realtor Tag

Wasn’t the internet supposed to drive them out of business? The online age has been hard on all kinds of middlemen, after all. Travel agents, for example, rendered obsolete by Orbitz and Expedia. Mortgage companies on line for clients not needing a one on one loan officer. Soft goods retailers, for another, outpaced by Amazon. The effect should be similar with people who sell homes: What do they have but what they know? And what of that can’t be better figured out through unbiased, publicly available data, crunched and presented on Web sites like Zillow and Trulia for free? But the sector may have been overinflated anyway. During the boom, real estate was considered a fast way to make easy money, and the unserious didn’t survive when sales dried up. Real Estate companies did not train or support the agents. The career business person in Real Estate benefited, because it got a lot of people out of it that shouldn’t have been in it. The ones who were in it as career, understood the transaction needs of the consumer.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a profile of home buyers and sellers. It was interesting to see of the over 5700 respondents just what buyers are looking for in their search. Knowing this makes the realtors more attuned to the market and better to meet their client’s needs. The quality of the neighborhood, convenience to the job, and overall affordability are the top three factors. Nothing really new but interesting enough among families with children under 18 residing in the home, 46 percent chose based on school district quality, down from 55 percent last year. Southern California those figures are of course a bit higher, closer to 53 percent but still down, just a point or two. Today’s buyer are in fact staying longer in their home that they purchase. The typical buyer expects to stay in their home 12 to 15 years, up from 8 to 10 years. However it seems younger buyers (22-26 years) are more mobile and look to stay only 5 years.

How do you choose a Realtor? What are you looking for when selecting the agent you are willing to trust with the marketing of your home or the search of the next one? Do you actually make your pick based on relevant findings about the individual and his/her firm? Or do you follow your heart and intuitions? Or do you just play Russian roulette, shake hands with the first agent who comes around, cross your fingers and hope for the best? Interestingly enough, most buyers and sellers are rather spontaneous about making a choice. If the time is right and the chemistry is good, they don’t need to look at the agent’s brain scan to commit to a listing agreement or a purchase contract.