How bad is it out there for the average Realtor? An e-blast from Chicago Agent advertising tomorrow’s brokers open house at Lexington Square reminded me of an amusing — and surely not uncommon — incident at an open house I attended last week.
Along with the obligatory sandwiches, chips, pastries and pop offered at every brokers open, the sales staff at this development had advertised a gift card giveaway prior to its event. Visitors could sign in, drop off a business card, and possibly walk away with an extra 50 bucks.
Doors weren’t set to open until noon, but one of the sales associates on hand happened to glance out a window at 11:30 and noticed a veritable mob of agents huddled outside the front door. This was last Tuesday, mind you, a day when we were showered by a downpour of heavy, wet snow.
By the time I arrived at the open house (around 12:30 p.m.), the sales staff had already drawn a name from the fishbowl. Naturally, most of the visitors — and most of the eats — were long gone. There’s a reason these Realtors showed up, and it wasn’t to see a full floor of finished units.
My guess? Tomorrow’s Lexington Square open will be a zoo — the first 10 agents who show up are supposed to get $50 gift cards, and two names drawn at random will receive $250 gift cards. That’s enough to put some food on the table, or at least to refill the gas tank in order to get to the next brokers open.
Did you ask anyone why they were there? What was the location of the open house? Were many of the agents affiliated with the listing brokerage of the open house? Gas in the tank? Com’on man. How about some context?
There are a lot of agents doing much worse than in the past for sure. Many are doing better. And many have dropped out based on the lower CAR numbers. However, if you are a “hurting agent”, going to an open house for a chance at $50 gift card and lunch seems like a silly way to spend your time. Maybe they would be looking for another job or at the office working? Going to opens is a luxury of free time or a necessity for market research.
Some open houses are well advertised to a network of agents and sometimes influential managing brokers ask people to go and support them… there could be a lot of reasons for agents to show up.
Trust me, I love a free lunch… but only if I’m actually interested in the property for some reason or I’m going to the open to support the agent for one reason or another. You must have some basis for your inference here. If you’re going to an open house because you are a “hurting” agent, you were probably never a sucessful agent in the first place.