Realtors throwing in the towel
Membership in region's largest associations affected by housing slump
With the housing market flat, Southwest Florida real estate agents are retreating or quitting the business in large numbers. The Sarasota Association of Realtors is down 11 percent over last year; the Manatee County association 19 percent; and the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors 11 percent.
The Sarasota association's membership peaked with the real estate boom. In 2005, the group had 4,300 members. That has dropped to 3,600, says Kathy Roberts, the association's chief executive officer.
The ranks of the parent Florida Association of Realtors swelled by 25 percent in 2004 alone. As the market contracted -- and with it Realtors' pay stubs -- many in the industry have adopted other lines of work to supplement their income.
It is sad to see Realtors giving up on the profession but too many of them came in when the business was easy. Right now, this profession is difficult. The sellers think every offer is too low and that their home is worth more than it really is. Buyers think they are doing the sellers a favor by purchasing their home and they always want to pay less than the property is worth. Mortgages are tougher to get. There are tons of people looking at property but waiting to time the bottom perfectly before buying. Realtors are complaining, attorneys are complaining, title people are complaining, inspectors are complaining, mortgage professionals and banks are complaining. I can see why some Realtors are looking for greener pastures.
Here are a few tips on choosing a Realtor to work with:
Experience - Make sure your agent has closed some deals. I don't consider years in the business a good measure of experience. I have met so many agents that have been in the business for 10 or 20 years but really aren't all that experienced. In a market like this experience goes a long way.
Full Time - Is your agent full time? How can a Realtor effectively market your home or help you buy a home when they have another job taking up the majority of their time? I'm not trying to throw the part timers under the bus but servicing customers properly can take a lot of time. I believe the overall customer experience is better when you are working with a full time, experienced agent.
Communication - Make sure you pick a Realtor that you can talk to and who listens to your needs. You might be working with your Realtor for months or years depending on whether you are buying or selling. Good communication in the process is crucial. Make sure your Realtor is accessible. That does not mean you should bother your Realtor every second of the day but make sure they call back in a timely fashion.
With the housing market flat, Southwest Florida real estate agents are retreating or quitting the business in large numbers. The Sarasota Association of Realtors is down 11 percent over last year; the Manatee County association 19 percent; and the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors 11 percent.
The Sarasota association's membership peaked with the real estate boom. In 2005, the group had 4,300 members. That has dropped to 3,600, says Kathy Roberts, the association's chief executive officer.
The ranks of the parent Florida Association of Realtors swelled by 25 percent in 2004 alone. As the market contracted -- and with it Realtors' pay stubs -- many in the industry have adopted other lines of work to supplement their income.
It is sad to see Realtors giving up on the profession but too many of them came in when the business was easy. Right now, this profession is difficult. The sellers think every offer is too low and that their home is worth more than it really is. Buyers think they are doing the sellers a favor by purchasing their home and they always want to pay less than the property is worth. Mortgages are tougher to get. There are tons of people looking at property but waiting to time the bottom perfectly before buying. Realtors are complaining, attorneys are complaining, title people are complaining, inspectors are complaining, mortgage professionals and banks are complaining. I can see why some Realtors are looking for greener pastures.
Here are a few tips on choosing a Realtor to work with:
Experience - Make sure your agent has closed some deals. I don't consider years in the business a good measure of experience. I have met so many agents that have been in the business for 10 or 20 years but really aren't all that experienced. In a market like this experience goes a long way.
Full Time - Is your agent full time? How can a Realtor effectively market your home or help you buy a home when they have another job taking up the majority of their time? I'm not trying to throw the part timers under the bus but servicing customers properly can take a lot of time. I believe the overall customer experience is better when you are working with a full time, experienced agent.
Communication - Make sure you pick a Realtor that you can talk to and who listens to your needs. You might be working with your Realtor for months or years depending on whether you are buying or selling. Good communication in the process is crucial. Make sure your Realtor is accessible. That does not mean you should bother your Realtor every second of the day but make sure they call back in a timely fashion.
posted by Marc Rasmussen at
6:46 AM
4 Comments:
Many are leaving the industry due to needing to provide and income for themselves or family but I am sure they will be back in 3 years. I think it will take that long to clear foreclosures and people become less cautious. Real estate has always been and up and down game and if your looking for a steady ride it's not the industry for you. For those of us who have weathered many ups and down we understand hard work is part of a buyers market when your dealing with foreclosures and much work can go into one and fall through at the eleventh hour. So the way I look at it is the ones that stayed are the best realtors who know the area and current market and can best sell your home.
While painful for some, a shakeout in the RE industry was inevitable, and in the long run will be beneficial to those who are able to withstand the weakness.
If I was a full-time realtor, I'd look at this weakness as an opportunity to further solidify my position.
The legitimate, honest, hard working realtors will in the long run benefit from this weakness, IMO.
ToddinFL
Marc,
I am sure you'll have to agree that 3,600 REALTOR(R) agents in a market that has 350-400 transactions per month is still way too many.
I believe we'd all be better off (consumers and REALTORs (R) alike) if that number were to come down to around 1,000 active, professional full time pratitioners.
With respect to choosing an agent or a team, I think for home sellers another important criteria is the financial strength of an agent. Most agents are starving right now, living on their credit cards and as such simply do not have the resources necessary to proactively market a listing continuously for an extended period of time. My suggestion would be to select an agent who is doing at least $10MM in volume per year. At that level the agent will have adequate resources to invest in marketing his/her listings for the prolonged time frame necessary in this difficult market.
Keep up the great work!
Thomas Heimann, President & CEO
Bravo Real Estate Solutions
These are important questions when hiring a realtor. How long have you been selling? How many houses in last 6 months? This will show they are full time or not and if they have a handle on todays foreclosure market.
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