When Goodbye is Bittersweet
One of the agents dearest to my heart just walked out the door for his final goodbye as an agent with our company. He is one of many agents who are flocking to different offices, retiring their licenses, or just going inactive - casualties of the tough real estate market.
In his honor, here’s the Verve with Bittersweet Symphony.
Although our branch of the office has lost several agents these past few months, no one’s departure has really surprised me until now. My friend was pretty entrenched here, but his abilities to work in the commercial end of real estate were quite limited. The company he is moving to offers a special mentoring program for agents looking to get into commercial real estate.While I think that all agents need to now focus more clearly on their business plans, marketing, and how to use the latest technology for the benefit of their buyers and sellers, going into commercial right now may be extra challenging. According to USA Today, the economic downturn has pounded this market.
Contractors, investors and developers are bracing for what could be the worst real estate crunch since the early 1990s, when the industry built a small city’s worth of speculative office buildings that later went begging for tenants. Commercial property sales plunged 73% last year, according to Real Capital Analytics. Vacancy rates are rising, and hundreds of large properties are in default.
I hope for my friend, he’ll be wildly successful. But I have a feeling it’ll be just as challenging at the company next door as it is right here.
