Does Size Really Matter?

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In the Saturday Post’s Real Estate Section, there was an article about which real estate companies were the biggest, in builders, condos, apartments, and real estate brokers – Building Giants, by Post staff writer, Sandy Fleishman. Of course, Long & Foster won the biggest broker hands down. But if you are going to be a consumer of real estate services, is the biggest the best?

In real estate, “big” means number of transactions, pure and simple, and that’s what Sandy’s article dealt with. Well, what about quality?

But let’s talk about size for a minute. Wes Foster, the head of Long & Foster, must be credited with building a huge network of sales offices and agents. But the numbers don’t give you information your need about your neighborhood. The 61 odd thousand transactions cited in the article represent a huge geographic area, one that is much larger than competitors’. Like Weichert, Long & Foster has offices all up and down he east coast. Comparing them to local brokers, like McEnearney Associates, which does almost all of its business in Northern Virginia, is like comparing apples to monkeys.

A few years ago, I saw a Washington Business Journal article that showed, while Long & Foster led in the number of agents and number of transactions, if you look at transactions, or even dollar volume per agent, they don’t look too good.

So if you’re going to look for a house, how big a factor should “big” be?

Now it’s time for quality. If you interview several agents, choose on the basis of the presentation. This is the plan (it should be in writing) for either selling your current house or helping you buy a new one. Also, your basic gut reaction to each agent you talk to is important. Do you like this person? Does she pass the fun test? Do you trust her? Does she understand the specific market conditions in your neighborhood? If you are selling, did she prepare a good market analysis? Has she actually been inside the homes she is comparing to yours in her pricing recommendations? (OK, and “she” could certainly be “he” – I just hate all the personal pronoun stuff!)

If you are listing a house in Washington, DC, you may find that the biggest companies may have a pretty puny market share in your neighborhood.

Bottom line – go with the most knowledgeable agent in your neighborhood with the best plan. Whether you are buying or selling, or both, go with someone your trust, and someone who inspires confidence. The size of the company that agent works for should be way down on your list, if it makes the list at all.

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