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Where did all the REALTORs go ... Vacation?

Realtor vacation I sure hate to go on a Saturday morning rant, but did real estate professionals take the year off in 2006? See my outside blog for further thoughts.

Our company has been a consistent adherent to the "pay even when they don't earn it" philosophy for the last 8 years. And yet, in a market that is now dominated by buyers shopping and wheeling and dealing, real estate professionals seem to have taken a back seat.

If we list a house, we get a sign and an MLS listing .... no one wants to do an open house ... no one wants to telemarket ... it's a waiting game. Wait for a buyer to materialize and then be prepared to write a deal at less than the price offered.

If we don't list a house, or worse we list "air houses" as they are called in our market. The real estate professionals are even less evident in this market. Far be it for them to call and register a client, or even schedule an appointment to show their client the options available in home building.

I remember when the lenders got too busy doing refinances to take care of their customers. Is this the period that the real estate professionals are too busy "low-balling" existing real estate for their predator customers to really take them out and show them their new home options?

I know this post will catch me some flack. And frankly I really enjoy a couple hard working real estate professionals in each market that we build in ... but for the most part this is one heck of a lazy time in the industry.

Anyone have some ideas for kicking some energy and vitality back into the profession? Is Zillow.com and internet lead generation merely the first step to competitive elimination of the thousands of agents in many markets who puts out signs and wait for someone else to sell something?

Posted by Steve Dalton - Northwest Indiana on 12/09/2006 10:35 AM

Comments (42)

realtor, real estate sales

42 Comments on Where did all the REALTORs go ... Vacation?

DEC

2006

Steve, sure wish you were in my market. I work for a living. I'm out showing today (I've got a one hour break here) and tomorrow are open houses. This week was dominated with out of town clients and closings. I haven't had a day off in two weeks. I dream about vacations.... Haven't had one in two and a half years.

You know what? If Zillow (regardless of how much I disagree with some of the things that they preach) DOES weed out the so-so, mediocre plant-and-wait agents ... I cheer them (Zillow) on!

Those "vacationing" agents will eventually return from their trip just in time to realize that their sellers have been looking to list with a more attentive, energetic, and hard-working agent the next time around.

Steve, In my career this time of year has always been slow, good market or bad. Realtors have a way of promoting guilt on themselves as well as on others. It is imperative if you want to stay in business to have some down time. Vacations rejuvenate anyone and gives each of us a new lease on life. So, perhaps this is a downtime for others and you need to take advantage of whatever your downtime is to feed your soul.

I know my past clients would always say, "Gena you should take some time off, you are always working...but not while you are doing my house."

After years of that and no vacations, I decided I was worth taking care of Gena and replenishing myself with a vacation. So, maybe that's where everyone is.

Don't assume just because your properties aren't shown as much that every Realtor is on vacation. We have a slow market here in SW Florida, and yet our team is very busy selling. We're working harder than ever. Some listings aren't shown as much, nad builders here are struggling. Just because builders are off doesn't mean it;s time to blame the Realtors.

I've represented several builders over the years and enjoy the relationship. I'm also a membner of the NAHB. I could write an article about how all the builders are on vacation because permits are down to a 4 year low and off about 65%

We already know that 80% of business transacted is done by 20% of the agents. That 80% thinks Zillow is their savior. With that mentality they wil slowly disappear. Zillow wants those 20% and they will never get them.

Brett As you know though builders take a pretty large risk introducing speculative inventory to a market. In SW Florida even greater so because of the difficulty in obtaining homesites and having to pay the exhorbitant impact fees. Maybe a little slowdown will separate the leaders from the pack eh?

Gena I'll bet even when you are vacationing you have a system in place to create activity for your listings right? I'm no clock puncher, trust me, but I've seen many a listing literally left to die a slow "days on the market" death this year.

Yes, the market is slow. Lazy agents? Sure, like any profession.

Real estate agents also remember the few builders who treated us poorly when the market was so hot. Now, some of those same builders are "courting" us once again, and one of them here is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Steve-

Too many people are too lazy to deal with the fact that this is a 24/7 job - if you want to be successful.

