Where Were You When Terror Struck on 9/11? It Was Tuesday—MLS Day in Dallas. Did 9/11 Jump-Start the Real Estate Market?

Had lunch with the fine, fine folks at Keller Williams Elite Park Cities the other day: Stevie Chaddick, Linda Carothers, Philip Walker, Jane Idzie and Vicki Foster. Like everyone in America, we talked about what we were doing the moment we learned that the twin towers, the Pentagon and a U.S. civilian aircraft, had been attacked. It was a defining moment for our generation, or as my late mother used to say, “our Pearl Harbor.”

9/11 changed our lives. But Linda Carothers reminded us that it happened on a Tuesday, which meant most Realtors were on MLS tour, scouting out the new homes on the market. She was, in fact, looking at a home when her daughter called her, frantic, and described what had happened.

I was just getting going, having gotten my son off to school. My mother, who listened to news 24/7, called me and told me to put the TV on stat. I think it stayed on for the next six months non-stop.

After 9/11, the housing market grew strong. One of the reasons may well have been that the attacks made us want to hunker down more at home—become couch potatoes, huddle with loved ones for safety and comfort. Thus was born almost a decade of new-found emphasis on homes and “the home,” and everything inside it. Realtors were really the first to observe this. I think the housing boom took place, in part, because of 9/11.

The real estate market was booming, and the forces that brought about web 2.0—or the interactive internet—soon brought on profound changes in the way properties were located, marketed and sold. Today, almost 99% of people begin their search for a home online.

Our lives have changed dramatically over the past ten years. Where were you when you heard that America had been attacked? If you were on MLS tour that fateful morning, do you recall the listings? The comments are waiting your input.