Signs Of The Times
We are all aware of signage wherever we go. Signs are impossible to escape or ignore.
We are all aware of signage wherever we go. Signs are impossible to escape or ignore.
Although many people consider signs as blight upon the land, eyesores to the beauty seeker (as then-1st Lady Lady Bird Johnson noted when she insisted that billboards be barred along Interstate highways), they are a necessity for commerce.
Who would possibly know that Native American artifacts (hand made, in Asia) could be purchased two exits down the road if “Cactus Pete” weren’t allowed to draw tourists in to his snake oil emporium?
Without billboards, nobody would have ever bought and enjoyed one of those wonderful Stuckey’s pecan rolls.
And, on a smaller (sizewise) scale, if not for signs we wouldn’t know where to find the local optometrist office, or how to get to a garage sale, or which houses are up for sale.
The thing is, signage has gone through a huge makeover since the economic belly flop.
Outdoor advertising rentals have dwindled noticeably; wherever I go, more and more billboards are consigned to proclaim the ominous message, “Advertise Here.”
For instance, since the inception of the motorized vehicle and paved roads, a staple of billboards have been those that advertise automobiles. However, with the doldrums manufacturers have gone through in recent years, roadside car adverts have nose-dived.
Restaurants, which often rely upon travelers “just passing through” to increase foot traffic, no longer have the extra income to pay for billboards announcing their presence.
Case in point: The original Dixie Truckers Home, just down I-55 apiece from Normal, up to a few scant years ago was a continuous beehive of activity, with an almost always full restaurant any time of the day or night. Go there now, even during peak mealtimes, and at best maybe 25% of the tables are occupied.
Not so long ago people waited in line at the Dixie’s gas pumps; now it’s rare to see two vehicles total in the “automobiles only” fueling area.
Even the tarmac where semi drivers park while they rest up, shower, and eat used to be crowded at any given time, but these days has very few if any 18-wheelers.
Another observation is a reduction in realtor billboards. Perhaps the most ego-driven line of business short of television newsreaders, for decades it seemed as though every third billboard had some agent’s 15’ high picture smiling down at the passersby.
Now, these home brokers aren’t turning around enough properties to cover the expense of such self-satisfying indulgences.
(FYI: Even in the best of times, if a realtor has enough disposable income to afford a billboard, he or she is already making too much money.)
It isn’t as if houses aren’t being put up for sale. Good gawd, I see “For Sale” signs virtually everywhere.
Often, a given block might have two or three, or more, houses on the market.
What has caught my attention is the fact that most homeowners are eschewing the old school of thought that because it’s too difficult to sell a house on one’s own, one must engage a real estate broker or agent.
I have been noticing not just an upswing in houses up for sale, but most of the signs are of the generic variety.
Many other folks go with For Sale By Owner (FSBO). This is essentially a clearinghouse that provides a source for buyers to search without being hassled by some “enthusiastic” salesperson desperate for a commission. FSBO also assists the homeowner with the ins and outs of selling property.
The rates charged by FSBO for its services are generally less than half of the commissions and fees typically assessed by the realtor.
In this current economic environment, people are finding it increasingly difficult to make payments on a house and maintain same. So, they’re putting their homes on the market.
But, the market is extremely soft, and maximizing return on their investment in property has become increasingly difficult.
Say you have a house that sells for $250,000. Out of that, you’re probably going to shell out on average a 6% commission, or $15,000, to a realtor.
As the seller, you’re already ahead of the game with FSBO at 2% ($5,000).
By acting as your own agent, you can deal the property down to $240,000 and still come out ahead.
It just comes down to simple arithmetic and common sense – if you eliminate fees and commissions by cutting out the middle man, you can charge less yet have a more profitable return, while at the same time expand the pool of interested, qualified buyers.
Then, once we all sell our homes we can live in our cars or SUVs, traversing the North American highways, exploring all the beauty and sights of the continent that we’ve missed while tied to a job just so we could pay off those freakin’ mortgages.
Thus, the increased numbers of travelers will push forward a need for more billboards, resulting in a boon for that segment of the economy.
And, such mobility shall surely benefit roadway eateries and rest havens, such as the Dixie, which shall flourish yet again from the escalation in traffic…
Ain’t America great?
Shalom.
(Jerry Tenuto is an erstwhile Philosopher and sometime Educator. A veteran with seven years of service in the U.S. Army, he holds a BS and MA in Communications from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Depending upon your taste in political stew, you can either blame or thank Jerry for his weekly “Out Of The Blue” feature in The Lone Star Iconoclast. Visit his blog Blue State View at illinoiscentral.blogspot.com)
