Part-time Versus Full-time Agency

It seems to me (at least in my market) that there are two kinds of agents; full-timers and part-timers. I have my own thoughts about which is better, but for now let's just say there are two types of agents.

When I look at the rosters of some of the larger firms in our market, I recognize a lot of good agents that are full-time real estate professionals. (I don't understand why that they are not with RE/MAX, but that is the subject of another blog.) And then, I can see an entire community of agents who are part-timers. No judgements made...yet. When I look at all the agents who are part-time agents, I have to ask myself (as I would hope their clients do), "Why is this agent representing their clients on a part-time basis. What is keeping them from making a full-time committment? How can they do justice to both of their professions by working in both? Are they really taking care of my listing the way they should?"

It just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would anyone hire a part-time anything? Would you use a part-time doctor? Or attorney? Apparently a lot of folks do. I just don't understand it. Well, OK, maybe I understand it a little. Most folks work with those with whom they know and trust or feel comfortable on some level. Maybe they have been childhood friends, or were the maid of honor in your wedding, or maybe it just seems logical to hire your part-time realtor who is also your full-time cousin.

Buying and selling real estate is not magic. It is not the work of (oh wait a minute, it might be) someone who does it on the side after they get off from their other job. To anyone who is doing real estate on a part-time basis, I applaud you. Having two careers at once is definitely a challenge and doing them both well is an even larger challenge. To work in two career fields, stay focussed on both, and represent your clients to the fullest is a major undertaking. You should be proud of that. I just wonder one thing. How good would you be if you devoted yourself 100% to a career in real estate?

Seasonal Swings in Real Estate

Many industries are affected by seasonal swings. The real estate field is no different. Think about it. Investors, end users, and anyone connected to the real estate business are just like everyone else. They have families, traditions, and committments that change their priorities during the holiday seasons. Many take holiday vacations and many just use the time to regroup and lay the ground work for the coming year. And then there is the weather. Weather affects everything and everyone. For some its just a bad mood and for others it is a real impediment to their plans. Builders and developers, in particular, may find their business affected by winter weather issues. Productivity is certainly not at its peak when temperatures drop. In some parts of the word (rural America) a large number of men and women with firearms take advantage of the bleak weather to hunt their favorite trophy animal. Maybe its not that simple, but I don't know anyone who can conclusively pinpoint the exact cause of the decline of the real estate market during the winter months. It's not that the market goes away, it just slows down and waits for all the players to return to the playground. So, don't despair; the real estate market isn't dead. It's just taking a short vacation...just like the rest of us.

The Future of Real Estate?

While we continue to do the real estate business the way we always have: list it, mls it, wait for a buyer, sell it, the world of real estate is evolving. Not that its new, real estate auctions are beginning to become a serious alternative to the way we've always done it. Raise your hands if you are concerned. Raise your hands if you have tried to figure out how a realtor can fit into this process. Raise your hand if you have and you are now more concerned. Ok, Ok, put your hands down and get ready to adapt. Business processes are not static, even though we seem to think that real estate will always be what it has always been. A large part of the world is already beginning to lead the way with a concept known as real estate auctions. Instead of auctions signaling the demise of something or someone, they have now become a true alternative to traditional real estate marketing. Countries like New Zealand and England are selling a large share of their real estate through auctions. In fact, even in America the volume of sales contributed to real estate auctions has significantly grown. As realtors, we will need to adapt our marketing plans to include real estate auctions if we are to keep up with this growing trend. In fact, we may even be considered negligent if we don't offer it as an alternative. I recently heard about a realtor in England that was being sued, because his clients were not made aware of the auction process as a method for marketing their home. There are ways that the realtor and auction house can work together to successfully sell a property. There are a number of blended processes that maintain the realtor-client relationship and successfully sell the property at auction. Perhaps the future is here and we must now adapt our marketing to at least include real estate auctions as another tool to serve the needs of our clients. I would love to hear from any and all that have had a real estate auction experience.

Foreclosure or not?

I have recently grown concerned about the way information provided by local real estate agents is being used on the internet. Don't get me wrong, I understand the power and utilty of the internet, and have nothing against a properly displayed listing on someone else's site. What I do take issue with is the information being framed or displayed in a way that hides the provider of the information or misrepresents the status of the property. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Recently, I stumbled across some of our listings on the Bob Vila site. I was thrilled to find it showing up on Bob's site. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to tell one of our clients. He was excited too and it looked like a win-win. The next morning the client called and he was furious. It seems that his listing was being displayed on another site (Realtytrac.com) that was linked to the Bob Vila site. Not only was it being displayed on the Realty trac site, but it was being displayed in a way that to any reasonable person would make the property appear to be in foreclosure. Copy this link into your browser's adress window, and it will show you what I mean. ( the image I am using is not from my client, but is a screen shot of actual search results taken on July 28, 2007)
http://www.joanneknauf.com/rt728.tiff

To a trained eye you can tell that the properties displayed are resale properties. So what's the problem? The problem is that to the untrained eye, the properties appear to be in foreclosure. What else would you think when there is a header in bold font that says "Harrisonburg City Foreclosure Search Results" and two lines from that it says (again in bold) "Search Results: Foreclosures in 22801". Needless to say, after the embarrassment faded, phone calls were made and after several days,and a dozen emails, our listings were blocked from the Realty Trac site.

After speaking with my broker, I learned that this type of thing happens all the time. One company buys the data that realtors provide via various online sites and strips the listing agent information from the listing. It then forces you to go to them to learn about the listing and attempts to take the realtor out of the loop. This is a relationship business and we should all be up in arms over the misuse of our data. The lesson from this? Be aware of where and how your listing data is being displayed on the internet.

Harrisonburg Real Estate Temperature

Lukewarm and rising seems to be the consensus of opinion when that "how's the market" question comes up. But like all other questions and answers, it depends on who you ask and when. Those that sell are still selling and those that don't, aren't. In that respect the market has changed little. By comparison, however, take a look back to approximately three years ago when a home was put in the MLS and before the day's end would have multiple offers. At this point, this blog is pure conjecture and not a bit of it based on facts or stats. That will come in future. Join me as I attempt to measure the pulse of the Harrisonburg real estate market and make some sense of an ever-changing scene.