Relationships, Confidence and Marketing Will Lead Real Estate Agents to Success

SAN DIEGO - Oct. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Confidence in the market and knowing how to maintain relationships, market a property and farm for leads is how real estate agents will be successful in 2015, experts told 2,000 agents at the Real Estate Mastery Event on Tuesday.

“This event empowered and educated local real estate agents about the 2015 marketplace, and showed them how to leverage that knowledge to succeed,” said Craig Sewing, who led the event.

When real estate agents are confident in the market – and they should be because the economy is doing well – then potential homebuyers will have the confidence to get off the fence and purchase a house.

That was Alan Nevin’s message at the Real Estate Mastery Event on Tuesday, led by Sewing, Inman News Nominee for Most Influential in Real Estate. About 2,000 agents attended the event, which featured three real estate panels as well as presentations from Nevin, director of economic and market research for Xpera Group; Sam Khorramian, founder of Big Block Realty; Ron Quintero, CEO and president of the Real Estate Radio Network; and Tom Ferry, recognized as the No.1 real estate educator.

Nevin said San Diego is in the top 20 states in the U.S. in terms of job gains. San Diego will gain 30,000 well-paying jobs this year – as it did last year and the year before, Nevin said.

The unemployment rate is below 6 percent, which doesn’t include the 120,000 people in the military who are 100 percent employed, Nevin said.

“Our unemployment rate is very, very low – one of the lowest in the nation,” Nevin said.

A large portion of the jobs added in San Diego are well-paying jobs, which means more people are able to afford homes in San Diego. There isn’t a shift away from homeownership, Nevin said, adding that a couple will typically purchase a home when they have their first child – and that’s what drives the market throughout the state of California.

Quintero said something is about to change in the market. Property values in San Diego have been increasing since 2012, putting the market in the third year of a five-year cycle. Interest rates may move higher next year, Quintero said, which will put a “kibosh” on the traditional market. He told the audience that agents should be proactive instead of reactive, and align themselves with what the future market may look like.

Glen Henderson, founder and broker at Alliance Group, said during a panel discussion that he doesn’t just focus on home buying and home selling with his clients – he focuses on homeownership. His company is relationship-based, and he offers his clients connections to experts who can help complete the entire process efficiently.

Kurt Wannebo, owner/broker of San Diego Real Estate and Investments; Melissa Tucci, Realtor with Century21 and the official real estate agent of the San Diego Padres; Kyle Whissel, broker/owner at Whissel Realty; and Seth O’Byrne, Realtor at Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty; joined Henderson on the panel to discuss their best practices and also what agents do wrong during the transaction.

O’Byrne offered the three C’s: credibility, celebrity and connectivity. He said it’s important for people to think he’s famous and to also be trustworthy, and people buy houses from people they like.

“If you focus on one and miss the others, you don’t have a fully-developed brand,” O’Byrne said.

Henderson said one of the worst things an agent can do is to not follow up with their clients. Tucci said a mistake agents make is to not maintain professionalism, and that it’s always important to dress for success and call other agents back to keep that relationship strong.

Sam Khorramian, founder of Big Block Realty, explained the importance of digital farming, which enables access to an entire niche market by using keywords.

Ron Fechter, senior vice president at Security One Lending, discussed with Shannon Keatley, founder and broker at the Alliance Group; and Jonathan Jerotz, vice president at Synergy One Lending; how baby boomers present an opportunity for real estate agents. More than 11,000 people turn 65 each day; many of them have equity and aren’t living in their final destination home, Fechter said.

Jerotz and Keatley mentioned New Path, a program that helps people who may have had to short sale their home in the past and want to move back toward homeownership.  It’s a rent-to-own program that represents buyers that can’t qualify for a mortgage.

Focusing on the transition and not the transaction is how Mary Maloney, founder and owner of My Hometown Realty, is successful. John Reeves, CEO of Reef Point Realty & Construction, said he latched onto mentors like Henderson and Whissel, who have showed him how to grow his business and taught him about niche marketing.

Tom Ferry said one of the best things an agent can do to separate themselves from the rest is to find a hole in the existing marketplace and fill in the gap. Starting a business is hard, and it’s important to figure out the best path to consistent lead generation, which includes maintaining relationships and staying in growth mode.

For more information about this event, visit www.RealEstateMasteryEvent.com or see Craig Sewing’s website, www.craigsewing.com.