Realtor Interview: Bob Mathe, First Weber in Oshkosh
Below are excerpts from a recent interview between Mike Blank, the President of Cypress Homes, and Bob Mathe, a Realtor with First Weber in Oshkosh.
Mike:
Hi Bob, thanks for taking some time to sit down to talk with
me.
Bob:
Sure, my pleasure.
Mike:
Recently you switched from the Coldwell Banker franchise to the First Weber franchise. Do you like the changes?
Bob:
Yes, very much so. Their technology is way over what we were doing before. They have text message updates on showings for properties. In fact they have iPhone applications that use GPS technology so when you point your iPhone at a home, information on that home appears on your screen. All of our listings are included in this technology.
Mike:
That is some really neat stuff. What do you see going on in the market today?
Bob:
The market has been busy. The stimulus having a deadline of April 30th for an offer to be written is probably our biggest problem right now, because everyone is waiting to see if something better is going to come along. They aren’t in any big hurry. This time of they year has always been a little slower because of winter. This year has been busy with showing houses, but not a lot of people writing offers yet. I see that changing in the next 30 to 45 days, because if they wait until April 30th and that deal falls apart they cannot rewrite and get the stimulus money.
Mike:
That is some good information to get out there and tell everybody. You don’t want to miss that. Something else I wanted to ask you about is Oshkosh Corporation. What effects have you seen in the market with Oshkosh Corporation getting all of these government contracts?
Bob:
We are seeing a lot more relocation people coming in. There are several people in my office who are currently working with people who are relocating here from other parts of the country.
The people we work with are from all different phases of the corporation such as bidding and purchasing.
Mike:
What is today’s popular price range for people looking for homes?
Bob:
Well in the first time buyers’ market we are looking at, some of those people, up to $150,000. Now that’s not real common, but there is still some of that going on. The second or more time purchaser and relocation buyers are trying to stay below $300,000, even below $250,000 if possible. They will go above $250,000 a little bit to find what they want. They are being very conservative.
Mike:
Alright, well I think we covered everything I was hoping to today. Again, thanks for taking the time to sit down with me today.
Bob:
Anytime Mike.
