It is ironic that I am in San Francisco at Inman Real Estate Connect, along with Ellen Sedeno, Marketing Director at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s IR. Hanne Sagalowsky is here, too, from Ebby, and I’m sure there are more. We are filling our heads with the latest technological tools coming down the pike for agents and consumers, hearing agent concerns about aggregators and third-party portals, the “Z” word, learning how to use social media — the average adult in the US has 664 social media connections, which quickly goes viral with one small property post. 90% of agents use social media; only 10% use it right. Traditional advertising –phew, so archaic. It’s ironic because in the midst of all this high tech, almost mind-numbing sharing of information and tech start up companies with so many tools to help agents and make real estate as transparent as the glass on Reunion Tower, Briggs made real estate sales history.
Like $1 billion!
On July 10, just last week, Briggs hit more than $1 billion in sales to date for 2014. Oh they’ve hit $1 billion before, but this is the first time $1 billion in sales has been reached at such an early date in the calendar year for the 52-year-old real estate brokerage. It is a true testament to the economic vibrancy of North Texas as well as some hard-working people.
“This summer we have seen tremendous strength in the North Texas economy. Hats off to the Dallas Regional Chamber and economic development committees who have done a phenomenal job in attracting major corporate relocations like Toyota, State Farm and Google to the Metroplex. Our success is tied to this growth and the hard work and dedication of our agents,” said Robbie Briggs, President and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.
I know that some Briggs agents are working with Toyota honchos. Briggs also has been working with a lot of foreign buyers, as well as sports stars… as have more and more local agents.
“Since our affiliation with Sotheby’s International Realty three years ago, we continue to attract more international and national buyers to our listings,” said Briggs. “And thanks to our exceptional agents, we have been able to keep pace with the extraordinary growth of the market.”
Yes, those agents are eating their Wheaties and taking mega vitamins to keep up. Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the most robust housing markets in the nation. Listing prices are up more than 8 percent year over year, and average home sales prices are up about 8 percent from last year. The pace of the market has led to a low inventory of homes for sale, boosted pricing and resulted in, frequently, multiple offers on homes within minutes of a home hitting the market. We are seeing this flurry more in the below one million market, but the thing is — the multi-million dollar market is moving, too. With so little inventory, today’s agents have more demanding clients and worlds: they have to be as tuned in as a CIA agent to what’s coming on the market even before it hits.
In fact, at Inman, someday, I fully expect to see an app that will, using logarithms, figure out who is going to put their home on the market 6 months from now, list and price it.
“The agents at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty have risen to the challenge – and the $1 billion sales milestone is the reward,” says Robbie.
