Places.
Those spaces in which we live + come together.
Those boundaries shaped as much by who we are as by where we are from.
We move between places as we grow, learn, and develop, each move turning the page on the next chapter of our lives.
Whether it’s a place you’ve always dreamed of or a place beyond your imagination, the right place ensures that you wake-up everyday knowing that you’re exactly where you belong.
Finding your place means cutting through the information + advice to focus on what matters most to you.
Purpose and belonging can only be achieved when we look at realty, refined.
My first job in real estate dates back to my early teen years in the days before online property searches and up-to-the-minute MLS data. My job was to help my Realtor® dad by going through his listing binders to remove sold and expired listing pages. That’s right, back then real estate salespeople travelled through their local market, armed with thick binders packed with their local listings.
In those days, real estate salespeople were the only people who had access to property information. It was virtually impossible to access the specific details about a property without help from a Realtor®.
Contrast that to today: 9 in 10 home searches begin online, mostly on mobile. Home buyers and sellers know more about properties than ever. It’s the era of D-I-Y-everything and sometimes one can wonder why they even need a Realtor® anymore.
Information overload.
It’s no secret that we are living in the age of information overload. There is no shortage of unsolicited information coming our way on a daily basis: pitches, deals and offers abound. Solicited information is even more bountiful! Dare to enter your question into a search engine and you’ll not only be met with pages of listing resources but you’ll also be followed around the internet by ads that will supposedly solve all of your problems.
What many of us don’t realize however, is that an abundance of information can delay decisionmaking and, in some cases, move us away from our goals.
The thing about mass information is that while it can often prove helpful, in specific situations you need context and past experience to be able to decipher what information is actually relevant and what information is more of a distraction.
The job of a Realtor® is no longer to provide information.
In 2019, a real estate salesperson is no longer the gatekeeper of information - our role has shifted. Our job instead, is to refine information. To understand our clients’ goals and to help them filter through the abundance of information about square footage, heating systems and school zones so that they can actually make a clear, focussed decision. Our job is to help our clients protect their time and energy by ensuring that it’s not being wasted spending hours looking at properties that were never right for them in the first place.
A typical home-buyer in 2019 will search for 10 weeks and look at an average of 10 homes. But, wouldn’t it be a lot better if you only searched for 8 weeks? Or even 6 weeks? Contrast that to home sellers; wouldn’t you rather a few less showings if the showings that came through were to more qualified, specific home buyers?
Thinking of my role as a Realtor® through this lens has saved my buyers and sellers a tremendous amount of time and energy. Regardless of where you’re located, whether you’re in my market of Greater Moncton or across the country, every market is affected by the rise in access to information. Let’s make this change in how we buy and sell homes a positive one!
Have any questions about buying or selling a home? Drop me a comment and let me know. I would be happy to help you with your perfect place.