This month’s National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Power Broker Roundtable provides a long-term outlook for the real estate industry and brokerages.
Moderator:
Cindy Ariosa, Senior Vice President, Regional Manager, Long & Foster Real Estate, Chantilly, Va., Liaison for Large Firms and Industry Relations, National Association of REALTORS®
Panelists:
James D’Amico, CEO and President, Century 21 North East, Danvers, Massachusetts
Joan Docktor, President, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach REALTORS®, Devon. Pennsylvania
Craig McClelland, Vice President, COO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Atlanta
Bess Freedman, CEO, Brown Harris Stevens Real Estate, New York
Cindy Ariosa: The last 18 months, despite, or because of, the impact of a global pandemic, have been overwhelmingly busy for REALTORS®. But while agents today are deservedly thriving, brokers, by and large, have been looking at shrinking margins, increased expenses, and shifts in the industry that call for attention and resourcefulness. Some of us are rethinking traditional business models, evaluating our ancillary services, even the space in which we work. Others are looking at expanding their outreach, exploring new ways to work, or finding avenues for more closely collaborating with agents. We welcome a panel today with diverse interests. Jim, what’s your business focus of late?
Jim D’Amico: Property management, for one thing. It’s relatively new for us, and it’s a labor-intensive effort—lots of budget meetings, HOA meetings, documentation. We’ve hired 24 people with industry experience to manage it. But it’s a natural channel for the real estate sector, and perhaps one of the most recession-proof. There’s been no shortage of challenge integrating it into our business, but it’s stabilizing and productive now, and we predict a bright future ahead.
Joan Docktor: Ancillary services continue to add value, and it’s certainly the wave of the future. We’ve actually doubled down on property management, which we’ve been doing for a while, but we’re also getting more into moving services. We see that as another natural channel for us, and one with respectable profit margins.
Craig McClelland: The focus for us has been agent support—specifically, developing ways to stream more business to them. Over the past three years, we’ve developed a concierge system for incubating leads, which is now responsible now for a third of our closings—and we’ve consolidated relocation, client services and new licensees in a Company General Business department that is growing exponentially.
Bess Freedman: The rental business is exploding for us now, as New Yorkers who fled the city during COVID are flocking back in droves. So, while sales remain the core of our revenue, some 70% of our current business is in rentals. Our agents are extraordinarily busy, and one of our core principles has always been that when you focus on your people, performance happens. So, our money, too, is on building rapport and relationships with our agents and providing them with the tools and marketing they need to do what they do better than anyone else in the business.
CA: For some time now, the money for brokers has been squarely in ancillary services. Has COVID changed the ways in which we reach out to consumers?
JD’A: Yes, I think so. Our call center, for example, is fully staffed and makes about 1,000 calls a month. It’s been a boon for cross-business—real estate, property management, and the like—and it works because COVID got so many people accustomed to doing business remotely.
CM: We’ve been in the iBuyer space since 2019, but we’re always on the lookout for new things to bring to the table that are acceptable and appreciated by consumers. Of late, we’re invested in offering expanded financing options. In today’s market, customers appreciate having money upfront to buy before they sell, for example, or renovate to increase the value of their home before they list it—and helping them do that ensures they do business with us.
CA: The pandemic had many brokers looking at changes to the physical space. Are we still reimagining that?
JD: We want to be sure our producers and top teams have all the space they need. But as leases have come up for renewal, we’ve done some strategic consolidation based on usage—maybe 20 to 30% overall. We’d rather spend some of that money that’s going for excess office space on cutting-edge tools and technology.
BF: Our agents love the office culture—and they’re so glad to be back. If anything, we’re looking for larger spaces these days.
CM: With sales up 50% year-over-year, we’ve not shut down any offices. In fact, we just opened three offices in Florida and we’re looking to expand our footprint.
JD’A: This is the time to look for opportunity, I think we’d all agree to that.
CA: Strategic thinking. Auxiliary business channels. It’s a time when creativity pays.
The Power Broker Roundtable is brought to you by NAR and Cindy Ariosa, NAR’s liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations. Watch for this column each month, where we address broker issues, concerns and milestones.
For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.
