Real Estate is a funny business and I don't mean it sarcastically but literally. It's a very easy business to enter. Take some classes, take a test, pass it, get a license from the state, and put the license with a broker and you can say you're in Real Estate. But, ah ha, are you? The school you might have gone to in order to learn the stuff needed to pass the test really teaches you nothing about the business. And yes, this is a business and finally we're seeing it run more like one in many brokerages. Why am I talking about this? Well, it's near the end of the year and that's when people disappear from your office. Poof, they vanish without a word of good bye or for that matter, hello.
The only way you know they've gone is to see an empty desk. No matter. They never were sitting at that desk doing any business any way; they were just schmoozing, if they were there at all. So they vanish and appear in another office thinking it will make everything better in their life. Ha, ha, ha!
Most people don't understand how this real estate business works. Agents are all independent contractors, not employees and as such we don’t get any benefits or a paycheck. We work 100% on commission but we don't get 100% of it, only a split of that goes to us if we close a deal, and what that split is depends on many factors. Therefore, client loyalty to a realtor is important to us and our bottom line. As independent contractors we can do pretty much what we want. Our broker might disagree with that and demand certain things in return for letting us have a desk, such as continuing education, attendance at meetings, paperwork being done a certain way, files complete at close of escrow. None of that is too much to ask for on their part, but many of the people "working" in real estate might disagree. This business does attract Free Spirits and these people do not like being told what to do.
If you, as a potential buyer or seller of a home isn't careful you can end up with an agent who isn't a professional in this real estate business; one who is hard to find when you need them, one who is sloppy in their paperwork, sloppy in how they talk with you in general. These are often the ones who keep moving around to different brokerages at this time of year. How do I avoid this you ask? Ask your agent questions about how they work. After all, whether they are a professional and well respected Realtor should matter to you as much as it matters to all of the other Realtors in the market who have to deal with them. A bad Realtor doesn’t get offers on their listings. A bad Realtor won’t get offers accepted because professional agents don’t want to work with them.
Living in San Mateo County, we are very fortunate to be in a somewhat insular location for housing. We are not seeing the dramatic foreclosure rates that other California and Bay Area counties are seeing. Our prices are not dropping dramatically. We are seeing the usual 4th quarter slow down and price reductions that take place in December but houses are occupied or staged for sale around Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo and the like are not sitting vacant and bank owned. Sure, Altos Research says we are in a Cool Buyer's Market right now but that's a whole lot better than we're seeing in other areas of California or the rest of the country.
Take time to get to know your Realtor and find out how they work. It’s a very intimate relationship that you both have while you search for a new home or list your current one. If your agent changes offices this time of year find out why they did it. If they say it was time to move on, or change is good, probe deeper because a change of real estate office isn’t the problem. The problem is with them and perhaps their fear that they will not be able to serve you next year during a bumping real estate market. Look for experience and good communication for your agent.
We’re here to help you in all of your real estate needs in San Mateo County. We are experts in Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont and San Carlos.
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