2007 Model Agent
When working with certain busy clients who aren't interested in getting an email with every listing, price change, picture added or change in status, I set up a search and have auto notifications that meet their criteria sent to me rather than directly to them. After reviewing the available listings, I forward the most interesting on and occasionally, add some additional information or comment. Recently I pointed out the listing price history of a property when the listing agent withdrew and then relisted the property so as to make it appear to be a new listing. In addition, the price of the home has been reduced by $75,000 and then increased by $45,000.
An astute client of mine remarked recently about a listing I forwarded for consideration. "Could be another example of a realtor who really doesn't know his/her business. In my experience, there are quite a few."
In the dark ages of real estate, agents carefully guarded their information. Geno Petro of Chicago's Home Weblog talked about the Hybrid Realtor, "The general public has as much access to the Real Estate world as they care to have. I do not need to 'clutch' my knowledge like a purse in a dark alley. (And yes, my sister bought me a 'man purse' and what of it? Anyway, it's not the purse but what's on the inside that counts!) 'Transparency' is the way of the future. It's a wave I choose to embrace."
I am very fortunate to have entered real estate at the same time that technology transformed the industry. The Charleston MLS instantly provides an incredible amount of information to our agents. Abundant information and instant communication have revolutionized the world and the real estate market we live in. Our clients are informed and a realtor's life is so much more productive today that an agent no longer has to work 168 hours per week, a mere 60 or 70 should do it.
Our job as real estate agents is to provide our clients with as much valuable information as possible so they can make both an intelligent and of course, an emotional decision, after all, a house is a home. When in the role of buyer's agent, we must listen to our client and discern what they really want and then proceed to help them to find it. The magic is matching their wants and needs to the home of their dreams. In the role of listing agent, we must analyze both sold comps and the active competition to their home so the property is priced to sell. The art of successful listing is how we analyze and interpret the data so the house will sell for the highest possible price in the shortest possible time and with the least inconvenience to the seller.
It is said that many real estate agents aren't of much value and they are overpaid. Some say that the low barrier to entry is the problem, a mere 60 hours of class and pass a test. Call up your family and friends and buy and sell a house or two. After a few years, many drop out of the industry because they didn't make a million. On the other hand, a dedicated agent like myself takes advanced classes and learns from other successful agents. He/she contributes to the industry and the community and truly works on behalf of the client. It will be interesting to see whether the ranks of agents thins a bit with the current slowdown in housing.
My approach to real estate is to treat people as I would like to be treated. Before I became a realtor, I was a real estate consumer and dealt with good agents and bad. My clients deserve the best I can be.