“More sellers are dissatisfied with their real estate companies these days, griping mostly about the marketing of their home and some of the other services offered by the firm with which they’re working, according to a report released by J.D. Power and Associates this week.”  This quote is from the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch.  This probably does not surprise you.  There are as many complaints about real estate agents as lawyers and auto mechanics.  But I have observed there is an increasing dissatisfaction with listing agents.  Why is that?  There are several logical reasons.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way.  This is the worst real estate market for selling a home I’ve seen going back 30 years in real estate.   To state the obvious, it is harder to sell a home in this real estate recession.  That’s true in Sequim and Port Angeles as it is in so many parts of the country.  It’s no surprise that homeowners who hire a real estate agent to list and market their home are feeling dissatisfied when nothing happens, nothing meaning “the home hasn’t sold.”  But there are more substantive reasons so many sellers are not pleased with their agents.

There has been a dramatic shift in real estate sales and marketing.  Traditional real estate brokerage is struggling with this gigantic change, and many agents are going out of business, not just because the market is slow.  The vast majority of consumers readily acknowledge that print newspapers and magazines no longer are the big tools for selling homes.  The Internet and powerful technology has changed the game plan, and nearly all buyers are now using the Internet to search for and find their next home.  This has nullified the power of traditional sales media.  As consumer demand has shifted, tools have been developed to meet that demand, but the super majority of traditional real estate agents have not gotten on board.  It is such a huge shift, that agents must re-invent themselves, and you can image how uncomfortable that is for most agents.  Consumers may not comprehend the extraordinary changes in sales and marketing that have been taking place behind the scenes, but they do comprehend that something is wrong with a real estate model that uses old methods and old sales language to advertise their home, especially when the results are nil.  As a result, sellers find themselves dissatisfied with their agents.

There’s one other significant reason sellers are dissatisfied with agents and traditional real estate brokerage.  We live in a time when all of us have been so thoroughly bombarded by sales pitches all our adult lives, we feel like we can say, “Heard it all before, been there, done that.  Not interested.  Thank you.  Goodbye.”  Imagine for a moment that you could meet a professional real estate agent who has made the shift from the old to the new, and is using the most powerful technologies to sell homes today.  Is there anything he could say to you that would turn on a light bulb and suddenly give you the confidence to know that this agent knows how to market your home?  I can answer question.  The answer is, “No.”  Let me explain why.

People, and I do mean all of us, have become so skeptical, so jaded with sales pitches, lied to by so many sales ads in every industry, that we don’t know how to discern the real thing form the rest of the pack anymore.  Let me make the point another way.  If a gold salesman came to your home and told you he could sell you gold at a 30% discount over other salesmen, you would most likely send him away politely.  Who hasn’t learned, “If it sounds to good to be true, it is,” or “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  But suppose another salesman came to your door and opened his brief case and showed you a dozen gold bricks that he said he would sell you right then and there for a 30% discount.  What would you do?  I know what the vast majority of people would do.  So skeptical are we that you and I would probably send that salesman packing, too.  We wouldn’t trust him, even if he was legitimate.

And so it is with Realtors.  Most sellers can’t tell the difference between me (and the other true professionals who have made the shift) and the rest of the pack still using the same techniques and sames pitches.  But I can assure sellers that there is a vast difference between Realtors these days.  Because of the dramatic shifts in marketing, the differences are greater today than ever.  Your job is to figure that out.  After all, how many days on market do you want your house to sit before the price is low enough to attract some offers?

[Megan Kelly did not actually interview Chuck Marunde.  This is his effort at humor, although, should you read this Megan, Chuck is available for an interview.]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Port Angeles Real Estate: 445 Hunt Road $450,000
• Inman Reports Major Changes in Real Estate Brokerage
• The Presidential Election, Real Estate and the Economy
• Retire in Port Angeles Washington
• Port Angeles Real Estate Buyers

Port Angeles real estate is personified in this gorgeous custom home built on a one acre parcel that is available.

Port Angeles Real Estate for Sale:

Extraordinary custom home, living room with three-sided propane fireplace, vaulted ceiling, formal dining room has oak flooring, vaulted ceiling and French doors to back deck. Gourmet kitchen with designer lighting, custom cabinets and appliances. Master suite with bath featuring heated floor and Jacuzzi tub. Separate shower with heated floor and double shower heads. Library has built-in shelves and pocket doors.

See the full listing data sheet with photos:   Port Angeles Real Estate for Sale

There are nice homes for sale in the Port Angeles area, and then there are your ultimate custom homes built not by framers who became general contractors, but homes built by artists who love their work and cannot compromise quality if they wanted to.  It’s simply not in their genetic code.