That's it in a nutshell - I can't stand the 'part-timers' and their whining!

There's one good side to all of this - MORE for those of us who ARE working hard!

Good post. We are in a very different market now. My listings aren't getting a ton of showings, but I am getting them sold. i.e. the last 3 listings sold with less than 5 showings a piece. In my mind that is a good thing.

We do have way too many untrained brokers in our market. I think they will be going away soon.

I wish I was just lambasting the "part-timers" but frankly the "full-timers" too are just plain off the job this year.

I will join all of you who have commented in hoping that 2007 sees the resurgence and return of the agressive and focused full time real estate professionals ... at least in our market!

One of the big things is that we had an "automatic" market for the last few years. Now that it is getting back to normal, agents will have to put in the work they didn't have to before if they want to be successful. I think the ones who already know this will have a leg up on everyone else.

I am seeing the opposite in our market. The bad agents are leaving and the good agents have gotten extremely aggresive. I see more open houses and brokers opens than ever.

I am also receiving a ton of e-mails from other Realtors and lenders in the area.

Steve, You must have some kind of isolated situation. I see just the opposite in my market area. Many of the builders have been so busy, they've been pompous (and obnoxious) with the agents. When business is good they come flooding in from other areas to get in on the boom. When the builders need us, they'll come crawling back with incentives... or move on to the next market. Just MHO

Carol, you may be right that our specific market is isolated. I sure wish i was in one of the areas that the commenters suggest, where agents are turning up the heat.

Our company, and I can't speak for all builders, has been right there with the realtors all along.

Is this the period that the real estate professionals are too busy "low-balling" existing real estate for their predator customers to really take them out and show them their new home options?

How does is customer making an offer (with the advice of a Realtor) at 2004 prices now classified as "predatory? Could we suggest that the unrealistic sellers are "greedy profitmongers" scalping the next generation at prices that are unaffordable?

Just a wordplay but I am pretty critical of negative criticism of natural market forces.

Overall, this is a great post. I think 2006 was a time for the newer agents to stare into the headlights, transfixed on a slow market while the professionals hustled and hustled. The strong survive in markets like this.

Brian, your wordplay is adriot, I agree that market forces should dictate and not "rules" or "procedures" or "traditions"

I am particularly experienced with brand new agents who have only one tool in their marketing arsenal ... Low Ball

We aren't in a market with dramatic appreciation or irrational exuberance ... but I sure agree that in those markets the sellers finally got caught.

Steve,

I'd love to take a vaction, where do I sign up. I believe in working while the work needs to be done.

BTW - what's an 'air house'?

Our days on Market averages out to 38.

Some one's doing something right. :)

Now as far as Agents not doing their jobs. Well it's the nature of this business.

Every time RE slows down the spotlight shines on the unprofessional. They normally move on to something they are better at. :) Burger King comes to mind. LOL...

Personally I like it when things slow down. It really helps to weed through the "agent garden"...

The bad weeds get pulled out or smothered by the blooming flowers. :)

TLW "The Lovely Wife"...Got Weed Killer Man...ROAR!

I think it's just the time of year as I noted last week in my post about Holiday Parties...

but plenty of us are out there working...I had up time today (no calls, though) and the office was buzzing with people in and out meeting customers and showing houses and tomorrow I have an open house (our office has 8 in total).

No laziness here!

Brian, good comment about "predatory buyers".

When home prices are going up everyone is so happy. No one says anything about price gouging or windfall profit taxes on inflated home sales. It's usually seen as a good thing and everyone gets really happy and excited. Why is it then that when gas prices go up due to a hurricane or something everyone is screaming and demanding that something be done. Isn't housing as much of a necessity as gas? Sorry about getting off topic.

Why is it that it is expected that a good agent needs to work 24/7. It's not about being lazy. It's about creating balance in your life. Life is too short to be on call 24/7. Is there anything that really can't wait until the morning? You need to set boundaries or you'll quickly get burned out and be useless to everyone, including your clients.

