Our very own Athena Collup, President of Bakersfield Association of Realtors, was our speaker. Man-o-man did she have a lot to say! Athena is passionate about the health of the real estate market in Bakersfield as well as the Central Valley. Her passion 
could be seen throughout her presentation as she “educated” a full house of attentive Rotarians to the what-if’s and what-for’s when it comes to her industry. Speaking of industry, we learned that like many other industries such as law enforcement, medical, water usage, education, the real estate industry is also affected by a trend in the political machine in Sacramento to modify, let’s say, business as usual. Now I think change is good, but when change occurs that looks good on paper and not well thought out, such changes may not be so practical. Often miscalculated change can have long term ramifications. This is what Athena is concerned with and why she is a staunch “watchdog” of what the politicians may pull out of their hat come next election year.
could be seen throughout her presentation as she “educated” a full house of attentive Rotarians to the what-if’s and what-for’s when it comes to her industry. Speaking of industry, we learned that like many other industries such as law enforcement, medical, water usage, education, the real estate industry is also affected by a trend in the political machine in Sacramento to modify, let’s say, business as usual. Now I think change is good, but when change occurs that looks good on paper and not well thought out, such changes may not be so practical. Often miscalculated change can have long term ramifications. This is what Athena is concerned with and why she is a staunch “watchdog” of what the politicians may pull out of their hat come next election year.Athena touts that Kern County enjoys current affordability and availability in the housing market, and it is for that reason that she urges those who are potential investors to move briskly towards home purchase. One glaring upside to this is that while the rest of California stagnates with low home ownership in comparison to renter-occupied dwellings, Kern County remains a viable market to purchase a home. She states that 54% of residents in Kern County own their home compared to 26% in many other areas of the State. I don’t know what you make of this, but if our local industries remain strong, our home values may go up steadily over time. If I can add a little insider information to the article today, I spoke with Athena following the meeting today to ask her what her suggestion would be for the little capitalist in us. She said as the trend toward inability for those in California to buy a home increases, those persons will seek locations like Bakersfield where they can enjoy the dream of homeownership. That will cause our real estate values to increase, so if you happen to own a home or rental property you can expect to reap profits. So there you have it, as the song says…” Life is but a Dream…” in owning real estate. See our Athena for details! Thanks again Athena.