How Have The Qld Floods Really Effected Port Stephens Real Estate

By Author: Chris Hasson
Total Articles: 4
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How are the Old Floods going to effect house prices is a question I am getting asked very regularly at the moment, and at the risk of looking like dodging the question, the real focus should be on decision making and in hindsight, the title of this post, Decision Making, How To Make Good Decisions Better .
This post may polarize people and I know is far removed from the Port Stephens Real Estate world, but as I sit in my Nelson Bay office today, I have reflected on an email sent to me. You may have heard the saying, you make a living by what you do and a Life by what you give but have you heard the term making good decisions better.
Real Estate success is all about making good decisions better and so is success and well being in other areas of life. Especially financial decisions around uncertainty like buying or selling a house at the moment and asking your self Is the Real Estate market going to increase or decrease because of the floods?. My short answer to your personal question would be: Today is a very good time to be buying AND selling Real estate in Port Stephens.
Let me explain.
Who controls ...
... your life?
You do. Know one else.
In fact, do you realize you are training people in how to treat you. I'll go into that more another day. The point is, we all know how to make good decisions, but the real fruit comes from making good decisions better. Did you give to the QLD flood appeal? I know most people did. But how do you make that decision better?
So how do you do that you may be asking? Firstly, knowledge, secondly, reflection, thirdly, action. All great leaders and inspirational influences practice this principle. Let me explain my point with a story I have heard and repeated before from the book, 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
It goes like this: A man was sitting in a subway car in New York. This is his thoughts: People were sitting quietly-some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.
Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.
The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing peoples papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.
It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you could control them a little more.
The man lifted his glaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came out from hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw things differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have the to worry about controlling my attitude or behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help? Every thing changed in an instant. New information, reflection, and then action. His paradigm changed!
You see we all make good decisions, but making good decisions better comes from constantly searching for new knowledge, resting regularly in contemplation and reflection(meditation or prayer if you want it to sound spiritual) then taking action with that change of paradigm. I have practiced this and seen tremendous success for clients; I have coached clients to practice it and seen them have tremendous success when making decisions in selling their homes. I have also applied it to my personal life to have more fruitful and enjoyable relationships with friends. And you can too! Selling or buying Real Estate now with uncertainty may not be the real question to ask. Because you are buying and selling in the same market, it's all relative. That is sell for more in 6 months, buy for more in 6 months and vice versa. So making that good decision to sell better should be more focused on how is it going to feel in that new lifestyle. A separate accommodation for the children, low maintenance surroundings, better school, pool, beach, extra bedroom etc you get the picture.
Now at the risk of retribution I'm going to pass on some political information that was passed onto me to consolidate my point. It changed my thoughts on a few social issues, but helped me realize the power of influence we have in a democratic country in making good decisions better.
Many people gave to the floods, nearly all voted for whom they thought would run the country and steward our hard earned money the wisest. This is the email that was sent to me. I am not taking political sides, but read and make up your own mind. This is just so unbelievable it may even be true !
THE TOP 8 RECIPIENTS OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT'S AID DOLLARS IN 2010-2011
Indonesia - $ 458.7 million
Papua New Guinea - $ 457.2 million
Solomon Islands - $ 225.7 million
Afghanistan - $ 123.1 million
Vietnam - $ 119.8 million
Philippines - $ 118.1 million
East Timor - $ 102.7 million
Cambodia - $ 64.2 million
TOTAL =US $ 1,669 million -to be given away in 52 weeks
..But wait, there's more !!!!!!!
Australia provides approximately 150,000 tonnes of food aid every year—about $65 million—to
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Chad.
In 2010-2011 the Australian Government plans to spend almost $4.4 billion on development
assistance to under developed countries.
SO.. Ask your local Member how come 2011 Queensland flood victims get $17 million so far?
When insurers, such as Allianz and CGU, provide cover for storm damage but EXCLUDE FLOOD from
their home and contents policies.
SUGGEST, we EXCLUDE them from our Shopping Lists ????
And now Gillard will give nearly $500 million for Indonesia's Islamic schools which are largely moderate
in outlook but there have been pockets of radicalism that have produced terrorists in Indonesia, most
notably the cleric Abu Bakar Bashir's school in Ngruki, central Java, where some of the Bali bombers studied
STOP THE OVERSEAS AID NOW AND DIVERT THOSE FUNDS TO QUEENSLAND.
WHEN QUEENSLAND HAS BEEN REBUILT AND BACK ON ITS FEET,
THEN WE CAN HELP TO BUILD MORE ISLAMIC SCHOOLS
OVERSEAS. AND HERE'S AN IDEA:
MAYBE WE CAN ALSO TEACH ABU BAKIR'S DISCIPLES TO SING:-
KOOKABURRA SITS ON THE OLD GUM TREE,
GUMBAYAH,
WALTZING MATILDA
AND
I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME!!
Conclusion: We can make a good decision to buy that right property at the right price or sell our home in the right market or give some of our hard earned money to the people in need in the QLD floods or else where. We can though make these good decisions can be made better by changing your paradigms i.e. get new information, process new information, act on new information. i.e. the information I shared about where the money you gave is Really Going. It is at the decision making level that all fruits in life worth pursuing exist and many people feel they are too small or insignificant to make a difference. The decisions you make really do make a difference, and you can make those good decisions better by 1) finding new information, 2) processing that information 3) Taking action. The good Samaritan in the Good Book wouldn't have been so influential if he just had good intentions. He acted on those good intentions.
Make you next good decision better today by following this simple but effective 3 step process and feel the difference. I hope I have helped a little in what ever decision you are ready to make next whether Real Estate, Political, Social or Personal. Until next time, have a great day and I'll end with a little humor and a photo about making good decisions better. While this chap may have made a good decision to have relaxing ale at the end of the day, he didn't make a good decision better by having an exit strategy. This is Chris Hasson, over and out!

Chris Hasson is Port Stephens No 1 Real Estate Agent and with upwards of $50 million dollars worth of annual property sales is the areas leading expert. He is based in Nelson Bay. http://www.chrishasson.com.au/