The year we did not see coming

When I started my term as 2020 Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® President, I was expecting the best of years. I was excited and humbled to hold the position and carry the responsibilities that come with it.

Truthfully, I had a tight focus about it all. Which is normally a good way to get things done – in business, around the house, in life.

But last March the COVID-19 pandemic flipped everything for all of us. It was not just that daily life slowed to a crawl for a time as we all sheltered in place. Yes, that was difficult; but more challenging was the realization that we might not be as safe as we thought we were.

As the year now nears its end, the pandemic is still with us. In fact, in recent weeks the number of cases here and across the country have spiked. So, please hang in there and wear your mask and observe social distancing.

We will be living in a COVID world for a while longer, even as a vaccine is on the way.

Adversity, however, also presents opportunity. If nothing else, 2020 taught us we could do more with less. We could figure out how to work from home, how to stay connected with loved ones even if we could not be in the same room for weeks or months at a time.

None of us wanted the year that 2020 has been, but it has made us tougher.

As I noted in this space in my first column after becoming 2020 Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) President, I am impressed by how much our city has evolved and progressed. And REALTORS® continue to play a role in the city’s advances.

Whether on the residential side or the commercial side, we, too, are invested in making Memphis a better place for all of us.

Consider: We are usually at the center of most real estate transactions involving all types of properties from residential, commercial, multi-family, and land and property management. We are daily ambassadors for our community.

And let me share something that too often goes overlooked. Across the country, Memphis has a much-deserved reputation as a very giving place. That held true in 2020 when immediate needs in our community were never greater as the pandemic created real problems with food insecurity.

From a residential real estate standpoint, 2020 was perhaps surprisingly solid given the pandemic. We continued to see multiple offers on homes all over the city and sellers who had their homes move-in ready often received full-price offers. On the buying side, people’s home ownership dreams continued to come true.

As the year winds down, I think all of us are ready to see what 2021 will bring. And as I hand off the gavel to Cassandra Bell-warren, I am confident that MAAR will continue to be at the forefront of working to make our community a still better place.

I hope you will return to this space next week as Cassandra introduces herself and a new conversation begins. She is a tireless worker and will do a great job.

I wish you and yours a Happy New Year! It has been an honor to serve as MAAR President.