Port Angeles Real Estate Video

Want a preview of this Port Angeles home for sale?   Here’s a little video for your viewing pleasure.

Port Angeles real estate in the current market is one of the best values for your dollar on the entire Olympic Peninsula.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sellers Unhappy With Their Agents?
• Port Angeles Home for Sale: Open House Sunday
• Port Angeles Home for Sale Near Park
• Showing Properties in Port Angeles
• Port Angeles Home Near Park

If you are selling real estate in Sequim or Port Angeles, are you aware of the dramatic changes taking place in real estate brokerage?   The way   real estate is being sold is changing.   Do you know that across the United States traditional full commission brokers are struggling to survive (many are going out of business) and new models with flat rate or discount commissions are springing up everywhere?   Why?   First, consumers are tired of high commissions and second, according to consumers, they are tired of so-called “full service” brokers who are actually “full commission” brokers rather than “full service” brokers.   This is not coming from me, it’s coming from consumers all over the country.

Inman News, a major national real estate news service, has been conducting surveys on the issues of commissions and the evolving nature of the real estate industry.   Real estate professionals and consumers all over the country have been involved in this survey, and here is what they are saying. (The quotes are from the Inman summary.)

1. The traditional brokerage model ends up costing home sellers too much money because there are too many people involved (selling side broker and his agent, buying side broker and his agent, and assistants, secretaries, etc.).   “Too many parties are involved in the real estate value chain — directly or indirectly earning sales commissions, in some cases disguised in fees. This adds expense to the transaction, discourages sales in a low-inflation housing market and creates confusion for the consumer.”   See Inman Summary.
2. The effective use of technology (most agents and brokers are not technology savvy) can eliminate massive overhead that translates to lower commissions for consumers.   “Technology adoption allows for agents and brokers to conduct business virtually, and can eliminate the expense of office space. Online home-shopping tools can help consumers narrow the focus of their home searches even before contacting an agent.”
3. The traditional brokerage model is broken.   I’ve been writing about this for a couple of years now from several perspectives, all of which are focused on the best interests of the consumer, not the Realtor.   “The current broker model is in disrepair and should not be fostered by broker inaction and industry enablers.”
4. The big brick and mortar real estate brokerage is top heavy and consumers are just not willing to pay for all of that with huge commissions, especially when it all boils down to one professional agent who knows how to sell a home.   Consumers don’t hire a building.   They don’t hire a huge staff.   They hire one agent, and they expect that one agent to market and sell their home effectively.   Technology and the tools available to consumers has reduced the value of large buildings and expensive conference rooms.   “Brokers who run “body” shops — warehousing agents, no matter the skill level, in massive offices — must slim down their agent pools to the best and brightest. This is for survival’s sake. Those brokers who provide true value in their services will have an easy time recruiting quality.”
5. For a decade top producers around the country have been saying that print advertising is not as effective as it once was to sell houses.   Over 80% of all home buyers start their search on the Internet, and print advertising has gotten ridiculously expensive and less effective at the same time.   Advertising open houses in the newspapers is not effective either.   Open houses don’t sell houses (only 1% to 2% of homes are sold at open houses).   Open houses are lead gathering opportunities for the listing agent, and do not benefit the home seller.   “Wasteful advertising spending also contributes to the cost of the transaction and could be minimized by improved measurement around successful online ad investments. Agents should be encouraged to adopt social media and mobile technologies into their businesses to communicate more instantly and transparently with consumers.”

A logical question for any Sequim or Port Angeles home owner who wants to sell their home would be, “Okay, Chuck, so what are you?   A full commission broker or a discount broker?”   I am a full service broker who does NOT charge a full commission.   I could talk for an hour on this topic.   My business model puts clients at the center of everything, and I use technology more than any other broker in Sequim or Port Angeles, but the big point is I only use the most effective means to market a property.   I don’t waste money or time on ineffective tools just to try to impress clients.   How’s that for blunt and honest?   If you are interested in details, email me, and I’ll be glad to share everything openly and honestly.

Chuck Marunde, J.D.
Broker/Realtor
Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC
Real Estate Website:   SequimPortAngeles.com
Real Estate Blog:   SequimRealEstateNews.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Agents
• Sequim Real Estate Listings for Sale
• The Real Estate Market: Are Homes Selling in Sequim and Port Angeles?
• Sequim Real Estate on the Cutting Edge
• Sellers Worry About What Buyers Want

The real estate market and the economy are in tatters.   I was going to write next that this isn’t front page news, but it still is.   Every day.   And next week on November 4th America elects its next President and Vice-President.   Who will that be and what will it mean for the real estate market and the economy?

