Money isn't free anymore

It's their default position. Great article from the L.A. Times about some real estate agents making the most of a foreclosure market. It's a nice easy read and hits all the main points. And it's highly quotable:

During the four-year boom that ended last summer, Home Center expanded from 15 agents to 80 in three offices. The roster of agents has since sunk to 52, only about half of whom are active. "The rest are looking for side jobs at McDonald's," said Home Center President Jason Bosch. "It happened overnight."

Home Center Chief Executive Ron Barnard says that personally, he finds foreclosure sad, even tragic. "But as a business owner, I think it's great."

Coming along on this afternoon's prospecting trip is Jerald Becerra, a former body-shop estimator for insurance companies who became a full-time agent in August. "I'll stay in the car, keep the engine running," he says. "Just in case someone comes out with a shotgun."

Bosch, on the other hand, thinks the residential real estate market will soon revisit the horrible days of the mid-'90s — and then get worse. "I have no doubt that we are entering the next phase of an unprecedented market," he says. "One that Southern California has never seen."

Are you familiar with the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.