Front Page Articles
Election 2002. Decision Time!
by Michael Theo
It's decision time and now it's up to you! Tuesday, Nov. 5 is a pivotal date when all Wisconsin
REALTORSŪ and voters should go to the polls and decide the future of Wisconsin.
On Nov. 5, voters will elect a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, Congress, 17 of 33 state senators and all 99 state Assembly representatives, among other races.
Does your vote really matter? Just ask the people in southern Florida after the razor-thin presidential election outcome in
2000. Each and every vote really does matter.
Will this election really make a difference? Look at the headlines from Madison lately and ask yourself if constituents should pay closer attention to what their elected officials are doing or not doing.
REALTORSŪ are among the most politically active professionals in Wisconsin and in America. That's something all of us should take pride in. Political activism is a good thing and represents the very foundation of what the American political system was founded upon. But financial contributions to RPAC and the Direct Giver Conduit program-as important and critical as they are-aren't good enough. Each and every
REALTORŪ must take the time to vote on Nov. 5.
On pages 6 and 7 of this Wisconsin REALTORŪ is a "REALTORŪ Voter Guide" intended to present all the key
REALTORŪ-endorsed and supported candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot. These candidates were chosen based on their support of
REALTORSŪ and key REALTORŪ issues. Every REALTORŪ is encouraged to take a few minutes to see which candidates in your area have received the backing of the WRA.
If your vote on Nov. 5 is determined in whole or in part on real estate issues, we strongly encourage you to vote for the WRA-backed candidates presented. If you have questions on any of these candidates or why they have
REALTORŪ support, please contact Michael Theo
or Joe Murray.
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Nominating Committee Seeks Candidates
By Sandy Bolgrihn
Are you interested in serving in a leadership role for your state association?
The WRA Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for the positions of Chairman-elect, Treasurer, Executive Committee Vice President, WRA Board of Directors Regional Representative Director (there is one opening in each of the following regions: two, three, four and six), and NAR Director. Applications are now available from the WRA website or by contacting Sandy Bolgrihn at
sandyb@wra.org.
Applications for Chairman-elect, and Treasurer must be returned by Dec. 31, 2002. The deadline for Executive Committee Vice President, WRA Board of Directors Regional Representative Director and NAR Director candidates is March 31, 2003.
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Increasingly Demanding Customers Challenge Residential Real Estate Specialists
A recent online, random-sample survey of its members by the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) shows that virtually all 730 CRS members who participated in the survey have experienced rising customer demands over the past five years for reasons including easy Internet access to real estate information and expectations of "24/7" service resulting from technological advances. The survey also reveals that various coping strategies are being used by participants to respond to the growing demands, according to the Council President Walter J.Frey, CRS.
Most Say Demands Have Increased Greatly
A majority of the survey sample, 60%, say that customer demands have "increased greatly," whereas 40% say they have "grown somewhat" since 1997. Major factors stimulating rising demands are "access to market data on the Internet," cited by 87%; "technological advances causing the public to expect service and availability '24/7,' " cited by 84%; and "increasing familiarity with the sales process," cited by 58% of respondents. Lesser factors include a "growing number of inexperienced first-time buyers," cited by 22%; "increasing exposure to other customer-centered service industries (e.g., hotels, fine restaurants)," cited by 17%, the "increased age of customers," cited by 12%; and the "decreased age of customers," cited by 10% of survey participants.
Expectations of "24/7" Service Plus Internet Access are Key Reasons
What is the single most important reason fueling intensifying customer demands? "Technological advances causing expectations of service and availability '24/7'"was ranked Number One by far, by 50% of respondents, with "access to market data on the Internet," ranked tops by 37%. Other reasons were deemed most significant, but by less than 10% of those surveyed.
Buyers Vs. Sellers
Asked to identify specific ways in which buyers are becoming more demanding, a large majority of survey participants, 73%, cited "increasing buyer intolerance of imperfections, even in existing (vs. new) homes." A lesser majority of the respondents, 54%, say they are asked increasingly to "handhold buyers through the entire sales process," 40% say they are "pressed more than ever for contract advice and referrals," and 26% say they are "called upon more frequently to provide financing advice and make referrals to other real estate service providers."
In which areas are sellers becoming more demanding? Topping the list, nearly eight in 10 respondents say that sellers want "more and more communication overall," 72% say sellers are asking them increasingly for " lower fees" and 60% say that sellers want " 'instant' feedback on all showings." Other areas of rising seller demands include "requests for shorter contract times," cited by 33%; "requests for written marketing plans and advertising schedules - including the amount of money to be spent on these activities"-cited by 22%; and "requests for accompanied versus lock box showings," cited by 8% of respondents.
Longer Hours, New Hires and Strategic Alliances Among Coping Mechanisms
The CRS survey reveals that participants are coping with more demanding customers in several ways, most notably by working longer hours, cited by 67%. And while 25% of those surveyed say they are operating with existing employees, 31% are hiring additional assistants, 32% are making referrals to outside vendors and 31% are forging formal alliances with outside service providers.
Pressure on Fees Pervasive
When asked if they were seeing pressure on their fee structure, an overwhelming 85% of respondents answered affirmatively. More specifically when respondents could select multiple answers, 79% are being asked by customers for "lower fees," and 43% are being asked for "other concessions," such as paying out of their commission to resolve minor inspection issues. As well, 52% are being asked by their professional real estate peers for "higher referral fees." Responding to these pressures, 66% are "sticking to their fee schedule and emphasizing their expertise," whereas 13% are "providing specific fees for specific services (menu of services)." Additionally, 25% are "charging add-on fees or transaction fees" to meet increased demands.
Finally, when asked how often they check in with clients during the active sales process to report progress and determine the level of satisfaction with their services, 80% report weekly contact, 13% report daily contact and the remaining 7% report monthly contact.
Demographics
Seventy-two percent of the survey sample identified themselves as dual agents, whereas 18% and 10%, respectively, said they were sellers' or buyers' agents.
Forty-six% of respondents are between 51 and 60 years of age, 26% are between 41 and 50 years of age, 19% are over age 66 and 9% fall into the 25- to-40-year-old age range.
With regard to years selling real estate, 26% have spent 16 to 20 years, 21% have spent 11 to 15 years, 20% have spent 21 to 25 years, 19% have spent 5 to 10 years, and 13% have spent more than 26 years in the business.
In terms of gender, 69% of survey respondents were female and 31% were male.
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Online License Renewal
Look for real estate license renewal notices from the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL), in your mail box the week of Nov. 11. Now is the time to make sure that you have satisfied the continuing education requirement, or that you will be able to satisfy the requirement before the end of this year. The deadline for renewal of your license is Dec. 31, 2002.
As was the case during the 2000 renewal, you will be able to renew real estate licenses over the Internet. The Department of Electronic Government, in collaboration with the DRL, developed an updated Internet application for renewal of real estate professionals.
Two years ago, 1,264 licensees took advantage of the Internet renewal process.
Improvements were made and we hope that you will try the Internet renewal process this year. Internet renewal is available at
www.renewal.wisconsin.gov
or from "What's New" on the DRL Web site www.drl.state.wi.us. In order to use the Internet renewal you will need to use the PIN number that you will receive as part of your renewal notice.
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