A look at Southeast Missouri housing with Terry Baker

Terry Baker is the association executive for Southeast Missouri Realtors, the trade association representing 397 Realtors in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and parts of Scott Counties with an additional 112 non-Realtor members who work in ancillary businesses.

B Magazine sat down with Baker in January to learn about the association, how it serves its members and what individuals should expect as the market fluctuates due to rising interest rates, inventory shortages and other economic and market challenges.

B Magazine: Tell me about your background and what led you to this position with Southeast Missouri Realtors.

Baker: I spent 20 years in public health, but I had been an agent. I was a Realtor in the early 2000s, 2006 to 2009, I think. While I enjoyed public health, this seemed to be a really good marriage of the two things that I really enjoyed, because I enjoyed being a Realtor. It just offers a lot of the same things I've done in not-for-profit work for years. So, I've been with the association for about five years.

B Magazine: What does Southeast Missouri Realtors provide for its members?

Baker: We are a local real estate trade association who has a working relationship with Missouri Realtors and National Association of Realtors. The goal is to give our local members here a voice in protecting private property rights for consumers. In this area, we serve three and a half counties, which is Cape, Bollinger, Perry and a small piece of Scott.

Even though we may have members who are outside of the area, we also have many affiliates like bankers, inspectors, some media people. So really, it's just the industry as a whole [working] to provide them with networking opportunities. And also, give them that voice here locally and at state, one to protect the industry and make sure that public policies are good for consumers and our members, and then to allow them to engage in the process.

B Magazine: Private property is the big calling card when it comes to public policy advocacy, right?

It is. When COVID happened, everybody went home, shut down. That was one of the things that National Association of Realtors worked to make sure our Realtor members were working, because we have people moving around in the state. And so we worked very closely with them to provide information to our members and also to public officials on the benefits of keeping this industry open and how to do so in a safe way. One of the things that Realtor members were [working on] — and we've taken people up [to Jefferson City] to talk to our legislators about that — [was the notary laws]. There are many industries who were working to change the online notary laws that hadn't been changed since 1972. The Realtors were successful in getting that changed. And that happened all during COVID.

Locally, we recently worked with the City of Jackson last year on their wastewater treatment plant because that system was nearing the end of life. And that’s an infrastructure problem. And so we wanted to make sure that residents of Jackson had access to what they need in a responsible way. If that vote wouldn't have passed, then the city may have had to look at doing something differently.

B Magazine: It’s been a wild few years in real estate. You've had the low interest rates. You've had the federal government flooding the market with cash. People staying at home during COVID, then coming out of COVID. But looking back, how has all this impacted the local real estate market?

Baker: We've been asked that question a lot recently. We tend to follow state and nation trends. What’s happening here is also happening across the nation. All of our stats really mirror those.

We do have a very low inventory of homes in this area. I think that's improving some by what I can see. Unfortunately, because the building has not caught up with the demand, we're going to probably see an issue with home inventories for a while.

The one thing we do as a membership organization is make sure that our members have the best tools. And that may be in developing partnerships. We're part of a regional MLS in this area. We do things with other area real estate associations, along with Missouri Realtors and national. We've assessed our own tools and our own membership. So, there's a lot that’s happening other than the housing market that we follow.

We serve quite a few members. We look at things like how millennials have outpaced baby boomers. We want to make sure that we are developing leaders who are also following trends, who can work on public policy issues, can serve our own members and have the tools that they need, and are providing a good value with the resources that we offer. Developing volunteers, our own board of directors, and then those who can serve in the community and in organizations like Missouri Realtors.

B Magazine: One thing that I've heard is that if you want to build your own home in the city of Cape or Jackson, you almost have to go outside the city limits in the county. That it's getting harder and harder to build in the city. Is that fair?

Baker: I do think some of our communities have some challenges. There's only so much land. So yeah, I think those are going to be conversations that we continue to have as the need goes on that our members will be participating in to see how we can address things like that.

