In our travels meeting our agents, and prospective agents, across a number of states, it is interesting what I've learn looking at real estate at the extremely local level in so many markets. While each of the observations below may merit its own detailed article, here are few quick things I've found particularly interesting.
1. The more rural the market, the more agents (and even brokers) we find who dislike MLS's, referrals, and syndication. I find this interesting because in a rural market (and I grew up "in the sticks"), the fewer potential buyers. You'd think that the more hidden a property is, the more exposure the agent would seek. This naturally does not apply to most agents and brokers but is still an interesting pattern.
2. There are many successful agents who were very innovative in launching their real estate career but now have become extremely conservative with a siege mentality. There is merit to this but at the same time, the world continues to innovate at an ever increasing tempo. You'd think they would be more concerned with the up-and-coming version of themselves, aiming to dethrone them from their leadership position in the market.
3. If you want to eat at the best local restaurants, invite a successful real estate agent to lunch or dinner and request they pick their favorite place. We've found some of the best dining across the Southeastern U.S. this way, from very upscale places to the hidden hole-in-the-walls. Yum!
4. I continue to be astounded by the number of real estate agents with no meaningful web presence. Or nothing other than the corporate template web-pages with little-to-no personalization. Yet, all seem to acknowledge that most consumers are heavy users of the Internet for researching homes, neighborhoods, and agents. Understanding and action seem frequently disconnected in this area.
5. Real estate agents have been OVERSOLD on technology's benefits. Oh, sure they love their smart phones and email. But suggest a website can be crafted to produce better results and you can see they've lost their once hopeful enthusiasm (even though you can tell they still believe that somehow, someway that must be possible). We get it. We get sold all the hype too and most of it (but not all) is crap. We've enjoyed looking at this situation from a different angle.
We continue to travel and in the next year we'll be in even more states and more markets. I can't wait to see who we meet and what we learn!
G
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