Exclusive Buyer Agency – Meeting the Urgent Issues of a Challenging Market
Exclusive buyer agency is back in the game.
The Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) reports that first quarter 2010 sales climbed an average 53% over the same period in 2009. Sales in March 2010 were at the highest level since December of 2005. Not only that, but median prices have been rising, a fact that surprises many people still in wait-and- see mode.
“When the market was booming, many sellers waited to see if they could get even higher prices for their homes. Many were caught by surprise when the market stopped dead in its tracks,” says William True, broker of True Real Estate in Sarasota. “This is the other side of that coin – buyers waiting too long may find prices actually climbing, not dropping, and the best opportunities behind them.”
True should know. His Sarasota real estate brokerage is one of the few in the area that specializes exclusively in buyers. The traditional model had real estate agents “representing” both buyers and sellers. True's agency has departed from tradition, however, to provide full and exclusive buyer services. As True states “Many people do not realize that the listing agent, and his entire brokerage, is legally and ethically responsible to represent the seller of the property. The traditional model left buyers with no true, unadulterated representation in most cases.”
Providing service to only buyers has become critical in a complicated market. With so many changing factors and conditions, it is advisable to have full representation in any real estate transaction.
An exclusive buyers brokerage has no incentive to sell any one property over another, and no contracts to sell property as listing agents. This means clients will see every appropriate listing for their requisite needs, receive unbiased information and opinions, and be afforded the full research and diligence that a full time buyer agent provides. Specialization allows the agency to concentrate all their efforts into knowing the current inventory, market trends, values and strategies that best benefit buyers in the local Sarasota real estate market. This is a great advantage to buyers as the Sarasota real estate market continues to experience changes, including reduced inventory, stricter lending rules and higher interest rates.
“In the first quarter, we warned people that the looming action by the Federal government – that of pulling its backing of mortgage-backed securities – could cause interest rates to rise in the second quarter”, says True. “That is exactly what we have observed, as rates have indeed begun to creep up.”
The Sarasota real estate market is one which offers many great opportunities, but also quite a few challenges. The emergence of the exclusive buyer brokerage is a logical and important innovation which gives buyers the greatest edge in a competitive and challenging market.
Comments(1)