I'm not sure why you keep blasting full time and part time agents alike in your post and comments...I am opposed to anything being brushed with a broad stroke because nothing is absolute. We were in a buyers' market from 2001 til mid-2006 when things started to pick up. i've done more business each year, regardless of market conditions. I work my tail off for listings and for buyers, and the main part of the reason I've built a team is to provide that higher level of service. What I find to be interesting is that a lot of builders schmooze agents with trips and bonuses and everything else when things are quiet-but the minute it heats back up, dual pricing reappears and builders don't think they need us. Again, not all builders-just a list that I keep in my office so I know where the potential for trouble lies. I wish i could take a long vacation-but i think i'm doing pretty well to make it to conferences where i can learn and be out of town at the same time.

Hey Steve, I have no idea what your business model is...it sounds like you have a positive outreach into the Realtor community. But in the city that I work in (Hemet, California) there's undeniable tension between Realtors, builders and lenders.

When the seller's market was hot, builders didn't have the time of day for Realtors and consistently took their business. In my mind, this competition is good for buyers, but I can understand.

Now the market is soft and there's builder inventory backed up. Suddenly builders are offering commission. Some Realtors are taking advantage of that. Some have decided on principal to stick it to the builders.

And some lenders (excluding myself) feel that builder financing and incentives have an unfair advantage. They don't want to send their clients to new construction for fear that they'll lose them.

Myself? I think the bottom line is that the buyers are served. If they get a good deal, well, that's the goal. There's not enough business out there for everybody, but there's more than enough for anyone who's ready to work!

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the post. I'm with you on this one! I know we go all out on every listing we take and strive to stay onto of every buyer's needs. We are sometimes viewed as the squeeky wheel by the Attorneys and other Agents but what the heck! It's not as if the customers are buying and selling a loaf of bread! The Real Estate Industry has become complacent in many ways but we don't allow it to stop us. We see to it that the squeeky wheel gets the grease.......

Lisa

HammersTeam.com

ahhhh.. I love the beach...... pina collada's, corona's.....

life is good

Steve,

That was the answer I was seeking. Thanks for the clarification.

Steve,

The market may be slow but I'm working my butt off! I think the real Lazy agents were in the booming market. They are not being lazy now, they are gonel

My neighbor relocated to California 6 months ago and has a vacant home listed for sale. Not even once their agent has done an open house. I think there are a lot of agents that got in the business when not much work had to be done for a contract to land into their laps. Now that there is "real work" to be done to sell these homes, they are not used to doing that! I think that is a big reason as to why there is so much inventory of unsold homes.

It is always interesting how things differ from market to market. Seems that we have had open houses like crazy, and yo see the same ones week after week. There are, however, lots of buyers looking at homes on their own, especially on the weekends (and not yet committed to anyone). Print advertising had increased although from what I hear it is not helping things to sell. I do think there are agents who are frustrated with the slow market and are not spending a lot fo time doing what they shoudl.

I work hard for my money - today I was out showing one of my listing only to find out that the customer agents had other thing to do. Because my goal is to sell my listings, I did not mind driving out there to show the property. My goal is to sell homes and generate customers.

This profession(?) seems to have room for everyone - the churn, the churn.

Rave On!

DEC

2006

Even in a slow market, an efficient agent would be busy cultivating their business to get more business. Plant seeds, cultivate and prosper. That's my moto.

Caron, good for you.

Through this thread I think I've learned a valuable lesson, namely that in markets that have seen deep drops there are a dedicated group of real estate professionals who remain diligent to using closing skills and technology.

Now the challenge for me locally is: does that mean I have to open my own office just so I can get some real estate professionals do work ... why are there so few in our region? For another thread

Steve, Thanks for the post. I for one can't afford not to market my listings, which includes trying to get the buyer for them. The thrill is in dual agency. If I can't get help from colleagues, that means more for me.

