Thursday, 26 March 2015

Is The Niche Brokerage The Future Of Real Estate?

By Ernesto Berturand


The future of established real estate brokers has been the subject of many reports and studies. Conjectures that the coming years might possibly begin the end of a time of real estate brokerage as it is known it at this point. The real estate industry has been forced to transform itself due to the expansion of large property websites, fee for services style brokerage companies, drastic changes in online technological innovations, and the remapping and release of control of of multiple listing service information and facts.

What has resulted is two things: continuing consolidation into larger and larger real estate brokerage companies that control multiple segments including mortgage origination and relocation or a new paradigm real estate model that supports buyer representation, agent employed, technology driven fee for service. The impact of this plus the push to change the traditional role of the agent as only a transactional middleman, places a downward pressure on commissions.

Brokerages must evolve to provide a larger variety of transactional services before, during and after the home purchase to supplement declining real estate commissions. Business services have expanded into mortgage, title, insurance, warranty and home repair type services.

The Internet and telecommunications advances have enabled a new kind of real estate. The consumer has more information available through national real estate portals such as Zillow and Trulia and begins a home search long before contacting a real estate agent. These portals may have made more real estate data available but added a middle man between agents and their clients. This has increased the amount of money spent in real estate marketing to consumers. The agent recommended on these portals is not necessarily the best agent but the one who paid the most to be in front of the consumer. The data published by the portals tends to be less accurate and less comprehensive than that of local brokerages.

The days of simply placing a for sale sign in a lawn or an classified advertisement in the local paper to gain success are bygone days for realtors. Only through mastery of numerous skill-sets that propel their business venture and becoming an expert in their niche will agents prosper. Real Estate has historically had a relatively small hurdle to admission, an opportunity to work independently as well as having high financial potential. Real estate agents in the past simply needed to express very minimal competence to successfully pass a licensing exam and after that were left unaided to get additional training.

More stringent curriculum guidelines, advanced training plus years of real estate transaction experience are now required of newer agents to progress forward. A typical real estate agent is compelled by the intense competition with competing firms and other agents and are thereby driven to place their own compensation ahead of the client's needs. This has inevitably resulted in the decline of respect for the profession. Realtors must absolutely assist clients with first class service with the mastery of technological innovation and provide expert guidance. They cannot behave as a traditional real estate agent that guards their secrets and is constantly suspicious of rivals. Realtors who genuinely are committed to the best interest of others around them will realize better results. A firm grasp of a range of important subjects such as advertising and marketing, people, sales, mediation, and financing options will be needed by the modern realtor.

To be most effective real estate agents will stand out as client oriented professionals who are able to master multiple facets of the real estate industry while conveying superior guidance to consumers and coworkers. By strengthening trustworthiness and cultivating clientele to welcome their recommendations, realtors are able to command authority and provide authentic assistance and advice with predictable results.

The only way to avoid becoming obsolete is to reinvent your role before the marketplace does it for you. When the concept of real estate brokers arose, there was no Internet. Brokers controlled all the information so that from afar, there was no way to know anything about a property. There were far fewer ways to advertise properties too. The role of the real estate agent needs to focus on what services can you provide that a client can't already do online. This means collecting, managing and sharing information rather than simply using the same information that everyone else has. Be absolutely trustworthy by doing the right thing proactively. Find a way to create and shape a role that significantly benefits clients.

The disruption taking place in real estate will affect traditional brokerages that have recruited, partnered and supported independent agents. Agents still provide a valuable service that most of us need and want. The traditional broker business model centers around recruiting more and more agents who are ineffective in customer service, ethics and sales and thereby reduce the quality of real estate services in general. The broker gets a bigger split from poor performing agents who create a reputation problem for the industry. Better producing agents get a bigger commission cut because they provide the most value which means there is diminishing value of the broker.

This model must change to build consumer confidence in an industry where there is so much data available to the public. The opportunity for the new brokerage is to curate content for their customers to help determine the relative value of data and sharing that information with buyers, sellers and investors. Brokers can apply the same strategy to strengthen their agent relationships by making technology choices. Brokers can provide the service of constantly evaluating technology and making choices for the agents.

