It is now the end of May, and the market has progressed in a pretty healthy manner lately. Healthy to me means that consumers are still buying, however their buying patterns continue to change. Agents have started to shed their seller market skins (finally), and are catering to the needs of this new "normal market". I wanted to give a little insight into what real estate agents have experienced and how they are working now to try to adjust to today’s new "normal market". I keep saying "normal market" because that is what it is, if you look at real estate over the long term, the last 5 years of a steady boom in the market has been the exception, not the rule. From 1990-around 2000, for example, there were 10 years of a normal market in Los Angeles. Prices were declining, then stabilizing, and then slowly starting to increase. You will see that pattern or cycle throughout our real estate past. Now that the dust has settled I think Realtors have made the adjustments to deal with the market or have left the market entirely.
Real estate agents today have learned that they have to be more active with their customers. Where an agent was used to the phone ringing all the time, they now have to make the calls themselves, so to speak. They have to go out and find the buyer for their listings. The good agents are not taking their leads (buyers especially) for granted anymore. They are too few to do that. For example, agents are working longer hours prospecting than ever before; open houses, public events, walking in their farm areas, contacting their former customers and social sphere for business, and conducting homebuyer educational events. I think this change in the market is great for consumers. They are getting more attention, and the level of customer service is increasing. I see this in our agents all the time.
Some agents have not been able to make adjustments and have left the business or taken part time jobs. I think the trend of agents leaving the industry will continue, and applicants for new licensing will drop. This is a shame, because the best time to learn this business is in a normal market. An agent that can learn strong fundamentals in this market will only excel in the next real estate boom.
The customer has also changed the way they want information delivered to them, and how they want to interact with agents. For better or worse, the information age has caught up with this industry too. Consumers want to be in control of the search. They want information readily available, easy to find, and at their convenience. Agents are now delivering this in exactly that manner. Agents are becoming web experts. I see my agents putting their listings on Craigslist.com, trulia, openhouse.com, coldwellbanker.com and our local company websites. They are also developing blogs of their own so they can further interact with the customer online. They know that when the consumer is ready and serious, they want to make the first move. Some interesting blogs from our agents are: http://www.realestatenaturelover.blogspot.com/ , http://www.eaglerockrealestate.blogspot.com/ , http://realestateguide101.blogspot.com/ , realbydenise.blogspot.com , http://www.baldwinparkrealestate.blogspot.com/ and http://www.realestate4petlovers.blogspot.com/
In a nutshell, agents that are staying in the business have to learn new technologies, work harder, and be better consumer advocates than ever before. I ask you, is this bad for the market??
Thank You, David
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