Most know real estate agency is a hotly-competitive business, even in the best of times. The primary reason? There’s always too many agents chasing deals.
I chose that word–chasing–intentionally. That’s what most agents are coached to do–chase “leads” relentlessly, At their pace, on their terms and usually at the annoyance of the “lead”…umm, client. But what happens when the market gets challenging? When fewer homes are being sold. When a chart of “inventory”–the number of homes on the market at any given time–resembles the price of bitcoin? When homes start staying on the market longer?
What happens is exactly what we’ve seen over the past few years. After the COVID-fueled boom in the number of home sales, particularly in a market like Charleston that’s been a transplant destination for years, things have become, well…less busy.
Mortgage rates have more than doubled since their 2021 lows, now averaging around 6.8% for a 30-year fixed loan. This spike in borrowing costs has pushed many buyers out of the market, leading to a substantial decline in home sales activity. In 2024, existing U.S. home sales totaled just 4.06 million—the lowest annual figure in nearly 30 years, matching the weak results from 2023.
In this environment, what do most agents do? They pull in, they retract, they get nervous and eliminate investing in their business. We’ve chosen the opposite path.
A New Website From The Ground Up
I’ve been a real estate agent a long time, over 35 years. Early on, I had a great mentor who taught me how critical it is to differentiate. To not just tell potential clients you’re different, but to show how. And why it matters to them.
So as we’ve continued to do what we call “attraction marketing” over the past few years, in an environment that’s not too friendly, Kim and I thought carefully about what else we could do to make The Farrell Group brand stand out.
We decided to re-invent our website. Our old one was good enough. It was pretty damn utilitarian, though. And its basic design made it function like pretty much every other real estate agent’s site.
We completely re-thought the purpose for a real estate agency’s website by placing ourselves in our client’s shoes. With the guidance of our maverick (my words) branding partner, 1000Watt, we decided not to do what virtually every real estate agency does on their homepage.
We do not lead with an email capture form that enables homebuyers to search a listings website. That adds no value to them and serves only the agency.
We know buyers already search for homes using the Zillow, Redfin, Homes.com or Realtor.com app. We recognize our website will never offer as streamlined, efficient and user-friendly an experience as those apps.
So with the expert help of Shannon Morris of Turia Web Design–don’t wait, hire her if you’re looking to build or re-do your website–we created a gorgeous website that lets potential clients know why they should consider hiring us.
What’s Next?
We’ll keep doing what we do.
Networking.
Publishing CHS Happenings.
Swear off “interruption marketing”.
And keeping our client’s (and potential clients) concerns top-of-mind.