real estate industry is much more than the agents working in sales, in fact we’re the smallest piece of it. The agents are just the catalyst that sets the real estate machine into gear.

Consider what happens when I sell a building lot:

• A small legion of attorneys, notarios, bankers, clerks and administrators set about closing the deal.
• Architects design the home.
• The builder (usual the architect) employs a large crew, both skilled labor and non-skilled. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters and more are called for. They use materials that were sold in a store, delivered to the site by truckers.
• Once the house is complete interior designers and furniture stores furnish it. Not to mention all the smaller house-wares that will have to be added before the owners can live there.
• Landscapers are called in.
• Attorneys and clerks finalize the manifestation of the property and release from social security.
• A maid, gardener, pool man and property manager are brought in to maintain the house.

And that’s just the first tier! Everyone mentioned above also shops, eats in restaurants, visits the doctor, and sends their kids to school. So you can see Sabrina is right: we’re the engine. A great big engine. The effect of a real estate slump on the economy, particularly in a destination like Los Cabos, cannot be understated. And we’re in the middle of a particularly dramatic slump. Unlike the U.S. we don’t have short sale and foreclosure sales to fill the void.

The real estate industry is a giant part of what makes any town tick. And it all starts when someone sells a lot…

Tomorrow I hope to blog about the greatest news the real estate industry here has had in months (and months!). Stay tuned.

Carol Billups is Broker/Owner of REALTY EXECUTIVES Los Cabos. You can read more of her articles on www.reloscabos.com.

© 2009 Carol S. Billups