HAMPTONS REAL ESTATE, SOUTHAMPTON, NY: New York: Southampton

A MAJOR MARKET SHIFT IS HAPPENING; LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITIES...

I actually wrote this post in late March--Since then some major shifts have already begun and I feel like getting this out there again since it did not get seen by many members (or the public for that matter!) in the first go around.  

Please read this and comment so that we all get a feeling of what is happening nation-wide.

It is more important than ever to make sure we get the jump on these trends that may alter our profession forever!

Since September 2008 all real estate agents have been struggling with the worst fiscal crisis in history and the longest housing recession as well...

I began to see a change beginning in the middle of last year--June 2012 was a record month in home sales in the Hamptons and we watched (and worked) as a return to normal began, with inventories falling and buyers, long at bay as to what to do about buying, began their rush to get the best buy before prices began to escalate.

2013 will be a record year in house sales--at least that is what all projections indicate. I believe that is possible but. Even though I still remain conservative in my approach, I have made some significant changes in my sales strategies and the way I market my listings.

MY PLAN OF ATTACK...

• I have made a real effort to be different in my "Pitch" package to potential sellers. I am taking the position that we are quickly moving into a sellers market and I have made a commitment to focus on the listing side of my business.
• I have formulated a new CMA that covers a more personal approach to the Pitch. EXAMPLE A COMPREHENSIVE MARKET ANALYSIS CAN BE VERY PERSONAL....
• I get most of my listings from direct calls FROM sellers--they find my blog and they love it!
• Since I get so many listings this way, I am looking for ways to maximize my efforts--One way is to do more interesting local postings.
• Market reports on my blog are more effective for my business than anything else I do. Here is one EXAMPLE  NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION, STILL THE "BULWARK" OF THE HAMPTONS MARKET  I take the single topic approach about the market so that I get the point across and I don't dilute the topic. I find this makes for a more interesting blog post than the columns and pie charts.
• Another way to get the message out there to the public is to inform them about an area like they have never been informed before. EXAMPLE BEST HOUSES FOR SALE, BEST PLACES TO GO IN SOUTHAMPTON VILLAGE, NY
• My print ad business is where I am getting some activity so I am increasing my budget for magazine ads. Since this is a resort community, there is a lot of down time when the public is apt to pick up glossy magazines to pour over as they sit in the sun or relax with their weekend breakfast.

THE BIGGEST "GRIEF" IN MY MARKETING EFFORTS....

My personal marketing efforts are constantly thwarted by the new agent who hits the floor running! Right out of the financial markets, these Newbies join the real estate business like they have been in it for 20 years---like they know better than any other well established agent out there! They somehow manage to get the sellers attention better than any of the "Old Guard" ever did! They even pretend to be long Hamptons residents when they just moved in last week! They have BIG $$ signs in their eyes!

These Newbies accomplish this "invasion" by PAYING UP on Trulia and Zillow for a space in an area and then they GIVE AWAY their listings (and sometimes mine!) and they now BLOG on those sights---GIVING AWAY even more of the reason for being a licensed agent!

All this is done without a thought as to what they are doing: They are undermining the entire brokerage business and they are GIVING AWAY priceless listing information so these giant sites can build their data bases!! Those sites now own the content and the listings.

AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT A PROBLEM...

I look at this "invasion" as an opportunity to "up the ante" in my own efforts--I never ignore these agents; I do make mental notes of what they do. Here are the three things I always keep in the front of my mind as I go to work with a client:

EXAMPLE: I never leave a pitch package in the hands of the homeowner. I want them to "need" me again--I always get another call from them. A pitch package like this one has brought me tons of new listings: MY PITCH PACKAGE: This One Was A Home Run For Me!!!

EXAMPLE: I make sure my approach is always on the local side of the business. My focus is always to give the buyer and the seller (I work with both) the awareness that I am not just another "hot shot" agent who comes, hits the big time and then disappears. Here is my last post with my approach for local blogging---I use local information to enhance the property. EXAMPLE  GREAT NEW LISTING ON COLD SPRING POND!

EXAMPLE: Buyers and sellers who want to use my services do so because they know I know what is great and good about the Hamptons ; and not just from a night club or party point of view. They read my informative local posts and that is why they choose me. EXAMPLE TELL ME A STORY....A Story About Real Estate and Local Information..

HOW WILL THIS BUSINESS LOOK if the day comes when all agents who amount to a hill of beans are found by what they say and how they inform the public about what they know and do?

It becomes a whole new way of doing business and in that case you have to put up or shut up. To my way of thinking, that is a very refreshing way for real estate to evolve and for it to overcome the attempts on the part of the Trulia and Zillow types to unseat RE agents at every turn.

"All Real Estate Is Local" is a good motto to have in today's market place! Transparency is also a trending way of doing things and what could be more transparent than a profession that blogs about itself???

SO BRING IT ON.....

...and let all who can sell real estate and talk with knowledge about a location at the same time come to the front of the line and be the area specialists that are needed so desperately in this business---it may even up-level our reputations in the process!

WOULD THAT NOT BE A GREAT THING???