A little over 24 hours ago, with a looming deadline staring us in the face, we resigned ourselves to not write a monthly column for this issue of the LocalsGuide. Rightfully so, neither of us were feeling inspired to share much of anything.
Like many, 2020 brought us to our knees unlike any year before. Our capacity was tested, as was our fortitude and in a couple of occasions, even our faith. We never stopped believing but rather questioned how much more could our community, world, and even personal lives endure?
As 2021 kicks off, we are rejuvenated with the hope of better days to come. With hopeful anticipation we proclaim it has to be better than 2020. How could it not be? As I sit quietly, sipping coffee on my coveted Friday morning off, my heart is grateful for what transpired over the last year and as I focus on the silver lining. Our families experienced incredible trials, yet we overcame. Our community experienced devastation beyond comprehension, yet they rebuild.
In the first part of each year, it’s not unusual to see many messages of gratitude from Brokers within our industry announcing their production from the last year, thanking their clients for their faithful support and drawing attention to their accolades and deservingly so. Selling real estate in any market is a grind, let alone while juggling life, distance learning, sickness, a world-wide pandemic, etc.
As natural competitors, we are always curious how we compared, where we are in the lineup, how did our sales compare to years past? Recently, we saw an impressive summary from a colleague’s Real Estate team highlighting their success from 2020. Naturally, we wondered how we compared and in unison, we each declared, “I have no idea and does it really matter?” We literally had no idea.
We know we had a successful year – we helped over 100 buyers and sellers. We knew we worked our tails off – you can see it in our faces. We also know we succeeded in the most adverse times we have ever experienced in our combined 32 years of selling real estate. We asked our office to give us the breakdown of our 2020 production and to our surprised, learned we closed $49.7 million. Really?! That is more than the year before and just a few million shy of our all-time most productive year, but as far as how we compare to the others – it beats me.
Did we sell more than any other team in Ashland? Are we among the top 1% for all of Oregon? Maybe. Heck, it’s even quite likely but for the first time in quite some time, it just doesn’t seem to matter as much. We did it. We not only survived 2020, we actually kicked its ass. Our kids saw their mom’s stretch to a capacity none of thought was possible. Together, our team expanded our roles and with diplomacy and grace. Did we want to be teachers? Umm, no. But we have new respect for those with this calling and are grateful for their grace. Did we want to be emotional basket cases? Again, no. Yet, we felt more than any other time in our lives. We prayed more, and we certainly imbibed more yet when all was said and done, we persevered beyond our wildest dreams. We refined our priorities and that was the most refreshing outcome of all. As we venture into the third week of 2021 and the crazy doesn’t show any signs of letting up any time soon, we are incredibly grateful for all the blessings of 2020. The grace shown to us by our colleagues, our families, our spouses and each other. I am not sure we could have ever prepared for times such as this but I am confident it was always part of the plan and I am damn proud of us.
