Omaha Real Estate & Omaha Homes for Sale - The Trumm Team

Eulogy for the Traditional Omaha Real Estate Agent

We gather here today to mourn the passing of someone known by everyone, the traditional real estate agent. He had been with us for decades but as times changed he was unable to.

Stuck in the 1970's he thought marketing real estate amounted to putting a sign in the yard and putting the home on the Omaha MLS. Those days are gone.

In a world of virtual tours, Internet listing syndication, CraigsList, social networking, ActiveRain and so many other advances he was unable to keep up. His sales slipped. His clients abandoned him. He is now just a memory.

As one life comes to an end, another one begins. Today we must embrace the new tech-savvy, client-oriented Realtor of the future. With him he brings a new era of better service, knowledgeable advice, effective marketing, and satisfied clients.

If you read Full Service - What does that Mean? then you know that the phrase Full Service itself doesn't mean anything in Omaha or anywhere else. One needs to know the marketing and services that will be provided by a Realtor before judging if the Realtor provides full service.

Can a Realtor be evaluated in a less tangible way? Like by doing things that are not just above what is expected but by doing those things that are completely unexpected.

Let me give you an example. Recently I had an appointment with a client. I arrived at his house at 5:30 as scheduled only to find that he was not home yet. After waiting a few minutes I gave him a call. As it turns out he ran out of gas just outside of town and didn't have my phone number with him to call and reschedule. I asked him exactly where he was at and offered to pick him up. I picked him up, drove him home to get his gas can, drove him to the gas station to fill it up, and took him back to his car.

Was he expecting any of this? No, but this attention to my clients' needs is part of what makes me stand out.

Full Service - What does that Mean?

If you ask the average person what "Full Service" means when it comes to real estate most won't be able to give you a solid answer. Truth is the term was created by the real estate industry to justify charging higher commissions, also called full commissions.

Another term created by the industry is "Discounted Service" (or "Discount Brokerage"). This is a term is used to describe Realtors that do not charge full commissions and is used to insinuate that agents that charge less also provide less.

On the surface the argument seems to make sense. If an agent charges less, then he has less to spend on marketing and services. However to get a more accurate view you need to look at the bigger picture. Last year in Omaha the average real estate agent sold less than 7 homes. Even with charging 7% this leaves the agent with little to nothing to spend on marketing after paying the fixed costs of being in business. However an agent that charges a little less and sells a ton of homes (I sell over 50 a year) has plenty of money to spend on marketing, services and unique promotions (such as my $10,000 Agent Incentive Program).

I know plenty of so-called full service agents that charge 6 or 7% commissions and higher but their service only includes a yard sign and an entry in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). In reality full service means nothing without knowing what marketing and services will be performed and what commission rate is being charged.

With the new month it's time to see where the Omaha real estate market is at.

While the percent of sellers that accepted an offer has been gradually slipping over the last few months, it is still slightly higher than it was in May. With the $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit ending on November 30, I expect the market to remain relatively steady through October. Then the usually Fall and Winter slowdown will be exaggerated when the rush of first time buyers comes to an end.

To review last month's statistics go to Omaha Real Estate Blog Monthly Review. Information was obtained from the Omaha Area Board of Realtors Great Plains MLS.

Home Sellers, Know what You can Control.

As uncertain as this real estate market is, I think it helps if sellers understand the things that are in your control and the things that are not.

You can't control the market. It doesn't matter how much you paid for your home, how much you owe on it, or what it may have been worth a year or two ago. This is the market we are in and you can't change it.

You can't control buyers. Buyers want the best deal possible, just as you would if you were buying. They have plenty of homes to choose from and they are only going to buy one. You can't force them to put an offer on your house and when you get an offer you can't force the buyer to pay what you want or even to be reasonable.

You can't control other sellers. If your neighbor across the street puts his home on the market for $5,000 less than yours, there's nothing you can do stop him.

You can't control real estate agents. Some agents will be late when showing your home. Some may schedule a showing and then not show up and on top of that they don't even call to cancel the showing. Some will give feedback that you don't want to hear.

So what do you as a seller have control over?

Condition. You control the condition of your home. How much effort you put into getting the home ready to go on the market and how you prepare the home for showings has a big affect on what buyers and agents think of it.

Price. You control the asking price. The higher the price, the longer the market time and at too high of a price it won't sell at all. At the right price every home will sell. It may not be the price you want, but at the right price it will sell.

That's it. That's all you have control over. Once you accept that, you will be much closer to selling your home.

Note: The graphics used were provided by http://nname.org.