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MLS numbers indicate a drop of about 8 percent in reported sales from 2006 to 2007.
But according to Al Suguitan, president and chief operating officer of the Greater Gateway Association of Realtors, the
slowdown is not all it's cracked up to be.
"Of course, when you're on top of the mountain and you keep moving," Suguitan said, "you're bound to slow down a bit,
taper off a bit."
Tapering off, at a very practical level for real estate agents, means a reduction in potential for income. So, when the
market is sluggish, how to cope? According to those with their fingers on the pulse, it's all a matter of good planning.
"I think these realtors I work with are smart, hard-working," Suguitan said. "They're the smartest marketers I've ever
had."
Marketing, it seems, is the magic word - one that Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors president Gerry Schuetzenhofer wields as
well.
The idea, he says, is to "mainly try to outwork the competition. Build inventory and hold on to listings. Convince owners
to make sure properties are priced competitively. Ultimately, it's back to basics."
Contrary to the image of desperate agents jumping ship to swim to more fruitful shores, Schuetzenhofer, whose company
oversees five offices totaling about 220 agents in Southwestern Illinois, presents a different picture entirely.
"The message that people need to get today is, they think that because the market is off, nothing is happening," he said.
This, he maintains, couldn't be further from the truth. Coldwell Banker Brown, for example, expects to do better than
$400 million in total sales this year, down from about $466 million in 2005, but still a healthy share. "When you look at
that," said Schuetzenhofer, "that's still an awful lot of real estate."
To keep those numbers optimal in lean times, it's all about business strategy. Individual agents, said Suguitan, "are
running their own business, and have to develop business plans and strategies to carry them through peak times and down into
the valley. People who are creative, who've been through these cycles before, can confidently come in with a seller."
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Creative strategies, he adds, are "not at the brain surgery level." Agents and brokers are looking at assertive price
adjustments based on time on the market and number of showings, and encouraging motivated sellers to offer buyers money
towards the closing costs as an incentive. Offering home warranties is another common - and effective - strategy agents are
employing to encourage closings.
From the trenches, says Edwardsville-based Coldwell Banker Brown agent Jennifer Faulkner, those tactics translate to
steady sales numbers for savvy individuals.
"Right now this year, my sales are higher than they were last year," said Faulkner, a fact she attributes to aggressive
marketing and intensive customer service. "I'm working on everyone else's schedule continuously, seven days a week. You've
got to be visible. Usually, [clients] say 'I see your face everywhere I go' and that's what you have to do . . . It all
boils down to that you have exposure, you provide the service and meet the needs."
And while interest rates have climbed in the past couple of years, again, Schuetzenhofer points out, it's all a matter of
perspective.
"Interest rates are phenomenal," he said, "but not when compared to the extraordinary rates of 2004 and 2005, when they
dipped down to as low as 4.5 or 4.6 percent at one time."
Though the numbers look grim, there are some that make a case for optimism in small measures. In Madison County, for
instance, second quarter median home sale prices increased by 4.8 percent from the same time last year, to $131,500.
Likewise, St. Clair County median home prices showed an increase, at 2.9 percent, for the same time period.
As for the big picture? "My best guess, looking into my crystal ball," Suguitan said, "is that everybody is treading
water right now. The market is making adjustments, and interest rates are still at a very reasonable rate. If the overall
economy keeps chugging along as it has, you'll see the market start to increase first quarter, second quarter 2008."
That potential for growth depends - in large part, he adds - on the ability of the community to grow on the whole.
"One of the key things I want to impress on everybody is that our local economy is based on continued growth and an
expansion of the economic base. By attracting more businesses and giving people more work, some of the ills we're talking
about will go away."
For now, though, it's about grabbing - and keeping - the biggest piece of the pie possible. "What we worry about here is
market share and not market," says Schuetzenhofer. "Really, all I can focus on is the market share, so my job in a downtime
is to build enough market share as I can…and let the market take care of itself."
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