The Thurston County real estate market is ever changing, just as it is nationwide. Real estate offices are undergoing major change. The typical real estate broker doesn’t look like it did even just five years ago. The question for many business owners, including myself, is how to stay relevant in an ever-changing real estate market.
Many brokerages are moving in the direction of online only and “virtual” offices. This is to keep fees low for agents. These brokerages are
investing most of their resources into a good website and making their websites do most of the work for the customer. Many brokerages argue that the “physical real estate agent” is not longer needed. Let alone an office space. The “Brick and Mortar” aspect of real estate isn’t valued as it was before the internet. Tour Our Offices Here
I’m not convinced that these websites or virtual offices can replace human recommendations, experience, negotiations, or knowledge.
“When handling your highest investment, you want the very best expertise,” says Steve Poulos, Broker and Co-Owner of Northwest Home Team Realty. “And you simply can’t provide that unless you know the customer your working with.”
One of the core values of our office is a Servants Heart. Going above and beyond for your customers. We believe you can’t do this without being present in your client’s transaction — Physically and emotionally.
“For most people, the largest purchase you’ll ever make is your home. Would you really want to put your faith into someone that you’ve never met? Let alone someone who isn’t present in the community your investment is in?” says Matt Brady, Managing Broker of Northwest Home Team Realty.
We aren’t just a real estate office. We strive to have our office BE present in our community. We do this by hosting community events: Morning Mixxer through the Thurston County Chamber, our annual Olympic Air Show Party, Holiday Open House, School Supply drive and Food Bank Fundraiser. We want to adapt our physical space to meet the needs of our community. Or goal is to not just exist but to make a difference in the community that we live in. One of the reasons we chose to build a physical office is that we wanted our space to be available for the community to use. For instance, we want our clients to feel comfortable using our conference room and office for meetings with the PTA or their HOA meeting.
Our community fund is another way for us to be present in the community. See the article Thurston Talk wrote about us.
In 2019 our brokers raised over $13,000 for local charities.
All our transaction, listing, marketing and social media is all in-house and local. We even use local print companies. Many brokerages outsource their transaction coordinating overseas.
All of our brokers live, work and send their kids to school in this community. We want to be ever present here.
Being an active community member is the root of all we do. We feel this is the differentiator that will keep our brokerage relevant. Our core values, our local staff, our generous brokers; is the reason a customer works with our office. Our goal is to stay relevant today, over the next decade and beyond.