The Virtual Brokerage and First Time Home Buyers

 (To Learn More about the Virtual Brokerage Concept, click on the widget to the left of this page. Attend our Networking Event this Wednesday May 6th, at Metropolitan Grill Mount Royal, Calgary. See Video Invitation at bottom of Post)

We have a tough market to be selling real estate in. Prices have dropped, sellers are stressed and buyers are nervous about entering a volatile market. However there is always an upside, and it’s first-time homebuyers that get the silver lining at this time. With interest rates at rarely seen lows, extraordinarily high inventory of property to choose from, dropping prices and struggling current construction projects, those entering the market for the first time have many advantages. And they know it!

First time home buyers are leading the recent rebound in real estate sales in many cities in North America, the Calgary area included. For agents of a Virtual Office such as RE/MAX Alpine Realty (iREALTY), they can offer these clients what the traditional real estate agent cannot. The conventional brokerage model is sorely equipped to serve the modern first-time home buyer. 

First time home buyers tend to be a younger demographic. This same demographic is a far more tech savvy group, who not just understand and live technology, but expect the convenience of modern digital tools to be the norm. This generation of home buyers is naturally drawn to those providing paperless documents, online access to them and communication methods that suit them such as IM, Skype, Texting etc. Upon resale, this same group will expect a much more online presence from their Realtors and Brokerage, as that is where they spend much of their time. They would want to find their listing promoted on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Craig’s List, YouTube, Flickr, etc, in addition to some traditional means. They expect their real estate service provider to have the know-how and willingness to serve their needs which are different from previous generations of home buyers and sellers.  If first time home buyers are driving the market now, it will clearly benefit those who have the ability to cater to this demographic. 

iREALTY Virtual Brokerage model is designed to serve just such a group. The Virtual Brokerage model is much more than just “minimal office space.” It is much more than just “online documents.” The iREALTY model actively educates and provides tools to the agents to keep them on the forefront of this real estate WEB 2.0 revolution and first time home buyers actively seek out such a company to work with.

Our current first time home buyers are the future of subsequent home purchases and sales, at the same time as new generations of first time home buyers enter the market. The digital demands of this clientele will not reduce as they age, but grow as the tools expand. This is the current and future clientele of our real estate industry, and those who can serve them and their many needs will find a profitable long term career.