Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending. In this episode, Tracey Velt, Editorial Director of RealTrends, a sister company of HousingWire, interviews Sherry Chris, CEO and President of Realogy expansion brands, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and ERA Real Estate.
During the interview, Chris discusses the one-stop-shop brokerage model and some of the things brokerages can do to help counter margin squeeze. It also explains how to protect your real estate business in a changing market.
Here’s a little preview of the interview, which has been edited slightly for length and clarity:
Tracey Velt: Years ago, the buzzword in real estate was “one stop shop”. I’ve been hearing a lot more about Single Window lately. This is only one way to put your brokerage firm to the test of the market, but there are other ways as well. What would you say?
Sherry Chris: I agree with you. There are many sources of income that a broker can take advantage of: mortgage, title, insurance, but also leads generated by the business that you refer to your agents. Also consider other services, such as training, coaching, and other services that are income opportunities for your agents. And what agents need to understand is that the more they are surrounded, the higher their productivity will be. Everything is connected.
There are things we have control over and a lot of things we don’t. We don’t know when there is going to be a change in the market, when buyers of COVID will decline, and when inflation is a concern. But here are some of the things we do at Realogy, and I also suggest brokers do that as well. Some of these things will help them combat margin squeeze. The first thing is to pay off any existing debt that you have. Most of us have had our best year in 2020, and 2021 is definitely shaping up to be, in many cases, an even better year. So that means that as a broker owner you should have cash on hand. Pay off unnecessary debt and get rid of it.
HousingWire Daily reviews the most compelling articles reported on HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper insight into the stories disseminated in our newsrooms that help drive the markets forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch. If you have a podcast pitch or request, you can contact our team at allid@housingwire.com.