Without expressing my personal preference here, I am quite certain the writing is on the wall and next week we will be hearing the title President Obama.   Not to get all political on you, but let’s face it, McCain has run the poorest presidential campaign most of us have seen in our lifetimes.   And to state the obvious, Obama is the darling of the press, although he has less experience than any presidential candidate in U.S. history.   It’s going to be a devastating loss to Republicans, and Democrats are about to take full control of the nation’s agenda not just for two presidential terms, but for an entire generation.   Mark my words Joe Biden.

We have finally reached the tipping point in America, and conservatism lost.   Despite all the passionate talk by conservatives about how they will continue to fight the good fight, and despite Republican strategist Ed Rollins’ claim that “We will be back,” the truth is, in my bold opinion, the nation has finally reached the point of no-return, the tipping point, and we will never go back to what we were.

What does all this mean for the real estate market, the stock market, and the economy?   Nothing and everything.   It means nothing, because despite the debate about what will happen to the stock market and the nation’s health depending upon who wins, the day after every election it is always business as usual.   The stock market does not care who gets elected, at least on the surface.

On the other hand, who is elected means everything in the long term.   Big and small businesses will adjust accordingly, and there are many variables.   Obama and his policies scare the daylight out of businessmen, and behind the scenes there will be much ado about everything.   The real estate business is in such a state of chaos that it probably doesn’t matter what federal policies come down the pike.   It will take a year and a half to two years before there is a semblance of order in the real estate market for sellers.

Meanwhile, it remains a buyer’s market, and the election will not change that.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sellers Unhappy With Their Agents?
• Port Angeles Real Estate: 445 Hunt Road $450,000
• Inman Reports Major Changes in Real Estate Brokerage
• Retire in Port Angeles Washington
• Port Angeles Real Estate Buyers

Port Angeles, Washington is 15 miles from Sequim, a popular retirement community.   Port Angeles is surrounded by the incredible beauty of the Northern Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic National Park, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We’re away from the nightmare traffic of the I-5 and I-405 corridors of the Seattle and Tacoma metropolitan areas.   Since Port Angeles is on the northern Olympic Peninsula about a two and a half hour drive from Sea-Tac International Airport, it is a peaceful country setting.   Being on the Peninsula, we get less traffic, because we don’t get people passing through on their way from one place to another.

We have the beautiful Olympic Mountains and the Olympic National Park with old growth trees in a natural and protected environment.   We have the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Port of Port Angeles, the Port Angeles Boat Marine, and water views galore.

We have more recreational activities than almost anywhere in the country, biking, jogging, hiking, surfing, boating, sky diving, mountain climbing, fishing, golfing, incredible motorcycle roads around the Peninsula, restaurants you won’t forget, and the list goes on.

We have more volunteers in various community activities than I’ve ever seen anywhere I’ve lived.   I was invited as an attorney to talk to a group a while back, and I was introduced to a few people, including a retired rocket scientist (yes, they really exist), a retired CEO of a large California company, a retired Army General, and a wealthy inventor, all of whom were great conversationalist.   That was just one little luncheon.

There are so many activities, groups, and associations for retired people, I won’t take the space here to write about them, but you’ll find everything from gardening to building experimental planes.

Retirees are happy to find land here where they can build their dream homes.   Right now Port Angeles has a large inventory of lots for sale.   Of course, the market has slowed down everywhere, and because a number of developers started their projects here several years ago, buyers now have a great selection of lots available, and at reasonable prices.   There are water view lots, mountain view lots, high bluff water frontage, gated communities, private acreage surrounded by trees, open farmland for sale, ranch property for sale, and let’s face it–this is a buyer’s market.

I am seeing a very significant percentage of our buyers coming from California and Arizona, and all the way from New Jersey and Florida.   Many are professionals who know exactly what they want.   As between Sequim and Port Angeles, the better value for buyers is undoubtedly in Port Angeles.

Port Angeles is a great place to retire.   No doubt about it.   Use my websites and blogs to read more about Sequim and Port Angeles.     See SequimPortAngeles.com.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sellers Unhappy With Their Agents?
• Port Angeles Real Estate: 445 Hunt Road $450,000
• Inman Reports Major Changes in Real Estate Brokerage
• The Presidential Election, Real Estate and the Economy
• Port Angeles Real Estate Buyers