2011 New Year’s Resolutions
What can residential real estate agents do to make the industry better for themselves and for the consumer in the coming year? Here are a few ideas, in no particular order:
* Lobby effectively for changes in the laws governing tax abatements. The loss of the 421a and J-51 abatements, which granted developers tax benefits when building or rehabilitating property for residential use, means that very little development of any sort is now taking place in Manhattan. While it is certainly true that these advantages were misused in being applied to ultra-luxury projects, we are now throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Residential construction provides economic benefit down the line: let’s facilitate it again in New York.
* Work more effectively with sellers to price property appropriately. Overpricing is a particular danger in a fragile market like the one from which we are still recovering. Every price should be ambitious but justifiable. We want to reach for the stars while still having our feet planted on the ground. Otherwise it is just a waste of everyone’s time.
* Respond quickly to requests for information and appointments. While most agents are terrific at this, there are some, especially at the very high end, who make showing their exclusives almost impossible. I often wonder what the sellers of these properties would do if they knew just how many calls and e-mails were required just to schedule an appointment to view these listings!
* Become more involved citizens. Recently The Federal Home Finance Association threatened to refuse to permit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from purchasing mortgages in buildings with flip taxes. This would have been a disaster of major proportions for our industry, and the Real Estate Board sent out numerous pleas to the membership, numbering in the many thousands, requesting that letters be sent to our political representatives. The letters were already composed and the entire process of sending them took about 3 minutes. Nonetheless, fewer than 700 were written. This was a source of enormous frustration to me and other leaders of the residential community. We all need to wake up, agents and consumers alike, to insure that we prevent policies like this from wreaking havoc with our marketplace.
* Understand the national economic and political scene. Our clients and customers, even those sophisticated in these matters, depend on us to explain how our market intersects with the other economic indicators of which they are aware. We should pride ourselves on being a good source of local market data, unbiased by hope or political opinion.
* Publicize our pride in and love for our city. Agents are often the first line of inquiry for people moving to New York. Each of us is an ambassador for New York, its cultural richness and beautiful housing stock.
This is a short list of what I expect from Warburg agents and what you, as consumers, should expect from YOUR agent. Don’t offer your business to an agent who offers less.