Steve, I really believe a change in attitude would be best for your business. I can almost guarantee you there are many agents in your market that work hard, have educated themselves, and bring something valuable to the table. Seek them out and hire one of them to represent you. If you have the attitude all agents are lazy, that word, inflection, and persona gets around and pretty soon agents don't want to work with you.

I represented a builder and sold about 700 homes for them. They then decided they don't need us anymore, and went in-house with the people I helped them hire. Now they are hurting for sales again, as are most builders in our area.

I think you've experienced the lesson that "Sales" are the most important piece in the building puzzle. Sure, you need a nice home, in a decent location where buyers want to buy, built with quality, and the land must have been purchased right and materials and so forth. In th end though, nothing matters without a sale, and sometimes a pre-sale.

I'm not picking on you by any means. We have approximately 100 listings right now. Last year we couldn't carry more than 6 as we'd sell them so fast. Back in the 80's and 90's we'd carry about 150. What's different now than then is the attitudes and fears of the sellers. Back then everybody knew the market was soft and steady, never moving up or down much. Just slow. Now it's slower and volatile, and sellers have last years memories. I'd guess about 20% of our sellers are fearful and blame us, and all Realtors for why their home hasn't sold. Other sellers know what's going on and have priced according and listened to home selling suggestions. Still others are in a fog and don't know what to do.

Don't be part of the 20%. Take responsibility to learn the market. Find out which agents are marketing. Look at who's actually selling homes in the MLS. Don't be concerned with their methods, IE. Open House that you can see. Much of what works isn't what an outsider can see.

And if by chance you're in one of those rural or local markets where the agents really don't get it, then I apologize for all the advice I've given you here today. There are a few markets I've seen where it's a good old boy wait and see what happens attitude. I'd say either take the bull by the horns and shake that market up, or move to another market nearby.

Not yet - but we are hoping to! One thing we've found is that business gets even busier if we even think about leaving town, let alone actually doing so.

I get my energy from my clients and they keep me busy. I don't cold call because people hate that and I don't do many opens. I do feel sorry for the agents trying to do business the old fashioned way in they new world. It must look to some like we are on vacation if their expectations revolve around opens and cold calling. I have more direct contact with buyers and sellers than ever before and have sold quite a few homes this year.

Steve,

Maybe it's not all about agents not being on the job.. perhaps it has something to do with your marketing of your properties? I just came from holding an open house on new construction. While I am not the listing agent I have had the home open numerous times and have a form that I send to the listing agent with comments on price from people who visit the open house... so far most have stated that although they find the home very nice it is over priced for the neighborhood. the builder doesn't want to accept the fact that the price needs to be lowered and instead has been playing the blame game with the listing agent.

The fact is there is a lot of inventory in most markets. No question that most Builders got caught in the crunch when the market changed and will find a very narrow window of profit this year as opposed to what they were able to command last year. This is not the fault of the builder, the agent or the potential buyer. The market dictates price not the builder or the agent. I can't force someone to write an offer with the price you want just because it's what you want.. buyers write offers at prices they are willing to pay. If I were you Steve I would stop blaming agents and buyers and rethink your marketing strategy.

DEC

2006

Still working hard in Las Vegas! We don't measure our success by market conditions or by what other agents are doing, we simply follow our business plan and make adjustments along the way. If we hit our numbers, success is guaranteed.

Hi Steve,

I think it's the agents your are exposed to. All agents are not created equal. Some are driven and goal oriented. Others are not. Some have their clients best interests at heart and make every effort to help them achieve their goals, others do not.

It's just like lumping all the builders together... no flack, no sass

All agents are not created equal. Okay redundant but true!

OKay, one of my favorite topics...LAZY people are everywhere!!!! They take the form of the person at the local fast food spot, maybe be a former boss, real estate agents, the possibilities are endless! I can spot one from a mile away...and by the way, they outnumber the hard workers.

DEC

2006

Melissa, I think you are right, there are lazy people everywhere, and grossly outnumber those that work diligently for their customers. I talked today to an agent that suggested that it would be easier if sellers would just move out of their homes and basically get out of the way.

Let them eat cake?

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