It’s a beautiful morning on Mackinac Island, and it looks like the last of the clouds have moved off to the East.  For those not familiar with Mackinac, it’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Midwest, and is an island in Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac.  No motor vehicles are allowed on the island, so once you get off the ferry, your transport is by foot, bike or horse/horse and carriage.

I’m up here with fellow Directors for the Michigan Association of REALTORS(R), and have enjoyed some great conversation with leaders from around the state already.  This morning Past NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs will be sharing some of her insight with us.  Pat and I are meeting over coffee this morning to talk about the role and potential of social media in association activities.  Pat’s a fantastic example of what you’d like to see in a leader: passionate about her industry, an active listener, eager learner, empowering of others, and fantastically bright.  I take special pride that she’s a part of the Coldwell Banker Schmidt organization as well.

While we’re here to discuss association matters and work to develop a vision for the future of our association, the dinner table conversations are a great opportunity to get a sense of what’s happening in markets all over the state.  The sense I’ve gotten so far is that there is a lot more optimism, and better levels of business are being done by most.  Deals are still full of hurdles and pitfalls, and financing remains a challenge.  Short sales still are a great source of frustration, and while the handling of these by the banks may be improving, it has a long way to go and still is an impediment to successful transactions, especially with large national banks.