National RE Report

Since I'm here with all my meetings cancelled, during yet another snowstorm, I have time to update this blog on my recent trip to our network's annual conference.  We are a proud member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, a group of independent brokers who together have the largest share of the U.S. market, outpacing all of the franchises.  The entire group meets once a year, to brainstorm, compare note, and give out performance awards.

Pearce was a big winner in the awards line-up.  We won in almost every category, and we won the overall "Crown of Excellence" in our size division.  Maureen Campbell, our Relocation Director, also won for her community service to the industry and the network.  It was an exciting night!  It shows that you don't have to be a mega-company, or a franchisee, to master the art of moving families across the country and around the world.  It also proves that our long-term strategy of corporate calling and relationships with local businesses and organizations, which Paula Feeney has been spearheading for many years, really works.  We outperformed people in markets with much greater potential, and did it with glowing evaluations.

While we were there, we had the chance to attend many sessions and roundtables on the industry and current conditions.  It's clear that Connecticut has a long way to go, before we catch up to the rest of the country.  The big news everywhere else was lack of supply.  Many markets only have a month or two of inventory, and homes going on the market can receive up to 50 offers!  Our market has 7 months of supply under $300,000, 15 months over $300,000 and under $1 million, and 31 months over $1 million.  That's really different.

The other consensus was that 2012 was a very good year for the companies present, although, as with many other industries, it had more to do with cutting costs than in increasing sales.  I'd say that most people saved $2 for every $1 they made with improvements in sales figures.  There is also a trend toward fewer agents doing even more of the business.  It used to be that, as in almost any set of statistics, the 80/20 rule.  80% of the business was done by 20% of the agents.  Now it's about 83% done by 17%.  To make that point even clearer, 46% of all agents in the industry did not make any money at all in 2011, the last year for which figures are available.  That shows you that we are truly a profession where "you eat what you kill".

We came back very optimistic about 2013, however, and ready to go out and win those awards all over again!  There is clearly a need for great real estate service, and we want to provide it in ever increasing amounts for our region.

Reactions to Positive Growth

I've been pleased and amazed with the number of emails, calls, and comments I've received with the news of our recent acquisition of George J. Smith & Son, a Milford-based real estate firm.  Everyone has been excited for us, and happy to hear that Pearce is growing.  Real estate competitors have been the most flattering of all, which is a testament to our industry.

It's also a testament to the common desire for the bad economic times to end, and the hope of a better future for the economy.  Although things are on the upswing for us, we know that many uncertainties remain in the outlook for the near term, including the possibility that bad news will sink the recovery before it can really take hold.

 Our commitment to growing our firm into new territories and services is almost as important in reassuring those who are nervous as is the optimism and faith shown by the Smith brokers in combining with us.  Their belief in the potential of our merged firms is compelling, and has prompted others to speculate that we will see more transactions like it in the fairly immediate future.  That latter feeling is particularly inspiring to me, as I see it as a vote of confidence in the future of independent brokers.  Just as with banks and airlines, I think that the prevailing trend toward mega-companies will be followed inevitably by the rebirth of smaller ones.  Not everyone wants to be a number, either as an employee or as a client.  And that is what we, and Smith, are betting on!