When the boom hits in real estate, it’s fascinating to me how many people suddenly become real estate agents. Cocktail waitresses, bartenders, car salesmen and construction workers become alleged experts in an industry with so much turnover that Sarah Lee could be the main sponsor.

Frankly, the real estate business scares me for many reasons, ranging from the test-taking requirements that seem meaningless to the fact that the Board of Realtors increases and declines as the economy fluctuates.

However, it’s tough times that bring a level of respect to the industry, considering the real estate agents who
stay in the business when the housing market tanks.

Rather than take the shingle off the wall and go back to waiting tables, serving drinks or working on a road construction crew, some of the old timers in the business actually know how to hang on during the bad times.

In this particular case, short sales and foreclosed properties comprise a big chunk of the business nowadays and not one of the transactions is easy. The grind of getting people qualified while dealing with smaller commissions is a part of life being faced by real estate agents who are still hanging on.

There are several Southern Utah real estate agents who have seen the market decline in the past and one of them, 62-year-old Ronnie Vause, isn’t giving up, either. In fact, Vause is hoping to have a presence in Cedar City soon, illustrating the fact that he still has confidence in the Southern Utah real estate market.

“I’ll be getting my first Social Security check in a month,” said Vause, a native of Las Vegas who has been selling real estate for 37 years. “This is the second really deep cycle I have seen and the fourth cycle overall.”

Now with Keller Williams Realty in St. George, Vause said the problem with too many real estate agents is that they acquire too much debt once they get into the business. When the market goes bad, the leased cars are taken back, credit-card bills can’t be paid and the look of success is suddenly replaced with reality. Add in the cell phone bills and general automotive maintenance, and that successful-looking real estate agent can be the individual hanging out on a street corner with a sandwich board on his shoulders.

“In our case, my wife (Kathy) and I have three cars and they are all paid for,” said Vause, who moved to the mountains north of St. George five years ago. “And when we combine our Social Security checks, we’ll not only
have enough money to pay our bills, but also have money in the bank at the same time.”

Vause said today’s real estate agents count on closings in escrow along with potential sales down the road. When a market sours as quickly as this one did, many agents find themselves dealing with tough times.

“Even during times like these, there are always people who need to buy and sell real estate,” Vause said. “The key
to times like this is that there are fewer real estate agents, so the workload can be even more intense. But the reality is that agents can still make money if only they were prepared for the downturn.

“There is no substitute for good, old-fashioned, hard work, which means you are out there beating the bushes looking for business.”

I’d rather work with a real estate agent who has been in the business for some time. I would especially rather deal with one that has seen the good times and the bad and experienced the short sales, the foreclosures and the rest.

In fact, the best stories in any business are about those who have been able to keep a positive attitude during the tough times knowing that “this, too, shall pass.

To me, surviving times like these illustrates a true sales person, whether we’re talking about stock brokers, car salesmen or real estate agents. When we panic, the experienced soul can settle us down because they have been through these rough waters before.

I still say those suffering from slow sales now need to get on the phone and call their past clients, knowing full well a deal isn’t just around the corner, but could materialize when the pendulum swings back into the positive column.

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