I was watching the news this evening and the main theme seemed to center around fuel and energy prices.  They focused on certain business who have had to add certain “fuel surcharges” to their services in order to stay in business.  Delivery businesses, waste management business, etc…

It got me thinking about my own business.  A lot of what real estate agents do centers around driving.  We drive everywhere.  We basically work out of our cars.  Sure clients can search for homes on the internet, but nothing compares to actually seeing the home in real life.  People want to look at houses, and they usually want to look at a lot of them until they find the perfect one.   This is the nature of the beast.

So, how will the rising gas prices effect my business and the entire home buying process?  Well, I certainly can’t start charging clients everything I take them out, like a taxi driver would.   I don’t think the public would go for that… But I can make sure that beforeI get them in my car that they are pre-approved to actually purchase a home.  Buyers and future buyers, listen up.  Getting pre-qualified before you go shopping is one of the single most important thing you can do.  You’re waisting a lot of your time and an agents time if you aren’t financially qualified.  You may think that you know what you can afford, but its better to know exactly.

Another way I see rising energy/gas prices effecting my business is in the areas where people want to live and also in the types of homes they want to live in.  I feel like areas that have a lot of places to walk to or ride a bike to will start to become more and more popular.  Gone are the days where remote living is popular.  People are starting to see that neighborhoods and community are important and also convenient.  Buyers are also becoming increasingly aware of utility bills and making average utility bills a factor in their home buying decision.  If there are 2 identical homes and one has more energy saving attributes, the home buyer will choose the one that will save them more money.  Hands down.

Rising Energy costs are here and I think they’re here to stay.  It will take us all a while to change some of our habits and patterns.  Ultimately we will get used to it and will have adapted our lifestyles and our businesses accordingly.  Its not the end of the world, but it makes us all think about what we do and where we live differently…