B Magazine: I was looking at Redfin.com earlier today. Nationally the median home price has fallen for 11 consecutive months. But how does that look locally? Cape Girardeau’s median home price has increased over the last year, but number of homes sold decreased. So how do you evaluate the market?

Baker: We had a lot of demand the last few years, and so in my eyes, we're returning a little bit to normal. Are there challenges? Most definitely, because we still need homes. We need sellers to bring their homes onto the market. We still have a great need for a growing population. I guess [we need to] make sure that we're keeping up with demand and [have] a variety of affordable homes.

B Magazine: Looking ahead, you have the Federal Reserve that is continuing to increase interest rates. Any projections that you're hearing from your colleagues elsewhere about what real estate looks like in 2023 and 2024?

Baker: I definitely think it's something that we're all watching. It’s kind of a wait and see mode right now. Definitely for buyers who are looking to purchase a home, we really encourage them to work with Realtors. Your first time homebuyers are really the group of people that we're seeing those challenges with.

For one, there is a lack of affordable homes on the market. I bought and sold homes over the last few years. So getting ready and putting yourself in a position to be ready is important. When your home comes on the market, it was only a matter of hours or maybe a few days [before it sold]. And so people who needed to make an informed decision maybe hadn't been able to do that.

Now that we're slowing down some, buyers are able to work with Realtors so that they can, one, if they have credit score issues, then they can clean that up prior to actually entering the process. They can work with lenders to help them make sure that they have everything in place. [Like with] down payment, there are tools in place to help them get a down payment. How much they're going to need? What can they afford?

Same thing with sellers. A seller, if they're going to enter the market, having that home ready and priced right and working with a Realtor will help them not have their property on the market as long. I think it's just that kind of key piece. Being ready to go, whether it's a buyer or seller, and working with a professional will help things get done.

B Magazine: How is today's housing market different from the one leading up to the Great Recession?

Baker: The one leading up to the Great Recession, there were some iffy lending practices. And I think that now a lot people are putting skin in the game. So they're putting down a payment. I think that is really the key point. Lending laws after that 2008 period really strengthened. The other thing is we're in a really different place when it comes to this economy and what's been driving things. While inflation is rising and things like that, it’s still a great time to buy a house.

B Magazine: Anecdotally, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of real estate agents. Are the numbers bearing that out in this area?

Baker: Yes, I have been processing new members this week. We actually have been preparing for the new year. We were anticipating a slight drop in our membership, but we have not seen that so far. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

B Magazine: From a consumer standpoint, what should folks look for in a real estate agent?

Baker: I think they should hire a professional. Hire someone who can assist you, who can help you decide when it is time to sell, time to buy and develop those relationships early.

When you hire a Realtor, you're hiring someone who has not only decided to get that continuing education. They're required to do that under license law. But a Realtor has agreed to go up and beyond to hold themselves to a higher level under the code of ethics. And I think that speaks volumes. They're not just there to market your property. They're there to do so much more.

I have experienced that when something goes wrong, many times your Realtor is the one who is going to be able to help be your rock and help you walk through those emotional times. The other thing is that they have a relationship with our local and state government and here within the membership so they can kind of keep a tab on things that are happening. They're often the ones who know what's coming, things like Internet, roadways, things like that. They're skilled in negotiations. So they're really going to be working on your best interest, and you want somebody in your corner who's going to be able to work for you and serve you during that process.

They have lots of great tools. Technology has improved over the last few years, and as a part of our association we have resources that are available, things like key boxes that are safe and reliable that we've made sure our members have as a way that adds value to their business. We're also part of a regional MLS, again, who provide some of the very best tools in the industry, so that they can offer comparisons and things like that so they can help sellers put their homes on at the right price at the right time. They have up to date market data. And that's really important. In these crazy times that we've been walking through, you really want somebody in your corner who can offer unbiased, fair advice and offer you fair and equal treatment.