It's been over a decade since I've participated in a real estate caravan. How about you?
So, a recent post I read 'Caravan... going, going, gone', by Margo Currie about some of her misgivings about the demise of this real estate weekly activity peaked my interest. Many companies have stopped mandating the practise of going to pre-view new home listings.
Designated agency probably contributed to this trend by changing the fiduciary relationship that individual real estate agents had with clients whom they were not directly representing. There have been a number of other factors which have made this option less attractive to agents and brokers such as...
Virtual Tours...
The increase in virtual tours allowed homes to be toured virtually. When you can see a home online and drive through the neighborhood virtually...does one need to go there physically? I met a client this week who actually bought a home in the West Michigan area directly from the Internet...walking into the house for the first time when they collected the keys after the closing.
Busy Agents...
As agents became busier during the recent housing boom, the number of home listings increased. This sometimes created driving routes which could literally seem like they went on forever...thus making agents feel they could make better use of their time than riding around in cars from home to home.
Gas Prices...
But, perhaps, the biggest argument against pre-view touring today is the increase in gas prices. When gas is over $4.10 per gallon, you are determing more assiduously where you will go. It becomes a matter of dollars and cents. Does it make financial sense to guzzle gas to pre-view homes in person?
But is the glass only half full?
But, I wonder if we may miss a rare opportunity to differentiate our level of service and showcase our creativity by excising this agent activity completely. As Margo alluded to in her blog post, agent caravans were a great way to see the company's inventory and to learn first hand about the community and neighborhoods.
I wonder if there might be ways, this activity could be updated to reflect the emerging changes in the real estate marketplace and provide opportunities for agents and brokers to increase their profits.
For instance,
What if agent tours also afforded opportunities to capture the local scene with blogs and pictures of sights, scenes and places of interest that surrounded the homes being toured?
What if each home Featured on a Tour had it's own blog page for a week or a month?
What if agents were encouraged to post comments about homes that were featured on tours and links with these comments were forwarded to the company's and/or agents mailing list?
What is homes that were Sold from tour activity were highlighted with a video from the satisfied home owner recommeding the agent/broker?
Hey, I know that some of you may say that I'm a dreamer...but maybe I'm not the only one... What do you think? Do you have some ideas about how the dying practise of agent tours might be re-imagined and made relevant again?
Picture courtesy of petoo's photo stream @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/petoo/289495288/
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Lola Audu, is the Designated Broker & Owner of Audu Real Estate. Our company specializes in helping people buy and sell homes in the greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan area. We've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients succeed in their goals of purchasing and selling property including demonstrated success in the negotiation of Short Sale Transactions. You can contact us via e-mail @ info@auduhomes.com or by phone at 616-791-0511.
We used to have MLS caravans. I miss them and always enjoyed going on tour. We carpooled and had a great time. Once our MLS went statewide it went away. Back then we agents all knew each other so much better, I think in big part to our weekly caravans.
Lola~ We do the tours where I live. But it seems the agents from other firms will only come if there is food or some other lure to get them there, so the listing agent has to spend money just to get them there. Seems backwards to me since it is OUR job to know our products!
I'm all for physically going on caravan. True, gas prices are a major factor - especially here in California where the price for premium is $4.80/gallon. I think it will take a team effort in getting people in our offices to come together to make a caravan - a "caravan" - a group of travelers journeying together.
Lola, we still do tours at our office once a month. Although not that many agents participate, I think it is a great idea. My sellers have appreciated it, and although I haven't sold one directly from the tours, I think it helps give added exposure. What if another agent has a buyer looking for something that my listing has, but maybe not in the exact area the buyer was looking. The agent could say, hey I previewed this home on xxx street, it's in great shape and I think it's just what your looking for. It also helps me get opinions from others as to how it shows or if they think there's anything I should do differently. With so many listings and so many virtual tours, I think anything different you can do is a plus. Not to mention, there's nothing wrong with knowing the companys inventory.
Great post! Sorry for such a lengthy comment. :)
I did it for over 30 years and after the wide spread availability of photos and visual tours I stopped. I did enjoy the activity but can find something more productive to do an do not want to go back to that practice.
Cute - good to dream......we still have what we call 'office tours'....but whats gone are the area tours where all the offices used to participate and go on a bus together....I do miss those days.......markets change, maybe it will come back...but more then likely it will be reinvented as you say.....by virtual blog.....etc........interesting....
Well, a blog on each home would be a great idea, if you had the time and if the agents would log on and comment it would be great for the sellers. I guess I can't imagine having the time to do it, or would be shocked if the agents would comment. But, it is still a worthy idea worth trying.
We have not gone on a caravan in 10 years. Sometimes an agent may have a brokers open and if it is a hot listing and close to the office many agents attend.