The Arizona Real Estate Market:  Rowing through choppy waters

My daughter Meghan took up rowing with Tempe Junior Crew two short years ago and fell in love with the sport. She excelled and was offered a scholarship to row with the University of Oklahoma. Now I better understand her passion.

Yesterday for the first time I rowed in an 8 person crew boat in San Diego’s Mission Bay. It was one of the best days of my life. I was no longer a spectator. I was on the water with the sound of the blades slicing thru the water at sunset, the oars swinging in unison, the oar locks making a soothing cha-chunk, cha-chunk sound and our motley crew moving like some giant swan across the bay. It was heaven

My opportunity to row yesterday was simply put, serendipity. I’m house-sitting for a friend in San Diego, while at the same time running my Arizona real estate operations from this cooler base. I’m also house mom to three rowers who are being coached through the San Diego Rowing Club. I went with the guys yesterday to watch them row and casually asked the coaches if they had any learn-to-row classes for adults. As it happened they were offering a rowing program for the next three weeks. Perfect. I could work and then head down to the bay at the end of the day.

Once on the water, I found that in rowing is team work at its best. We all had to pull together to get where we were going. We move forward by rowing backward, trusting our coxswain to steer us straight. And trust we do. We focus. Our eyes are on the crew member in front of us so we can match the stroke – no looking side to side or behind.

This morning as I was beginning my work day, I thought about rowing as an analogy for my business. In the Arizona real estate market, there are still some choppy waters to navigate. Phoenix short sales, foreclosures, job losses – uncertainty. However, our clients need and deserve a calm, experienced coxswain at the helm. Our crew is comprised of our real estate firm’s professional, caring agents and trustworthy, patient CPA’s and attorneys. Each of us has an important, individual role in the process, but we must all pull together to move forward and to get our client safely to port.

These are not easy times for anyone. The past is behind us and we can only learn from it. The future lies ahead and each day we must prepare as best we can to make the most of it. So in work as in rowing we strive to enjoy each sunrise and sunset, appreciate our crew members and take pleasure in the satisfaction of hard work and a job well done.

Here’s to smoother waters ahead.