Addressing a crowd of real estate professionals at North Shore Towers on Friday, January 30, Joseph Mottola, CEO of the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR), said that, according to a recent survey, 86 percent of potential homebuyers use realtors when in the market for houses.
And, despite the current economic downturn, he said, “You’ll see more contracts written, more business.”
Today’s keys to success, Mottola told the agents at the “Survive and Thrive in 2009” event at Towers on the Green, which was sponsored by the Women’s Council of Realtors, are the Internet, consumers’ attitudes, generational nuances and cultural variances. These, he said, create new opportunities for business models.
The Internet, said the guest speaker, has changed the role of realtors and has empowered the consumer.
“The Internet buyer does three times the research and commits three times faster,” Mottola said. “Consumers have time compression issues” but want involvement.
Additionally, “Seventy-four percent on Long Island start their house search on the Internet,” he noted. “Realtors are now counselors, interpreters, negotiators, therapists… We want the realtor to be the center of the conversation.”
Mottola also informed the audience that the lead times buyers are in the market is greater than expected.
Therefore, he said, “Lead management programs and techniques are very important” to “identify, capture and incubate leads.”
As far as generational differences are concerned, he said, 35 percent of baby boomers in the U.S. own their own homes. “Overwhelmingly, they plan to stay in the area in which they live.”
These consumers, he said, are in the market for a second or even a vacation home.
He also said that 39 percent of homebuyers on Long Island are not born in the U.S. “The immigrant market purchases homes at a faster rate than non-immigrants,” he noted.
The steps to moving forward, he said, are:
•Be aware of the issues
•Accept change
•Get educated
•Execute
“The market is stabilizing and improving slowly,” Mottola assured. “It’s definitely the time to buy and definitely the time to be a realtor.”
After his presentation, five Top Realtors® — spanning three counties — shared their secrets for success in the 2009 market.
