There are a lot of big name real estate brokerages out there touting their long history in the business and offering that as the reason agents should work with them. It’s an age-old tactic that has historically been effective. But, in today’s market, agents have a right to demand more than this from their brokerage. When it comes down to it, what agents really want is the support and leadership they need to be successful in the changing market—to compete effectively for business and be able to deliver what the modern consumer has come to expect.
Real estate professionals everywhere are, in essence, calling for something of a revolution—a movement in which brokers begin to focus more intently on the needs of the entrepreneurial agent. And at the forefront of this movement is Carrington Real Estate Services, LLC, which stands ready to provide precisely what these agents are missing out on elsewhere. Carrington understands that partnering with a brokerage that has a well-thought-out vision—and the ability to make that vision a reality through intuition, flexibility, and a commitment to investing in its agents so that they’re ready to handle whatever the changing market throws at them—outweighs the concept of legacy any day.
Carrington Real Estate Services is a full-service, national brokerage licensed in 22 states, with approximately 1,500 sales professionals across 33 corporately owned and operated branch offices. Born in the midst of the real estate downturn, Carrington started out as a brokerage focused on the distressed market and eventually maximized that experience to become the most successful institutional real estate brokerage in the nation, as well as an up-and-coming leader in the retail residential real estate market. How? By training its agents to merge the task-management expertise required for institutional transactions with the client relationship skills needed to work effectively with retail consumers.
While some firms specifically handle institutional assets and others specialize in the retail market, Carrington agents have exposure to, and are trained in, both due to the company’s unique business model. From Carrington’s perspective, this model—enhanced via an infusion of leading technology that allows agents to be more connected to consumers and to the resources provided by their broker—is the future of real estate.
“Thanks to Carrington’s institutional experience and the systems the company already has in place to work with this segment, its agents are better equipped than most to provide the enhanced level of transparency and empowerment today’s retail consumers have come to expect,” says Steve Ozonian, chief real estate officer for Carrington’s parent company, Carrington Holding Company, LLC, whose industry experience and track record for building successful real estate brands includes senior executive management roles for Coldwell Banker, Prudential Real Estate, and realtor.com®. “By leveraging Carrington’s strength as an investment company and our excellence in providing institutional residential services, we have been able to import many task- and concierge-level services across all of our local and retail offerings. We are using the best integrated technology along with a business system that is second to none,” says Ozonian.
Does Your Broker Have—or even Know—What Today’s Consumers Want and Need?
As traditional brokerages that have long focused exclusively on the retail market continue to follow the same model that has worked for them for decades, it’s possible that their agents may not be fully prepared for what consumers will be looking for in the future. Today’s consumer is becoming more attracted to—and in some cases demanding of—an experience that more closely resembles that of institutional clients like financial corporations or corporate relocation clients. This concierge approach of managing every aspect of the sale as well as the coordination of all related activities—all while providing real-time updates and task-management insights—is something that today’s customer (whether they be an institution or an equity seller) is demanding.
The recent shift in the borrowing potential of consumers is another consideration among agents looking to expand their business. Right now, an estimated one in three consumers has a FICO credit score below 650, according to industry experts. For these consumers, obtaining access to appropriate financing options can be a challenge—one that Carrington’s affiliate, Carrington Mortgage Services, is equipped to help with.
Most importantly, consumers are becoming much more diverse than the generic “Mr. and Mrs. Buyer” looking for a place to raise their family. Today’s real estate consumer has many faces, including everything from large financial investors looking for rental properties to people just starting to invest in real estate, from professionals looking to relocate coast-to-coast to couples seeking out vacation rentals…and this means the role of real estate professionals has become more complex. Agents looking to grow their business in this market need expertise beyond the traditional listing and marketing of homes, which requires a commitment from their broker to invest heavily in both training and technology.
Does Your Broker Ensure that You Have the Right Business System?
There are certain tools an agent needs to be successful in today’s market and to be ready for whatever tomorrow’s market looks like. Do you have access to the resources you need to do business today and into tomorrow? Carrington agents do. From leads to technology, mentoring to business services, everything is right there at their fingertips.
