Here in the Canton MA area we are in a Seller's market. There is limited inventory. Good listings are going under agreement within days of being listed. That's the cycle we are in.
The real estate market is cyclical and over the years it will waver back and forth between Buyers Market and Sellers Market. However, that does not change my approach to providing great client service and acting with the utmost professionalism.
When it was a Buyer's market, I did not feel that it gave me the right to be rude or demanding or to ignore Seller's agents. I knew I would have to do business with many of these agents again, not to mention that is not how I conduct business.
Now that it's a Seller's market, my reputation with the agents who know me is an advantage for my clients. And, my professionalism is still appreciated by those whom I've just met. I just submitted an offer & received a call from the listing agent thanking me for putting together a well-presented offer.
Switch over to a listing agent whose open house we visited yesterday. I emailed him last evening with a question on the property and about submitting an offer (it was too late to call). I called this morning to follow up. No answer. Call again. No answer. No email reply. You get the idea.
I talked to his office - who promised to have him reply. I finally received an email telling me that he answered the question at the open house. Well, maybe he answered someone else but it was not me. And regardless, when someone leaves you a voice mail or an email, the professional thing to do is reply.
Maybe he thinks that since it is a Sellers market he does not need to answer the questions posed by a lowly buyers agent?
It may be a Sellers market for a while but when it flips back, that agent might regret his behavior when he needs buyers for his listings. And when clients contact me for a referral to a listing agent, you know who I will not be recommending.
We are in a service business regardless of the kind of market we are in. Relationships, referrals, reputation - that's how we keep our business running.
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