اشترك في قائمة البريدية

Is The Niche Brokerage The Future Of Real Estate?

By Ernesto Berturand


There have been a number of articles discussing the future of traditional real estate brokerages. Predictions that the next few years may mark the end of an era of real estate brokerage as we know it today. Dramatic transformation of the industry is unavoidable due to the proliferation of large real estate portals, fee for service type brokerage companies, revolutionizing Internet technologies, and the restructuring and liberation of multiple listing service data.

Two important things have occurred: companies merge into larger and larger real estate brokerage companies that handle many different sectors including home loan origination plus relocation or perhaps a fresh new prototype real estate system which supports client advocacy, agent employed, technology powered fee for service. The result of this and the surge to transform the typical job of the realtor into a basically a purchase contract middleman, creates a decline in commission fees.

To provide a wide array of real estate contract support prior to, during the course of as well as after the house acquisition, brokers must change their approach in order to bolster declining real estate profits. Real estate services have extended into residence finance loan, title services, insurance coverage, residential warranty and home repair work type professional 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.

Successful agents will differentiate themselves as consumer focused professionals who provide good counsel to clients and colleagues and learning every facet of the real estate industry. This attitude of sharing builds trust and cultivates clients who listen to the agent's advice, respect their authority and get genuine guidance and predictable results.

To avoid obsolescence an agent must be able to transform themselves. There was no internet when the idea of the brokerage came into being. Brokers very much restricted the dissemination of real estate information ensuring that there were few ways to learn about a property without their help. Means of marketing a property were limited too. The job of the real estate professional must now depend upon whatever skills can be offered that a customer can't presently achieve over the internet. This approach points to collecting, organizing and conveying facts and information rather than simply using the same material which everyone else delivers. The goal should be to be completely reputable by adhering to consistent principles. Agents should develop a personification that substantially helps customers and prospects.

This paradigm shift that is materializing in the real estate business will definitely impact more traditional brokerages that have recruited, joined with and promoted self-employed agents. Realtors continue to contribute a beneficial customer service which many of us desire and need. Currently the established broker business design focuses around primarily adding more real estate agents to the roster that are incompetent when it comes to client care, ethical values and sales techniques. The effect is a reduction in the caliber and variety of service in general. Typically the real estate broker collects a much bigger part of the commission from underproducing realtors which results in a public opinion problem for the entire business. Sales agents who are top producers see a heftier commission basically because they generate the most return. The value of the brokerage is very much diminished by this larger split with an agent.

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.

A strategy that is working well has the brokerage taking more control over agent training, technology and service delivery to create a strong consumer brand. The broker has to generate online traffic in order to compete with lead-generation companies and find other ways to provide value to their agents. The broker builds the web experience, creates videos and reaches out to the consumer so that the agents can deliver outstanding service to the client. The mobile, social and digital technology opens up a new world of information making consumers less dependent on agents, brokers and MLS systems for information. The real value that agents provide is asking the right questions and providing wisdom. This is a uniquely valuable service provided by real estate professionals. Simplification in all areas will provide a market advantage to the agent or broker.

A rarity in the real estate industry, the ActiveLife Realty Team has adopted this style of business and puts focus on truly helping customers. The goal of an optimal real estate experience for clients is achieved by the brokerage cultivating cooperation and excellence amongst the team and encouraging agents to work together. Just as in virtually any industry, whenever the team workers are satisfied, are non-rivals and assured of their competencies, their happiness is conveyed to the buyer.

This specialty brokerage was created in 2009 as Gardiner Real Estate by Broker, Alice Gardiner and joined later that same year by Sandy Hanner. The brokerage firm was established with the mission of working hard for each client and maintaining high ethical standards. Both principals in the brokerage had worked for the builder and developer of Sun City Texas, so the business focus was on helping clients find the best home for them in the community. Twenty-five years of combined experience in Sun City Texas and the familiarity with all facets of newly built and resale houses in the community was and continues to be a unique value the brokerage provides to clients interested in buying.

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.




About the Author:



2 comments:

  1. Hi, I log on to your new stuff like every week. Your humoristic style is witty, keep it up immobilienmakler mülheim

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is just the information I am finding everywhere. Thanks for your blog, I just subscribe your blog. This is a nice blog.. Real Estate Lake LBJ

    ReplyDelete