We have been trying to pre-sell our development ourselves for the last the six months. Things are not going as planned. The sales have stalled. We have created and included a draft brochure and a final brochure with attached articles on the history of our company’s projects (see attached). We must do something to stabilize sales. Our development team has decided to hire an outside marketing consultant. We have green-lighted a marketing budget and additionally we need professional help and have decided to hire a Real Estate Firm.
A). You have read the attached marketing materials and read the Washington Post Articles. Our first marketing piece since hiring the consultant has been published: (https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/10/09/dc-real-estate-gets-even-scarier-with-these-skeleton-filled-homes/ (Links to an external site.)) What more would you do as the developer to stimulate sales? (e.g. visit open houses; throw in upgrades: reduce deposit amounts;) How can you assist sales? Brainstorm.
B). What are the key qualities or characteristics when choosing a real estate agent? Remember the barriers to entry into becoming a licensed real estate agent are low. You need to be careful with your selection the stakes are high (Please write a sentence or two on 5 of the following characteristics (please invent your own if you wish) and why they are important)?
Choose The Person, Not The Experience 2. Remember Chemistry Is Key 3. Seek Referrals From Other Buyers 4. Find Someone Who Has Your Best Interests At Heart 5. Go With Your Gut Feeling 6. Find An Agent You Can Trust 7. Look For Passion, Conviction And Honesty 8. Make Sure They Offer Adequate Support 9. Check If They Mitigate Risk 10. Look For Strong Core Values 11. Find A Compassionate Agent Who Understands You 12. Track Record And Inventory 13. Seek Clear Lines Of Communication 14. Scour The Web For Info.
C). The country’s residential property worth is $34 trillion dollars and with last year’s transactions worth $1.5 trillion dollars. Yet compared with other industries and other countries, buying and selling real estate in America is cumbersome—-and extraordinarily expensive. At the heart of the problem is a knot of obsolete practices that seem to favor real estate agents rather than buyers and sellers of property. (e.g. most transactions are listed on 800-odd common data bases—commonly referred to as the MLS (Master Listing Service)—which agents have exclusive access. I am not against success in the business of selling real estate but I think compensation needs to be commensurate with performance. How do we balance the scales? How can technology upend America’s property market? Could one impose a compensation rate based on higher fees in tougher markets and lower fees in easy markets?
