Why company (brokerage) size doesn’t matter in residential real estate
We sometimes feel there is a misperception concerning organized real estate that we thought worth discussing. Many consumers may feel that there is some measure of security or added marketing influence by working with a large nationally branded real estate brokerage.
The reality is that real estate marketing and performance is a direct result of the efforts of the single real estate professional who lists a property or signs up to be a buyer representative. The brokerage and national organization or company, have little or no involvement whatsoever in the marketing of an individual property. Real estate sales is an individual sport (as opposed to team sport) and there is no added benefit to working with an organization that has 20 people, 200 or 2,000. It won’t get your property sold any faster or at a higher price. None of this is to say that the larger brokerages are not good organizations with good people; because they are.
Real estate sales people are all independent contractors who work on straight commission and most large brokerages are independently owned franchise operations. All the advertising, marketing and support for a property listing is done by and paid for the individual sales person. The brokerages and franchisors spend most of their time worrying about how to recruit more sales people, since that is how they stay in business and make more money.
Big corporate franchise/chain brokerages always have the power point pitches that claim they are the largest or the fastest growing or that their sales people sell the most but this does nothing to guarantee the individual buyer or seller of quality service. It basically just says that they are good at recruiting sales people or their business model is the most attractive to sales people, at least for the time being.
The beauty of our Multiple Listing Service or MLS® is that all properties are brokered through the local real estate board and national system. So no matter who you list with, your property is promoted to and potentially sold through all the buyer prospects of the 3008 members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, not just the individual listing the property. Buyers couldn’t care less who the listing company is…they are only interested in the property itself. So it doesn’t matter whose sign is on the lawn; it is all about how the property is prepared, presented, priced and promoted-all things influenced by the single individual who is responsible for the listing not the listing company itself.
So don’t buy the power point claims and choose your selling or buying representative or broker based on their individual skills, experience, value add, service levels, personal “fit” and overall cost and value, of course.
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