A small brokerage firm is now able to work effectively with significantly fewer employees to manage everyday business tasks as a result of huge advances in computer systems and technology. Brokerages are able to deliver full value to a group of sales agents through cooperation as an effective technique for addressing business crisis. Delivery of high levels of customer care along with coaching agents on a shared software platform promotes top-quality capabilities amongst agents due to the supportive office environment. The simpler, more enduring delivery of quality services for the client is just one of the many advantages of teamwork within a brokerage. Another advantage certainly is the greater sense of inclusion which can minimize agent turnover. Agents working together cooperatively promotes specialization and skillset expertise amongst the team. The professional team strategy is superior in enabling an individual's successes.

Consumers seeking a significantly better real estate encounter demand trust and transparency. Skillfulness, swiftness and individual service are really crucial with regard to assisting the educated prospect. Sales agents must completely grasp local area markets, be able to share that data with prospects through their the method of communication that they prefer such as email, phone, text, social websites, etc. Because most consumers have a problem trusting realtors, they actually prefer to spend long hours exploring the big portals such as Realtor.com and Zillow. Customers are insisting on increased transparency at each and every point of the purchasing process. Nonetheless when someone is in a position to buy, they want an immediate reaction from a realtor. Clients are also reliant upon their Facebook family and friends and online testimonials to locate a real estate agent. If agents utilize social media it is important to build trust, provide guidance and avoid becoming to sales oriented. Real estate agents are still essential to the consumer for help going thru facts, arbitrating the contract and then guidance through the real estate transaction.

Brokerages that take on more oversight of sales agent training, software and service performance realize an effective way to develop a strong customer identity. Typically the brokerage will have to generate web site traffic in an effort to generate substantial qualified leads and brainstorm new ways to demonstrate value to their agents. By the brokerage creating a strong web presence, generating online videos and interfacing with the client, the agents are able to concentrate on providing outstanding assistance to the customer. The proliferation of mobile, social media and digital technologies unveils a totally new world of resources that results in the public being substantially less reliant on realtors, brokers and Multiple listing service solutions to obtain knowledge. Undoubtedly the true value that a realtor provides is to present insightful issues, answer questions and be a source of knowledge. This is a unique value that real estate agents provide. Agents and brokerage services that want to dominate the industry will be those willing to streamline all facets of the business.

The ActiveLife Realty Team has embraced this brokerage model and places emphasis on outstanding service to clients. By fostering a culture of cooperation and collaboration amongst the team members, the brokerage empowers agents who work together to ensure the best possible real estate experience for clients. As in any business, when the team members are happy, uncompetitive and confident in their abilities, this positive atmosphere is transferred to the client.

Under the guidance and tutelage of Broker, Alice Gardiner, the boutique brokerage was formed in 2009 as Gardiner Real Estate. Joined that same year by Sandy Hanner, the real estate firm was founded on the principles of a strict code of ethics and hard work on behalf of each and every client. The focus at that time was on the niche market of Sun City Texas since the founders' expertise was in working for the development builder, Pulte Homes. With a combined work history with Pulte of over 25 years, familiarity with every aspect of new and resale homes in Sun City Texas is a valuable body of knowledge that provides a distinct advantage to each client of the brokerage.

The brokerage was renamed Sun City Realty in 2011 to reflect the niche market in which the brokerage primarily worked. Then in 2013, it became evident that the active adult market would be expanding in the area as other builders sought to take advantage of the largest wave of retiring baby boomers. Sun City Realty then became the ActiveLife Realty Team and added two agents to assist clients. In late 2014, the builder of Sun City Texas announced the expansion of the community with the purchase of an additional 1500 acres. The ActiveLife Realty Team has expanded their marketing niche to include all master-planned communities in the Central Texas area with emphasis on 55+ communities.

Now the ActiveLife Realty Team has developed methods to manage clientele, transactions and promotion, delivers instruction and support to real estate agents, administers and sustains the best quality of real estate transaction operations, and also encourages a cooperative group mentality to every facet of client service. The brokerage firm has undergone many changes to provide greater value to consumers. Having always been dedicated to offering high quality leads to sales agents, the ActiveLife Realty Team has produced a web site that delivers so much information to potential customers that there is consumer trust. As soon as these individuals agree to sign up for a newsletter or to receive a free "Buyers Guide," potential customers have discovered a trustworthy and transparent source for real estate information and are pre-qualified. The simple fact that the ActiveLife Realty Team of real estate agents are strictly buyers agents and the website educates consumers about the clear benefits of receiving impartial advocacy in real estate deals, confirms that trust. The ActiveLife Realty Team certainly is the way forward in a rapidly changing industry to deliver customer oriented results.




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