A telephone survey recently completed by Birmingham-based RealSource found area Realtors are interested in finding new ways to be efficient in the current market. 

Responses were collected from Realtors in fifty-five real estate offices in metro-Birmingham. Respondents were not required to identify themselves and only one Realtor was allowed to respond per real estate office. 

More Time for Sales

When asked what single factor would help them make more money (excluding market conditions), 41% of those responding cited a need for more time for sales, 29% cited more sales training and only 8% cited more broker support. 4% cited an equal need for more time for sales, more sales training and more broker support. Assorted other factors accounted for the remaining 18% of responses.

“It is not surprising the highest response for how to make more money as a Realtor was more time for sales.  Today’s successful Realtors know the more time they spend with customers and potential customers, the greater the return.  This is why so many successful Realtors have an assistant or make use of firms such as ours that provide support on an on-demand basis,” says RealSource company president Doris Phillips.

Better Service May Trump Loyalty

To better understand if other factors besides market conditions, customer behavior and training are important, respondents were asked about their interaction with title insurance companies.  Title insurance is one of the more expensive closing costs.

A large majority (83%) of the Realtors surveyed indicated they place orders with the same title insurance company at least 60% of the time, apparently showing great customer loyalty.  However, of this group of Realtors, 60% indicted they would still consider using other title insurers, especially if they could receive better or faster service.  Only 7% indicated they would change for a lower price.

Phillips says, “The title insurance questions were selected because this can be a time consuming and troublesome issue on some deals.  The fact such a large number of so-called ‘loyal customers’ would consider changing for better service shows how important efficiency and accuracy is to these busy Realtors, especially in the current market.”

RealSource conducted this survey as part of ongoing efforts to better understand the current market conditions and industry trends for RealSource customers and associates.