Thomas Wright was recently named president of Summit Sotheby’s International Realty for the six Utah offices. Co-founder Bruce Shannon has elected to focus more attention on the Heber office. Wright was previously the managing broker for the Salt Lake City office.
As president, Wright said his recent experience on the front lines of the real estate industry as an agent and broker make him well-equipped to understand and address the challenges facing members of the company today. He understands the importance of the Internet in today’s marketing strategies, he said.
“It’s easy for me to connect to the agents and brokers and adapt to the changing economic climate we’re in,” he added.
That changing climate is something everyone needs to adjust to, if they haven’t already, he said in an interview Monday.
Some people got into real estate during the boom and have a false idea that that was normal. Right now isn’t normal either, but it’s important to understand that a healthy market will likely end up somewhere in between, he explained.
“We went from one of the biggest booms to one of the biggest busts; literally overnight we went from one to the other,” he said.
The harsh reality of the moment is that sellers are competing against distressed inventory and toxic assets that are driving prices down.
“Buyers right now are out for blood. they’re asking for the best prices they aren’t shy,” he said. “They’re looking for spectacular value on their money. A buyer with that mentality is going to find the best inventory for the best price.”
Park City homeowners wanting to sell now must compete in that market and the result is a decline in prices.
“For the short term, this is going to be the new reality we all need to adjust our businesses within the environment that exists,” he said.
As negative as that sounds, he pointed out that real estate is still a solid investment despite the periodic swings and corrections. It’s just a matter of clearing out a surplus of inventory and it’s never been a better time to purchase, especially with the low interest rates.
“Once this correction is over, homeowners will see a modest appreciation again,” he said. “Recovery on prices will be year-over-year that could take an extended period of time.”
But that surplus of supply isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault, Wright added. Home builders were building according to demand and when demand dried up because of the financial crisis, many of them were stuck in tough situations as well.
“We embraced what they were doing. Everyone has to adjust to the new reality and home builders are as well it’s not as profitable as it once was,” he said.